Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y Essay

Charles M. Carson, (2005),"A historical view of Douglas McGregor's Theory Y", Management Decision, Vol. 43 Iss 3 pp. 450 - 460

objectives. McGregor believed that Theory Y assumptions were more valid than Theory X. Therefore, he

McGregor first published his ideas in his book, The Human Side of Enterprise. One of the experiences he had that influenced his thoughts was from work that he did at his grandfather’s establishment for temporary workers in Detroit. Because he was a close acquaintance of Abraham Maslow, who developed “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” McGregor wished to counter the scientific approach on management (“Douglas McGregor,” 2008) and named Theories X & Y.

Is your workplace safe? Do you encourage camaraderie and team building exercises? Some examples might be: company picnics, luncheons or holiday pot-lucks. These lower level needs will need to be addressed and achieved in order for workers to move onto the issues that management wants to focus on such as productivity, innovation and efficiency. Looking at McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y I would determine if Marshall’s management is using the negative aspects of the classical management theory and making assumptions about the workers (p. 43). If I found that Marshall’s management was adhering to Theory X more than Theory Y I would suggest a shift towards Theory Y thinking and managing. Theory Y states that workers will seek out satisfaction of the higher-order needs if management treats them as such and if those lower-order needs are satisfied. I would focus particularly on point number five of Theory Y, which states: the capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population (p. 43). Looking at this point could address participation levels in the team management system. For example instead of allowing employees to elect the same people to represent each production area in the Marshall Team monthly meetings, perhaps try a

Flannery O'Connor stated in relation to Nathaniel Hawthorn: "I feel more of a kinship with him than any other American Writer." This kinship is well deserved when considering all the similarities between these two authors. Both authors use central literary symbols to strengthen the story and the meaning behind it. Along with similarities in tone and theme these authors differ greatly when it comes to the style of their writings. Despite all the differences it is the central literary symbol of the black veil and the wooden leg that tie these stories together much like the kinship felt between them authors.

Generally when a person writes a story, they use past experiences and adventures in their life to help create a plot for their stories. Usually these events create a base for which the author writes upon thus contributing to the author’s exceptional way of thinking. For example, author Terry Teachout says that “O'Connor's religious beliefs were central to her art” (Teachout 56). O’Connor’s religion played a crucial role in her writings. Flannery O'Connor is regarded one of the major brief tale authors in United States literary performs. Among the thing that makes her work stand out to date is the boldness in her writing in style which she made no effort to hide her affiliation to the Roman Catholic faith and spared no wrath when

1. Discuss the contributions to the “human side of enterprise” as articulated by Elton Mayo, Chester Barnard, Abraham Maslow, and Douglas McGregor.

“Robert Tobias (2010) argues that to be effective, human resource managers need to embrace the possibility of positive and productive relations with labor unions.” (Riccucci pg. 10-11)

When managing people, McGregor’s model, indicated below, shows to styles of management. Theory X is directive, whereas Theory Y is enabling, and looks at employee engagement/ teamwork in order to achieve the

Theory X and Theory Y, developed by Douglas McGregor, grew out of opposition towards classical management methods. Classical management theorists, such as Fredrick Taylor, focused on scientific training and efficiency and did not account for personal and behavioral issues, such as management styles or job satisfaction. McGregor saw these deficiencies in the classical school of management which lead him to develop a theory of management that would factor the importance of the individual worker. If a manager could tap into the feelings and attitudes of their workers, then the manager would be able increase their employee’s motivation which would then increase production. McGregor’s theory viewed the employee as a person and not as a machine

Theory is a journey to uncover the past and improve the future. By uncovering and analyzing a discipline’s theoretical journey, insight and self-awareness are gained. According to Meleis (2012), “Theories are reservoirs in which related knowledge is articulated and organized into meaningful wholes” (p.33). By implementing and analyzing theories, empowerment and guidance for the future is obtained.

“Robert Tobias (2010) argues that to be effective, human resource managers need to embrace the possibility of positive and productive relations with labor unions.” (Riccucci pg. 10-11)

When evaluating relationship management, we can see that Mr Callahan is held in quite high regard at Pancontinental Airways by his employees and is described as a ‘visionary leader’. Having the admiration of employees is very beneficial in any organisation, and by doing so can create many advantages in the industry, such as the maintenance of ‘low staff turnover rates and high commitment from staff’. This we can see as happening at Pancontinental Airways where the company employs individuals seen to have the ‘right attitude.’ This is then followed by ‘specific training to develop the already present personal qualities of staff’. (Case study) Callahan openly encourages membership of unions so that he can have improved negotiations than with the individual

The Human Side of Enterprise, written my McGregor in 1960, was voted the fourth most influential management book of the 20th century by the Fellows of the Academy of Management. The ideas and theories shown in the book have remained relevant and are taught in Universities across

2007). Kermally (2005, p.36) explain that McGregor believed ‘how managers manage people in practice depends on what assumptions they make about workers’. It means that which kind of leadership managers choose, according to how managers perceive workers’ attitudes toward their job. Managers believe their workers related to Theory X and Y normally use strict supervision approaches to reduce workers’ control on their job, in contrary, managers allow workers to be innovative and willing to authorise more responsibility to Theory Y workers (Waddell et al. 2007).