Similarities And Differences Of The Three Theories Of Organizational Behavior

Classical organization theory evolved during the first half of this century. It represents the merger of scientific management, bureaucratic theory, and administrative theory.

Theory X & Y was officially expounded (and named) by Douglas McGregor, a social psychologist at MIT in the 1960s. His idea was that there are two fundamentally different styles of management. Theory X is an authoritarian concept where one assumes that individuals work reluctantly, without motivation. On the other hand, Theory Y is a libertarian concept where one assumes that people will perform beyond their duties if they are motivated and are dedicated to the overall goals set forth for them.

John Molson School of Business Department of Management Comm 222: Organizational Behaviour and Theory Winter 2013 General  Information   Comm  222   Section   E   Class  times:  Monday  &  Wednesday  8:45  –  10:00   Class  location:  MB  3.430   Credits:  3     Instructor:  

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

McGregor developed a theory on human behavior called, the X and Y theory. He looked at possible human behavior in people. The theory X is an authoritarian management style. The authoritarian believe that people do not want to work and operate with strict supervision. McGregor found out that the X personality trait is, they dislike any types of work and avoid it when it’s possible. Meaning they must be forced to do their task with threats or punishment in order to reach their organizational objectives in the business. However, the theory Y believe in participative style of management. Meaning they consider effort at work is the same as play. The Y personality trait is accepting or seeking responsibility. They don’t dislike working and do not operate in

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

they work” (2014). With the large amount of detail that goes into organizational behavior, there

McGregor’s Theory Y has a positive view on employees. This theory believes that employees will do well when they are given the ability to do so. This is a Theory that trusts that humans are mostly committed to making the company that they work for successful.

Organizational theory studies the various variables that influence the behavior of an individual(s) working within an organization, but also, “prescribes how work and workers ought to be organized and attempts to explain the actual consequences of organizational behavior (including individual actions) on work being performed and on the organization itself.” (Milakovich & Gordon, 2013, p.145). Of the many approaches to organizational analysis, Classical Organizational theory has been, even to this day, extremely influential by focusing on more formal concepts such as bureaucracy, rationalization and scientific management. Although, over the decades organizational management has taken on a more human relations approach to getting more productivity out of employees, it is contributors like Max Webber, Fredrick Taylor, and Luther Gulick that laid down the basic foundation organizational theories by recognizing the need for control and procedures.

Douglas McGregor, (1906–1964) was a Management professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and president of Antioch College from 1948 to 1954. He also taught at the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta . His 1960 book, “The Human Side of Enterprise” had a profound influence on workplace practices. In the book he identified an approach of creating an environment where employees are motivated via authoritative direction, control or integration, and self-control, which he called Theory X and Theory Y, respectively. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_McGregor)

An effective leader influences their employees in a desired manner to achieve goals and objectives. Different leadership styles can affect an organization’s effectiveness and performance. The objective of this paper is to analyze the review of literature on various leadership styles over the past years and how effective and ineffective different leadership styles are in the workplace.

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).

10. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y • Taught psychology at MIT. • At Antioch College, McGregor found that his classroom teaching of human relations did not always work in practice. • From these experiences, his ideas evolve and lead him to recognize the influence of assumptions we make about people and our managerial style. Content Theories of Motivation McGregor‟s Theory X and Theory Y – Theory X • Assumes that workers have little ambition, dislike work, avoid responsibility, and require close supervision. – Theory Y • Assumes that workers can exercise self- direction, desire responsibility, and like to work. – Motivation is maximized by participative decision making, interesting jobs, and good group relations.

There have been many different approaches to management theory. Each theory has made an important contribution to the way managers operate in different organizations. Douglas McGregor is perhaps one of the most interesting theorists in my opinion because he chose to approach management from two different perspectives. Douglas McGregor created two distinct assumptions about the employee. He called his assumptions Theory X and Theory Y. Douglas McGregor wrote a book, The Human Side of Enterprise, which was published in 1960. In this book McGregor goes into great detail describing his management theories, which have been impacting management styles for over 50 years.

Douglas McGregor presented Theory X and Theory Y in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise”. In these two theories McGregor has presented two types of managerial style. Theory X says that management is responsible for directing efforts of the people, motivating them, controlling their actions