Essay on Theory X and Theory Y

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

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.

I will be clarifying how reading "Theory X, Y, Z" and watched the media piece, "Theory," affected my definition of theory. I will be explaining the reasons why it might be useful to make a connection between actual management situations and theory. I will also explain how theory can inform the actual practice of management. I will provide an example of my own supported observation to maintain my statements. In Conclusion, I will explain which of management theories presented in Day 4 Readings seem to be the most useful and why (Walden, 2014).

In the past working with both younger and older employees operating under the conditions of both McGregor’s Theory X and Y, and a mixture of Theory Z. Meaning an employee can be

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

For years many organizations have tried and incorporated McGregor’s Theory Y into their business management philosophies. Many have failed while others succeed. John Mackey, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, has succeeded and was able to incorporate Theory Y into his own management philosophy called conscious capitalism. Whole Foods management philosophy emphasizes “multifaceted value creation for employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, and the environment, which leads to consistently growing profits” (Cheretis and Mujtaba, 2013, pg. 7). Basically, this company believes that everyone is valuable whether it is the customers, employees, shareholders, and/or the environment. Whole Foods Market focuses on maximizing long-term

On the other hand, here comes to the theory Y. On the contrary, it based on positive assumptions, and also more positive view of workers and the possibilities that create. For instance, they assumed that employees are ambitious, self-motivated and anxious to accept greater responsibility. Employees exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment, also exercise creativity and become forward looking. So, once the managers are adopted this theory, they believes that people want to do well at work, have a pool of unused creativity and that the satisfaction of doing a job

According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) McGregor contrasted two views on human nature by insisting that Theory Y assumes that people are more positive at work, and believed managers could accomplish more by viewing employees as such (p.9). The other outdated theory, is Theory X, which is a more negative and pessimistic assumption about workers.

Theory X describes a results-driven manager who issues deadlines and ultimatums, is elitist, does not build teams, is a one-way communicator and a poor listener, and a whole host of other negative traits. This is the "authoritarian" style, and while MacGregor's (Chapman, n.d.) treatment of this manager is overwhelmingly negative, these types of people often become managers because they deliver results. Theory Y managers, by contrast, as known as "participative" and are characterized by a host of positive adjectives.

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).

Douglas McGregor, a social psychologist in the 1960’s, developed two theories for workplace employees (Theory X and Theory Y, 1996-2016). Theory X describes employees as unmotivated, irresponsible, they need to be controlled, and they dislike working. Theory Y describes employees as responsible, enthusiastic, motivated, and imaginative. As an employee, not in a Management position, I can say I appreciate a manager who follows the Theory Y description. Since I feel that way as an employee, I will strive to be that type of Manager. I will participate, guide, lead, and motivate my employees to want to do a good job, and truly love what they do every day. I do believe that there are many employees in the workforce who do not like to work. When I come across someone with these characteristics, it will be my job to change their views. A low dose of responsibility will most likely motivate people to do better. Unfortunately, there are still many people who have the pessimistic view on life, and nothing will change their ways. Participating and interacting with employees on a day to day basis shows your interest in their role. I can understand how applying Theory Y in large organizations may be difficult, but with the right management in place, each department can be managed with Theory Y roles. I believe many companies give up on the chance to give their employees the responsibility because it is easier to control and direct without consideration or involvement from the

As Douglas McGregor began working on his book, The Human Side of Enterprise, he encountered Abraham Maslow’s theory. Maslow believed that people had 5 basic ascending needs. It was this theory that not only supported McGregor’s thinking about a hierarchy of motivation, but it also provided a strong theoretical foundation for his assumptions (Bobic, 2003). With a firm foundation McGregor shared his theory with the world, and his theory has had a lasting impact on management theory.

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

In this philosophy there was a large focus on rules and lack of discretion, thus meaning that the main focus of this philosophy is high control (DeNisi & Griffin, 2014) . This theory of Human resource management is thought to be best suited for X-type workers according to the McGregor X and Y Theory (Robbins & Judge, 2013). Human Resource Managers who would use this viewpoint intend on increasing Productivity by forcing workers to abide by the rules of a strict script because the workers are considered to be lazy and lacked motivation therefore they are need to pushed to perform tasks and have to be forcibly directed to doing tasks the do not like (French & Rees,

Theory X assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work. As a result of this, management believes that workers need to be