Douglas McGregor (1906 - 1964) is one of the forefathers of management theory and one of the top business thinkers of all time. He was a social psychologist who became the President of Antioch College. He later became a professor of management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (he was succeeded by Warren Bennis).
In the 1960s, an American social psychologist, Douglas McGregor in his book, “The Human Side of Enterprise” has examined theories on behavior of individuals at work, and he has formulated two models which he calls Theory X and Theory Y. Both of these theories begin with the premise that management role is to assemble the factor of production including people, for the economic benefit of the firm. McGregor developed a philosophical view of humankind with his Theory X and Theory Y.. He suggested that management could use either set of needs to motivate employees, but better results would be gained by the use of Theory Y, rather than Theory X. McGregor's maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing peoples and identified two radically different sets of assumptions . These assumption are given below:
Theory X | Theory Y |
Employees inherently dislike work and avoid it whenever possible. Because employees dislike work, they resist change Employees has no ambitions, avoid responsibilities whenever possible and would follow rather than lead. Employees value money and security above all other job factors. Employees are self centered and therefore, does not care about organizational goal | Employees like work and consider it as natural as play and rest. People naturally work toward goals they are committed to. People will be committed to their goal when rewards are in place that address higher needs such as self fulfillment. The average person can learn to accept and even seek responsibility. The average person's intellectual potential is only partially realized. Most people can handle responsibilities because creativity and ingenuity are common in people |
The assumptions behind Theory X emphasize authority. Theory X—oriented managers believe that employees dislike work and can be motivated only by the fear of punishment and losing their jobs or by extrinsic rewards such as money, promotions, and tenure. This management style emphasizes physiological and safety needs and tends to ignore the higher-level needs in Maslow's hierarchy.
Theory Y emphasize growth and self-direction. Theory Y—oriented managers believe that employees like work and can be motivated by working for goals that promote creativity or for causes they believe in. Thus, Theory Y-oriented managers seek to motivate employees through intrinsic rewards.
Criticism of Theory X / Theory Y
Nowadays McGregor's theory is seen as outdated, representing two extremes.
Theory X is perhaps visible in low paid or menial work but employees in those situations will move on in search of positions with Theory Y conditions if they are motivated.
Personal development, management training and even general perceptions of behaviour are against a Theory X outlook towards work.
There is no doubt that this outlook would have been more prevalent in the 1960s when McGregor created his theory.
They were, however, landmark ideas at their time and now form an important part of the historical study of management theory.
Reference
http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/
http://www.teambuilding.co.uk/theory_x_theory_y.html
http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_theories/theory_X_and_Y.htm
