What is Theory X and Y? Description
Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous
Theory X and Theory Y models in his book 'The Human Side Of Enterprise' (1960).
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Theory X
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Theory Y
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Assumptions
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Humans inherently dislike working and will try to avoid it if they
can. |
People view work as being as natural as play and rest. Humans expend
the same amount of physical and mental effort in their work as in their
private lives. |
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Because people dislike work they have to be coerced or controlled
by management and threatened so they work hard enough. |
Provided people are motivated, they will be self-directing to the
aims of the organization. Control and punishment are not the only mechanisms
to let people perform. |
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Average employees want to be directed. |
Job satisfaction is key to engaging employees and ensuring their commitment. |
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People don't like responsibility. |
People learn to accept responsibility and seek responsibility. Average
humans, under the proper conditions, will not only accept, but even
naturally seek responsibility. |
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Average humans are clear and unambiguous and want to feel secure at
work. |
People are imaginative and creative. Their ingenuity should be used
to solve problems at work. |
Application
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Shop Floor, Mass Manufacturing. Production workers. |
Professional Services, Knowledge Workers. Managers and Professionals. |
Conducive to
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Large scale efficient operations. |
Management of Professionals, Participative Complex Problem Solving. |
Management Style
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Authoritarian, Hard Management. |
Participative, Soft Management. |
McGregor sees Theory Y as the preferable model and management method, however
he thought Theory Y was difficult to use in large-scale operations.
Theory Z - Ouchi
In 1981, William Ouchi came up with a variant that combined American and
Japanese management practices together to form Theory Z, having the
following characteristics: long-term employment - collective decision-making
- individual responsibility - slow evaluation & promotion - implicit, informal
control with explicit, formalized measures - moderately specialized career
paths - and a holistic concern for the employee, including family.
Recent User Comments
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- Nigeria
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Theory X and Theory Y |
"In 9 out of 10 cases, the employer or leader determines the way workers behave. Workers who are treated as though they were incapable of responsibility are likely to become irresponsible even if they did not enter the organisation with such traits. Employees should be treated with a measure of respect and given good leadership." |
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David - U.S.A.
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Work Ethic (X) |
"I believe that most employee's want to work. There will always be a small percentage that will go against the grain. The problem is we fail each other. This happens by taking a motivated employee and not meeting his needs to do his job successfully. Examples: no parts to fix machine, no stock to run machine, no training." |
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Mahesha Goleby - Australia
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Z found in <5% |
"Spiral Dynamics & Personal & Corporate Values Journey research indicates that Z would be a 'yellow' - a systems type person - who works for the 'big picture'. A rare, but growing demographic, as the world's cultures advance in their thinking & behaviour." |
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R. Angel - Philippines
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Theory X anywhere |
"As long as an individual or group of individuals exists, Theory X will prevail because we cannot uproot the source of unpleasant behavior and attitude, which is innate, in man. The challenge is to accept and understand the condition/s of every human person here and now." |
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Toby - Philippines
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Balance |
"The 2 theories presents 2 extremes of management styles in order for us to the opposite poles of peoples tendencies during work. Therefore it is a tool to help us strike a balance in managing people." |
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Best User Comments
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Yasin Nasirov - Azerbaijan
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Game Theory |
"Game theory is the decision making skills in conflict situations.I think that it is the best way of management and economy to analyze the rational thinking by mutual understanding and bilateral relations among partners ,owners and managers . Therefore, Game theory has a profound effect on Theory X and Y . Salient outcomes and payoffs can be attained by applying Theory X and Y as well as Game theory" |
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kamakshi - India
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Theory Y |
"Theory Y simply says " Building a Management with Professionalism as well as freedom"" |
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charu - india
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theory x & y |
"i think application of theory x and y also depends on the cultural backround of yhe enterprise. infact, they are two ends of the same continuum...." |
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Wes - US
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BMGT |
"I don't believe there is simply one preferred management style. I believe situations and personality will dictate what style takes precedence." |
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Toby - Philippines
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Individual Backgrounds |
"Theory Y states an ideal way on how people should work and interact. In theory X, it is when their work or personal situations and experiences disrupt their rhythm and motivation to excel in their workplace. So being able to create a motivated and aggressive organizational culture, giving the right working conditions, resources, and incentives, and being able to assess the correct training needs of the employees, and of course getting the right people will definitely rule out Theory X." |
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Theory X Theory Y Theory Z Special Interest Group
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