Theory X Theory Y (McGregor)
Theory Z (Ouchi)

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Hard or Soft Management? Explanation of Theory X Theory Y of McGregor. ('60). Explanation of Theory Z by William Ouchi. ('81)


  

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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).
 

 

Theory X

Theory Y

Assumptions

 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.
  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.
  Average employees want to be directed. Job satisfaction is key to engaging employees and ensuring their commitment.
  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.
  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

 Shop Floor, Mass Manufacturing. Production workers. Professional Services, Knowledge Workers. Managers and Professionals.

Conducive to

 Large scale efficient operations. Management of Professionals, Participative Complex Problem Solving.

Management Style

 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.

 

Theory X Theory Y Theory Z Special Interest Group


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Theory X Theory Y Theory Z Forum

Recent User Comments
 - Ukraine Theory U "Otto Scharmer shows in Theory U how groups and organizations can develop seven leadership capacities in order to create a future that would not otherwise be possible.
1. Holding the space of Listening - The foundational capacity of the U is listening. Listening to others. Listening to oneself. And listening to what emerges from the collective. Effective listening requires the creation of open space in which others can contribute to the whole.
2. Observing - The capacity to suspend the “voice of judgment” is key to moving from projection to true observation.
3. Sensing - The preparation for the experience at the bottom of the U—presencing—requires the tuning of three instruments: the open mind, the open heart, and the open will. This opening process is not passive but an active “sensing” together as a group. While an open heart allows us to see a situation from the whole, the open will enables us to begin to act from the emerging whole.
4. Presencing - The capacity to connect to the deepest source of self and will allows the future to emerge from the whole rather than from a smaller part or special interest group.
5. Crystallizing - When a small group of key persons commits itself to the purpose and outcomes of a project, the power of their intention creates an energy field that attracts people, opportunities, and resources that make things happen. This core group functions as a vehicle for the whole to manifest.
6. Prototyping - Moving down the left side of the U requires the group to open up and deal with the resistance of thought, emotion, and will; moving up the right side requires the integration of thinking, feeling, and will in the context of practical applications and learning by doing.
7. Performing - A prominent violinist once said that he couldn’t simply play his violin in Chartres cathedral; he had to “play” the entire space, what he called the “macro violin,” in order to do justice to both the space and the music. Likewise, organizations need to perform at this macro level: they need to convene the right sets of players (frontline people who are connected through the same value chain) and to engage a social technology that allows a multi-stakeholder gathering to shift from debating to co-creating the new. More info"		    -1
Preeti - India Theory Z Explanation "Explain the Theory Z in brief as by little explanation its difficult to judge. Moreover, it is a more practical approach and tends to todays professional requirements."    10
 - Lebanon Theory X, Y, and Z in Lebanon "In Lebanon the companies are starting but in a very shy way to give HR a role, but from my experience, any company in the world contains the two types of employees concerned by theory Y and X so we can not implement one of the theories on all employees."    0
Patrick - Kenya Theory X is Applied by Managers Who are Selfish "To a large extend, theory x is applied by managers who are selfish and think only in terms of what they want to make for themselves and their institutions since they view employees as machines that are emotionally dormant. I fully embrace theory y."    1
Bwalya Chipepo - Zambia Threatening Workers does not Work "Workers are suppose to be motivated and not be threatened like in theory X because if you threaten them the performance can not match the effort, need and organizational goals."    3
Best User Comments
kamakshi - India Theory Y "Theory Y simply says " Building a Management with Professionalism as well as freedom""    60
Yasin Nasirov - Azerbaijan 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"    47
Mahesha Goleby - Australia 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."    28
 - Nigeria 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."    20
David - U.S.A. 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."    15
Toby - Philippines 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."    15
Wes - US BMGT "I don't believe there is simply one preferred management style. I believe situations and personality will dictate what style takes precedence."    15
charu - india 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...."    14
Dr. C. Giri - India Theory X and Theory Y: Administration vs. Management "From what can be seen in the summary, in my opinion we can make a clear distinction between administration and management.
The way I see it, Theory X indicates characteristics of administration and Theory Y indicates characteristics of management."		    13
NSIMBE SAMUEL - Uganda Contribution for Today? "What is the relevance of theory X and Y theory Z to modern management for today?"    9
Abubakar - Nigeria The Role of Favoritism in Recruitment "Theory X and Theory Y are dependent too on recruitment and selection processes. When favoritism plays a part in these exercises, definitely the model of the theories will collapse."    8
Madhavi Mauskar - India The Role of Empowerment "We will always have X & Y type of people. What can make an X turn into an Y and vice a versa is EMPOWERMENT. If I can empower X he will turn into Y and the opposite will work too."    7
R. Angel - Philippines 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."    7
Toby - Philippines 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."    7
Vidya - India Theory vs. Practice "These motivational theories are excellent. However, how can we motivate the practicing administrators / bureaucrats to apply the tenets of these theories in their work situations?"    4
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Theory X Theory Y Theory Z Education & Events


 

Compare with Theory X Theory Y:  Leadership Styles  |  Managerial Grid  |  Leadership Continuum  |  Situational Leadership  |  Bases of Social Power  |  EPIC ADVISERS  |  Hierarchy of Needs  |  Expectancy Theory  |  Path-Goal Theory  |  Hawthorne Effect  |  ERG Theory  |  Herzberg Two Factor Theory  |  Change Management  |  Seven Surprises  |  Seven Habits  |  Eight Attributes of Management Excellence  |  Five Disciplines  |  Ten Principles of Reinvention  |  Fourteen Points of Management  |  Charismatic Leadership  |  Theory of Needs

 

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Copyright 2009 12manage - The Executive Fast Track. V10.4 - Last updated: 11/7/2009. All names tm by their owners.



  ● Shuli (Taiwan) Theory T "May be we could develop the Theory T to reflect Taiwan management style..."

  ●  (USA) Managers Applying Theory X "I believe that Theory X managers are limiting creativity and missing the benefit of enabling employee self-worth. I feel that the Theory X manager is somewhat insecure in his/her position and possibly fearful to include and engage employees. Theory Y is definitely preferable."


  ● TK Rangacharylu (India) Y Theory of Management "Sometimes we apply X to Y and get confused in the industry."
  ● khmilevskaya (russia) BMGT "I think that theory Y is more preferable, but I agree McGregor that it is difficult to use. However, the X theory looks more like real."
  ● Venkateswaran (India) Theory X,Y & Z "While comparing all the 3 theories, theory Z seems to be applicable and effective than other 2 theories"

  ● Subhadeep Dutta (India) Game Theory "That's something meaningful. It can be visualized and implemented in a very swift manner in the field of financial as well as people management."

  ● Gopakumar.V (India) Theory Z "Theory Z can be rather related to the growth stage developement process, wherein on atainment of a particular age, one does not wish to take risk in life, looks for long term peace and enjoys lighter side of the event rather than involving in depth and consuming problems. A higher side inclination to Theory X and intrinsic value formation attachment to Th.Y to some extent. But the energetic involvement during the initial ages into explorative mood could be attributed to intrinsic motivation tending to Th.Y pattern and on the other hand at higher age level, leaving aside tougher things and enjoying lighter things can be an inclination to Th.X. So this Z Theory, is nothing but an integrated approach to Th X and Y if we account based on aging fator. This supports my research on 4359 persons of varying ages in Indian conditions."
  ● Nolana (USA) Theory Z "Interesting points about theory Z and stages of growth and aging. However, I would consider myself of this persuasion, but I am not even 40 yeras of age. What median age does the tyipcal person switch to theory Z thinking? I feel I have thought this way about working since I began doing chores as a child. Perhaps ideals about work are influenced by character traits as well as other factors. I would like to read your research; it sounds interesting."

  ● Mohammed Fayaz (Luton) Communication Problem at Workplace "Helpful"
  ● Peter A Hunter (England) Theory X and Theory Y "Grace is absolutely spot on. Workers want to do a good job, they want to be proud of what they do. They are prevented from doing a good job by the behaviour of their managers. Their managers deny them the resources they need, they set wild unachievable targets, they never listen to the workforce and the only time they ever speak to them is to tell them that they are not achieving their targets. This is the behaviour that prevents the workforce from performing, this is the behaviour of a theory X managers.
But the manager is part of the workforce and he wants to do a good job too. If he understood how much more effective he could be if he abandonned his theory X behaviour then he would.
It is a responsibility to show managers how much more effective they could be and we should all be doing it."

  ● Eddie (Scotland) Work Ethic X "I agree with David, however, we also need to consider that the manager may have difficulty accessing the training required for the staff member and may not be supported in his/her role."


  ● Danylle (us) BMGT 364 "I agree I different styles of managment are going to depend on the specific situation and the needs of those being managed. what works for some may not work for others"

  ● Meera (Trinidad) Cultural Background is Important "I agree with Charu, one needs to take the cultural background of the organization into consideration. In some enterprises such as the public service, employees tend to display behaviors where theory X style is more effective to promote greater efficiency in its operations. Some may not agree with this comment, however, this is the reality, at least in this part of the region."

  ● Gregg (USA) Theory X and Theory Y "I just read the new edition Art Kleiner's "The Age of Heretics" which provides a very readable history of many of those who led management philosophy development in the 20th century, including Douglas McGregor. My take is that Theory Y assumes people are basically good and should be empowered while Theory X assumes people are not so good and need to be controlled."
  ● Trilok (India) Human resource in theory -x and theory -y "Here we can clearly identify the differenct motives of an individual so according to the work we have to follow the necessary theories with reference to the work."
  ● Mehwish Kayani (Pakistan) Theory X Theory Y "I've come across these terms while working on a final project. According to these theories, while managing we can have two kind of people; one who don't want to work or are working due to some pressure and other highly ambitious and ready for a go. But there exist a third kind of people who are ambitious but their wrong counceling and their own wrong management led them nowhere. Managers in any organization need other tactics to handle this kind."
  ●  (Saudi Arabia) Theory X Y Z "The selection depends upon the nature and behavior of employees. Even in a single group we can use theory X and Y."


  ● Shoaib (Pakistan) Favoritism really Collapse the Model "yes i can't work with core of my hearts due to favoritsm"
  ● Okpe Stevens (Nigeria) Change Management "I shared the same opinion with Abubakar as this is clearly demonstrated in Nigeria's work force. Where individidual(s) are not recruited on merit, despite good criteria for selection. A doctor is recruited to work as a cashier in the bank and a trained accountant is left to roam the streets."
  ●  (India) Theory X & Y "Nothing to do with Recruitment & Selection process but the behavior / attitudes which a worker is perceived as .... The theory is an out come of research."
  ●  (Nigeria) Theory X & Theory Y "McGregor was trying to analyse the attitude of people to work. Attitude manifests itself in the behaviour of an individual worker. External factors in the environment (e.g. supervision, tools, reward) influence a person's attitude but his total makeup or personality plays an important role."

  ● Jurgens (Egypt) Management Style "In theory X, sometimes hard management can increase the dissatisfaction and cause resentment. In my humble opinion, employees differ when it comes to compensation. Some are motivated through increasing their salary, others are looking for more leaves and vacations, even some just want to be commended and recognized. So no doubt there is a way to turn X into Y, though it might need a great deal of work."
  ● Meera (Trinidad) Cause and Effect "Leadership qualities I think play a very important part in bringing out either Theory X or Theory Y, given the fact that both traits are inherent in the nature man. One must bear in mind the "cause and effect" and "action and reaction" scenarios."
  ● Dwalo (Kenya) Holistic Organization-wide Change "What causes somebodies orientation to either theory X or Y is the sum of management style, organization structure and to a good extent the organization culture. Once a system is oriented to either X or Y, I do not think altering one aspect e.g. empowering the workers can result in swift change, without a holistic organization-wide change of mindset."
  ●  (China) Management Style "Nowadays everything is changing due to the impact of globalization and IT. The organization's culture, structure, systems and business processes also change.
Therefore, Theory X, Y and Z may work only in a short period of time since today's pursued management style may no longer work tomorrow."
  ● Nsununguli Mbongolwane (Zimbabwe) Perceptions about X and Y Behaviour change "Employee behaviour is fluid across the X and Y positions. As the organisation culture changes and management changes so are the perceptions about X and Y behaviour. The role of management is to manage themselves and the organisation in order to influence the way they see their employees."
  ● Viswanathan (India) Theory X and Theory Y "It is known that the whole world is made up of people who will fall either in category X or Y theory. Empowering will change people of falling under theory X into theory Y may not be always true as most of the people are unwilling to take responsibility as they are guided by the fear that failure will end in flaks for them. it is, hence, necessary to identify people and empower them so that they could act as catalysts for improving organisation culture."
  ● Chithra S. (India) Theory X and Theory Y "Theory X in some Government Concern is also because of less control by the management & can be changed only if the required control is there. Today's management also depends on some control."
  ● Samuel Ebeke (Nigeria) Theory X and Y Conditions "I want to state that all theories are functional and dysfunctional depending on the application in managing the diverse and uncertain human conditions. The human resources manager has the challenge of assessing the circumstances in which each of the theories can produce the most motivation and desired productivity in the individual."

  ● Hein (Netherlands) Theory X innate? "I disagree with R. Angel. The attitudes and/or behavior of BOTH theory X and Theory Y could be innate to some extent for certain people. But more importantly, I think we behave in a theory X way in certain circumstances or in certain periods in our live, while in other circumstances or periods we may operate in a Theory Y mode. So rather then only innate, our behavior is controlled by the circumstances and timeframe."


  ● Oyewole, Babafemi (Cotonou) Theory X and Theory Y "Theories are derivative of real life observations. These theories are no exception. Soft management styles are most appropriate to knowledge workers while hard management may be suitable to workers that exert physical energies in their work. Nonetheless, leadership and concern for staff welfare will have a significant effect on productivity."
  ● Fred Vander Mijnsbrugge (Belgium) Theory X & Y "In my coaching sessions all over Europe, I experience that people really want to work hard in order to find a personal satisfaction and/or contribution to the society. As a Leader or CEO, we have to facilitate this objective and treat them as thé most precious resource so they can volunteer their highest efforts and energies and reach creative excitement towards their goals."
  ● Ullhas Pagey (India) Theory X, Y & Z "Theory X , Y & Z were hotly debated in the early seventies and eighties. Since then times have changed and business environment has undergone a 360 degree change. In the context of the knowledge economy today, Theory X has lost its relevance, what may possibly work could be the synergies created out of Y and Z paradigms."
  ● sanjeev (india) Theory vs Practice "I feel it’s a combination of both. For example the assumption that humans inherently dislike work and avoid it. Now what if the leader goes with this assumption. It requires that, he may motivate the workers to do so. OK what if the workers are actually Theory Y? Then it’s a win-win isn’t it?. So it depends on which perspective the leader is having... X or Y? If it is X then he has to wake up to the reality isn’t it? So let the leader / manager / administration / bureaucrats analyze their position on this theory. It’s a guideline for effectiveness, not effectiveness in itself. Theories are guidelines only. Do not take theories as a thumb rule or strategy, but as a guideline only."
  ● Richard Opoku (Ghana) Theory Vs Practice "I think that the theory is good for situational leaders that understand their environment well and make good use of the theory. CEO's and leaders of today are supposed to be transformational in order to have a greater impact on their followers and to achieve the desired result. Being a transformational cuts across the facet of the organisation and carries all the staff along the vision of the leader rather than applying the situational type of management to issues. Leaders can be deceived into believing and applying the wrong style that might not yield the desired results. Knowledge of details is vital to every leader which will inform him/her about the style to use whether X or Y."
  ● Luis Cabral (Angola) Cultural Aspects "Both theories are important styles of management. The use of them depends on several factors. The cultural aspect is to be considered. For instance, in most of Africa countries, Theory X produces better results than the Y. Responsibility is seen as a heavy weight to carry! "
  ● Mr Philemon Maboe (South Africa) Theory X and Theory Y "The assumptions in Theory X are unfortunately outdated for the type of competitive world we are living in today. I fully support the notion that this theory has lost its relevance. We need to complement the characterisdtics of Theory Y and Theory Z of Ouchi to have effective organisations. However this in turn must be complemented with real LEADERS who are geared to face complex challenges of today."
  ● Meera Ramjattan (Trinidad and Tobago) Theory X and Theory Y "I agree with Luis Cabral (Angola). They are both important styles of mangement. I think Cabral 'hit the nail on the head' when he brought into the mix a most important variable called 'culture'. Most organizations see the cultural aspect as a subset of a dimension for managing their human resources. This I think is 'selling the organization short'. Although we hear the term globalization and global village being bandied about, one must always take into consideration that different societies are still in existence."
  ● Elshan (UK) X and Y theory is controversial "Actually, X and Y theory is controversial. People which are not creative and lazy like to be oriented and directed and the only thing they are interested is the wages. In most small organizations we meet Y workers and they are satisfied with that. In the same time managers of such organizations are glad because it is easy to control Y workers."