Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X and Theory Y

Origin:

Theory X and Theory Y pertain to employee motivation and have been used in human resource management, organizational behavior analysis, and organizational development. This Theories are created and developed by Douglas McGregor at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the 1960s.

Understanding of Theories:

Management style is strongly influenced by ones beliefs and assumptions about what motivates members of your team: If you believe that team members dislike work, you will tend towards an authoritarian style of management – Theory X; On the other hand, if you assume that employees take pride in doing a good job, you will tend to adopt a more participative style – Theory Y.

Theory X or Authoritarian Style of management:

 This style of management assumes that workers:

·         Dislike working.

·         Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.

·         Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what's needed.

·         Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place.

·         Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no ambition or incentive to work.

In this theory, a hierarchical structure is needed with narrow span of control at each and every level.

Theory Y or Participative Style of management:

 This style of management assumes that workers:

·         Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the goals they are given.

·         Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much direction.

·         Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work problems imaginatively.

Comparing Theory X and Theory Y:

·   Motivation

Theory X assumes that people dislike work; they want to avoid it and do not want to take responsibility. Theory Y assumes that people are self-motivated, and thrive on responsibility.

·   Management Style and Control
In a Theory X organization, management is authoritarian, and centralized control is retained, whilst in Theory Y, the management style is participative: Management involves employees in decision making, but retains power to implement decisions.

·   Work Organization
Theory X employees tend to have specialized and often repetitive work. In Theory Y, the work tends to be organized around wider areas of skill or knowledge; Employees are also encouraged to develop expertise and make suggestions and improvements.

·   Rewards and Appraisals
Theory X organizations work on a ‘carrot and stick’ basis, and performance appraisal is part of the overall mechanisms of control and remuneration. In Theory Y organizations, appraisal is also regular and important, but is usually a separate mechanism from organizational controls. Theory Y organizations also give employees frequent opportunities for promotion.

·   Application 
Although Theory X management style is widely accepted as inferior to others, it has its place in large scale production operation and unskilled production-line work. Many of the principles of Theory Y are widely adopted by types of organization that value and encourage participation. Theory Y-style management is suited to knowledge work and professional services. Professional service organizations naturally evolve Theory Y-type practices by the nature of their work; Even highly structure knowledge work, such as call center operations, can benefits from Theory Y principles to encourage knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

Demonstration of Theory X and Theory Y:

Conclusion:

Though these theories are very basic in nature, they provide a platform for future generations of management theorists and practitioners to understand the changing dynamics of human behavior. Taken too literally, Theories X and Y seem to represent unrealistic extremes. Most employees (including managers) fall somewhere in between these poles. Recent studies have questioned the rigidity of the model, yet McGregor's X-Y Theories remain guiding principles to the management to evolve processes which help in organizational development. A mix of practices which ensure a healthy blend of systems and the freedom to perform at the work place is likely to motivate the employees more. This mix of practices calls for induction of technology into HR. How we can practice Talent Management in all types of organizations will indicate how well we have understood & deployed these theories X and Y in our real time environment.