Essay About Mcgregor Theory x And Theory

412 Words2 Pages
McGregor in 1960 devised an idea in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise” where he examined theories on behavior of individuals at work and formulated two models which he called Theory X and Theory Y.. He assumed that all Theory X employees are lazy and dislike work so managers have no control to get them to work towards the organizational goals. According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can. Theory Y is a participative style of management which “assumes that people will exercise self-direction and self-control in the achievement of organizational objectives to the degree that they are committed to those objectives”. It is management’s main task in such a system to maximize that commitment. Theory X assumes that individuals are base, work-shy and constantly in need of a good prod. It always has a ready-made excuse for failure—the innate limitations of all human resources. Theory Y, however, assumes that individuals go to work of their own accord, because work is the only way in which they have a chance of satisfying their (high-level) need for achievement and self-respect. People will work without prodding; it has been their fate since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. Theory Y gives management no easy excuses for failure. It challenges them “to innovate, to discover new ways of organizing and directing human effort, even though we recognize that the perfect organization, like the perfect vacuum, is practically out of reach”. McGregor urged companies to adopt Theory Y. Only it, he believed, could motivate human beings to the highest levels of achievement. Theory X merely satisfied their lower-level physical needs and could not hope to be as productive. “Man is a wanting animal,” wrote McGregor, “as soon as one of his needs is satisfied
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