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Douglas McGregor's - Theory of Motivation The eminent psychologist Douglas McGregor (1906 - 1964) has given his theory of motivation called Theory X and Theory Y. He first presented his theory in a classic article titled 'The Human Side of Enterprise'. He treated traditional approach to management as 'Theory X' and the professional approach to management as 'Theory Y'. His theory refers to two sets of employees based on the perception of human nature. Here, theory X and theory Y are two sets of assumptions about the nature of employees. His theory is based on human behavior. 2. Theory X Theory X is based on traditional assumptions about people (employees). Here, the conventional approach of management is used as a base. It suggests the following features of an average human being/employee (assumptions about human nature): 2.1 Assumptions of Theory X 1. The average human being is inherently lazy by nature and desires to work as little as possible. He dislikes the work and will like to avoid it, if he can. 2. He avoids accepting responsibility and prefers to be led or directed by some other. 3. He is self-centered and indifferent to organizational needs. 4. He has little ambition, dislikes responsibility, prefers to be led but wants security. 5. He is not very intelligent and lacks creativity in solving organizational problems. 6. He by nature resists to change of any type. In the case of such employees, self-motivation is just not possible. They will work only when there is constant supervision on them. A manager has to persuade, punish or reward such workers in order to achieve organizational goals. 3. Theory Y Theory Y is based on modern or progressive or professional approach. Here, the assumptions about people i.e. employees are quite different. 3.1 Assumptions of Theory Y 1. Work is as natural as play, provided the work environment is favorable. Work may act as a source of satisfaction or punishment. An average man is not really against doing work. 2. People can be self-directed and creative at work if they are motivated properly. 3. Self-control on the part of people is useful for achieving organizational goal. External control and threats of punishment alone do not bring out efforts towards organizational objectives.

4. People have capacity to exercise imagination and creativity. 5. People are not by nature passive or resistant to organizational needs. They have become so as a result of experience in organizations. 6. An average human being learns under proper conditions. He is also willing to accept responsibility. 7. The intellectual capacity of an average human being is utilized partially under the conditions of modern industrial life. 4. Final Glance on Theory X and Theory Y Such types of people (employees) are self-motivated and McGregor recommends that they be motivated by encouraging participation so as to get team work. Theory Y assumes that people are not by nature, lazy and unreliable. They can be self-directed and creative at work, if properly motivated. It is for the management to unleash this potential in individuals (employees). Theory Y emphasizes creating opportunities, removing obstacles, providing guidance and encouraging growth. By using these tools, the management can integrate individual goals of employees with those of the Organization. The assumptions in Theory X and Theory Y are fundamentally distinct. Theory X is static, rigid, conservative and pessimistic. Theory Y is optimistic, dynamic, flexible and progressive. It suggests selfdirection and the integration of individual needs with organizational needs. On the other hand, more importance is given to external control imposed by the superior on the subordinate in the Theory X.

EFFECT ON MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS

In their well-known textbook, Harold Koontz and Cyril O'Donnell illustrated how the managerial functions of planning, leading, and controlling might be affected by Theory X and Theory Y assumptions. In regard to planning, Theory X assumptions might lead to the superior setting of objectives with little or no participation from subordinates. Theory Y assumptions, conversely, should lead to cooperative objectives designed with input from both employees and managers, resulting in a higher commitment by subordinates to accomplish these shared objectives. Under Theory X, managers' leadership styles are likely to be autocratic, which may create resistance on the part of subordinates. Communication flow is more likely to be downward from manager to the subordinates. In contrast, Theory Y may foster leadership styles that are more participative, which would empower subordinates to seek responsibility and be more committed to goal achievement. Theory Y leadership should increase communication flow, especially in the upward direction. In regard to control, Theory X is likely to result in external control, with the manager acting as a performance judge; the focus is generally on the past. Conversely, Theory Y should lead to control processes based on subordinates' self-control. The manager is more likely to act as a coach rather than a judge, focusing on how performance can be improved in the future rather than on who was responsible for past performance. Although the conceptual linkages between Theory X and Theory Y assumptions and managerial styles are relatively straightforward, empirical research has not clearly demonstrated that the relationship between these assumptions and managers' styles of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling is consistent with McGregor's ideas.

CRITICISM OF THEORY Y
The goal of managers using Theory X management styles was to accomplish organizational goals through the organization's human resources. McGregor's research suggested that when work was better aligned with human needs and motivations, employee productivity would increase. As a result, some critics have suggested that, rather than concern for employees, Theory Y style managers were simply engaged in a seductive form a manipulation. Even as managers better matched work tasks to basic human motivational needs through participative management, job rotation, job enlargement, and other programs that emerged at least partly from McGregor's work, managers were still focusing on measures of productivity rather than measures of employee well-being. In essence, critics charge that Theory Y is a condescending scheme for inducing increased productivity from employees, and unless employees share in the economic benefits of their increased productivity, then they have simply been duped into working harder for the same pay.

THEORY

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THEORY

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TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
McGregor's work on Theory X and Theory Y has had a significant impact on management thought and practice in the years since he first articulated the concepts. In terms of the study of management, McGregor's concepts are included

in the overwhelming majority of basic management textbooks, and they are still routinely presented to students of management. Most textbooks discuss Theory X and Theory Y within the context of motivation theory; others place Theory X and Theory Y within the history of the organizational humanism movement. Theory X and Theory Y are often studied as a prelude to developing greater understanding of more recent management concepts, such as job enrichment, the job-characteristics model, and self-managed work teams. Although the terminology may have changed since the 1950s, McGregor's ideas have had tremendous influence on the study of management. In terms of the practice of management, the workplace of the early twenty-first century, with its emphasis on selfmanaged work teams and other forms of worker involvement programs, is generally consistent with the precepts of Theory Y. There is every indication that such programs will continue to increase, at least to the extent that evidence of their success begins to accumulate

Theory X and Theory Y

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). His book The Human Side of Enterprise (1960) had a profound influence on the management field, largely due to his Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor developed a philosophical view of humankind with his Theory X and Theory Y in 1960. His work is based upon Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, in that he grouped the hierarchy into lower-order needs (Theory X) and higherorder needs (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. These two opposing perceptions theorized how people view human behavior at work and organizational life:

Theory X
With Theory X assumptions, management's role is to coerce and control employees.

o o o o

People have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever possible. People must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives. People prefer to be directed, do not want responsibility, and have little or no ambition. People seek security above all else.

Theory Y
With Theory Y assumptions, management's role is to develop the potential in employees and help them to release that potential towards common goals.

o o o o o o

Work is as natural as play and rest. People will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives (they are NOT lazy). Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. People learn to accept and seek responsibility. Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are widely distributed among the population. People are capable of using these abilities to solve an organizational problem. People have potential.