Theory X, Theory Y, and Theory Z

The soft approach to theory X management is to be permissive and seek harmony, hoping that employees will cooperate when X and results in:

Growing desire for greater reward in exchange for diminished work output.

Theory why assumptions suggest that personal and organizational goals can be aligned by:

Using the employees only need for fulfillment is the motivator

McGregor stressed that theory Y management does not imply a soft approach, some employees may not have the maturity level assumed by theory Y they may initially need:

Yes Taylor controls; these can be relaxed as the employee develops

Who's idea was it that a managers's attitude has an impact on employee motivation?

Douglas McGregor — a Management Professor at the Massachusetts Institut of technology during the 1950s and 1960s.

In theory Z there is a need to help workers become _____________ rather than specialists.

Generalists

Ouchi claimed theory Z would:

Reduce employee turnover, increase commitment, improve morale and job satisfaction, and drastically increase productivity.

Mcgregor (1960) proposed that there were two opposing theories of how managers perceive and address employee motivation, these were:

Theory X and Theory Y management — each theory assumes the managers role is to organize resources, including ppl, to benefit the company.

Theory Z is a revolving style of management, when employees rise to a higher level of management it is expected that they will use theory Z to:

"Bring up", train and develop other employees in a similar fashion.

The hard approach to theory X relies on coercion, implicit threats, micromanagement and tight controls which result in:

Hostility, purposely low output, and extreme union demands.

Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, MacGregor argues theory X management hinders the satisfaction of higher level needs because:

It doesn't acknowledge that those needs are relevant in the workplace

Essentially, theoryX assumes the primary source of employee motivation is:

Monetary, with security being a strong secondary motivator.

It might seem that the optimal approach to human resource management would like somewhere between the two extremes of the heart approach or the soft approach however, McGregor asserts that:

Neither approach is appropriate since the basic assumption of theory X is incorrect.

According to McGregor which management theory makes these assumptions: -work is inherently distasteful to most and they will attempt to avoid work whenever possible — most people are not ambitious, have a little desire for responsibility, prefer direction — Most people have little aptitude for creativity in solving organizational problems — motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs — most people are self-centered, must be closely controlled and coerced to achieve objectives — most people resist change — most people are gullible and unintelligent

Theory X management

This theory develops a type of environment that can increase and continually fuel motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher level personal needs through their jobs.

Theory Y management

To McGregor a steady supply of motivation seem to be more likely to occur under which management?

Theory Y management

Management professor William Ouchi in 1981 argued that western organizations could learn from their Japanese counterparts, born in America with Japanese descent, he studied in Japan the countries approach to workplace teamwork and participative management. what was the result?

Theory Z: a development beyond theory X and theory Y they blended the best of eastern and western management practices.

Theory Z also makes assumptions about company culture, if a company wants to realize the benefits described above it needs to have the following:

— A strong company philosophy and culture — Long term staff development and employment — consensus in decisions — generalist employees — concern for happiness and well-being of workers — informal control with formalized measures (employees should be empowered to perform task without micromanagement but with formalized measures to assess or quality and performance) — individual responsibility (recognizing individual contributions)

If theory Y holds true, an organization can apply the following principles of scientific management to improve the employee motivation:

— decentralization and delegation. (with the centralized control and fewer levels of management, there's more subordinates, management will need to delegate some responsibility and decision making.) — Job enlargement. (broadening the scope of employees job adds variety and opportunities to satisfy a legal needs) — participative management. (consulting employees in decision making tips their creative Capacity and give them some control over their work environment) — performance appraisals. (having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of self-evaluation increases engagement and dedication)

What are Ouchi's theory Z assumptions about workers?

— employees have a strong desire for affiliation, they seek to build cooperative and intimate working relationships with coworkers — Workers expect reciprocity and support from the company, people want to maintain a work life balance, and value a work environment the considers family, culture, and traditions to be just as important as work. — workers have a sense of cohesion with coworkers, order, discipline, and moral obligation to work hard. — given the right management support, workers can be trusted to do their jobs to their utmost ability and look after their own and others well-being.

In theory Y management employees can best be motivated through higher level needs. In strong contrast to theory X, theory Y management makes the following assumptions:

— where can be as natural as play if the conditions are favorable. — people will be self directed in creative to meet work and organizational objectives if they are committed to them — people will be committed to quality and productivity objectives, if rewards address higher needs such as self fulfillment — The capacity for creativity spreads throughout organizations. — most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common traits. — Under the right conditions, people will seek responsibility.

McGregor makes the point that a command and control environment is not effective because it relies on lower level needs for motivation. So, employees will tend to:

Dislike their work, avoid responsibility, have no interest in organizational goals, resist change, etc.

Because it can be difficult for organizations and employees to make lifetime employment commitments, and participative decision-making may not always be feasible or successful due to the work or willingness of workers; slow promotions, Group decision making and lifetime employment may not be a good fit for companies operating in cultural, social, and economic environment where these practices are not the norm theory Z is:

Theory Z is not that the last word on management and it has limitations.