The Person Chosen
The person chosen for this paper is Douglas McGregor, who was born in Michigan back in 1906. While in high school, McGregor worked at the McGregor Institute, which was widely known for helping the homeless population. According to Bridgman et al. (2019), the institute served Detroit homeless men with spiritual and career services. McGregor earned a BA from Wayne State University in 1932. Bridgman et al. (2019) further noted that he had initially dropped out of the institution to work as a gas station attendant. He later earned an MD and PhD in psychology in 1933 and 1935, respectively, from Harvard University.
Theory X and Y
McGregor is widely known for Theory X and Y, which he formulated back in 1960. The theory gives an overview of two aspects of human behavior in the workplace. According to McGregor, “the perception of managers on the nature of individuals is based on various assumptions” (Sumadi et al., 2019). On the one hand, theory X focused on the negative aspects of workers, such as employees always resisting change and generally dislikeing change (Sumadi et al., 2019). This theory also assumes that average employees need formal direction and do not always like to work.
Theory Y is concerned with the positive aspects of employees. It assumes employees have the ability to perform their duties without any external control or coercion – they use self-direction to achieve the set objectives. Another assumption of theory Y is that workers may become loyal and committed to the organization if they find their job rewarding and satisfying (Sumadi et al., 2019). It also assumes that average employees are ready to learn in an effort to contribute towards achieving organizational set goals. Lastly, the management should utilize their skills and capabilities to solve organizational problems.
Opinion
Although theory X and Y was formulated back in 1960, it strives to explain the silent behaviors of most of the employees. While many find theory Y more controversial, it is right to argue that it shows a pessimistic perspective of employees’ behavior at work. Employees often resist change because they lack awareness about the purpose of change. Similarly, most of the assumptions of theory Y present a true picture of employees’ behavior in the workplace. For instance, workers who find their job rewarding will work towards achieving the set goals.
Application of Theory X and Y
For a manager, theory Y will be helpful, especially when it comes to creating an environment that allows employees to take initiative and self-direction. It is imperative for managers to strive to give their employees more opportunities to grow both at the personal and professional levels (Mansaray, 2019). For instance, as a manager, my main responsibilities will be to encourage teamwork and participative decision-making. Similarly, theory Y will guide me in maintaining a high level of job satisfaction as a way of motivating employees to perform to the best of their abilities.
References
Bridgman, T., Cummings, S., & Ballard, J. (2019). Who built Maslow’s pyramid? A history of the creation of management studies’ most famous symbol and its implications for management education. Academy of management learning & education, 18(1), 81-98. Web.
Mansaray, H. E. (2019). The role of human resource management in employee motivation and performance-An overview. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI) Journal, 4(2)183-194. Web.
Sumadi, M. A., Alkhateeb, N. A., Alnsour, A. S., Abuhashesh, M. Y., & Ahmed, A. E. (2022). Festinger’s Social Comparison Using McGregor’s Theory X/Y: Investigating Biasness among Jordanian Employees?. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(6) 60-80.