Thoery X and Y

Sashi, Magali, May, Marcel, Vikram

Management & Leadership Across Management & Leadership Across CulturesCultures

“A management approach based on the consideration of and attention to the social

factors at work and the behavior of employees within an organization. Particular importance is

paid to the informal organization and the satisfaction of individual's needs through

groups at work” (Mullins, 2002).

Hawthorne studies – Western Electric Company plant (Chicago).

The studies consisted of finding out if improved working conditions (lighting, heating and rest pauses) have an impact on productivity.

Results of Mayo’s research:

Increased performance due to social belongings (being part of a group).

Human Relations approach puts emphasis on a greater understanding of people’s psychological and social needs at work

Employees go to work in order to satisfy a complexity of needs

The Hawthorne experiments:Generated new ideas concerning the importance of

work groups and leadership, communication, motivation and job design.

Made a significant attribution towards providing a further insight into human behaviour at work and the development of management thinking.

Are the most important foundations of the human relations approach to management and the development of organizational behaviour (Mullins, 2002).

In today’s world’s:New technological innovations.Growing importance of technical and

theoretical know-how.Disappearance of boundaries between national

markets.IT (Pyöriä, 2005).

McGregor developed Theory X and Y based upon Maslow’s framework (Robbins, DeCenzo, 2008).

Represents the assumptions on which traditional organizations are based.

This was widely accepted and practiced before the development of Human Relation Approach.

Key beliefs:People are lazy and have an inherent dislike of

work.People must be co-erced, controlled, directed and

threatened with punishment.People avoid responsibility, they prefer to be

directed, lack ambition and value security most of all.

Motivation occurs only at the physiological and security levels (Mullins, 2001).

Viewed the typical employee as an energetic and creative individual who could achieve great things if given the opportunity.

Theory based on the correct assumptions about human nature – a theory that makes explicit ‘’the human side of an enterprise’’.Work is natural activity, like play or rest.People are capable of self-direction and self-control

if they are committed to objectives.People will become committed to organizational

objectives if there are rewarded for doing so.The average person can learn to both accept and

seek responsibility.Many people in the general population have

imagination, ingenuity and creativity (Kreiner, 2009).

Majority of organizations today value their employees.

The motivation, the potential for development, the capacity for assuming responsibility, the readiness to direct behaviour toward organizational goals are all present in people. Management does not put them there. A responsibility of management is to make it possible for people to recognize and develop these human characteristics for themselves (Latham, 2007).

The traditional use of rewards and sanctions exercised by the nature and management are likely to result in an exploitative or authoritarian style of management (Mullins, 2001).

We conclude that each researcher discovered the value of people as important resources rather

than objects (apart from Theory X).

Team work as well as social belonging are fundamental part of improved job performance.

Kreiner R. (2009), Principles of Management. South Western, a part of Cengage Learning

Mullins, L.J (2001) Hospitality management and Organisational Behaviour, 4th Edition. London, Pearson Education Ltd.

Mullins, L.J. (2002) Management and Organisational Behaviour. sixth edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited

Pyöriä, P. (2005) Information technology, human relations and knowledge work teams. Team Performance Management Vol.11 No. 3 / 4 pp 104-112

Robbins, S.P. DeCenzo, D.A. (2008) Fundamentals of Management: Essential Concepts and Applications, 6th Edition. New jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall.