Douglas McGregor, born in 1906, is considered to be “one of the most popular management writer of all time”( Economist, 2008, para. 3). His best known composition focused on a simple question: “What are your assumptions (implicit as well as explicit) about the most effective way to manage people?” which has resonated throughout management schools around the world. In his composition, The Human Side of Enterprise, McGregor revolutionized Theory X and Theory Y, which was greatly influenced by working along transient laborers at his grandfather’s business in Detroit, MI. Theory X management style, considered “soft” and always prone to failure, speculates people are lazy and irresponsible by nature, gullible, resistant to change, and lacks ambition. Therefore, Theory X manager must be authoritarian, responsible for organizing elements of productive enterprises – money, materials, equipment, people, - providing only the minimum level of human psychology, ego, social, and physical needs to get . In contrast, McGregor’s Theory Y is a libertarian manager, focusing on finding new methods of motivation and innovation though the goals are impossible to reach. By doing this, only then will people reach full potential (PSGoodrich, n.d., p. 24). McGregor’s Theory Y was criticized by other leaders, especially Abraham Maslow, who believed Theory Y is being “too tough on the weaker members of society” (Economist, 2008, para. 8).
Abraham H. Maslow, born 1908, is the most profound founder father of humanistic psychology. In 1943 Maslow introduced us to the Hierarchy of Needs emphasizing five key points to a better understanding what motivates people. The basic and growth needs are (from lowest to highest level): psychological (air, food, drink, se...
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McLeod, S. (2014). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html Mee, J. F. (n.d.). Frederick W. Taylor (American inventor and engineer). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/584820/Frederick-W-Taylor PSGoodrich.com (n.d.). The Human Side of Enterprise. Retrieved from http://www.psgoodrich.com/pc/docs/ARTICLES/HumanSideOfEnterprise.PDF Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). THE FUTURE OF WORK MOTIVATION
THEORY. Retrieved from http://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/642/Articles%20syllabus/steers%20et%20al%20future% %20wk%20mot%20Ac%20Mgt%20rev%202004.pdf
Abraham Maslow arranged human needs into a hierarchy of five needs, starting with the most important needs which are physiological needs such as, hunger, thirst, and warmth. He then went all the way up to the least important which is self-actualization that is known as the fulfillment of unique potentials. His hierarchy of needs is depicted in a pyramidal form with the most important needs at the bottom as a base and the least important towards the top. According to Maslow, self-actualization is becoming what we believe we are capable of being he also believed that self -actualization is as important as physiological needs. Many people desire to reach self-actualization because
Latham, G. P & Pinder, C. C 2005, Work Motivation Theory and Research at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 56, Issue 1, pp. 485-516, viewed 8 March 2014,
Psychologist Abraham Maslow created the hierarchy of needs, outlining and suggesting what a person need to reach self-actualization and reveal the true potential of themselves. In the model, Maslow propose that a person has to meet basic needs in order to reach the true potential of themselves. Biological/physiological needs, safety needs, love/belonging need, esteem needs according to Maslow is the fundamental frame for reaching the peak of self. The last need to be met on the scale
In 1954 an American psychologist Abraham Maslow proposed that all people are motivated to fulfill a hierarchical pyramid of needs. At the bottom of Maslow's pyramid are needs essential to survival, such as the needs for food, water, and sleep. The need for safety follows these physiological needs. According to Maslow, higher-level needs become important to us only after our more basic needs are satisfied. These higher needs include the need for love and 'belongingness', the need for esteem, and the need for self-actualization (In Maslow's theory, a state in which people realize their greatest potential) (All information by means of Encarta Online Encyclopedia).
Robbins, S.P., & Coulter, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Steers, T. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L. (2004). Introduction to Special Topic Forum: The Future of Work Motivation Theory. The Academy of Management Review, 29 (3), 379-387.
Latham G.P and Pinder C.C. (2005). Work Motivation Theory and Research at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century. Annual Review of Psychology 56.
In order to understand McGregor’s proposed theory to management that incorporates the social sciences, called Theory Y, it is imperative to understand what he refers to as the conventional view, or “Theory X”. McGregor explained that Theory X’s conventional managerial assumptions are that employees are lazy, incapable of self-direction and autonomous wo...
Abraham Maslow did studies of the basic needs of human beings. He put these needs into a hierarchical order. This means that until the need before it has been satisfied, the following need can not be met (Encyclopedia, 2000). For example, if someone is hungry they are not thinking too much about socializing. In the order from lowest to highest the needs are psychological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. The first three are classified as lower order needs and the last two are higher order (Hierarchy, 2000). Without meeting these needs workers are not going to be as productive as they could otherwise. The first three are considered to be essential to all humans at all times. The last two have been argued but are mostly considered to be very important as well.
Abraham Maslow created the hierarchy of needs that has better suited and helped people live better and more successfully. His theory that individuals need to reach self- actualization to live a better more successful life has influenced and change many outlooks on life and how and what we need to do to become successful. His theory is still taught in class rooms all over the world today.
Latham, G. 2007, Work motivation: history, theory, research and practice, Thousand Oaks, Sage, viewed 07 April 2014, ISBN: 9780761920182.
Steers, Richard M., Richard T. Mowday, and Debra L. Shapiro. "Introduction to Special Topic Forum: The Future of Work Motivation Theory." The Academy of Management Review 29.3 (2004): 379. Print.
He thought that there had to be more to humans than simply rewards, punishments, and subconscious urges according to behaviorists and psychoanalysts. Maslow introduced humanistic psychology as an area to focus on the potential of people to become all that they can be. Other psychologists helped develop different elements of humanistic psychology, but Maslow is largely considered to be the father of the humanist movement in psychology. He steadfastly believed that people are motivated to reach certain needs. When one need is accomplished, a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on. At the top of this hierarchy Maslow believed was the possibility of self-actualization; every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization. This was, however, seen as a rare achievement only reached by very few people since according to his theory; all lower-level needs had to be met before self-actualization could take place. Unfortunately, advancement is often disrupted by failure to meet the lower level needs. Life experiences may cause an individual to fluctuate between levels of the hierarchy. According to Maslow, only one in a hundred people achieve full self-actualization due to our society rewarding
In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory of basic human needs: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. His theory suggests that embedded in the very nature of each human being are certain needs that must be attained in order for a person to be whole physically, psychologically, and emotionally. First, there are phys...
Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who was not satisfied with the way things had always been done and he did not like the way other psychologists viewed people. He believed that individuals have great potential and thought that there had to be more to humans than simply rewards, punishments, and subconscious urges. To Maslow, people were full of positive potential. He developed humanistic psychology, which focuses on the potential of people to become all that they can be. Other psychologists helped develop different elements in humanistic psychology, but Maslow is largely considered to be the father of the humanist movement in psychology. Weiten (2013) mentioned that Maslow argued that humans have an innate drive towards personal growth that is, evolution toward a higher state of being (p. 377). Maslow wanted to understand what motivates an individual, believing that individuals possess a motivational system unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to attain certain needs. When one need is fulfilled, an individual seeks to fulfill the next one. Maslow 's greatest