Influence of McGregor's Theory X and Y on time management
Role theories suggest people take on various roles within their organizations which shape the individuals behaviors to meet the organizations goals and expectations (Colorado State University-Global Campus, 2013). McGregor’s Theory X and Y managerial assumptions seek to explain the role of managers in organizations and how their managerial views influence key business decisions (McGregor, 1957/2000). McGregor (1957/2000) has found that depending on how a manager views their employees and role as manager will determine how they interact with and engage their employees. This work will discuss key assumptions of McGregor’s Theory’s X and Y. For the sake of this discussion, William Ouchi’s adaptations via, Theory Z, will not be addressed. Additionally, this work will address ways in which McGregor’s assumptions are applied in business via examples of its influence in time management decisions.
Understanding Theory X and Y Managerial Assumptions
Douglas McGregor (1957/2000) utilized the work of Abraham Maslow, namely his Hierarchy of Needs, in developing the Theory X and Theory Y assumptions. McGregor theorized that under Theory X, managers are responsible for organizing the elements of productive enterprise for economic interests; managing is a process of directing, motivating, controlling and modifying behaviors to meet organizational needs; and without managerial intervention, people would be resistant to organizational needs. Theory X assumes that the average person is lazy, chooses to work as little as possible, and therefore must be punished or rewarded in order to get them to work (McGregor, 1957/2000). This theory perpetuates a belief that managers are responsible fo...
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...o do their jobs. Flexible scheduling would be utilized by the managers to empower their employees and create an environment that supports employees maximizing their potentials.
Works Cited
Colorado State University-Global Campus. (2013). Module 3 – Management and management theories [Blackboard e-course]. In ORG 502 - Effective organizations theory and practice. Greenwood Village, CO: Author.
Haggerty, P. (2013). Nonstandard work schedules offer employers flexibility for overtime. Payroll Practitioner’s Monthly, 24(1), 1-8. Retrieved from https://ehis-ebscohost-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ehost
McGregor, D. (2000). The human side of enterprise. Reflections, 2(1), 6-15. (Original work published 1957). doi: 10.1162/152417300569962
Zelinski, D. (2012). On the Clock. HR Magazine, 57(4), 67-70. Retrieved from https://ehis-ebscohost-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ehost
According to Brad the characteristics of management that contribute to success can be broken into six categories. The first one being a...
Managers need to provide the vision for their employees and instill confidence. Too many times, employees are held back by not having the power to make even the simplest of decisions without approval. Managers should empower their employees and trust that they are giving their total effort. This will give managers more time to work on plans to achieve the long-term goals of the company.
O'Toole, J., & Vogel, D. (2011). Two and a Half Cheers for Conscious Capitalism. California Management Review, 53(3), 60-76.
Most leaders believed that employees in their organization disliked work and would avoid it if they could. Daniel McGregor in his 1960 groundbreaking book The Human Side of Enterprise argued that “Those running companies were operating from a faulty assumption about human behavior” (Pink, 2009, p. 74). Managers believe employees must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threaten with punishment to acquire them to put forth an effort to achieve set objectives. McGregor’s X-Y theory suggest that there are two ways to manage people.
Rationalisation within organisations and industry is a complex and diverse operation (Kalberg, 1980) which was implemented historically (Ibid) but can still be seen thriving within certain modern institutions globally (Ritzer, 2010), affecting various outputs of activity (Davis, 2009). This study will outline and introduce rationalisation, identifying key concepts such as bureaucracy and introducing early pioneers of the movement such as Henry Ford, it will explain how rationalised techniques are utilised in the pursuit of efficiency and control in the workplace through key theories and studies assimilated from a variety of academic resources. It will then apply this theory to the running case study, “Junction Hotel” and explore the practical
In theory, the hierarchy works in this order towards an employee; first they seek to fill the physiological need by getting a job to pay for the basic necessity of the human body. Once that is settled, the employee will want his safety needs being solid, he needs to feel safe at work with insurance policies and medical coverage in case of anything untowardly was to happen. After the first two basic needs are taken care of, he will need to feel a sense of belonging to groups in the social need, humans are not meant to be alone and thus the need to mingle and socialize is important. The esteem needs is automatically achieved after he finally gets a good level of communication with his colleagues, which results in him being acknowledge by people, this is usually the need that needs to be reached in order for an employee to be motivated and also to measure job satisfaction. As an employee feels cherished by their company, they build self-confidence which in turn will motivate them in working hard and efficient. Lastly comes self-actualization, where the employees achieves this by finally getting recognition by his superiors and are rewarded for his dedication may it be some form of promotion at work. Maslow’s theory provides the fundamentals of motivation which is required to be fulfilled to maximize job satisfaction; one cannot feel satisfied if any of the five needs is
However, in the real world, (real work environment) there are no two contrasting categories of employees who extremely fit theory X or theory Y and McGregor theory X and Theory Y has no empirical data that validated the theory. Moreover, since each human being is unique, which make us have our individual differences; there are numerous factors that can motivate employees. Using one or two factors as instruments of motivation may turn off some segment of employees. For example, Theory Y style managers’ may likely focus on measures of productivity rather than measures of employee well-being; or in other words, engage in an inducing form of management rather than employees' concerns, thereby patronizing only idea of inducing increased productivity from employees; and also, theory X managers may end-up being autocratic
Maslow’s theory cultivated as a “general theory of human motivation,” but this theory is “extensively” applied to organizational behavior (Miller, 2012: 40). In this theory, Maslow proposes that five types of basic needs motivate people: physiological, safety, affiliation, esteem, and self-actualization. These needs are arranged in a “hierarchy of prepotency,” where lower-level needs must be satisfied before achieving higher-level needs (Miller, 2012; 42). The lower-level needs are the first three basic needs in the hierarchy: physiological, safety, and affiliation. The first need is physiological. It refers to the needs of the human body, such as food, water, sleep and sensory pleasure. An organization fulfills these needs by providing a “living wage” that allows individuals to acquire these necessities and creating “physical work conditions that do not violate the physical requirements of the human body” (Miller, 2012: 41). From the physiological needs, humans move to the second basic need—safety. These needs include “the desire to be free from danger and environmental threats” (Miller, 2012: 41). Once again, an organization fulfills these needs by providing wages which allow employees the ability to acquire the necessary tools to ensure safety. In addition, the provision of physically adequate work conditions within an organization fulfills these safety needs. After physiological and safety needs are attained, humans aspire for belonging and love. This third basic need is affiliation. Affiliation needs refer to “the necessity of giving and receiving human affection and regard” (Miller, 2012: 41). This need highlights one of the key findings of the Hawthorne studies-the importance of social factors within an organization. The social relationships between coworkers and managers within an organization satisfies this need for
Under, Douglas McGregor’s theory Y it states that “people enjoy the mental and physical purpose that work provides”. Without having a structure which provides managers, no one person can give formal recognition to good employees, therefore not allowing for more contributions from employees. Without a clear authority figure, such as a manager, employees might not feel that there concern is acknowledged, and may even threaten to strike, or even completely stop working if they don 't receive acknowledgement for their
Temporal flexibility: It is concerned with the pattern of hours worked and linked to the demands of the business. Seasonal or demand work is provided leading to Flexi-time systems. In addition, annual hours contracts allotted with increase in evening working.
Employees are increasingly interested in jobs with flexible work schedules. What factors are driving this interest?
Miles, R. (1975) Theories of Management: Implications for Organisational Behaviour and Development. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Furthermore, there are three theories which explain the different factors in how employees are motivated based on their needs. The first theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, was proved by Abraham Maslow in the years of 1943 and 1954 (McLeod, 2013). Maslow believed that society developed their motivations depending on their needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in which five motivational needs( self-actualization,esteem, belongingness and love, safety, and psychological) are demonstrated in a hierarchy pyramid. The five motivational needs are divided into three categories(basic, psychological, and
This paper, will discuss scholarly views on the nature and types of theory; compare and contrast some views of what constitutes a theory, differentiate theory from related concepts, such as hypothesis, paradigm, model, and concept. The paper also, will review scholarly literature on the relationship between theory and research and the ways research (quantitative and qualitative) can contribute to theory. Moreover, the paper will discuss various ways research can contribute to theory; and try to explain how the theory adds or may add to our understanding of management field. Finally, this paper will discuss and analyze literatures on two areas of controversy or unanswered questions related to the theory.