Preview

Monkey See Monkey Do: A review of McGregors X and Y Theory and how is effects other workers.

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3230 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Monkey See Monkey Do: A review of McGregors X and Y Theory and how is effects other workers.
bstract This paper will review McGregor’s X and Y Theory. The Theory describes the two different types of workers there are. An X worker who is typically lazy and the Y worker who is typically a self motivated worker and does not need to be told what to do. The paper will also talk about the two different types of managers. An X manager is all about results and getting stuff done and making the most of the day, and a Y manager who is very personal and lackadaisical. Through the study of these two theories and a survey of 20 Graduate Level Students we will try and find that if a Theory X worker works with a Theory Y worker or a Theory X worker works with a theory Y manager (vise versa) will one of them have an effect on the other, or will things stay the same?

Introduction
God created everything naturally in this world to work. God asked Adam to mend his garden, asked Noah to build the ark; he created animals to be hunters and gatherers as there job to survive in this world. Thousands of years later it is still a very natural thing for people to work. Humans still naturally wake with the full intent to apply their life to something. It does not have to be the average monotonous daily, but work to humans is as natural as flying is to a bird. However, having the natural ability to work does not mean that there are not lazy or hard working people; there are two distinctive types of workers, an “X” worker and a “Y” worker. An “X” worker is typically a lazy worker, one who dislikes work and will do anything to avoid any obligations or duties. “X” workers also must be controlled, and given direction in order for them to achieve a performance goal for the day. A “Y” worker is typically self-directed, they learn to seek and accept responsibility, and have high potential for the work force; though both are still intended to work. There are also two different types of management styles. Style “X” and Style “Y”. Style “X” is an authoritarian



Cited: Cunningham , Robert, and . "DOUGLAS MCGREGOR – A LASTING IMPRESSION." Ivy Business Journal . Ivy Business Journal , September 2011. Web. 12 September 2013. . Hindle, Tim. "Theory X and Y." Ebscohost . Guide to Management Ideas & Gurus;, July 2008. Web. 12 September 2013. Larson , James. "The psychological contract of an organisation ." Business Destination . Business Destination , 12 May 2012 . Web. 7 Oct 2013. McGregor, Douglas. "Theory X and theory Y." Organization theory (1960): 358-374. Print. Morse , John, and Jay Lorsch. "Beyond Theory Y." Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review , 1970. Web. 12 September 2013. . Neuliep, James. "The Influence of Theory X and Y Management Style on the Perception of Ethical Behavior in Organizations.." Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 11.2 (1996): 301-311. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 September 2013. Travis , Patricia . The Human Side of Enterprise Douglas McGregor A Review Organizational Structures ELMP 7773 . 2006. Print.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    mgt 330

    • 3306 Words
    • 14 Pages

    2. Be familiar with Theory X and Theory Y managers (teachers). (Table 1-2, p. 7) Outdated Theory X – most people hate work and need to be directed, they must be threatened with punishment before they will work….Modern Theory Y – work is natural, people can direct themselves, people will become oriented with organizational goals is they are rewarded for doing so, typical employee can welcome responsibility, typical person is creative, imaginative and has ingenuity.…

    • 3306 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Costco Ethics

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Thomas, Terry, John Schremerhorn and John Deinhart. "Strategic leadership of ethical behavior in business." Academy of Management Executives 2004.…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    M. (1995). The Best of Harvard Business Review 1995 [Magazine]. The Harvard Business Review, 1-11. Retrieved from http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu…

    • 4470 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Kopelman, R. E., Prottas, D. J., & Davis, A. L. (2008). Douglas McGregor 's theory X and Y: Toward a construct-valid measure. Journal of Managerial Issues, 20(2), 255-271.…

    • 3126 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Whole Foods Case Study

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    One may ask the question, why do certain individuals enjoy going to work, and performing at 100% while others require constant supervision? McGregor’s theory indicates that management and employees fall under two categories; Theory X or Theory Y. Individuals within the X category dislike work, avoid responsibility, are micromanaged, and enticed to accomplish a task. Individuals within the Y category are contradictory to the behaviors of X. Groups in the Y are highly motived, accomplish their goals, thrive having the responsibility, require no supervision, and enjoy working. They do not view work as a task, but as a natural part of life; therefore, management displaying Y behaviors will assume employees are capable of performing their assigned duties to their best of their abilities while taking pride in their work. Theory Y does not imply participative managers or any other kind of…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    10. Katz D and Kahn R L (1978), The Social Psychology of Organizations, John Wiley & Sons,…

    • 3558 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Theorists believe that Managers deal with day to day duties of the workplace; focussing on organising, planning and dealing with the resources.…

    • 2434 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Cespedes, F. V., Gardner, A., Kerr, S., Kelley, R. D., & Dixon, A. L. (2006). Old hands or new blood? Harvard Business Review, 84(7/8), 28-40.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    -People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organizational objectives, and the external control or the threat of punishment is not the only means of getting them to work.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Douglas Mcgregor

    • 2547 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Douglas McGregor (1906 – 1964) is one of the forefathers of contemporary management thinking. A social psychologist, he is most notably known for his Theory X and Theory Y from his 1960 book, The Human Side of Enterprise, which had a profound influence on the management field.…

    • 2547 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    * Selznick, Philip. 1948. “The Foundations of the Theory of Organization,” American Sociological Review 13, 25-35.…

    • 10528 Words
    • 43 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Foxconn Ethical Analysis

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Douglas MacGregor developed a theory based on how employees approached work. Theory X is one which applies to the Foxconn case, where it assumes people dislike work and have to be coerced into doing it.[ii] Managers at Foxconn…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theory Z

    • 2477 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theorists Douglas McGregor and how up until the research of this paper I believed his theory to be a complete view of management and leadership. It wasn’t until I was introduced to William Ouchi, with the notion of a “Theory Z” did I…

    • 2477 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Theory X and Theory Y,” n.d. adds that workers “need to be supervised at every step” and that they may need to be enticed or threatened to produce the desired results. “Theories X and Y,” 2008 continues with the fact that “[Theory X] has a ready-made excuse for failure—the innate limitations of all human resources.” Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, those strictly following the concept of Theory Y assume…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Despite the significant economic growth in China after the economic reforms in 1979, productivity of China has been in difficulty (Jackson, 1998). This problem is considered to be primarily associated with employee motivation (Geren, 2011). Therefore, applying appropriate motivation theories is attaching much attention in China than before. As a prime example of Western motivation theories, McGregor states that every management method is based on an assumption of human nature and behavior at work in theory X and Y (McGregor, 2000). Whereas theory X emphasizes on strategies of control, theory Y focus motivators more on individual goals. In spite of numerous criticisms that query the certainty of the assumptions about human nature and managers’ personalities in McGregor’s theory, it is proved that this theory has been successfully applied to current management in simple work and innovative jobs respectively. However, this essay will argue that compared to theory X, theory Y seems to be less applicable in contemporary Chinese context on employee motivation due to their work values influenced by Chinese culture and personalities, such as and uncertainty avoidance and managers’ selfishness.…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics