Unit 4001 - an Introduction to Management Styles

Theory X takes the position that the average human being is “lazy and self-centered, lacks ambition, dislikes changes and longs to be told what to do” (Stewart, 2010). It portrays the perspective that a worker avoids responsibility and has to be controlled every step of the work process. There is little to no delegation of

theories. It focuses on two seperate issues: the meaning people give to traits, actions and

As a Lead human resources specialist with District of Columbia Public Schools who has to be tough using Theory X,Y. Other managers are involve with program planning and policy development who might use Theory Z to promote higher salaries for the employees then low salaries to hire the best applicants who make a commitment to work objectives (Douglas mcgregor).

Autocratic- In this management style, the manager becomes the sole decision maker. The manager does not care about the other staff and their involvement in decision making. Therefore, the decisions reflect the personality and the opinion of the manager. The decision does not reflect the team 's collective opinion.

Theory Y is a theory that says humans are natural good and that they are hard workers and tries their best. (Schriver, 402) This theory fits because 7 Hills believe in people no mater where their lives have taken them. 7 Hills has a mission to help these people get back on their feet, they believe with the right about of support any one can get back up.

Theory X, that adopts the authoritarian view that people normally abhor working and must be forced to work with punishment for failing to meet the objective. These people actually prefer to be directed and lack ambition.

As stated earlier, only when the basic needs are met, then a person will be motivated to pursue the next level. McGregor stated that because most workers have basic physical and safety needs met, he/she will only be motivated to satisfy higher needs, such as esteem and self actualization. Therefore, management must be able to provide workers with opportunities to satisfy their higher needs or they will not be motivated to perform their organizational duties (Barnett). Because Theory X fails to satisfy the higher needs of the worker, a different set of assumptions need to be made to account for them, thus McGregor developed an alternative he called Theory Y.

On the other hand, here comes to the theory Y. On the contrary, it based on positive assumptions, and also more positive view of workers and the possibilities that create. For instance, they assumed that employees are ambitious, self-motivated and anxious to accept greater responsibility. Employees exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment, also exercise creativity and become forward looking. So, once the managers are adopted this theory, they believes that people want to do well at work, have a pool of unused creativity and that the satisfaction of doing a job

According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) McGregor contrasted two views on human nature by insisting that Theory Y assumes that people are more positive at work, and believed managers could accomplish more by viewing employees as such (p.9). The other outdated theory, is Theory X, which is a more negative and pessimistic assumption about workers.

Managers in Wal-Mart assumed that their employees had an inherent dislike for work and would avoid it whenever possible, and they must be controlled, directed or threatened with punishment to get them to achieve organizational objectives. In addition, managers believed that employees have little or no ambition and didn’t want responsibility. Theory X is the view that traditional management has taken towards the workforce. This approach has not only an economic motive, but also time saving motive. This is one of main factors why there was an auto-scheduler to generate employee’s working schedule.

The two basic labels that McGregor created describe the assumptions that managers might make about their employees’ views on motivation and behavior. According to McGregor’s (1960) Theory X, “the average man is by nature indolent” and is typically self-centered and lacks ambition (p. 2). In this situation, managers are forced to act in an authoritarian manner. They must coerce their employees to do their jobs, because the assumption is that workers take little to no initiative. Theory X demonstrates that workers view money and job security as their primary motivator. Conversely, Theory Y states that people actually enjoy working and will actively seek out greater responsibility. Managers in this scenario would encourage and emphasize the empowerment of their employees and would provide a surplus of

McGregor (1960a) assumed workers refer to Theory X are lazy, hate to work, responsibility aversion and more concern about lower levels of human needs rather than pursuing self-achievement. McGregor (1960a) suggests that managers should supervise and control the workers in order to adjust their behaviour and neutralise heir negative attitudes toward work, even punish and push them to achieve a minimal level of performance. Punishment is necessary because of the nature of inherently lazy. Managers would find encouraging them to perform better by reward maybe only valid in a short-term as lazy workers eventually submit adequate effort as they do not pursuit self-actualisation (McGregor 1960a). in a word, managers centralise the decision making power, set rules, SOPs and procedures to guide workers what they should process and monitor the process in order to safeguard the minimal requirement of performance is achieved

The human relations perspective views the workplace as an intricate social network which a manager must control though increased participation from employees and open communication. Within this perspective employees are viewed as responsible, social, and self-motivated. These views support Douglas McGregor’s theory Y. Managers who follow theory Y believe employees generally enjoy work, are often self-motivated to complete tasks efficiently and to the best of their ability, and will actively seek responsibility. They also believe that people in general are smarter than previously realized and can exercise high levels of creativity and ingenuity. (Heyel, C. (Ed.). (1982). The Encycolpedia of Management . NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.) McGregor compares this to managers who follow the X theory, who believe employees avoid responsibility, have little ambition, and are inherently lazy. They feel that people must be controlled and threatened in order to work to their best ability and are primarily motivated by monetary rewards. This is the view that managers held in previous perspectives. McGregor believed that a belief in a certain theory could end up being a self – fulfilling prophecy, meaning that if a manager believes their employees will act a certain way then they will. (Kinicki, A., & Williams, B. K. (2008). Chapter 2. In Management: A practical Introduction (pp. 46-49). NYC: McGraw Hill.) Mangers in this perspective use less micromanagement and move towards

Unlike other theories that usually focus on employees, Theory X and Theory Y focus on managers and the perceptions they have about their employees, which in turn influences their behavior towards their employees (Theory X and Theory Y: Understanding Team Member Motivation, 2016). Different managers have different perceptions about the things that motivate

McGregor 's revolutionary assumption, Theory Y contends that individuals are self-motivated and self-directed while his other assumption, Theory X insists that employees must be commanded and controlled. Every day managers that utilize McGregor’s assumptions have the choice to either believe Theory X and control their