From a business perspective, both 'Theory X ' and 'Theory Y ' are important ideas that explain the motivation and management of human resource formulated by Douglas McGregor in the 1960s (The Human Side of Enterprise ). Borrowing from Szewczak and Khosrow-Pour, the two theories describe the models that are used in the work environment especially in dealing with the workforce (11). Moreover, resource managers apply these standards to control and define organizational behavior, communication, and development of the workforce. Both the frameworks are based on the assumptions that define the levels of motivation among the workers following the preferred managerial styles adopted at the firm level. In particular, theory X …show more content…
This managerial style assumes that the average employee is individualistic regarding career targets, and this makes him or her less responsible for the corporate roles assigned according to the mission and vision of the firm. Theory X management system supposes that employees are less intelligent compared to their managers, therefore, only work for a sustainable income. In line with this hypothesis, a point worth noting is that Theory X defines the average workforce as more productive under strict supervision approach to management. Thus, managers serving under this styles of governance believe that employees should be responsible for their actions, and those who excel are rewarded with direct gifts or otherwise a reprimand depending on the outcome of their course of action. Overall, this type of managerial style is appropriate in situations where the employees lack the motivation to work, and it is occasionally employed where employee promotion is infrequent because of the repetitive nature of tasks that they …show more content…
In fact, it allows the employees to construct, design, and schedule their priorities based on the workload and projects. Going by this, this style of management may seem optimal regarding worker satisfaction and profit maximization goals of the firm; it does have an equal share of drawbacks. For example, because of the individualistic nature, workers are not given room for error in their operations. Hence, it expects consistency and uniformity from the workforce. However, the unvarying rules and practices of companies can result in differentiated products, which could compromise the quality standards of the firm (Heil et al. 56). Nevertheless, borrowing from the contingency theory, a manager will have to incorporate both approaches of human management depending on the internal and external locus of control of the workforce. Thus, according to McGregor’s Theory X, workers with a strong personality are task-oriented; therefore, they do not spend their time in building relationships with peers (Theory X and Theory Y 12). On the other hand, Theory Y stipulates that people who possess high external locus of control are relationship-oriented because they believe that outside factors are the primary influence on the outcomes.
Brief Analysis Demonstrating How These Theories May Be Best Utilized In Human Resource