McGregor's X & Y theory

Revision as of 16:43, 10 February 2021

Abstract

Douglas McGregor was a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and developed in the 1960’s the two motivation theories X & Y, alongside the work of the American Psychologist Abraham Maslow. The theories described the two different manager styles and how they motivate their team members.

The theory X is based on the opinion that the employer does not want to work and must be externally motivated. The manager usually has an authoritarian style and a top- down approach, where they are micromanaging people's work and motivating with rewards such as money or penalties. This type of managing is often seen in process-driven workplaces.

The alternative approach is theory Y which are more recognizable in todays manager style. Here the manager believes the employer to be motivated internally by work satisfaction and are encourage without direct supervision. The workers are individualized and going toward a higher level of self-actualization, which also is referred in the Maslow hierarchy of needs.[1]

Based on these two theories, the assumption about the team members or workers, can therefore have an influence of how they are managed. Even though it is easy to think theory Y is more favored, there are pros and cons with both theories. People are unique and therefor need different motivation.

To understand what motivates people, it is important to understand what makes a person work towards a particular goal or result with a high level of commitment. This is because motivated employees are more productive and therefore more profitable.[2]

The importance of motivation was investigated already in the 1930’ s in the Human relation movement. The movement studied the behavior of people in groups and realized that organizational structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.[3]

References

^[1] (1) http://wiki.doing-projects.org/index.php/Use_of_Business_Model_Canvas_to_Kickstart_the_project_management Template:Cite news Template:Cite book Template:Cite journal