Theory X And Theory Y Summary

It was in 1957 that Doulas McGregor first proposed the concept of Theory X and Theory Y in “The Human Side of Enterprise”. According to an article titled, Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, by Dave Gannon and Anna Boguszak Theory X stated that, “it was the duty of management to organize, direct, control, and modify the behavior of employees as otherwise they might become passive or even resistant to work” (Gannon and Boguszak, 2013). In contrast to Theory X, Theory Y states, “managements role is not simply direction, but in organizing the resources for an enterprise to meet its objectives, whether they be human or material. People are not passive, and it is the responsibility of management to provide opportunities for the development of their employees, to release their potential by creating the conditions so that people can harness their efforts to achieve organizational objectives” (Gannon and Boguszak, 2013).

According to Travis L. Russ,

pay and bonuses) as well as through the avoidance of disincentives (e.g. threats and discipline). Theory X managers typically assume employees possess unfavorable opinions about work, are incapable of self-direction, need top-down direction, must be forced to work, and avoid taking responsibility for organizational results” (Russ, 2011). Thus, explaining why Theory X managers usually assume that employees must be controlled or directed for adequate effort to be displayed on objectives. An additional point made in the textbook is that Theory X is a conventional view and can be characterized in