By: Michael Mikurenda and Daniel Leonardi

By: Michael Mikurenda and Daniel Leonardi
 McGregor developed a philosophical view of

humankind with his Theory X and Theory Y in
1960. His work is based upon Maslow's Hierarchy
of Needs, where he grouped the hierarchy into
lower-order needs (Theory X) and higher-order
needs (Theory Y). He suggested that management
could use either set of needs to motivate
employees, but better results would be gained by
the use of Theory Y, rather than Theory X. These
two views theorized how people view human
behavior at work and organizational life.
 Your management style is strongly influenced
by your beliefs and assumptions about what
motivates members of your team: If you
believe that team members dislike work, you
will have an authoritarian style of
management; On the other hand, if you
assume that employees take pride in doing a
good job, you will tend to adopt a more
participation style.
- Theory X assumes that employees are naturally unmotivated and
dislike working, and this encourages an authoritarian style of
management. According to this view, management must actively
intervene to get things done. This style of management assumes
that workers:
 Dislike working.
 Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.
 Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what's

needed.
 Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place.
 Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no

ambition or motivation to work.
 X-Type organizations tend to be top heavy,
with managers and supervisors required at
every step to control workers. There is little
delegation of authority and control remains
centralized.
 McGregor recognized that X-Type workers

are in fact usually the minority, and yet in
large scale production environment, X Theory
management may be required and can be
unavoidable.
 Theory Y shows a participation style of management
that is de-centralized. It assumes that employees are
happy to work, are self-motivated and creative, and
enjoy working with greater responsibility. It assumes
that workers:
 Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the

goals they are given.
 Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much

direction.
 Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work

problems imaginatively.
 This management style tends to be more
widely appropriate. In Y-Type organizations,
people at lower levels of the organization are
involved in decision making and have more
responsibility.
 Motivation
Theory X assumes that people dislike work; they
want to avoid it and do not want to take
responsibility. Theory Y assumes that people are
self-motivated, and thrive on responsibility.
 Management Style and Control

In a Theory X organization, management is
authoritarian, and centralized control is retained,
while in Theory Y, the management style involves
employees in decision making, but retains power
to implement decisions.
 Work Organization
Theory X employees tend to have specialized and often
repetitive work. In Theory Y, the work tends to be
organized around wider areas of skill or knowledge;
Employees are also encouraged to develop expertise and
make suggestions and improvements.
 Rewards
Theory X organizations work on a ‘carrot and stick’ basis,
and performance is part of the overall mechanisms of
control. In Theory Y organizations, appriciation is also
regular and important, but is usually a separate
mechanism from organizational controls. Theory Y
organizations also give employees frequent opportunities
for promotion.
Application
 Although Theory X management style is widely accepted

as poor to others, it has its place in large scale production
operation and unskilled production-line work. Many of the
principles of Theory Y are widely adopted by types of
organization that value and encourage participation.
Theory Y-style management is suited to knowledge work
and professional services. Professional service
organizations naturally evolve Theory Y-type practices by
the nature of their work; Even highly structure knowledge
work, such as call center operations, can benefit from
Theory Y principles to encourage knowledge sharing and
continuous improvement.
 Understanding your assumptions about
employees motivation can help you learn to
manage more effectively.
 Thank You for Listening!

By: Michael Mikurenda and Daniel Leonardi

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By: Michael Mikurenda and Daniel Leonardi

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By: Michael Mikurenda and Daniel Leonardi

 McGregor developed a philosophical view of

 Avoid responsibility and need to be directed.

 Have to be controlled, forced, and threatened to deliver what's

 Need to be supervised at every step, with controls put in place.

 Need to be enticed to produce results; otherwise they have no

 McGregor recognized that X-Type workers

 Take responsibility and are motivated to fulfill the

 Seek and accept responsibility and do not need much

 Consider work as a natural part of life and solve work

 Management Style and Control

 Although Theory X management style is widely accepted

 Thank You for Listening!

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