The Essence of McGregor's Theory of Motivation

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In his 1960 book The Human Side of the Enterprise, Douglas McGregor proposed two theories by which to see how to motivate people in enterprises. The scientist called them "Theory X" and "Theory Y".

Douglas McGregor in his writings argued that the role of management is to take into account the human factor in the management of production. Based on this, the scientist was able to determine the basic principles of managing people in the enterprise. It is worth taking a closer look at data from McGregor's theory of motivation.

History and fundamentals

The first theory proposed by McGregor was "Theory X". Initially, the scientist argued that the staff are people who do not want to be responsible for their work activities, and they can be influenced through fear, threats or financial leverage.

After some time, Douglas McGregor concluded that such an approach to management is not effective, since such an understanding of the human essence is not true. Therefore, over time, “Theory Y” appeared, according to whichhe presented the staff as hardworking people who are ready to take responsibility for their activities and work honestly for the good of the organization.

However, it is important to understand that these areas are not mutually exclusive, but only complementary. Based on these findings, in his theory of motivation, McGregor proposed methods of personnel management, related to both the first and second groups.

"Theory X": definition and essence

Essentially, "Theory X" suggests that people work only for money and personal security. Based on this statement, McGregor drew up the following portrait of the average employee of the enterprise:

• person doesn't like work and tries to avoid it;
• the employee has no ambition, does not want any responsibility and would rather follow someone more authoritative than lead the team;
• he is self-centered and therefore does not care about organizational goals;
• the person is resistant to any change, but at the same time he is gullible and not particularly smart.

According to Theory X, HR approaches can range from hard to soft. The first is based on coercion, hidden threats, strict supervision and control. The gentle approach is to be tolerant and hope that in return employees will be the best they can be when asked to do so. However, none of these extremes is optimal in managing an organization.

Hard approach leads tohostility, deliberately low productivity and the need for staff to unite in informal groups. A soft approach leads to ever-increasing demands from staff for more rewards in exchange for ever-decreasing performance. The optimal management approach according to Theory X is likely to be somewhere in between these so-called extremes.

Theory Y

The following general assumptions are included here:

• for a person, work can be as natural as play or leisure;
• people will be oriented towards achieving their work goals if they are committed to them;
• People will be committed to their goals if their rewards meet higher needs such as self-fulfillment.
• most people can handle responsibility by using their ingenuity at work.

Under these assumptions, it is possible to align personal goals with those of the organization by using the employee's own drive to accomplish tasks as a motivator.

McGregor emphasized that "Theory Y" is not meant to be soft. He acknowledged that some people may not have been able to reach the required level of work maturity and may therefore need tighter controls that can be loosened as the employee develops.

Relationship between theories of motivation by Douglas McGregor and the hierarchy of needs

In his work, the scientistused the experience of other founders of the science of management. Based on the hierarchy of needs of A. Maslow, in his theory of motivation, McGregor determined that a satisfied need no longer stimulates a person to do anything. In accordance with McGregor's idea, the firm encourages a person to perform their job duties through money and other benefits that will help meet the employee's lower needs. But once these needs are met, the source of motivation is lost.

In his Theory of Motivation, McGregor came to the conclusion that a management style that relies on "Theory X" actually hinders the satisfaction of higher-level human needs. Therefore, the only way workers can resort is to try to satisfy their higher level needs in their work by earning more monetary rewards. While money may not be the most effective way to fulfill yourself, in a Theory X environment it can usually be the only way.

People use work to satisfy their lower needs, but at the same time seek to satisfy higher ones in their free time. But it is precisely when meeting the higher needs of the workplace that an employee can be much more productive and useful to the company.

Conclusion

The concept that was incorporated into the theory of motivation by D. McGregor made it clear to many leaders how to manage people. In general, the work of this scientist became the starting point for many other theorists in the field.personnel management.

Theories X and Y are a reflection of the extreme patterns of behavior of employees of the enterprise. Therefore, the scientist, in the end, brought them into one - "Theory XY", which suggests that both "complete lazy people" and "creative and gifted workers" can work in an organization. Therefore, as McGregor himself noted, the theories of motivation X and Y should be used by the leader in a complex, but not separately.