Douglas McGregor

A,B,C …X,Y,Z

McGregor’s Profile Bachelor’s from Wayne State

University District manager of retail gas

company Worked with transient laborers Masters and PhD from Harvard Psychologist at MIT President at Antioch

McGregor’s Beliefs

“If there is anything he was trying to overcome or destroy, it was the institutional habit of talking about the virtues of democracy while running affairs autocratically.”

An Antioch College Professor

McGregor’s Beliefs Employees are not machine parts to

be fixed, redesigned, or eliminated They are individual people in all of

their complexity

Influencing McGregor’s Work

McGregor challenges the prevailing mood of Taylor, alienation, and dehumanization

Existing organizations model the church or the military

50 years of political, social and economic change

The problem is that management is applying the wrong tools

McGregor’s Contributions to Management Improved performance appraisal

process Theory X and Theory Y How to improve organizational

effectiveness

Improved Performance Appraisal Process

Problems with Conventional Performance Appraisals Organizational objectives and

requirements evolve Individuals skills, needs and

objectives change Management’s judgments differ Focus is on the past Employee performance is related to

how he is managed

McGregor’s Contribution to Performance Appraisal Three uses of performance appraisal

Administrative – salary, promotion Informative – feedback, suggestions for

behavioral change Motivation – coach, council

McGregor’s Contribution to Performance Appraisal

Drucker’s MBO Subordinate provides a clear job

statementSubordinate provides job-related

targetsManagement and employee come

to terms on worker’s objectives

McGregor’s Contribution to Performance Appraisal Employees know their own strengths

and weaknesses best

The manager knows the goals and objectives of the organization and himself

McGregor’s Contribution to Performance Appraisal By using MBO, the emphasis is on:

Analysis not appraisal The future not the past Performance not personality

Critique of McGregor’s Performance Appraisal Performance issues are ignored

Salary and promotion issues Some workers don’t want the

responsibility for setting their own goals

Theory X and Theory Y

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory Theory X assumptions

The average person dislikes work and will avoid it

Most people must be coerced or controlled

People avoid responsibility and have little ambition

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory Theory X outcomes

Work becomes a means to an end Reinforces the rigid lines of authority Managers that assume Theory X get

Theory X

Satisfied needs are not motivators

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory Theory Y assumptions

Physical and mental work effort are natural Committing to objectives will allow the full

range of control tools to be utilized Commitment is a function of proper rewards People learn to seek responsibility People have the ability to creatively solve

organizational problems Employees need the freedom to utilize their

untapped potential

McGregor’s X and Y Theory

Your belief structure (X or Y or ?) does not limit you from employing hard or soft managerial strategies

Critique of McGregor’s Contributions He builds Theory X and Theory Y on

Maslow’s hierarchy

What are the strengths and weaknesses of this position?

McGregor’s Critiques Theory X and Y are insufficient in

accounting for all situations Nathan Harter states that Theory X

managers are not necessarily inhuman

How to Improve Organizational Effectiveness?

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory People can achieve their own goals

by pursuing the organization’s goals The organization will suffer if this

does not occur

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory The current management persona

is: decisive, force, competitive, just

People are rational and emotional Emotions often drive different points

of view Motivation is an emotional force

McGregor’s View of Organizational Maps Current organizational structures:

Delegate some authority not responsibility

You only have one boss Strict span of control

McGregor’s View of Organizational Maps The organizational “maps” are not

real Maps have limited usefulness Authority often does not equal

responsibility Informal organization is real

McGregor’s Contribution to Management Theory Three factor’s that make up a

manager’s style: Cosmology Identity of the manager Organizational situation

McGregor’s Critique of Current Management Existing management uses extrinsic

rewards well Intrinsic rewards are not utilized

You have to learn to see what is really broken

McGregor’s Observation Workers perceptions determine how

they respond to a policy or decision

Don’t apply mechanical system rewards and punishments when intrinsic rewards are called for

McGregor’s Suggestion for Improving Organizational Effectiveness Independent teams become the operative

work groups Teams have high self control/self

regulation Supervision becomes support/instruction

Teams help fulfill “social man” needs Teams remove reasons to fight the

system

Final Critique of McGregor Do teams really remove the reason to

fight the system?

Describe the characteristics of a humane Theory X. When would it be more appropriate?

What evidence do you see of this today?