sing motivational theories as Theory X and Theory Y. According to McGregor, each theory assumes that management's role is to organize resources, including people, to best benefit the company. A Theory Y manager makes the following general assumptions:
Work can be as natural as play if the conditions are favorable.
People will be self-directed and creative to meet their work and organizational objectives.
People will be committed to their quality and productivity objectives if appropriate rewards are in place.
The capacity for creativity spreads throughout organizations.
Most people can handle additional responsibility.
Under the proper conditions, people will seek out additional responsibilities.
If Theory Y is true, an organization can improve employee motivation and performance by:
Decentralizing and delegating. If firms decentralize control and reduce the number of levels of management, then managers will have more subordinates and consequently will have no choice but to delegate some responsibility and decision making to them.
By Job Enlargement. Broadening the scope of an employee's job adds variety and increases the opportunities to satisfy workers' professional curiosity as well as employees' ego needs.
Participative Management. Consulting with employees as part of the decision making process tends to taps their creative capacity. It has the added benefit of providing them with a degree if control over their work environment. This process also improves decisions by providing different perspectives on problems confronting the company or its customers.
Theory X assumes that people inherently dislike work. The theory states that management must coerce, threaten, or control workers to get them to perform work and achieve goals. Theory X suggests that people want managers to be direct, and that workers dislike accepting responsibility.
In his book, Management by Objectives, a Sy...