Management Theory X, Theory Y & Theory Z
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Until the latter part of the twentieth century, there were two basic approaches to management. One of these held that employees were out to get as much from their employer as possible, that they would perform the absolute minimum amount of work necessary to still receive their pay, and that there existed by nature an adversarial relationship between workers and management. This came to be called Theory X. A direct response to this approach was the idea that workers sought to meet more than their basic needs through the work environment, and that if they were given responsibility and authority, workers would respond with creative ways to maximize their productivity. This approach considered employees to be experts in how best to perform their tasks, and focused on the individual rather than on the group. This approach was typed Theory Y. In the early 1980s, William Ouchi published yet a third approach to management which he based on research done largely at Japanese organizations. This was Theory Z, which synthesized some of Theory X and some of Theory Y, but which also introduced new elements. Ouchi based his theory on observations of Japanese companies and also on work he did with Fortune 500 companies. A professor at UCLA's graduate school of management, Ouchi also worked closely with companies to implement Theory Z management, often in conjunction with quality control programs. In fact, learning Theory Z from the Japanese brings a certain amount of
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where the workers are. If workers are not able to work effectively to produce quality goods, then the rest of the company suffers. Because of this, the involvement of workers in finding the best ways to perform their tasks is critical.
One of the early criticisms of assembly line work is that it led to a depersonalization of the worker. Factory work and manufacturing in general can lead to decreased socialization among workers when there is an emphasis on meeting production quotas and productivity goals. Yet Theory Z encourages socialization not so much for purely personal interaction, but to share information about how jobs are performed and how employees can improve their performance. Quality circles are one way in which increased socialization can lead to better performance by workers as they are encouraged to share techniques and methods which are effective.
Of all the components that Ouchi puts forth in Theory Z, the one that may be the most difficult for traditional American managers to accept is that of consensus building. There was a time when American managers would simply announce a decision to the rest of the workforce, and the company as a whole would be expected to accept the decision without question. Ouchi
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Issues Ouchi, Evaluation Ouchi's, , Theory Theory, Theory Companies, William Ouchi, Theory Japanese, informal control, informal control employees, References Ouchi, american managers, decision process, consensus building, commitment organization, quality productivity, control employees, Avon Books, long term commitment organization, goals objectives, idea workers, theory introduced, emphasis quality productivity,
Approximate Word count = 1502
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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