X,Y Management

3 Pages 700 Words

1) Under which circumstances would theory X leadership be more appropriate?

McGregor felt that such managerial views are needed in organizations that rely on rewards, promises, encouragement, close supervision, rules, regulations and even threats and sanctions; all designed to control workers. There are “soft” and “hard” methods in the Theory X list. “The stick”- coercive language, harsh authoritarian management - represents hard approaches. This approach could be used in a small construction company to ensure that the deadline is kept. In this case, the “hard stick” method keeps the employees working by spreading the fear that they will be fired if their work is not done on schedule. Soft applications, "the carrots", dangle rewards and promises in front of the employees’ eyes. For example, the harder you work, the more benefits you earn. The relationship is a wage/work bargain. This theory X approach would be most commonly found in small retail businesses. The “carrot” would be the appropriate way to handle such a business, because it ensures the motivation off the personnel to sell as many products as possible.



2) Under which circumstances would theory Y leadership be more appropriate?

The theory Y manager has to be more sensitive. He or she has to take the time out to explain, to comprehend the needs of the individual, and to engage in joint-problem solving and interpersonal exchange with each member of the staff. This requires trust-building ability. This approach is most likely to be successful in highly educated and motivated work environments. Such a work environment could be found in an engineering or designing business, where the staff usually has a high interest in actively working on the product and bringing in new and innovative ideas.


3) What are some positive and some negative outcomes of using theory Y leadership in an organization?

Theory Y is th...