MCGREGOR’S ‘X’ THEORY

The most creative & lasting contribution of McGregor has been on management, development of managerial talent & managerial teamwork in an organization. His basic question of enquiry was, whether managers are made or are born? ‘Based upon his hypothesis that’ every managerial act rests upon theory’; McGregor argues that management is an art, it cannot be a science because it serves a different purpose. However, management can utilize scientific knowledge in the achievement of practical objectives of the organization, was his belief. As an organizational Psychiatrist, McGregor understood that the management’s hold on controlling its human resource, determine the whole character of the enterprise. He also argued that the most important problems of management lie outside the realm of improving the selection of managers with technical potential. The top executive, with higher potential & capacity cannot attain organizational objectives because of lack of utilization of employees’ talent. McGregor rejected the misconception that human behavior in an organization needs to be controlled. A top executive should not expect to achieve desired goals through inappropriate managerial action. So, he very aptly advances a hypothesis that all control is selective adaption. His deep observation led him to conclude that control in human affairs can be viewed as an integration of human behavior either through coercive compulsion or through motivational self control. He developed these two assumptions & scientifically tested their validity to propound his theories of managerial control, popularly known as ‘X’ theory & ‘Y’ theory. His ‘X’ theory is a traditional view of direction & control. In his book ‘The Human side of the Enterprise’, published in 1960, he has examined theories on behavior of individuals at work.

The ‘X’ Theory:-

·         The average human being has an inherent dislike of work & will avoid it, if he can.

·         Because of their dislike for work, most people must be controlled & threatened before they will work hard enough.

·         The average human prefers to be directed, dislikes responsibility, is unambiguous & desires security above ever thing.

·         These assumptions lie behind most organizational principles today & give rise both to ‘tough’ management with punishment & tight controls & ‘soft’ management, which aims at harmony at work.

·         Both these are ‘wrong’ because man needs more than financial rewards at work; he also needs some deeper higher order motivation - the opportunity to fulfill himself.

·         Theories ‘X’ managers do not give their staff this opportunity so that the employees behave in the expected fashion.

The ‘X’ theory of McGregor resembles ‘carrot stick theory.’ This can be one type of managerial strategy. This theory does not describe human nature. It considers humans as fearful, a dislike to work & an insecure beast. These assumptions limit managerial strategies. New managerial strategies, new organizational goals, new pattern of leadership etc. do not fall under this ‘X’ theory. He came to a conclusion that ‘as long as the assumptions of theory ‘X’ continue to influence managerial strategy; we will fail to discover, let alone, utilize the potentialities of the average human being.’