THE RELEVANCE OF ‘Y’ THEORY.

‘The Human side of the Enterprise of McGregor aims to educate future manager, professional manager. He wanted to bridge the organizational goals with the aims, values & methodology of behavioral science. To him, management styles & strategies should be evolved & continuously adjusted in the light of the empirical reality, consistent with the findings of behavioral knowledge. This makes his theory relevant with practice. He also had an assumption that management science has transnational influence.’

One important relevance of Y Theory of McGregor, to modern industry is related to the Line & Staff Agencies in the organization. Modern industries are mostly operated by skilled staff. Their knowledge & experience influence decision making process in the organization. The ‘Line’ employee increasingly depends upon specialized staff. However, the ‘Y’ theory of McGregor can coordinate Line - staff relationship. The conflict between Line & staff bring lowered commitment to organizational objectives. The ‘Y’ theory establishes improved human resources, either for resolving conflicts or taking best decisions. McGregor had also written on leadership qualities of a manager. He had placed an idea of integration within the conceptual mould of transnational concept of power & influence.

Discussing and resolving the conflicts within the organization, McGregor suggests three strategies to be adopted a) divide & rule b) suppression of differences & c) working through of differences. The first two are based upon ‘X’ theory, whereas the third one is based upon ‘Y’ theory.