Theory X and Theory Y

People are different. Whilst one team member might derive great
satisfaction from their work and be self-directing, another might
derive no satisfaction and perform their duties solely to get paid.
The reason for these different behaviors is a question of motivation
one team member is motivated whilst the other isnt.
Management academics and psychologists study these different
motivations and offer different approaches to motivate people.
One psychologist, Douglas McGregor, categorized peoples
motivations into two broad categories: Theory X and Theory Y.
Theory X and Theory Y were developed in the 1960s and describe
two different, almost opposite, attitudes to motivation in the
workplace. The theories attempt to show how a managers
perception of his team affects the behaviour of the manager and
how they treat their team.
Lets examine each of the theories in turn.

Theory X
Theory X assumes that team members are intrinsically lazy and
unmotivated, and will avoid doing work if any opportunity presents
itself. Because of this, management must work tirelessly and
continually to build systems of control and supervision over
employees. You can imagine a game of cat and mouse, with the
employee continuously finding new ways to avoid work, and the
employer immediately responding with a new control to eradicate
that particular work avoidance loophole. Theory X essentially

assumes that employees are only interested in money closely

followed by job security.
Theory X organizations tend to be top heavy, requiring many
managers, not just to control and monitor employees, but to
narrow the span of their control at every level under their
management. Theory X managers rely on threat and coercion to
achieve the obedience of employees.

Theory Y
Theory Y assumes that team members may be ambitious and selfmotivated, and that they actually derive some satisfaction (either
mental or physical) from performing their duties. This leads to a
collaborative style of management which can be readily
decentralized.
A Theory Y manager holds the view that if provided with the right
conditions, team members will perform well. Theory Y managers
are far more likely to develop a trusting relationship with their
employees, with employees receiving satisfaction simply from
doing their job well. One positive side effect of this is that Theory Y
organizations tend to have employees with higher levels of
responsibility at the lower rungs of the organization.
Theory Y management exhibits characteristics such as
communicating openly with the team, facilitating employee
engagement in influencing decision making, and creating a
supportive environment in which to work.

Theory X Disadvantages

Theory X management can obviously lead to a very punitive

atmosphere with a strong blame culture. It also suffers from
diseconomies of scale: as an organization grows an ever larger
proportional number of centralized managers are needed to keep
employees under control.
McGregors work was based on Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, and
he proposed that Theory X only filled lower-order needs, whereas
Theory Y fulfilled higher-order needs. The problem with Theory X
then is that, according to Maslow, once a lower order need is
satisfied there is no longer a need. Employees working under a
Theory X manager will work to fulfil their lower-order needs
(money), and engage in leisure activities outside of work to meet
their unmet higher-order needs.

Theory Y Disadvantages
Theory Y is premised on the assumption that if we can create the
right environment and support then people will perform well at the
job, however, each individual person is different from the next and
so creating an environment thats right for all is impossible in a
practical sense. This might be why so much importance is placed
these days on employees being the right fit for an organization.

Comparing Theory X and Theory Y

The following table compares both theories on their assumptions
and the type of management they are conductive to:
Assumptions

Theory X
Theory Y
People are lazy and will Given the right
avoid work if possible. conditions people can
enjoy work as much as

leisure.
To get people to work If people are motivated,
hard you need to control they will work hard
and monitor them.
towards the organizations
goals.
People dislike and avoid People can learn to
responsibility.
accept and then seek out
responsibility.
People want to be
People are imaginative
directed
and creative by nature
Democratic aka
Management Autocratic
participative
Style
Knowledge workers
Typically used Unskilled production
work

Theory Y and Project Management

By the way, McGregor believed in favour of Theory Y. If you believe
the same then how might Theory Y be applied by a project
manager or program manager to improve the performance of their
team? Here are some simple tips to get you thinking:

Enlarge the Role: by increasing the scope of a team members

role you add variety and creative opportunities, meeting their
ego needs, and thus subtly encouraging them to work harder.
Engage: participate closely and be transparent with the team on
all major decisions. By providing the team with influence over
the decisions made you allow them to create their own work
environment.
Target Setting: have the team members set their own targets
and measure themselves against how well they were met. This
should encourage team members to accept and then seek out
challenges and authority.