Theory Y

Conceptual Overview

Theory Y, as the opposing concept to Theory X, was developed by humanist social psychologist Douglas McGregor in 1960 as part of his theory on motivation. Theory Y is underpinned by the humanist psychology tradition's belief that human behavior, affect, and cognition are perceived as “good” or positive in their orientation toward life and work. The humanist psychological movement gained momentum in the 1950s and 1960s in response to, first, the overwhelmingly instrumental attitude toward the relationships between people and work, in that people were seen as needing monetary rewards, coercion, and tight managerial control in order to ensure their work is performed; and second, the domination of positivist science in psychology that sought to break down human psychology into measurable parts, rather than treating a person as a complete social entity, inseparable from its context.

In organization studies, the derivation of the X and Y distinction can be seen in the narrative of the scientific management and human relations movements, both of which emerged early in the last century. Scientific management, or Taylorism, underpins much of McGregor's Theory X assumptions because inherent in Taylorism is the assumption that workers are required to be subordinated to tight managerial control and allowed little if any autonomy and responsibility outside that of achieving and beating managerially [Page 1548]sanctioned production targets. If production targets are not met, it is the fault of management rather than workers because workers are simply nothing more than another variable to be controlled or managed. In this sense, the manager is the scientist and the worker the controlled variable.

The human relations approach, through theorists such as Elton Mayo, and later Fred Emery and Eric Trist, sought to counter the dominance of scientific management and its later incarnations such as Fordism, named after the Ford Motor company founder, Henry Ford. As stated earlier, Theory Y is characterized by an assumption that people want meaningful work, with responsibility and the opportunity for growth. The human relations movement epitomizes these beliefs and emphasizes peoples' desire for social relations as the hallmark of working life.

Theory Y, therefore, espouses management, organization, and job design that fosters personal growth, fulfillment, and autonomy and encourages responsibility and creativity. Many of the human relations ideas related to job design correspond to the Y orientation. Human relations elements that are underscored by Theory Y–oriented thinking include, but are not limited to, self-managed work teams, empowerment and self-leadership, employee buy-in in decision making and ownership schemes, organizational development and training programs, and so on. Indeed, any organization that seeks to create an empowered, meaningful, and fulfilling workplace can be said to be espousing Theory Y thinking.

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