Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y Douglas McGregor’s landmark book, The Human Side of Enterprise (1960), changed the path of management thinking and practice (Kopelman, Prottas, & Davis, 2008, p. 255). Douglas had his own beliefs and theories about human beings and why they do certain things or act certain ways. He ended up proposing two different views of humans and they were titled Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X is the assumption that employees dislike work, are lazy, dislike responsibility, and must be coerced to perform (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 205). Theory Y is the assumption that employees like work, are creative, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 205). McGregor believed that one of his theory’s was more valid and made more sense that the other one. There was never any evidence that confirmed or denied that either set of assumptions are valid or will lead to more motivational workers (Robbins & Judge, 2013). The writer will discuss not only what each theory is, but also if they are applicable for current day employees. How these theories benefit criminal justice personnel and organizations will be discussed also.
Theory X First let’s begin with exploring Theory X. Under this Theory X, managers believe employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed or even coerced into performing it (Robbins & Judge, 2013, p. 205). It was believed that theory was less valid than the other. Theory X is autocratic and directive, result-oriented management style (Simionel, 2011). Simionel (2011) stated that Theory X means an authoritarian style where the employee would rather be directed, does not love his work, must be punished, kept under surveillance, and take orders (p. 232). Basically in Theory X these people are not ready for change. The people here lack the ability to take initiative and do things on their own. This theory requires a high level of leadership and motivation and/or punishment. Since the people have to be directed and instructed on what to do on the job there must also be a punishment included. Considering that being rewarded for little to no work is not an option, an alternative plan must be in place. There will also be individuals who will have to be forced to do their jobs, and those who mess up but never take blame. The fault for any mistakes made will always be put off on someone else other than themselves. Kopelman, Prottas, and Davis (2008) stated that McGregor noted some businesses adopting practice that were often found to be unsuccessful, when using Theory X the programs would be likely to fail (p. 257). The writer does believe that this theory is applicable for current day employees. Many situations in the job force cause for the boss to actually have to make the workers do their assigned task and punish them when things are not completed correctly. This is because the employees are not taking the initiative themselves to be proactive.