d Maslow’s that has limitations when applied. There needs to be something more for consistent motivation. An additional theory on human behavior, motivation, and management was developed in the late 1950’s by McGregor. His theories X and Y and were based on assumptions made regarding the "system" and individuals. In short, in Theory X (the most common management practice) management organizes all elements of production, motivates and controls employee behavior to fit the needs of the organization, and without this intervention, employees would be indifferent to changing organizational needs. McGregor further assumes that managers believe that the average employee is by nature indolent and lazy, lacks ambition, is self-centered, and resistant to change (McGregor 1957). The grim consequences that McGregor proposes about management by "direction and control," a style that is and was popular in big business, hardly have been exhibited in the corporate world 40 years later. This fact alone shows that McGregor’s assumptions regarding Theory X are inaccurate. McGregor’s alternative to Theory X was Theory Y. This theory made the assumptions that management has the responsibility for organizing the elements of production, people are not by nature passive, but become so as a result of experiences, management should enable employees to develop their motivational characteristics, and that it is essential for management to arrange organizational conditions in a manner where employees can achieve their own goals by directing their personal effort towards organizational objectives. The contrast between X and Y solely relates to who controls human behavior. Theory X touts external control, and Theory Y promotes self control and self direction. The main dilemma with McGregor’s premises is that Theory Y places an unrealistic amount of burden on the management. Heroics cannot be the responsibility of a manager and the difficu...
