Theory of Motivation - X vs Y - the 2 viewpoints

What is it?

Douglas McGregor's 1960 publication which highlighted the concepts of Theory X and Theory Y managers have forever been used to explain the art of motivation based on human behaviour. It encapsulated a fundamental distinction between the different management styles and is a valid basic principle from which to develop positive management style and techniques to propel organisations towards excellence.

Theory X and Theory Y

Organisations consist of employees and managers. The theory delves on the attitude and outlook of managers - the direction and growth of the organisation is in the hands of managers and it is solely their way of managing things which leads to proper motivation of the employees and in the process, achieve growth in the organisation.It is important to note here that Theory X and Theory Y looks into managerial psychology and their way of planning and running the organisation. Thus, it focuses on the class of managers and their behavioral attributes and attitude. 

Theory X Managers

His Theory of Motivation states that there is a certain class of mangers who fall in the bracket of Theory X. In this theory management assumes employees are inherently lazy and will avoid work if they can. Because of this, workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of control put in place. A hierarchical structure is needed, with narrow span of control at each level, for effective management. According to this theory employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can.

The managers influenced by Theory X believe that everything must end in blaming someone. They think most employees are only out for themselves and their sole interest in the job is to earn money. They tend to blame employees in most situations, without questioning the systems, policy, or lack of training which could be the real cause of failures.

Theory Y Managers

Management influenced by this theory assumes that employees are ambitious, self-motivated, anxious to accept greater responsibility and exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment. Management believes that employees enjoy their work. They also believe that, given a chance, employees have the desire to be creative at their work place and become forward looking. There is a chance for greater productivity by giving employees the freedom to perform to the best of their abilities, without being bogged down by rules.

A Theory Y manager believes that, given the right conditions, most people will want to do well at work and that there is a pool of unused creativity in the workforce. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation in itself. A Theory Y manager will try to remove the barriers that prevent workers from fully actualizing themselves.

The following diagram gives a clear explanation about Theory X and Theory Y managers:

Now we further discuss the role of such managers and the effect on employees through the following four cases. As and where possible, examples from my experience of working under such managers has been highlighted.

Decision making and Problem solving

Decision: - A conscious choice among alternative course of action. Therefore 3 elements are:

·        A conscious choice among alternatives

·        A specific purpose

·        A course of action

Decision-making maxims will help to reinforce the above decision-making process whether related to problem-solving or not, for example:

"We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run down."

In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing

A leader is expected to get the job done. To do so, he or she must learn to plan, analyse situations, identify and solve problems (or potential problems), make decisions, and set realistic and attainable goals for the unit. These are the thinking or creative requirements of leadership and they set direction. These actions provide vision, purpose, and goal definition. As a leader, you will make decisions involving not only yourself, but the morale and welfare of others. Some decisions, such as when to take a break or where to hold a meeting, are simple decisions which have little effect on others. Other decisions are often more complex and may have a significant impact on many people. Therefore, having a decision making, problem-solving process can be a helpful tool. Such a process can help you to solve these different types of situations.

In my opinion, the mark of a genius lies in solving complex problems in a simple manner, with a deft trick of sorts. Solutions which are not understandable to the masses and cannot be reproduced are of little use, especially in a managerial sense. And, they are not very attractive, to say the least, are they? On the other hand, the subtlety and guile of a simple solution of trick captivates the audience and a single piece of puzzle is sufficient to unravel the whole mystery. If that piece is found, you have conquered the whole thing!

Successful leaders are energetic. They exert a great deal of effort in order to communicate effectively, solve problems, make decisions, set goals,  plan, execute plans, and supervise valuate. These are a leader’s directional (or thinking) and implementing skills. As a leader, you cannot expect positive results from your subordinates unless you work equally hard at solving problems, making plans, and putting plans and decisions into action. Successful leaders also work hard at accomplishing their missions and objectives while maintaining only the highest possible standards of performance. In your professional and leadership development, you should strive to exercise the same degree of effort and excellence

Explanation of organisational structure using Navrang Puzzle

Navrang cube had 9-coloured blocks which could be dismantled and logic was to arrange the cubes such that all 9 colours are present on each face of cube. Each face of the cube must have all the 9 colours which also mean obviously that none of the colours can be repeated on any face - since there are only 9 slots in each. In other words, No two same colours can appear on the same side of the Cube.

So what are the things we learned after solving the above puzzle:-

1. As the cubes of same traits do not appear at the same face so should not be the people or resources of same skills and characters appear at the same strata - else there may be ego clash or skill deficiency.

2. It is the objective that determines the method in which we have to solve the problem. Any method we device, it must be capable of being easily replicated. Only then can we achieve economies of scale and get effective outputs.

3. The key to solving any problem is organization. The first step is to segregate the similar elements of the problem together. Once you have done that, everything else falls into place, and it is simply a matter of applying simple logic at each level

4. It is only state of mind that the resources are limited, but how you utilise those resources to reach the goal, shows true managerial skills.

Decoding the Valley crossing exercise

Having a talented individual can produce results only partly. For a complete solution/success, we need strong teams. That is why Organisations prefer a Team worker to an individual contributor even if the latter one is much more talented, because it increases reliability, flexibility and sustainability. There may be cases when that particular person is unavailable, simulated by hanging man in valley crossing exercise. Suddenly there may be some huge workload (two person carrying weight of pole and 3^rd person) or a new work may come where the same person may not be competent enough.

Every manager knows the power of Teamwork. In fact the very existence of a manager can be attributed to creation of Teams.  The following Valley Crossing exercise is telling the same story.

Understanding of the exercise:

·         Three people who are one side of a valley have to cross the valley using a rod. The gap between the valleys is more than one step long but less than two steps. At any time, all the three people have to hold the rod and using synchronous movements cross the valley.

·         Any person, while on top of the valley (the “risky” position to be in) will be supported by other two people. All the three members here have interchanging roles in the completion of task. As can be noticed in the above image, all the three members have equal distribution of risky, half-risky and safe situations.

·         The success of this exercise will depend upon how closely the three people work as part of a team, coordinate and communicate with each other through sound/signals and follow a synchronous movement

With all the strategies & processes in place we went ahead with the execution. But while executing we found that the Trust factor is missing which is the key ingredient in team building. Furthermore the Unity of Command a key ingredient for team success was not adhered to.

Apart from the necessity of teamwork this exercise showcased the need of following lessons too:-

1.Involvement: - Employee involvement, teams, and employee empowerment enable people to make decisions about their work. This employee involvement, team building approach, and employee empowerment increases loyalty and fosters ownership.

2.Neo-classical Tool of Management:- This simple demonstration actually leads us to some wonderful concepts of neo-classical management. Unlike classical theory of management, wherein the roles are delegated in a pyramid-like manner as to ensure unity of command, neo-classical theory speaks about empowerment of the employees. Here underlies the concept of matrix structures of organizations, where the groups are self-managed and everyone is capable of making decisions.

3. Shared vision:-  It is important to have a shared vision, which is clear and informs about where the organization  wants to head in the future. Vision needs to be shared with all the members of the organization so as to enable the members to work collectively in achieving the organization’s defined goal.

4.Need of Communication: For the successful completion of the task, it is very important to have proper communication and feedback mechanism. In fact, the feedback mechanism is instantaneous and hence of paramount importance.