Roll No: 15
Question No: 13
Explain and critically comment on McGregor’s Theory of Motivation of individuals?
Motivation is a psychological feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological one that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. Motivated people are those who have made a conscious decision to devote considerable effort to achieving something that they value. What they value will differ greatly from one individual to another. There are a variety of ways to motivate people, including the fear of losing a job, financial incentives, self-fulfillment goals and goals for the organization or groups within the organization.
Early theories
One theory of motivation which incorporates both internal and external motivation is that of Douglas McGregor. In this theory, external motivation is manifested in the assumption the manager makes regarding the attitudes of his subordinates. In 1960, Douglas McGregor began a long-standing debate (that incidentally still exists today) with the publication of his book The Human Side of the Enterprise. He introduced in this work his theory for which he is famously credited, Theory X and Theory Y. His theory X, which is defined as the authoritative management style, posits that employees need to be closely monitored and controlled. On the other hand, Theory Y, popularly known as the participative management style, answers this with the first alternative, that is, that employees, may be counted on to do good work on their own and thus may be empowered to act on their own initiative.
Theory Y makes the following assumptions: * Given the proper motivation, people will expend mental and physical effort at work as naturally as they do at play or recreation. * People do not only respond to control and punishment, but are self-motivating. * If the workers