McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y (from Wiki)
Theory X
In this theory, management assumes employees are inherently lazy, dislike work, and will avoid it if
they can. Because of this, workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of
controls developed. A hierarchical structure is needed with narrow span of control at each level.
According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program
and will avoid responsibility whenever they can.
The Theory X manager tends to believe that everything must end in blaming someone. He or she
thinks all prospective employees are only out for themselves. Usually these managers feel the sole
purpose of the employees' interest in the job is money and security. They will blame the person first
in most situations, without questioning whether it may be the system, policy, or lack of training that
deserves the blame.
Furthermore, Theory X supervisors cannot trust any employee, and they reveal this to their support
staff via their communications constantly. A Theory X manager can be said to be an impediment to
employee morale and productivity.
Managers that subscribe to Theory X, tend to take a rather pessimistic view of their employees. A
Theory X manager believes that his or her employees do not really want to work, that they would
rather avoid responsibility, have little ambition and that it is the manager's job to structure the work
and energize, even coerce (threaten with punishment) the employee. The result of this line of
thought is that Theory X managers naturally adopt a more authoritarian style based on the threat of
punishment.
Theory Y
In this theory management assumes employees may be ambitious, self-motivated, anxious to accept
greater responsibility, and exercise self-control, self-direction, autonomy and empowerment. It is
believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. It is also believed that if given
the chance employees have the desire to be creative and forward thinking in the workplace. There is
a chance for greater productivity by giving employees the freedom to perform at 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 and of itself. A Theory Y manager will try to remove
the barriers that prevent workers from fully actualizing themselves .
Many people interpret Theory Y as a positive set of assumptions about workers. A close reading of
The Human Side of Enterprise reveals that McGregor simply argues for managers to be open to a
more positive view of workers and the possibilities that this creates.
The Human resources that the human being offers a people-oriented organization include:
Knowledge (intelligence, abilities), Visions (dreams, aspirations), technical and social skills,selfesteem (confidence), entrepreneurship (initiative), adaptability (flexibility), readiness to learn,
grow, innovate (creativity), Enthusiasm (the fire of desire, striving for the best), motivation
(commitment and dedication), Ethical standards (honesty, integrity), Persistence, Courage
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Evolution of the 21st- Century Manager (source: Organizational Behavior, Robert Kreitner, et al. 2007, p. 20)
Past Managers
Future Managers
Primary role
Order giver, privileged elite,
manipulator, controller
Facilitator, team member,
teacher, advocate, sponsor,
coach
Learning and Knowledge
Periodic learning, narrow
specialist
Continuous life-long learning,
generalist with multiple
specialities
Compensation criteria
Time, effort, rank
Skills, results
Cultural orientation
Mono-cultural, monolingual
Multi-cultural, multi-lingual
Primary source of influence
Formal authority
Knowledge (technical and
interpersonal)
View of people
Potential problem
Primary resource; human
capital
Primary communication pattern Vertical
Multidirectional
Decision-making style
Limited input for individual
decisions
Broad-based input for joint
decisions
Ethical considerations
Afterthought
Forethought
Nature of interpersonal
relationships
Competitive (win - lose)
Cooperative (give and take) –
(win – lose/lose – win)
Handling of power and key
information
Hoard and restrict access
Share and broaden access
Approach to change
Resist
Facilitate
Here is my Spring Rap (maybe you would like to write one as well!):
Yo, yo, Hey, hey,
what are we wonna do to day?
I got some words to say,
Words to play, words that sting!
But still we gonna sing 'bout spring
This word is change, mf.
It's a bell to ring,
The truth about the birth:
And our life in the earth
Snug as a bug in that heart beat belly,
So full and swelly
The living room we leave too soon,
Goin' out in the light
From Mama's loving night,
For growth so gross and dripping blood
A bud that bursts into blossom bloom –
Boom, boom, real red, almost dead
Almost killed by life, it's the the knife, bitch!
Folks, we are at the crime scene –
Your first thought's a scream.
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What is organizational culture? (source: Organizational Behavior, Stephen Roberts, 2003. p. 525)
There seems to be wide agreement that organizational culture refers to a system of shared meaning
held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. This system of
shared meaning is, on closer examination, a set of key characteristics that the organization values.
Research suggests that there are seven primary characteristics that, in aggregate, capture the essense
of an organization's culture.
1. Innovation and risk-taking – The degree to which employees are encouraged to be
innovative and take risks.
2. Attention to detail – the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision,
analysis, and attention to detail.
3. Outcome orientation – The degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes
rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes.
4. People orientation – The degree to which management decisions take into consideration the
effect of outcomes on people within the organization.
5. Team orientation – The degree to which work activities are organized around teams rather
than individuals.
6. Aggressiveness – The degree to which people are aggressive and competitive rather th an
easygoing.
7. Stability – the degree to which organizational activities emphasize maintaining the status
quo in contrast to growth.
Each of these characteristics exists on a continuum from low to high. Appraising the organization
on these seven characteristics, then, gives a composite picture of the organization's culture. This
picture becomes the basis for feelings of shared understanding that members have about the
organization, how things are done in it, and the way members are supposed to behave.
Consider two different scenarios:
Organization A
This organization is a manufacturing firm. Managers are expected to fully document all decisions;
and “good managers” are those who can provide detailed data to support their recommendations.
Creative decisions that incur significant change or risk are not encouraged. Because managers of
failed projects are openly criticized and penalized, managers try not to implement ideas that
deviate much from the status quo. One lower-level manager quoted an often used phrase in the
company: “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
There are extensive rules and regulations in this firm that employees are required to follow.
Managers supervise employees closely to ensure there are no deviations. Management is
concerned with high productivity, regardless of the impact on the employee morale or turnover.
Work activities are designed around individuals. There are distinct departments and lines of
authority, and employees are expected to minimize formal contact with other employees outside of
their functional area or line of command. Performance evaluations and rewards emphasize
individual effort, although seniority tends to be the primary factor in the determination of pay
raises and promotions.
Organization B
This organization is also a manufacturing firm. Here, however, management encourages and
rewards risk taking and change. Decisions based on intuition are valued as much as those that are
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well rationalized. Management prides itself on its history of experimenting with new technologies
and its success in regularly introducing innovative products. Managers or employees who have a
good idea are encouraged to “run with it.” And failures are treated as “learning experiences.”
The company prides itself on being market-driven and rapidly responsive to the changing needs of
its customers.
There are few rules and regulations for employees to follow, and supervision is loose because
management believes that its employees are hardworking and trustworthy. Management is
concerned with high productivity, but believes that this comes through treating people right. The
company is proud of its reputation as being a good place to work.
Job activities are designed around work teams and team members are encouraged to interact with
people across functions and authority levels. Employees talk positively about competition between
teams. Individuals and teams have goals, and bonuses are based on achievement of these
outcomes. Employees are given considerable autonomy in choosing the means by which the goals
are attained.
The SWOT Analysis (Source: Wiki)
SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture or in any other situation of
an organization or individual requiring a decision in pursuit of an objective. It involves monitoring
the marketing environment internal and external to the organization or individual. The technique is
credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and
1970s using data from the Fortune 500 companies.
A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning
process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S) or
weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T).
Such an analysis of the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis.
The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and
capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. As such, it is instrumental in
strategy formulation and selection. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into an
environmental scan:
SWOT Analysis Framework
Environmental Scan
/
\
Internal Analysis
External Analysis
/\
/\
Strengths Weaknesses
Opportunities Threats
|
SWOT Matrix
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The SWOT Matrix
A firm should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather, it may have a better
chance at developing a competitive advantage by identifying a fit between the firm's strengths and
upcoming opportunities. In some cases, the firm can overcome a weakness in order to prepare itself
to pursue a compelling opportunity.
To develop strategies that take into account the SWOT profile, a matrix of these factors can be
constructed. The SWOT matrix (also known as a TOWS Matrix) is shown below:
SWOT / TOWS Matrix
Strengths
Opportunities
Threats
Weaknesses
S-O strategies W-O strategies
S-T strategies
W-T strategies
•
S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to the company's strengths.
•
W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities.
•
S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its vulnerability to
external threats.
•
W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firm's weaknesses from making it
highly susceptible to external threats.
1. Strategic Use:
Orientating SWOTs to An Objective – If SWOT analysis does not start with defining a desired
end state or objective, it runs the risk of being useless. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into
the strategic planning model. If a clear objective has been identified, SWOT analysis can be used to
help in the pursuit of that objective. In this case, SWOTs are:
•Strength: attributes of the organization that are helpful to achieving the objective.
•Weaknesses: attributes of the organization that are harmful to achieving the objective.
•Opportunities: external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objective.
•Threats: external conditions that are harmful to achieving the objective.
2. Creative Use of SWOTs
If, on the other hand, the objective seems attainable, the SWOTs are used as inputs to the creative
generation of possible strategies, by asking and answering each of the following four questions,
many times:
1. How can we Use each Strength?
2. How can we Stop each Weakness?
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3. How can we Exploit each Opportunity?
4. How can we Destroy/Defend against each Threat?
Ideally a cross-functional team or a task force that represents a broad range of perspectives should
carry out the SWOT analysis. For example, a SWOT team may include an accountant, a
salesperson, an executive manager, and an engineer.
Some vocabulary from our last couple of meetings (make sure you know the vocabulary in the
hand-outs!):
stiff/supple (flexible)
womb – where the baby grows in a woman's body
“All we are is just another brick in the wall.” Are we just a gear in the mechanism of the
organization?
vow/promise/pledge
recognizability of a brand
“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
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