DOUGLAS McGREGOR

American sociologist Douglas McGregor (1906-1964) was inspired by the theory of the "hierarchy of necessities" of Abraham Maslow to construct an approach on the motivation based on two supposed opposite ones on the human nature.

Theories X and Y, two excluding ways to perceive the human behavior adopted by the managers to motivate the employees and to obtain a high productivity

Douglas McGregor was an illustrious figure of the administrative school of the human relations of great height in half of the last century, whose lessons, very pragmatic by the way, even have today enough application in spite of to have supported to the weight of four decades of theories and managemental fashions.

McGregor in its work "the human side of the organizations" described two forms of thought of the directors to who it denominated theory X and theory Y.

THEORY X

It is based on the old rule of the stick and the carrot and the presumption of mediocrity of the masses, it is assumed that the individuals have natural tendency to the leisure and that as the negrito of the sugar refinery (the song) the work is a punishment form or as they say that way "to work is so maluco that until they pay to one", which presents two urgent necessities for the organization: the supervision and the motivation.

The premises of theory X are:

To the average human being it does not like to work and will at all costs avoid to do it, which gives foot to second;

In simple terms, the workers are like the horses: if them espuelea they do not work. People need that they force it, control, direct and threaten punishments so that they make an effort to obtain the objectives of the company;

The typical individual will avoid any responsibility, has little ambition and wants security over everything, for that reason it is necessary that they direct it.

"This behavior is not a consequence of the nature of the man. Rather it is a consequence of the nature of the industrial organizations, of his philosophy, policy and management"
THEORY Y

The directors of the Theory Y consider that their subordinates find in their use a satisfaction source and who they will always make an effort to obtain the best results for the organization, being thus, the companies must please release the aptitudes of their workers in these results.

The assumptions that base the Theory Y are:

The physical and mental wearing down in the work is as normal as in the game or the rest, to the individual average does not displease the work to him in himself;

The coaction, the force or the threats are not necessary so that the individuals make an effort to obtain the objectives of the company.

The workers commit themselves with the enterprise objectives in the measurement that is compensated to them by its profits, the best one compensates is the satisfaction of the ego and can be originated by the effort made to obtain the objectives of the organization.

In normal conditions the average human being will learn not only to accept responsibilities but to look for them.

In normal conditions the average human being will learn not only to accept responsibilities but to look for them.

Most of the people they have a high degree of imagination, creativity and talent that will allow to give solution to the problems of the organization

What theory more is guessed right?

Although Theory X, still is extended by many directors, considers a form to think obsolete.
McGregor proposes the adoption of the Theory Y to increase the motivation of the employees.