Advantages And Disadvants Of Theory X And Theory Y

Theory X and Theory Y

Introduction

Leadership in organizations requires understanding of human behaviour in order to be effective; the general definition of leadership in the twenty first century is multifaceted, include personality perceptive, behaviour perceptive, and focus on group processes (Northouse, 2013, pg, 5). Importantly, the definition highlights components of leadership as; a process; involves influence, occurs in groups, there are common goals. Basing on leadership components it is the process of influencing a group to achieve a common goal (Northouse, 2013, pg, 6). The leadership strategy employed depends on the assumptions made about human nature; as a result, two leadership theories were formulated in 1960s by Douglas McGregor

 Managers have little supervisory roles  Employees are committed to organization’s success

Disadvantages of Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X Theory Y

 Employees must be coerced to work  Slow decision making process because employee’s views are incorporated

 Employees avoid responsibility  Sometimes the strategy cannot fit in all situations, it fits in utopia and not reality

 Employees lack intrinsic motivation

 Leaders and managers engage in thorough supervision

 The strategy does not cultivate future leaders

 Creates a hostile and distrustful working environment

The Best Theory In all

On situation may need a leader to exercise autocratic decision-making style while another situation may necessitate democratic decision-making style. Generally, dictatorship and democracy cannot be used at the same time; one must prevail over the other in any situation. Importantly, theory X is ideally used where the decision is likely to face resistance, there manager decide and pass the decision to employees as a condition. However, liberal decisions are made in situations where there is enough time and the decision is not