Page 238 - DCOM102_DMGT101_PRINCIPLES_AND_PRACTICES_OF_MANAGEMENT

Principles and Practices of Management

Notes safety needs as "lower-order" needs and the social, esteem and self-actualization needs as "upper-
order" needs. McGregor proposed two alternative sets of assumptions about people at work,
based upon which set of needs were the active motivators. He labelled these sets of
assumptions – one basically negative as – Theory X and the other basically positive – as Theory
Y. After viewing the way in which managers dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a
manager's view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions
and that he or she tends to mould his or her behaviour toward subordinates according to these
assumptions.
Table 13.2: Lists the Assumptions that McGregor makes about people, resolving them
in his now famous Theory X and Theory Y

Source: D.M. McGregor, "The Human Side of Enterprise", Management Review, November 1957: Page 22-
28, 88-92.

According to McGregor, people should be treated differently according to whether they are
motivated by lower-order or higher order needs. Specifically, McGregor believed that Theory X
assumptions are appropriate for employees motivated by lower-order needs. Theory Y
assumptions, in contrast, are appropriate for employees motivated by higher-order needs, and
Theory X assumptions are then inappropriate. In addition, McGregor believed that in the 1950s
when he was writing, the majority of American workers had satisfied their lower-order needs
and were therefore motivated by higher-order needs. Therefore, he proposed such ideas as
participative decision-making, responsible and challenging jobs, and good group relations as
approaches that would maximize employee's job motivation. Unfortunately, no evidence confirms
that either set of assumptions is valid or that accepting Theory Y assumptions and altering one's
actions accordingly will lead to more motivated workers.

13.2.3 Motivation-hygiene Theory

Fredrick Herzberg departed from the need hierarchy approach to motivation and examined the
experiences that satisfied or dissatisfied people's needs at work. This need motivation theory
became known as the 'two-factor theory'. Herzberg's original study included 200 engineers and
accountants in Western Pennsylvania during the 1950s. Prior to that time, it was common for
those researching work motivation to view the concept of job satisfaction as one-dimensional,
that is, job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction were viewed as opposite ends of the same continuum.
This meant that something that caused job satisfaction, would cause job dissatisfaction if it were
removed; similarly, something that caused job dissatisfaction, if removed, would result in job
satisfaction. Based upon unstructured interviews with 200 engineers and accountants, Herzberg
concluded that this view of job satisfaction was incorrect, and that satisfaction and dissatisfaction

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