Theory X and Y

This lecture was mainly about the concept Theory X and Y.

Let us assume, X and Y are two types of managers where X is negative, thinks his employees are lazy and inefficient whereas manager Y is very positive and believes his workers are not lazy and very effective.

Hence, there are four situations in this scenario:

Employee is lazy and X think they are lazy

In this situation employees are lazy and the manager assumes them to be lazy. So this kind of scenario is harmful for the organisation and is neither going to help the organization nor the employees. The manager himself so negative will always create an unhealthy work environment in the organization. He will never encourage his lazy employees to change the scenario and think positive.

Employee is not lazy but X think they are lazy

 In this situation employees are not lazy but the manager assumes them to be lazy. So this situation is very harmful and demotivates the employees who want to excel and do well. This stops the employees to do justice to their talent and make them inefficient. The management underestimates the employees and ultimately hamper the growth of the employees and company.

 Employee is lazy but Y believes they are not lazy

 In this situation employees are lazy and the manager assumes them to be efficient and hard working. A lazy employee can be a problem for any organization but he needs to be dealt properly so that output may be maximized. So managers motivate these employees with compliments followed by constructive criticism, this sometimes creates positive impact on the employee. They feel more motivated to do well. Also, when people are given responsibility, they tend to work harder. If this kind of positives steps are taken, there can be significant change.

Employee is not lazy and Y think they are not lazy

In this situation employees are not lazy and the manager also assumes them to be efficient and hard working. This is the most appropriate situation in any organization. Hard working dedicated employees are constantly motivated by the managers and the growth of the company along with employees sails off in a very efficient way. Target set by the managers are easily achieved with high level of accuracy. The organization starts growing rapidly in all respects in this kind of ideal situation.