Directorate of distance education master of business administration

Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
 
The theory is based on two distinct views on the nature of human 
beings. According to Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, 
different strokes are meant to be given for different folks.  The theories 
say that there are two main categories of workers namely the X type 
and the Y type. First type of assumption is that people are basically 
lazy, dislike work and wait to be told formally about what is to be done 
and would attempt to avoid it whenever possible. They would require 
external control, constant monitoring, continuous prodding or even 
punitive measures to do their work, according to Theory X.   Because the 
theory believed that employees dislike work, it advocated that they must 
be coerced, controlled or threatened with dire consequences to achieve 
desired goals. 
The other types of people like to work and produce results and 
are self-driven. In order to make them work well, theory Y advocates 
that the organization will have to merely create congenial conditions to 
work and provide them with the autonomy and respect they deserve. 
This is also referred to as the Carrot approach, a phrase arising from 
the metaphor of tying carrots before horses to make them run forward 
with desire, as against the opposite approach of using “stick” to cause 

---

216
pain and make a horse run faster with fear. Theory Y believes that once 
given the right conditions, the rest would be taken care of by these 
incumbents.  Theory Y views employees from a positive perspective and 
believes that employees can view work as bringing pleasure as natural 
as rest or play and that the average person could learn to accept or even 
seek responsibility.