Organizational Behaviour Essay

Explain ‘Y’ theory of Mc Gegor. Answer: Douglas McGregor proposed two   Ã‚  Home theories by which to view employee motivation. He avoided descriptive labels and   Ã‚  About simply called the theories Theory X and Theory Y. Both of these theories begin with Privacy the premise that management’s role is to assemble the factors of production,   Ã‚  Reprints including people, for the economic benefit of the firm. Beyond this point, the two   Ã‚  Terms of Use theories of management diverge. Theory Y The higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization are continuing needs in that they are never completely satisfied. As such, it is these higher-level needs through which employees can best be motivated. Theory Y makes the following general assumptions: †¢ Work can be as natural as play and rest. †¢ People will be self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed to them. †¢ People will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address higher needs such as self-fulfillment. †¢ Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility. †¢ Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common in the population. Under these assumptions, there is an opportunity to align personal goals with organizational goals by using the employee’s own quest for fulfillment as the motivator. McGregor stressed that Theory Y management does not imply a soft approach. McGregor recognized that some people may not have reached the level of maturity assumed by Theory Y and therefore may need tighter controls that can be relaxed as the employee develops. Theory Y Management Implications If Theory Y holds, the firm can do many things to harness the motivational energy of its employees. Decentralization and Delegation – If firms decentralize control and reduce the number of levels of management, each manager will have more subordinates and consequently will be forced to delegate some responsibility and decision making to them. 2. Job Enlargement – Broadening the scope of an employee’s job adds variety and opportunities to satisfy ego needs. 3. Participative Management – Consulting employees in the decision making process taps their creative capacity and provides them with some control over their work environment. Performance Appraisals – Having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of evaluating how well they were met. 5. If properly implemented, such an environment would result in a high level of motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher level personal needs through their jobs. 2. Explain Chris Argyris’s immaturity – maturity theory. Answer: Chris Argyris developed the Theory of Immaturity-Maturity. Individuals progress at different rates from the total immaturity of early childhood (being passive, dependent, shallow, limited activity) to maturity (active, independent, deeper thoughts, more varied interests). Most organizations have bureaucratic or pyramidal values that foster immaturity in workers and â€Å"in many cases, when people join the workforce, they are kept from maturing by the management practices utilized in their organizations† (Hersey 65). Argyris’s Immaturity-Maturity Theory is the most intriguing of these motivational theories. Unfortunately, most organizations still adopt the bureaucratic or pyramidal style of leadership. This authoritarian style often resembles a family with a dominating parent (management) exercising almost total control over the children (employees). It is no wonder in these environments that trust and creativity are rare. There are exceptions however. The leadership of the author’s employer, the YWCA of Nashville, values employees and treats them with respect. As a result, YWCA staff members are more independent and have room to grow. It is easy to apply this theory to many circumstances outside the workplace. Families in which parents are either over-protective or, on the other extreme, do not protect their children at all may have offspring who are immature and have trouble forming long-term relationships. Governments with strong central authority where people have little personal freedom usually have citizens who are dependent financially and psychologically. Schools where rigid rules are more important than the free flow of ideas will probably graduate students with narrow views and a lack of creativity. It is obvious that human beings flourish only when they are in an environment with trust, support and independence. The fact that bureaucratic/ pyramidal values still dominate most organizations, according to Argyris, has produced many of our current organizational problems. While at Yale, he examined industrial organizations to determine what effect management practices have had on individual behaviour and personal growth within the work environment. Personality changes According to Argyris, seven changes should take place in the personality of individuals if they are to develop into mature people over the years. †¢ First, individuals move from a passive state as infants to a state of increasing activity as adults. Second, individuals develop from a state of dependency upon others as infants to a state of relative independence as adults. Third, individuals behave in only a few ways as infants, but as adults they are capable of behaving in many ways. †¢ Fourth, individuals have erratic, casual, and shallow interests as infants but develop deeper and stronger interests as adults. †¢ Fifth, the time perspective of children is very short, involving only the present, but as they mature, their time perspective increases to include the past and the future. †¢ Sixth, individuals as infants are subordinate to everyone, but they move to equal or superior positions with others as adults. Seventh, as children, individuals lack an awareness of a â€Å"self,† but as adults they are not only aware of, but they are able to control â€Å"self.