You’ve heard of them. You’ve seen them on shows like Outsourced , Office Space , and Dilbert . Heck! You’ve probably even worked for one… the dreaded…

Theory X Manager

Douglas McGregor used the concept of the Theory X manager as a representation of one way to manage employees – in fact, the prevalent way to manage employees at the time. In the 1960’s, freedom was a popular concept for postulation about how life should be, and during those winds of change McGregor penned his work, The Human Side of Enterprise , in which he further postulated the “ideal” management theory which he called Theory Y in contrast to the prevailing style of employee management of the day.

Theory X Manager Definition

By McGregor’s definition a Theory X manager is a person responsible for building a team who thinks that humanity is full of self-centered, lazy, childish, creativity free, unintelligent and irresponsible people. Theory X managers think that a precious few representatives of humanity have what it takes to lead, and that this sliver of humanity was born with the traits of an effective leader . McGregor’s called this management style "management by control."

The attitude of the Theory X managers reflects a similar thinking inherent in aristocracies, wherein the power is kept within certain families and maintained through tradition and physical force. Theory X managers tend toward racism and sexism since they maintain these more old-school ideas about humanity.

The Theory X manager sees others as a means to one’s own ends. As a result, workers are disposable and interchangeable. Theory X managers can still be heard saying things like "the world needs ditch diggers, too". Generally, Theory X managers don’t place much faith in people. Their management techniques revolve around concept that control, coercion, and manipulation of people are the only way to success. They maintain autocratic control and blame failures on others.

Theory X Manager Style

In a word, the Theory X manager style is “autocratic”. Given another word, “authoritarian” is similarly suitable. However, it’s very interesting that many, less scholarly works, portray a Theory X manager as this oppressive Machiavellian overlord who has all sorts of mental problems , cheats his workers at any chance, and is overall abusive to employees. Theory X versus Theory Y isn’t about Good Cop vs. Bad Cop where X is darkness and plight and Y and is princesses and unicorns. Theory X is merely one extreme perspective an employer might hold, while Theory Y is at the opposite end of the continuum.

Just because the Theory X manager believes he is more intelligent and more naturally motivated than the workers he is surrounded by, doesn’t mean he has to constantly share this perspective abusively through pride, arrogance, or elitism. In fact, Theory X managers are frequently quite concerned about welfare and morale of their staff, they just think there are very specific ways to attain welfare and morale: namely reward, reprimand, and highly controlled systems.

Consider that a Theory X manager would treat his employees like a beast of burden or a machine. Sure, you’ll see examples of folks who never change the oil in their car. But, you’ll see just as many examples of those who pimp out their ride or wax and buff their vehicle every chance they get. And there are many, obviously, shades of grey in between.

Since the Theory X perspective is that people only work for money or to satisfy their lower level needs , the Theory X manager will want to see that valuable employees are well maintained, stick around, and keep being productive through raises, promotions, or even praise, if words are their preferred currency of remuneration. Those who are a pain to him can be fired, replaced, or given even more mundane tasks to perform and never given a raise. If the employee doesn’t think the treatment they receive is fair , they can go work somewhere else.

Theory X Manager Performance

Theory X managers are not always one-trick ponies. Sometimes Theory X is merely one tool in their toolbox reserved for those employees most deserving of that style of management.

The goal of a manager is to maximize the performance of their team. For some, this is an external control with the manager acting as the sole judge of performance judge. In many companies, performance reviews are performed to maintain control and provide remuneration, focusing on the employee’s past performance, and assuming that prior performance will continue moving forward as skills improve and such. Performance appraisals are a key part of a Theory X organization’s motivation repertoire. Given the pervasive “carrot and stick” metaphor, this is the opportunity to take measure of each employee and identify whether they deserve a carrot, a stick, or to stay right they are.

Theory X Manager Example

Example One: The Bible

Reviewing the history of humanity, there is a strong Theory X bent in many historical, philosophical, religious, and cultural views. The Christian concept of Original Sin, for example, reflects a Theory X mentality that since Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s mandate to not eat the apple, a punishment was in order, and not just of the offender, but of everyone, forever.

Example Two: Slave Owner

All slave systems are fundamentally Theory X in that they fail to see people as anything greater than a pack animal. Consider a slave owner as a very extreme example of a Theory X manager:

How would this manager convey his thoughts about his management concept for his slave crew? “Here’s exactly what I want you to do, here’s how I want you to do it, and I’m in charge around here, so you better get used to it. If you do things my way, things might go smoothly for you. If not, you’ll taste the end of my lash.”

Not all slave owners exclusively beat their slaves as punishment for failure to do the work expected, some of them found that rewards worked just as well, using both the carrot and the stick to motivate, not just the stick. Well, with Thomas Jefferson, that might have been a double entendre, but one of his slaves sure got special treatment didn’t she? This means that slave owners were not necessarily insane, with short tempers, a penchant for shouting every time something doesn’t go their way, and a consistent narcissistic belief that they are better than absolutely everyone else – they just thought they were better than the slaves whom they managed. Their assumptions were fostered by the laws of the time to never educate a slave or teach them to read, and thus status quo was maintained.

Did their workers want to work? Absolutely not.

Why did they work? They were forced to – much as the wage slaves of modern civilization have to work to pay their bills, feed their kids, and keep a roof over their heads. Conveniently, there is now freedom to choose where today’s worker endures their hardship.

Example Three: Team Lead in a Caste Culture
Even today, in caste cultures where there is a strong segregation between the workers and the leaders, or in the most unpleasant jobs, the work is executed by people with the least education. Given these conditions, it is difficult to motivate or even manage workers in these situations without some form of control, manipulation, and/or coercion. Further, since everyone, in these situations, is generally kept ignorant, people forced by their circumstances to do all the physical or dirty work would reasonably behave like self-centered, irresponsible, lazy children or even, in some cases, pack animals.

Take Office Tiger as a case study or example of a Theory X Manager in a caste system. They’re given a local workforce that the CEO continually complains isn’t working hard or long enough, is incapable of doing the job, and requires constant micromanagement. Is this the CEO’s native belief of humanity, at large, or has this management style been imposed upon him by the actions of the workforce available to him in Chennai?  Or is the behavior of his team merely a self-fulfilling prophecy brought upon him by his treatment of them?

Theory X Manager Characteristics

A full on Theory X manager exhibits the following characteristics: (If you see these in action in your organization, look for the exit pathway where yellow lights lead to red lights and please be aware that your nearest exit may be behind you.)

• Autocratic
• Pessimistic view of employees
• Micromanages exactly how things get done, rather than being interested in a successful outcome.
• Spends hours analyzing why $5 was misspent.
• Threatens workers in order to get them to act
• Rewards workers when they act the proper way
• Does not ask for things, but rather commands
• May thank or praise, in order to manipulate the worker, if that’s what they think the worker wants is to “feel appreciated”
• Delegates tedious tasks rather than truly delegating authority
• Withhold raises or bonuses to manipulate worker behavior
• Assume that employees dislike work and will avoid responsibility
• Assume that workers must be coerced into pursuing company goals
• Blames people rather than processes when things go wrong, looking for the single person to make an example of to the rest of the team
• Will not accept criticism from a subordinate

Conclusion

If you’ve ever been managed by a Theory X manager, look deep inside and truly think about which came first in this chicken/egg causal paradox?

• Were you acting like a Theory X employee, triggering the Theory X manager to come out and pay you a visit?
• Was the environment already so sick and poisoned by Theory X play and counterplay, that there was no way of being treated any differently? Or
• Had the manager been so thoroughly tainted by humanity, at large, that there was simply no way you could escape their assumptions and presuppositions?

X Theory Management Quiz

Quiz yourself and see how well you understand the Theory X Manager. If you can think of a manager for whom you have worked who reflected those characteristics of theory x or theory y, you might be able to describe with specific examples how this manager fits the description of Theory X or Theory Y.

1) How would a Theory X manager view employees?

1. needs to be coerced in order to meet goals.
2. seeks responsibility.
3. exercises self-control.
4. views work as a regular daily activity.

2) A Theory X manager would assume that employees would:

1. seek to be responsible.
2. enjoy work.
3. exercise self direction.
4. need external control.

3) All of the following are assumptions of a Theory X manager concerning employees except:

1. hates work.
2. shirks responsibilities.
3. exercises self direction.
4. requires formal direction.

Answers:

1) Answer: a. needs to be coerced in order to meet goals.

A Theory X manager views employees as needing to be coerced in order to meet goals.

2) Answer d. need external control.

A Theory X manager would assume that employees need external control.

3) Answer c. exercises self direction.

A Theory X manager assumes that employees hate work, shirk responsibilities, and require formal direction.

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