Theory X and Y - Essay Example

Motivation theory Motivation can be defined as an emotional or psychosomatic attribute that stimulate individuals to perform their duties in achievement of the preferred objectives, and also uphold particular objective related actions. This paper focuses on motivation theory, leadership theory, and theory X and Y in relation to motivation. Motivation theory asserts that an individual is provoked to act in a particular manner based on the fact that he/she is created and developed to act in that particular manner. Motivation theory also elucidates the fact that individuals are inspired to perform their duties for the reason that they will receive an incentive (Owens & Valesky, 2010). Individuals in management positions especially in schools are faced with many challenges such as building morale among the teaching staff. Understanding the fact that people are different and everybody acts in his/her own unique manner will be important in ensuring motivation. It would be my duty to formulate rules and regulations in line with the needs of each and every individual involved as this will help individuals feel involved in the daily activities if the school and therefore feel motivated. According to the motivation theory, individuals are inspired to perform by the need to decrease or trim down anxiety and pressure brought about by unaccomplished desires and requirement (Owens & Valesky, 2010). For instance, teachers can be inspired to perform by the desire to complete the syllabus. This aspect of the motivation theory is correlated with my situation. It is important to set particular goals and objectives within the school and encouraged the teachers and other persons involved in the daily running of the school to work towards accomplishing them, for instance setting mean scores in various subjects. Theory X and Y According to Owens & Valesky (2010), theory X and Y comprise ideas and notions that trigger and bring about the feelings and thought of the executive in a particular organization or company as well as the principles and convictions holding the actions and activities of workers. These theories were brought forward by Douglas McGregor. Theory X is a notion or assumption of motivation in the workplace and works under the assumption that workers abhor and detest work and therefore perform their tasks and roles in actual fact under an extremely restricted and supervised work atmosphere. From its conception, this theory was created under the hypothesis that individuals abhor working and will always strive to evade or circumvent work. Another hypothesis is that, since individuals will always abhor their duties, persons in management positions are obliged to compel, force, pressurize, manage, and occasionally intimidate them in order to attain and accomplish the objectives of that particular institution. This theory also works under the hypothesis that persons in the work place have to be guided and directed since they will always possess diminutive aspirations and dreams hence will not try to find jobs necessitating high echelons of accountability. This can be attributed by the fact that individuals are only worried and disturbed by the issue of safety. As a result, it is the duty of managers and other individuals in leadership positions to formulate resolutions and pronouncement regarding the running of the institution and workers to obey instructions, commands, and guidelines stipulated by the management. This theory relates to the situation at hand. Having being directed and authorized to manage and govern a school by the board of directors, it is easy to be beleaguered by the duties and the anticipation of other stakeholders involved. Surely, being new in the institution and since teachers have not had any chance of comprehending the kind of person I am, it is evident they will doubtlessly be watchful and vigilant until they comprehend my principles. As theory X depicts, individuals will always abhor duties and teachers are no different. To effectively manage this school, it will be of importance to solely make rules and regulations to run the school on my own and authorize the teachers as well as the students and the non staff workers in the school to comprehend and obey them. This will ensure a facilitative advancement to motivation as it is the duty of the administrator to make or form an environment that will augment development. Theory Y involves the idea or perception that workers inspiration and enthusiasm is relies on the initiative of the relation movement. According to this theory, workers acknowledge accountability and duties and strive to achieve the objectives of an institution and therefore attain or get incentives for their work. This theory functions under a number of hypotheses. This theory assumes that it is not usual or normal for individuals to abhor duties and work is considered a significant component of people’s existence. There is an assumption that people are determined to perform their duties with the intention of achieving their objectives and that they are dedicated or devote to this. Another assumption to this theory is that individuals develop dedication to accomplish their objectives when it is apparent or obvious that their achievements will make them receive incentives. There is also an assumption that individuals frequently and readily acknowledge accountability as well as their duties. There are other assumptions including the supposition that workers possess the ability to achieve their objectives. Theory Y also functions under the assumption that institutions fail to completely utilize their employees (Owens & Valesky, 2010). In comparison, this theory can be considered as being additionally optimistic and encouraging than theory X. Though many researchers such as McGregor have in the past asserted that individuals in leadership should act according to the provisions presented in theory X, theory Y is considered as the most suitable and fitting theory that can direct and lead individual sin leadership positions. Theory X and X have elevated the understanding of leaders on the significance of shared and collective aspects or issues within the job environment (Owens & Valesky, 2010). In relation to the work as an administrator in a school, it would be of great significance to introduce and implement strategies and plans of actions that will ensure that teachers who perform well in the duties and show towering improvements are rewarded. According to theory Y, individuals are motivated by rewards and incentives in order to achieve their objectives as teachers. Leadership theory Leadership is important in creating motivation in the workplace. There are a number of leadership theories that can be incorporated within the workplace in order to motivate workers. The trait theory of leadership asserts that leadership comprise of behavior that can erudite. This theory of leadership functions under the assumption that leadership behaviors can be learned. Behaviors of leadership according to the trait theory include honesty, amiability and friendliness, compassion, and possession of effective and exceptional abilities to make resolutions and pronouncements (Owens & Valesky, 2010). Each and every individual has his/her own style of leadership. Since the morale of teachers in the school is down, these leadership behaviors can be used to boost motivation. According to Owens & Valesky (2010), being honest, friendly, and compassionate will enhance communication between the management and the teachers. This is important as it will help in the identification of areas that need improvements in terms of morale building. There are some leadership styles that a proprietor in an institution can adopt and this relates to the case study. Autocratic kind of leadership is one in which a manger formulates all resolutions on his/her devoid of any discussions and enquires from other stakeholders. Adapting this style of leadership will be important when making urgent resolutions. When a resolution is not urgent, it will be important to adopt a democratic style of leadership whereby all the contributions of the stakeholders are considered in formulating the resolution. Therefore, it will be important to identify which type of leadership will be appropriate in making what resolutions. There is also a type of leadership known as transformational leadership. Managers adapting this style are creative, motivate workers and encourage them to achieve their objectives, and are able organize and engage workers in teams. In conclusion, there are many theories that are aimed towards the attainment of motivation in the workplace. These include leadership theory, theory X and Y, and motivation theory. It is therefore upon the manager within an institution to ensure that measures are put into place to accommodate these theories in order to boost the morale of workers. This will eventually lead to the improvement of results. Reference Owens, R. G., & Valesky, T. C. (2010). Organizational Behavior in Education: Leadership and School Reform. UK: Pearson College Division. Read More