gDuring 1920s, an emphasis on the human side of the workplace began to establish its influence on management thinkingh (p. 266). Douglas McGregorfs Theory X and Theory Y, as well as Hawthorne studies, and Abraham Maslowfs theory of human needs, are major branches that emerged in this tradition. citation

In The Human Side of Enterprise (1960) McGregor called a set of assumptions about human nature gTheory X.h He writes that the average human being inherently dislikes working. gBecause of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectivesh you do not need to place this in italics (McGregor, pp.33-34). After the recession of 1957-1958 these assumptions were openly adopted once more in some companies in the wave of the criticism against ghuman relations.h

As the knowledge in the social science grew, some assumptions about human nature and human behavior in organizational setting were reformulated. This reformulation gprovide

Theory Y assumptions are sharply different from Theory X assumptions. gThe average human being does not inherently dislike workcMan will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which he is committedcThe average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibilitych(pp.47-48) The principle of direction and control through the exercise of authority derives from Theory X. On the other hand, Theory Y brings forth the principle of integration, that is, gthe creation of conditions such that the members of the organization can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts toward the success of the enterpriseh (p.49). Theory Y assumes that authority is not the single means of managerial control because gpeople will exercise self-direction and self-control in the achievement of organizational objectivesh (p.56). g[Theory Y thinking] is [also] central to the popular notions of employee participation, involvement, empowerment, and self-managementh (Schermerhorn, p.270).

Though this book was written more than forty years ago, McGregorfs clear-sightedness and profound learning impress me. Following his studies, it seems that a record high jobless rate, especially, the highest jobless rate among the younger generations in Japan were caused by t

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