The Argument for Theory X

Introduction

There have been various studies conducted to try and understand how human beings operate and whether their performance can be optimized more. The human resource department has in particular been at the forefront trying to explore various means, strategies and alternatives through which workers’ performance can be enhanced and improved for the better. Theory X and Y are part of early efforts which were developed by Douglas McGregor and borrowed heavily for use in human resource management as well as organizational behavior and organizational communication. This paper will try to answer the question on whether communication competency is a skill or an art and will base all arguments on Theory X as postulated by Douglas McGregor. Communication competency is an skill that theory X managers generally lack due to their authoritarian rule and anti-social nature which breaks down communication as communication comes from the manager to the workers only instead of being a 'two way traffic'.

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The argument against theory X premises

Communication competency is an integral skill which managers within an organization must posses in order to enable the easy flow and performance of work. However, for communication to thrive and its benefits are felt within an organization, there needs to be an ample environment which supports and sustains it. Theory X managers characteristically fail to provide room for communication competency as a skill to develop. These managers use an authoritarian style of leadership to carry out their duties. They believe force must be used in order to get people working towards the achievement of organizational objectives. In coercing people to work through the use of threats, theory X managers overlook the importance and power of communication in passing a message. In other words, these types of managers do not see the need for them to learn and nurture proper communication skills as they believe force can still be used to obtain the desired results. This intolerance on the part of the managers affects and distorts the message being relayed because the intended target recipient of the information is often under duress (Kopelman, Prottas & Falk, 2010, p. 120).

A theory X manager believes both his staff and the prospective workers do not necessarily like working. Their motivation to work could only be because they are assured of wages or salary at the end of every month but not because they have some affection for the job they are doing. To this premise, the managers become results-driven and deadline-driven much to everything else’s exclusion. There is little and inadequate instruction that the worker receives from the manager because his focus does not really care about the worker but is instead on the end results. He will therefore give ultimatums and deadlines to the workers in order to have them work because he believes they do not love their work. The deadlines and ultimatums may be unrealistic because there is also little feedback from the workers who work with fear. The workers cannot freely enquire for more details and information and where possible raise their concerns in an appropriate manner so as to be addressed by the management. The manager is least concerned about the welfare of his staff and will do very little to boost their morale. Workers who feel they have limitations which they need to discuss with their manager are discouraged because such an opportunity is not there. There is totally no communication between the workers and their manager (Frantz, Tomer & Leibenstein, 1982, p.864).

One other characteristic of theory X manager is the belief that the average person does not like leading himself or herself. The manager believes these people prefer to be directed so that they can avoid responsibility, and because they are relatively un-ambitious and prefer their own security to all else. The manager will therefore give directions, instructions and edicts in order to provide leadership to the workers. Because of the notion that the average worker fears leading himself, a theory X manager will not accept any suggestions or communication from his subordinates. In other words, such a manager will be a one-way communicator because he has no trust or hope in his workers. He believes they have given up on life and therefore there is little they can offer in terms of suggestions, feedback and advice. Where his workers make mistakes in performing their roles and duties, he will seek the culprits for their failures and punish them severely without really taking time to understand what the real cause of their shortfall could have been (Crew, Jones-Lee & Rowley, 1971, p.173).

The manager will not welcome or invite any suggestions from his workers because he believes he is at the helm and controls the organization. Thus, the subordinates only need to take instructions and follow on what he orders. He will also involve himself in apportioning blame to his juniors instead of taking up the challenge positively and rectify a repeat of the same in future.

Because of believing that his workers’ are relatively un-ambitious, he will often be vengeful and recriminatory with little praise or recognition in instances where his workers perform well. His anti-social nature will ensure little understanding and little communication between him and the workers (Russ, 2011, p.823).

Conclusion

For effective communication to take place in an organization, both the source and the target audience must be able to interpret and understand what is intended. This can only take place when the source of communication understands his target audience very well. A manager must take time to understand the strengths and capabilities of his workers as well as study and understand their failures. This will be a sure way of providing amicable and workable solutions to problems that arise within the organization. Communication must also have a feedback mechanism for it to be complete and effective, otherwise one-way flow of instructions and orders. Various people are also ambitious in one way or another and they will always seek for something that further develops their ambition. It is therefore upon every manager to seek deeper understanding of his workers in order to determine what builds their individual ambition. It is only after getting the right information and details about the worker that proper treatment can be taken in order get the maximum out of him. A manager needs to find out what causes workers to under perform. Seeking to punish individuals because their output is below par does not solve the problem but rather complicates it even more. The problem could be because of inadequate training, poor systems or lack of proper control and coordination on the part of management. The manager therefore needs to find out what the problem could be and fix it early enough. All these competencies can only be enhanced when there is adequate and timely communication within an organization.