Some leaders still use a system
of rewards and punishments to manage performance. Even though certain factors impact
motivation, including the type of work being performed, the level of skills and
experience and individual needs, employers continue to find it difficult to strike
a balance (Argyris, 1971).
This was the idea behind one of
the oldest theory of motivation known as Theory X & Y which originated in
the 1950’s and later developed by Douglas McGregor in the 1960’s (Sorensen and
Yaeger, 2019).
As per this motivation theory, Theory
X thinks that people dislike work and avoid responsibility while theory Y
thinks that employees like to work and accept responsibility.
In McGregor's Theory X, Managers
make decisions in a top-down manner. Employees tend not to be involved in
decision making. They are judged from their performance alone, with the carrot
and stick approach to motivation. Perform well - get rewarded. Perform badly -
get demoted or fired (Bennis, 2003).
Figure 1
(Source - pngitem)
In theory Y, Managers are more
comfortable giving the employees some space and freedom to work having a more
collaborative relationship. This allows employees to take initiative further empowering
them to make decisions (Forrester, 2000).
When applying the X & Y theory in the Airline Industry
the stress factor of job security plays a major role in how employees behave
towards the employer and the job role. In a study carried out by two airlines
in Europe it was noticed that employees were stressed out because the airline
was downsizing. This stress directly impacted on the employee’s behavior towards
the job and pure performance (Malm, 2015).
In this case the management should carefully consider all
external factors in dealing with certain unionized environments. Once an individual
has been recruited into an Airline they automatically become a member of that
said department union, e.g.: Inflight crew – Flight attendant’s union, so in
case of any disciplinary matter the management has to consider all options
without terminating or creating fear of job loss.
When dealing with this kind of situation the airline should
set KPI’s and other performance factors to measure and justify the job role and
performance of an employee. Once the objectives are set the employee should be
given the freedom to work in a more interactive work environment so that the
airline is able to carefully monitor the employee while maintain a good
relationship with the employee.
In conclusion having a good relationship with an employee
directly benefits the growth of the company, this is proven by McGregor's
Theory X, proving that having stressed employees will lead to poor performance
that will neglect the company’s growth demonstrating the Y Theory.
Reference
Argyris, C. (1971). Management and Organizational
Development. The Path from XA to YB. ERIC. [online] Available at: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED057279 [Accessed 28 Nov. 2022].
Forrester, R. (2000). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), pp.67–80. Available at: https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/ame.2000.4468067 [Accessed 28 Nov. 2022].
Kopelman, R.E., Prottas, David.J. and Falk, D.W. (2012). Further Development of a Measure of Theory X and Y Managerial Assumptions. Journal of Managerial Issues, [online] 24(4), pp.450–470. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43488151?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents [Accessed 28 Nov. 2022].
Malm, S. (2015). Air France managers flee as staff storm meeting on job cuts. [online] Mail Online. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3260474/Air-France-managers-flee-staff-storm-meeting-job-cuts.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2022].
Oxfordbibliographies.com.
(2019). Theory X and Theory Y - Management - Oxford Bibliographies -
obo. [online] Available at: https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199846740/obo-9780199846740-0078.xml.
[ Accessed on 28 Nov. 2022]
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