Theories X and Y

Human Resources Management (HRM) consists of a field in Management which is relatively recent and it’s goal is to ensure the economical viability of organizations through an ethical and socially responsible management of people, aiming to grow their quality of life in workspace. It presents two perspectives, the normative one and the self-avaliation one.

The Normative view tries to answer to what the organization aims to really be, knowing the way it needs to behave in order for the employees to be happy within it, give their best and finally for the organization to reach it’s objectives, sallienting a unitary sense of organization and team. I respect of the Self-Avaliation perspective, it is more radical than the normative one, showing effectivelly what is the HRM and not what is aims to be.

Many sciences contribute to this field, namingly Psychology, which focues in the behaviour of the individual; Sociology, where it analyzes the behaviour of the socitety as a whole; Law, in the areas of labour contracts, salary, worktime, and other aspects; and naturally, Management and even Economics, as the cost-benefit mechanism must be present in HRM. Many times, HRM é confused with people management, which is just a fraction of the it, that focuses in the short-term questions as the work to-do list, distribution of workers through projects and other details. It’s important that the worker and the organization have their relationship well defined and their expectations are met (psychological contract).

Human Resources Management searches for a bigger personalization of the work contract, with more authonomy by the employee to make them feel more confortable and integrated within the team, which in turn grows the productivity and has many benefits to the organization. The role of a Human Resources Manager is very different of a Workers Managers, givin he has to align the employees with the organization’s strategy and not just concentrate on bureaucratic questions.

There are two main theories involving the HRM; one is the hard one, Theory X, which focuses on the resources, while Theory Y, more soft, has its attention towards the human part of HRM. Theory X affirms that “workers are lazy and need to be controlled so not to deviate from the company’s expectations“; it is based in the idea that there must be a tight control over workers and their performance and that sanctions should be applied when necessary. It sees employees as instruments that must be managed rationally and without caring for their needs. In terms of professional evolution and education, it only cares for specifically needed for the company’s objectives, not caring for professional and career progression.

Theory Y presents a much more liberal mindset, characterizing workers as proactive and capable of exercing self-control in order to achieve the proposed objectives, stimulating their involvement with the workplace culture. It also proposes to continually help workers get more educated and grow professionally, maintaining them at the company as long as possible.

Naturally, not one or another must or should be completly applied in every organization, because of it’s specifications. Altough a more autonomous work can be applied to a tech company, it’s not necessarily true for an industrial factory, where the final product should always be equal and uniform. A middle term between the two companies should be found for each specific enviroment, in order for the organization to prosper.