We discussed two well-known theories, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Goleman's emotional intelligence. Both of these began as theories in psychology which have been applied to management. There are literally hundreds of management theories. We summarize a few that we have found most useful here.
Styles of Leadership
Theory X says that people are basically lazy and looking for ways to benefit with the minimal possible effort on their part. Managers need a stick, threatening to punish employees if they don't do their jobs, or a 'carrot' as a reward promised for good work. As they told us in business school thirty years ago, in this theory, there is basically no difference between getting a person to work or getting a mule to work. In either case, you use a stick or a carrot to get them moving.
Theory Y managers believe that people are self-motivated. They want to do good work that makes them feel successful, responsible and creative. According to this theory, humans have a need to achieve and if you provide an environment where they can learn, use their talents and be successful, then they will work hard. You won't need to be standing over them all day with a stick or a carrot.
Theory Z was presented in a book by the same name, written by William Ouchi about the time that Japan began taking a lot of market share away from American businesses. Ouchi believed that workers not only had a natural tendency to be self-motivated, but they also wanted their organization to succeed. If managers just gave workers enough trust and supported them, they could solve their own problems most of the time, including disputes among employees or different parts of an organization. Important points, Ouchi felt, were job training, job rotation and permanent employment. If you knew your job was safe, maybe you wouldn't be so worried about 'turf' issues and if it was really your program's job to do management training or diabetes prevention. If it was best for the tribe that the other program do it, then, fine. If you had been trained in two or three other jobs, you would not be too concerned, because you could always do something else. Besides, you might understand the reason the people in accounting or tribal health thought moving you into a new position was a good idea, since you had also worked in accounting and tribal health, you could understand their positions. This theory assumes a high degree of trust between workers and managers.
Click here for another common theory, management by objective