Theory Z

<h2 id="pre-theory-z">Pre-Theory Z</h2>
<p><a href="/facts/Abraham_Maslow/nk2oukYf">Abraham Maslow</a>, a psychologist and pioneer in human motivation, developed a theory of motivation based upon human needs that had three assumptions. First, human needs are never completely satisfied. Second, human behavior is purposeful and motivated by a need for satisfaction. Third, these needs can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance from the lowest to highest (Maslow, 1954):
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<ol><li>Physiological need</li>
<li>Safety needs</li>
<li>Belongingness and love needs</li>
<li>The esteem needs – <a href="/facts/Self-confidence/DReLXePT">self-confidence</a></li>
<li>The need for <a href="/facts/Self-actualization/EMhRR6BJ">self-actualization</a> – the need to reach your full potential</li></ol>
<p><a href="/facts/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs/cme8UcUx">Maslow's hierarchy of needs</a> theory helps the manager to understand what motivates an employee. By understanding what needs must be met in order for an employee to achieve the highest level of motivation, managers are then able to get the most out of production. 
</p><p><a href="/facts/Theory_X/vE1LwbIT">Theory X</a> and Theory Y were both developed by Douglas McGregor, a social psychologist interested in the characteristics of successful organizations. McGregor's book, <i>The Human Side of Enterprise</i> (1960), described Theories X and Y based upon Maslow's original hierarchy of needs. McGregor grouped the hierarchy into a lower order (Theory X) needs and a higher-order (Theory Y) needs. He suggested that management may need to motivate employees, but better results could be gained by using Theory Y, rather than Theory X (Heil, Bennis, & Stephens, 2000).
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<h2 id="maslows-theory-z">Maslow's Theory Z</h2>
<p>Late in his career Maslow focused increasingly on <a href="/facts/Self-transcendence/ty8dgIVa">self-transcendence</a> as a human phenomenon and concern. As he explained in his seminal paper titled <i>Theory Z</i>, the motivation for transcendence literally 'transcends' his original hierarchy of needs. So, for example, some people who achieve self-actualization — the highest level of his original pyramid — also achieve a transcendent life orientation, while other self-actualizers do not.  On the other hand, some people, like the proverbial "starving artist," value self-transcendence <i>ahead</i> of all material values, including self-actualization (in the sense of being materially "successful"). Hence, for Maslow transcendence is not so much an extension of his original pyramid as an <a href="/facts/Orthogonal/JVIjYPog">orthogonal</a> dimension.
</p><p><a href="/facts/Theory_X/vE1LwbIT">Theory X</a>, Y and Z all play a role in how a company should manage successfully. Maslow believed the ideal organization would harness the human drive for self-transcendence, as well as the motivations of his original pyramid.
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<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>

<ul><li>Bacarr, Jina. How to Succeed in a Japanese Company. New York. Carol Publishing Group, 1994.</li>
<li>Bittel, Lester R. (1989). The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Management Course (p. 11). New York: McGraw- Hill.</li>
<li>DuBrin, Andrew J. (1990). Essentials of Management (p. 34). Cincinnati: South-Western.</li>
<li>Heil G., Bennis W., and Stephens D. (2000). Douglas McGregor, Revisited: Managing the Human Side of the Enterprise (p. 236). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.</li>
<li>Likert R. (1967). Human Organization: Its Management and Value (p. 139). New York, McGraw-Hill.</li>
<li>Luthans, Fred. (1989). Organizational Behavior (p. 36). New York: McGraw-Hill.</li>
<li>Maslow, Abraham H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (p. 28). New York: Harper & Row; 1st ed., 1954.</li>
<li>Maslow, Abraham H. (1973). <i><a href="http://www.maslow.org/sub/theoryz.php">Theory Z</a>.</i> In: <i>The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.</i> Maurice Bassett, pp. 280-296</li>
<li>Massie, Joseph L. and John Douglas. (1992). Managing: A Contemporary Introduction (p. 48). Englewood Cliffs: Simon & Schuster Company.</li>
<li>McGregor, Douglas. (1960). The Human Side of the Enterprise. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.</li>
<li>Ouchi, William G. (1981). Theory Z. New York: Avon Books.</li>
<li>Reddin, W. J. Managerial Effectiveness. (1970). (pp. 189–190). (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company).</li>
<li>Whisenand, Paul M. and R. Fred Ferguson.  (1978). (p. 37). The Managing of Police Organizations, Second Edition.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Colin_Wilson/3HzD2EgF">Wilson, Colin</a> (1972). <i>New Pathways in Psychology: Maslow and the Post-Freudian Revolution.</i> London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., pp. 181 ff.</li>
<li>Wortheim E.G. (2002) Historical background of organizational behavior (p. 17). Boston, Massachusetts: College of Business Administration.</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><i><a href="http://altfeldinc.com/pdfs/maslow.pdf">"Maslow On Management"</a>,</i> summary by James Altfeld</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Maslow, Abraham H. (May 2000). The Maslow Business Reader. John Wiley & Sons. p. 171. ISBN 9780471360087. <a href="9780471360087" target="_blank">9780471360087</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>"Theory Z – Abraham Maslow". Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181023024341/http://maslow.org/sub/theoryz.php" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20181023024341/http://maslow.org/sub/theoryz.php</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>Roberts, Thomas B. (2013-01-23). The Psychedelic Future of the Mind: How Entheogens Are Enhancing Cognition, Boosting Intelligence, and Raising Values. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781594775024. <a href="9781594775024" target="_blank">9781594775024</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Conway, T., (2008), Abraham Maslow, Transpersonal Psychology, and self-Transcendence, accessed 28 June 2020 <a href="http://www.rare-leadership.org/Maslow_on_transpersonal_psychology.html" target="_blank">http://www.rare-leadership.org/Maslow_on_transpersonal_psychology.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>"A.4 Maslow's Ideas". <a href="http://www.positivedisintegration.com/masid.htm" target="_blank">http://www.positivedisintegration.com/masid.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>"Maslow's Advice on Self-Actualization | in Chapter 09: Motivation and Emotion". <a href="http://www.intropsych.com/ch09_motivation/theory_z.html" target="_blank">http://www.intropsych.com/ch09_motivation/theory_z.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
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Theory Z open-in-new

Theory Z