Theory Z

The theory Z, also called "Japanese management style " was founded by William Ouchi, in his book of 1981, Theory Z: How American Management developed can meet the Japanese challenge.

Thus, it is not an extension of the theory of X and Y, Douglas McGregor. McGregor, however, had already developed shortly before his death in 1964 the theory of Z as a synthesis of his XY theory to counter the frequent criticism that the theories would X and Y are mutually exclusive.

Ouchi has dealt with three types of organizations. When he refers to the American Type A and Type J as the Japanese companies. The type Z has a new culture, namely the culture Z. Current management theory assumes that a strong employee participation to higher employee motivation and thus leads to higher productivity.

Features of the theory Z

The type Z is characterized by:

• Minimal fluctuation and lifetime employment
• Decision-making is done collectively and by consensus, which incorporate the interests of all members
• Important are the individual responsibility over the employees and the performance assessment
• The promotion of staff are held in long cycles, and a career in various departments is made possible by the " wandering around" principle
• Given no formal rules of conduct
• In the organization is a holistic structure of relationships exist because interpersonal relationships for the company are of great importance.