NEED-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION

by Joshua R. Cruz 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. In most businesses, physiological needs are probably the easiest to evaluate and to meet.
(Adequate wages, toilet facilities, ventilation, etc.)

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Need theories of motivation (NTOM) assume that need deficiencies cause behavior. Also called as content theories because they deal with the content, or substance, of what motivates behavior. Best known NTOM are the a. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs b. ERG Theory 1. 2. Developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in the 1940s and is the best known needs theory. He argued that human beings are wanting animals: They have innate desires to satisfy a given set of needs.

A. The Hierarchy of Needs

Security needs (job continuity, grievance system, adequate insurance & retirement system) Employees belongingness needs (family ties, group relationships both in and out the organization) Esteem needs (job titles, choice offices, merit pay increases, awards, other forms of recog.) Self-actualization needs are perhaps the hardest to understand and most difficult to satisfy
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rather than achieving it, working toward SA may be the ultimate motivation for most people

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Need hierarchy does not generalize very well to other countries. 1. 2. Developed Yale psych. Clayton Alderfer ERG stands for three basic need categories: existence, relatedness, & growth
More than one kind of need may motivate a person at the same time. Satisfaction-progression component after satisfying one category of needs, a person progresses to the next level. Frustration-progression component a person who is frustrated by trying to satisfy a higher level of needs eventually will regress to the preceding level.

B. ERG Theory

Difference with Maslows HOD

1. 2. 3. The three sets at the bottom are called deficiency needs, because they must be satisfied for the individual to be fundamentally comfortable. The top two sets in the hierarchy are termed growth needs because they focus on personal growth and development.

C. The Dual-Structure Theory

*Two-Factor Theory

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

a) Physiological Needs food, sex and air b) Security Needs adequate housing, clothing, freedom from worry and anxiety c) Belongingness Needs need for love & affection, need for peer acceptance d) Esteem Needs kinds: (a) need for a positive self-image & self-respect, (b) need to be respected by others e) Self-Actualization These involve a persons realizing her full potential becoming all that she can be.

Developed by Frederick Herzberg & associates in the late 50s & early 60s Job satisfaction was viewed as a single construct ranging from satisfaction to dissatisfaction. He saw a dual-structured phenomenon. 1st dimension, ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction and 2nd ranging from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. This theory proposed, employees might be either satisfied or not satisfied and, at the same time, dissatisfied or not dissatisfied.

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Dual-structure theory, identifies motivation factors, which affect satisfaction, and hygiene factors, which determine dissatisfaction. 7. Motivation factors are intrinsic to the work and include factors such as achievement and recognition. 8. Hygiene factors are extrinsic to the work and include factors such as pay and job security. 9. In using it, Herzberg recommended a twostage process. a. Eliminating situations that cause dissatisfaction. b. Enter motivation factors. 10. He developed and described a technique called job enrichment for structuring employee tasks. *job enrichment, entails giving workers more tasks to
perform and more control over how to perform them.

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6. 7.

Assume personal responsibility for getting things done. Volunteer extra duties and find it difficult to delegate part of a job to someone else. Tend to be successful but they often do not achieve top management posts. Tend to do well as individual entrepreneurs with little or no group reinforcement.

The Need for Affiliation (NFAff) 1. The need for human companionship. People with high NFAch: 2. Tend to want reassurance and approval from others and usually are genuinely concerned about others feelings. 3. They are likely to act and think as they believe others want them to, especially those with whom they strongly identify and desire friendship. 4. Most often work in jobs with a lot of interpersonal contact, such as sales & teaching positions.
*People who have at least one good friend at work are much more likely to be highly engaged with their work and to indicate higher levels of job satisfaction.

D. Other Important Needs

The Need for Achievement (NFAch) 1. This need arises from an individuals desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively in the past. People with high NFAch: 2. They tend to set moderately difficult goals & to make moderately risky decisions. 3. They want immediate, specific feedback on their performance. So they frequently take jobs in sales and avoid job areas such as research and development. 4. Theyre preoccupied with work.

The Need for Power (NFP) 1. The desire to control the resources in ones environment (financial, material, informational, and human resources). People with high NFP: 2. Can be successful managers if three conditions are met. a. Seeks power for the betterment of the organization rather than for their own interests. b. Must have fairly low need for affiliation because fulfilling a personal need for power may well alienate others in the workplace. c. Needs plenty of self-control to curb their desire for power when it threatens to interfere with effective organization or interpersonal relationships.