Needs Theories

Overview

People have many needs in life. They range from basic needs such as food and shelter to a need to belong to a social group.

There are also many theories about what brings satisfaction in life. Some of these can be defined as 'needs theories'.

Needs theories explain motivation in terms of satisfying basic human needs. In other words, people act in ways that satisfy their needs. Four types of needs theory are:

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs
• ERG theory
• two-factor theory
• acquired needs theory.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

One of the earliest theories of motivation, and perhaps the best known, is Maslow's hierarchy of needs. He concluded that within every person there is a hierarchy of five needs.

1. Physiological needs are survival needs such as food, water, and shelter. This is the most basic level of human needs.
2. Safety needs are needs for security, safety, and stability - to feel free from threats.
3. Social needs are needs to affiliate with others and be accepted by others. They include needs for love and affection.
4. Esteem needs include the need for esteem in the eyes of others, for respect, prestige, and recognition. They include the need to be valued.
5. Self-actualisation needs are the highest need level. They include the need to grow, to develop personal capabilities, and achieve full potential.

The theory suggests that as each of these needs becomes substantially satisfied, the next level of need becomes dominant. The theory also suggests that although no need is ever fully satisfied, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. The individual then shifts their attention to the next level.

Maslow also grouped needs into lower-order needs (physiological, safety, and social needs) and higher-order needs (esteem and self-actualisation). He argued that the difference between the two was that higher-order needs are satisfied internally, while lower-order needs are satisfied externally by such things as wages, contracts, and tenure.

This diagram summarises Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It also gives examples of things that people may want from their work in order to satisfy each level of needs.

Maslow's theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practising managers. Perhaps this is because it can be intuitively understood and is relatively practical. However, many people now argue that this theory has serious shortcomings.

Research suggests that needs may cluster into just two or three categories, rather than five. Also, the hierarchy may not be the same for everyone. Most importantly, Maslow's theory is culturally determined. It was based on North American work values in the 1950s - values that may well have changed since then. Similarly, there are many ethnic groups in New Zealand with their own distinctive cultural values. These factors may reduce the relevance of this theory in New Zealand.

ERG theory

For the reasons outlined above, motivation researcher Clayton Alderfer proposed an alternative theory to Maslow's. It is known as ERG theory. This theory consists of three levels of need:

1. Existence needs or desires for physiological and material wellbeing.
2. Relatedness needs or desires for satisfying interpersonal relationships.
3. Growth needs or desires for continued psychological growth and development.

This theory proposes that lower-level needs do not have to be satisfied before higher-level needs can be activated. In ERG theory, any or all of the three types of need can influence behaviour at any given time.

For example, you may have skipped lunch and be very hungry (existence need). At the same time, however, you are concerned about this afternoon's meeting in which you hope to improve teamwork and interpersonal relationships in your workgroup (relatedness need).

Alderfer did not assume that substantially satisfied needs lose their motivational influence. He suggested that a lower-level need that has been already satisfied can become reactivated and influence behaviour if a higher-level need cannot be satisfied. This is called the frustration-regression principle.

Examples

Consider these situations in terms of needs theories.

• A retail firm offers to pay an experienced job applicant $7.50 an hour. It's a 'take it or leave it' situation with no opportunity for negotiation.
• Mary has a 'toxic' boss. She is frequently bullied, humiliated, and put under psychological pressure.
• The manager of a real estate firm makes public awards at monthly staff meetings. The manager publicly congratulates salespeople who have met their targets for the month and presents them with a small plaque. They are able to display their plaques on their desks.

Two-factor theory

Frederick Herzberg asked people to describe situations in which they felt particularly satisfied and motivated, and situations in which they felt dissatisfied and unmotivated.

He found that the things that motivate people include:

• achievement
• responsibility
• the work itself
• recognition
• growth and advancement.

But Herzberg found a completely separate group of factors that cause dissatisfaction. He called these hygiene factors. They include pay, policies, and working conditions.

According to this theory, hygiene factors are important as a means of keeping people from being dissatisfied, but fixing hygiene problems will never lead to work satisfaction and motivation.

To have motivated and satisfied people, managers need to ensure that their work situation includes sufficient motivators. People need opportunities for achievement, responsibility, challenge, recognition, growth, and advancement.

Motivators are separate from hygiene factors, Herzberg said. They are not the opposite of each other and they are not on a continuum.

More recent research has cast doubt on the two-factor idea. It appears that hygiene factors can sometimes be linked with satisfaction, and a lack of motivators can cause dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, this theory continues to be useful because it reminds us that true job satisfaction begins with the nature of the job itself. It also reminds us that there are two important aspects in all jobs:

• job content - what people do
• job context - the setting in which they do it.

Example

Mike has good pay, an incompetent boss, and a poor working relationship with a colleague, but he is staff member of the month. According to two-factor theory, what would be the likely results of this combination of factors?

Acquired needs theory

David McClelland proposed a fourth needs-type theory. His acquired needs theory suggests there are three major motives or needs in the workplace:

• achievement or the drive to excel, to achieve relative to a set of standards
• power or the need to make others behave in ways they would not otherwise behave
• affiliation or the desire for friendly and close personal relationships.

Research suggests these needs are present in all individuals, but that in each case one need is dominant. Thus, either the need to achieve, or the need for power, or the need for affiliation is the primary motivator for each individual.

People tend to have job preferences that are consistent with their primary motivation.

People with a high need to achieve prefer job situations that involve personal responsibility and provide challenges and opportunities to solve problems. They also like plenty of feedback so they can gauge how they are doing. They are willing to work alone.

People with a strong need for power prefer jobs where they can be influential. They like to have control over their environment.

People with high affiliation needs prefer cooperative situations. They prefer work that brings social approval.

A key aspect of this theory is that when preferred job characteristics are present, people tend to be highly motivated. This may be reflected in job performance. Interestingly, a high need for power and a low need for affiliation seem to be associated with managerial success.

Another point of interest is that McClelland believes it is possible to strengthen achievement orientation through training. His research also suggests that some national cultures exhibit a stronger achievement orientation than others. McClelland feels there is a positive correlation between achievement orientation and economic performance.

Examples

Consider these three teachers.

1. Lucy has been a teacher for 13 years. She runs the social club and is always involved in parent-teacher activities. She often helps with after-school activities and is always available when volunteers are needed.
   It is likely that she has strong affiliation needs and is driven to maintain these. She gets her satisfaction from the social interaction.
2. Evan is a physical education teacher. He has three students who have represented the region in gymnastics, the cricket team is currently second in the league, and if he can push them a little harder they could be first. He is proud of his record of high achievement with his classes.
   There is a strong achievement drive in Evan both for himself and through his students.
3. Pita teaches science. He is delighted with the way he has turned his class around. They started at the beginning of the year with little interest. Most of the class couldn't see the point, after all this was a Palangi thing and this class was mostly Pacific people. Pita worked hard to persuade his class to believe in themselves. He showed them how they could learn difficult theories and become competent in the lab. He shifted them from thinking about leaving school early to seriously considering further education to learn more about science.
   This strong desire to influence is the positive element of the power need. Pita is motivated by his ability to influence a change in his students' behaviour.