Assignment - 04 -ERG Theory of Motivation
According
to Brewer and Selden (2000), most scholars tried their best to come up with a
master theory for motivation because motivation was known as the most
intensively studied subject under social sciences. Therefore, Bartol and Martin
(1998) as cited in Al Araimi (2002), divided
motivation into three categories such as needs theory, cognitive theory and
reinforcement theory.
Other
than Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs, most scholars are considering ERG theory as an
effective ‘needs theory’ which describes different needs that lead to employee
motivation. This theory is also known as an alternative theory to Maslow’s
theory of the hierarchy of needs.
As
per the original study of Alderfer (1972) divided the Maslow’s theory into
three levels such as existence, relatedness and growth. By combining the first
letter of each word, Alderfer developed ERG Theory.
Figure
3: Alderfer’s ERG theory
Source:
Sharifzadeh (2015) as cited in Elock (2020)
Under ‘Existence
Needs’, Clayton Alderfer included basic needs. These basic needs are
falling under physiological needs and safety needs described in Maslow’s
theory. For a human being these needs are the most essential, basic
requirements to survive or in other words to exist. Fundamental needs and
material desires such as food, air, shelter, clothes are falling under
existence needs. In the organizational perspective existence needs are; good
pay, fringe benefits and better working conditions (Elock 2020).
The
second type of need proposed by Alderfer, is the ‘Relatedness Needs’. It
portrays different types o relationships a person maintains with others
specially with the family, friends and formal work groups. Organizational wise
relatedness needs emphasize interpersonal relationships with fellow employees
and supervisors. These needs are similar to social needs under Maslow’s Theory
(Elock 2020).
The
final need under ERG theory is the ‘Growth Needs’. Growth
needs are related to Maslow’s last two levels: self-esteem and self-actualization
needs. This emphasized individual desire to grow and fulfill their capabilities
and potentials. However, Alderfer contends that, unlike Maslow’s theory,
several needs can be experienced at the same time under ERG Theory (Elock
2020).
References
Al Araimi, Ahmed A. (2002). Exploratory study on employees’
motivation in the omani private banking sector. Journal of Public Budgeting,
Accounting & Financial Management, 14(2), 208–220.
Alderfer,
C.P. (1972). Existence, Relatedness, and Growth: Human Needs in Organizational
Settings. New York: Free Press.
Brewer,
G.A., & Selden, S.C. (2000). “Why Elephants Gallop: Assessing and
Predicting Organizational Performance in Federal Agencies.” Journal of Public
Administration Research and Theory, 10 (4): 685-711.
Elock,
E. S. (2020). The Role of Motivational Theories in Shaping Teacher Motivation
and Performance: A Review of Related Literature. International Journal
of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 4(4), 64-76.
Even though, Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory states that there is a requirement of satisfaction lower-level needs to be done before satisfying the upper-level needs of the hierarchy, ERG theory is saying that there is no need of satisfying lower-level needs in order to stimulate the start of the next upper-level needs (Malik, 2018).
ReplyDeleteRavindu you may correct in some extend. At a work level, this means that managers must recognize their employees' multiple simultaneous needs. In Alderfer's ERG model, focusing exclusively on one need at a time will not motivate employees. The frustration-regression principle impacts workplace motivation. For example, if growth opportunities are not provided to employees, they may regress to relatedness needs, and socialize more with co-workers. If you can recognize these conditions early, steps can be taken to satisfy the frustrated needs until the employee is able to pursue growth again (Robbins and Judge, 2008).
DeleteAccording to Dinibutun, S.R., (2012) ERG theory states that an individual is motivated to satisfy one or more basic sets of needs. Therefore, if a person’s needs at a particular level are blocked, then attention should be focused on the satisfaction of needs at the other levels.
ReplyDeleteAt a work level, this means that managers must recognize their employees' multiple simultaneous needs. In Alderfer's ERG model, focusing exclusively on one need at a time will not motivate employees. The frustration-regression principle impacts workplace motivation. For example, if growth opportunities are not provided to employees, they may regress to relatedness needs, and socialize more with co-workers. If you can recognize these conditions early, steps can be taken to satisfy the frustrated needs until the employee is able to pursue growth again (Robbins and Judge, 2008).
ReplyDelete