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Need Theories: Comparing Maslow, Alderfer, and Mcclelland

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19 July 2014
Need Theories: Comparing Maslow, Alderfer, and McClelland

Most theories of motivation revolve around the idea an employee’s needs influence their motivation. Needs are physiological or psychological scarcities that stimulate behavior therefore are necessary to live a healthy, productive lives both in personal and work lives. “If work is meaningless, then life comes close to being meaningless”(Maslow, Stephens Heil 39). These needs, whether weak or strong and are greatly influenced by environmental factors, thus causing human needs to vary over time and place. The general idea behind need theories of motivation is that unmet needs motivate people to placate them. On the contrary, people are not motivated to pursue a satisfied or achieved need. “In general terms, motivation can be defined as the desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy, determination and opportunity to achieve it”(Compare and Contrast Clayton Paul Alderfer’s Erg Theory of Motivation and Abraham Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy). Let us now consider three popular content theories of motivation: Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, Alderfer’s ERG theory, and McClelland’s need theory.
Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, first published his need hierarchy theory of motivation in 1943. According to Maslow, we all have five levels of need. The first, and most basic level is the need for survival or physiological needs, followed by the need for safety, together these two level represent our basic needs. While the physiological needs are usually already met, some employees have not achieved the safety need, whether it is a hazardous workplace environment, or job stability. As we move up the hierarchy, we approach the social need. At this level, employees are seeing acceptance and belonging within their workplace peers. Once the social need is met, employees move to the esteem or ego need

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