Cadbury
Theories of Employee Motivation
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1.0 Need Theory
1.1 Introduction
Need theories see motivation arising from individual needs or desires for things. These needs and desires can change over time and are different across individuals.
There are three popular perspectives on Need theory: • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Alderfer’s ERG Theory • Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
This lesson briefly highlights the distinctions of each perspective.
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1.2 Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow proposes that motivation can be represented as a hierarchy of needs. As lower-level needs are satisfied, workers are likely to be motivated by higher-level needs. Maslow argues that there are five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and actualization.
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• Physiological needs - basic biological needs for things such as food, water, and sex
• Safety needs - need for safety and a safe physical environment (e.g., shelter, a safe workplace)
• Love needs - need for friendship and partnership
• Esteem needs - need for self-respect and for the respect of others
• Self-actualization needs - need for self-improvement, fulfillment of personal life goals and of one’_ potential
Tension-reduction - According to Maslow’s tension-reduction hypothesis, an unmet need creates a tension to meet that need. For example, if you need food, you feel tension until the need is met. Maslow believed that needs were arranged hierarchically such that lower, more basic needs must be met before higher needs become the point of focus.
1.3 ERG Theory
Alderfer’s ERG Theory suggests that there are three classes of needs, not five as Maslow suggests: existence, relatedness, and growth. Another distinction is that Alderfer proposes that when low-level (existence) needs are not met, they grow. For example, when you are hungry and do not eat, your hunger grows. On the other hand,
[pic]
1.0 Need Theory
1.1 Introduction
Need theories see motivation arising from individual needs or desires for things. These needs and desires can change over time and are different across individuals.
There are three popular perspectives on Need theory: • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Alderfer’s ERG Theory • Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
This lesson briefly highlights the distinctions of each perspective.
[pic]
1.2 Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow proposes that motivation can be represented as a hierarchy of needs. As lower-level needs are satisfied, workers are likely to be motivated by higher-level needs. Maslow argues that there are five categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and actualization.
[pic]
• Physiological needs - basic biological needs for things such as food, water, and sex
• Safety needs - need for safety and a safe physical environment (e.g., shelter, a safe workplace)
• Love needs - need for friendship and partnership
• Esteem needs - need for self-respect and for the respect of others
• Self-actualization needs - need for self-improvement, fulfillment of personal life goals and of one’_ potential
Tension-reduction - According to Maslow’s tension-reduction hypothesis, an unmet need creates a tension to meet that need. For example, if you need food, you feel tension until the need is met. Maslow believed that needs were arranged hierarchically such that lower, more basic needs must be met before higher needs become the point of focus.
1.3 ERG Theory
Alderfer’s ERG Theory suggests that there are three classes of needs, not five as Maslow suggests: existence, relatedness, and growth. Another distinction is that Alderfer proposes that when low-level (existence) needs are not met, they grow. For example, when you are hungry and do not eat, your hunger grows. On the other hand,