Mo#va#on:

Need Theories
 Learning Goals
•  Discuss the role of needs in behavior in
organiza#ons
•  Describe the major need hierarchy theories of
mo#va#on
•  Appreciate that the importance of par#cular
needs varies from person to person
 Learning Goals (Cont.)
•  Understand how some needs may be learned
•  Dis#nguish between mo#vator and hygiene
factors in a person's environment
•  Discuss the interna#onal and ethical issues in
mo#va#on
 Chapter Overview
•  Introduc#on
•  Overview of Where We are Headed
•  Murray's Theory of Human Personality: The
Concept of Needs
•  Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory
•  E.R.G. Theory
 Chapter Overview (Cont.)
•  McClelland's Achievement Mo#va#on Theory
•  Herzberg's Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
•  Interna#onal Aspects of the Need theories of
Mo#va#on
•  Ethical Issues and the Need Theories of
Mo#va#on
 Introduc#on
•  Assump#ons of mo#va#on Theories
–  Behavior has a star#ng point, a direc#on, and a
stopping point
–  Focus is on voluntary behavior under the control
of the person
–  Behavior is not random. It has purpose and
direc#on
 Introduc#on (Cont.)

Mo#va#on defined

Mo#va#on is a psychological process that causes

the arousal, direc#on, and persistence of
voluntary ac#ons that are goal directed.
 Introduc#on (Cont.)

that that
Mo#va#on
leads to results in Some level
is the Choice of of job
psychological behavior performance
process

The Mo#va#on-Behavior-Job Performance Sequence

 Introduc#on (Cont.)
•  Why know about mo#va#on?
–  Help you understand your behavior and the
behavior of others
–  Can help a manager build and manage a “system
of mo#va#on.”
–  Offers conceptual tools for analyzing mo#va#on
problems in organiza#ons
 Overview of Where
We are Headed
•  Need theories (Chapter 7)
–  Murray’s Theory of Human Personality
–  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
–  E.R.G. Theory
–  McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on Theory
–  Herzberg’s Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
 Overview of Where
We are Headed (Cont.)
•  Cogni#ve and behavioral theories
(Chapter 8)
–  Expectancy Theory
–  Equity Theory
–  Goal Se\ng Theory
–  Behavior Modifica#on
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality
•  Assump#ons
–  People can adapt to their changing environment
–  Human behavior is goal directed
–  Internal and external factors affect behavior
–  People learn from interac#ons with their
environment
–  Preconcep#on of future affect behavior now
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Needs
–  Basic to Murray's theory
–  Hypothe#cal concept: helps explain observable
differences in behavior
–  “Invisible link” between a s#mulus and a
person’s reac#on to the s#mulus
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Types of needs
–  Physical needs
•  Sa#sfac#on of basic physical processes
•  Need for food, air, water, sex
–  Psychological needs
•  Focus on emo#onal and mental sa#sfac#on
•  Example: the need for social interac#on or to achieve
difficult goals
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Some needs in Murray's theory
–  n Order: organize and systema#cally arrange
objects; be clean, neat, and #dy
–  n Achievement: a`ain difficult goals; perform
as well as possible
–  n Recogni#on: receive credit for ac#ons; to
seek honors and recogni#on
The small n in front of the name of each need is
the psychologist’s abbrevia#on for the word need.
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Some needs in Murray's theory (cont.)
–  n Dominance: influence others; affect the
direc#on of a group
–  n Deference: respect authority; admire a person
with authority
–  n Autonomy: be independent and not be
influenced by others
–  n Affilia#on: associate with others, have friends,
and join groups
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Characteris#cs of needs
–  Latent internal characteris#cs ac#vated by a
s#mulus
–  A person tries to behave in a way that sa#sfies an
ac#vated need

Strong need for affilia#on:

Meet someone you like and start talking to the person
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Characteris#cs of needs (cont.)
–  Needs may show rhythmic pa`erns over #me
•  Manager could sa#sfy a Need for Dominance in
rela#onships with subordinates
•  Same manager is subordinate to someone else in the
organiza#on
•  Engages in behavior directed at the Need for Deference
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Characteris#cs of needs (Cont.)
–  Opposite needs and behavior
•  Need for Dominance in work role, especially a manager
or supervisor
•  Need for Deference in nonwork (family) role

Work Nonwork

Need for Need for
Dominance Deference
 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Characteris#cs of needs (Cont.)
–  Mul#ple needs and behavior
•  One need is primary; other need serves the primary
•  Need for Achievement and Need for Affilia#on
•  Example: joining student organiza#ons. Such ac#vi#es
are important for finding a good job

serves
Need for Affilia#on Need for Achievement

 Murray’s Theory of
Human Personality (Cont.)
•  Implica#ons
–  Understand own and other’s behavior
–  Needs vary in importance among people
–  Directs people’s behavior toward or away from
objects
–  Such knowledge can help managers’ shape a
mo#va#on system
–  Help us understand behavior we see
 Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs Theory
•  Five groups of basic needs
•  Healthy adults try to sa#sfy these needs
•  So basic that they mo#vate behavior in many
cultures
•  Chronic frustra#on of needs can lead to
psychopathological results
 Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs Theory (Cont.)
•  Physiological needs: basic requirements of
the human body; food, water, sleep, sex
•  Safety needs: desires of a person to be
protected from physical and economic harm
•  Belongingness and love needs (social): desire
to give and receive affec#on; be in the
company of others
 Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs Theory (Cont.)
•  Esteem needs: self-confidence and sense of
self-worth
–  Esteem from others: valua#on of self from other
people
–  Self-esteem: feeling of self-confidence and self-
respect
•  Self-actualiza#on needs: desire for self-
fulfillment

Maslow: “. . . the desire to become more and more

what one is, to become everything that one is
capable of becoming.”
 Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs Theory (Cont.)
•  Form a need hierarchy based on the
“prepotency” of needs
•  Prepotency: need emerges as a mo#vator
aber sa#sfying a lower-order (more
prepotent) need
•  Hierarchy progression: physiological, safety,
belongingness, esteem, self-actualiza#on
 Self-
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs actualiza#on

Esteem

Belongingness
and love

Safety

Physiological
 Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs Theory (Cont.)
•  Need hierarchy
–  Unsa#sfied need is a poten#al mo#vator of
behavior
–  Sa#sfied need is no longer a mo#vator
–  Focus on more than one need: promo#on leads
to more money (esteem and physiological)
–  Need sa#sfac#on follows the order shown but is
flexible
–  Weak empirical support
–  Remains a classic interpreta#on of behavior
 E.R.G. Theory
•  A varia#on of Maslow's hierarchy of needs
•  Three groups of needs
– Existence needs: physical and material
wants
– Relatedness needs: desires for
interpersonal rela#onships
– Growth needs: desires to be crea#ve and
produc#ve; to use one’s skills
 E.R.G. Theory (Cont.)
Maslow E.R.G.
hierarchy Theory

Self- Rela#onship of
actualiza#on Maslow’s hierarchy
Growth needs to E.R.G. Theory.
Esteem

Belongingness
and love Relatedness needs

Safety
Existence needs
Physiological
 E.R.G. Theory (Cont.)
•  Both similar to and different from Maslow's
need hierarchy
•  Sa#sfied and unsa#sfied needs operate in
much the same way
•  Movement upward is the same
•  Movement downward is new
 E.R.G. Theory (Cont.)
•  Sa#sfac#on-progression: move up the
hierarchy as needs are sa#sfied
•  Frustra#on-regression: move down the
hierarchy when a need is frustrated
•  Deficiency cycle: more strongly desire
existence needs when they are unsa#sfied
•  Enrichment cycle: more strongly desire
growth needs when they are sa#sfied
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory
•  McClelland and colleagues studied the
behavioral effects of three needs
–  Need for Achievement
–  Need for Power
–  Need for Affilia#on
•  Emphasized the Need for Achievement,
although they inves#gated all three needs
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Product of an impressive long-running
research program
•  Controversy over measurement methods
•  Recent study shows the validity of different
measures
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Strong need for achievement people
–  Take responsibility for results of behavior
–  Willing to take calculated risks
–  Set moderate achievement goals
–  Prefer to set performance standards for
themselves
–  Prefer nonrou#ne tasks to rou#ne assignments
–  Welcome feedback about how well they are doing
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Acquire the Need for Achievement through
socializa#on to cultural values
•  Presence of Need for Achievement themes in
folklore, mythology, art
•  Need for Achievement socie#es had high
levels of economic development
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Strong Need for Power people
–  Focuses on "controlling the means of influencing
the behavior of another person”
–  Having strong effects on other people
–  Means of influence: anything available to the
person to control the behavior of another
–  Ac#vely searches for means of influence

Example: use superior-subordinate rela#onship

or external rewards to control the behavior of another
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Two ways of expressing the Need for Power
–  Dominance, physical aggression, exploita#on
•  View situa#ons from a win-lose perspec#ve
•  Must win and the other party must lose
–  Did not feel such power behavior resulted in the
type of leadership required by organiza#ons
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Two ways of expressing the Need for Power
(cont.)
–  Persuasion and interpersonal influence
•  Tries to arouse confidence in those he or she wants to
influence
•  Clarifies group’s goals and persuades members to
achieve those goals
•  Emphasizes group members’ ability to reach goals
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Two ways of expressing the Need for Power
(cont.)
•  Tries to develop a competence belief in group
members
•  McClelland felt this type of power behavior
characterized effec#ve leaders in organiza#ons
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Strong Need for Affilia#on people
–  Focuses on "establishing, maintaining, and
restoring posi#ve affec#ve rela#ons with others"
–  Want close, warm interpersonal rela#onships
–  Seek the approval of others, especially those
about whom they care
–  Like other people, want other people to like them,
and want to be in the company of others
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for achievement and behavior
–  Money: important to both high and low
achievers, but for different reasons
•  High achiever wants concrete feedback about
performance
•  Making a profit, or receiving a bonus, is a statement
about success or failure
•  Symbol of success and feedback about job performance
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for achievement and behavior (cont.)
•  High achiever wants a challenging job and
responsibility for work
•  Want to feel successful at doing something over which
they have control
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for achievement and behavior (cont.)
–  Low achiever views monetary reward as an end in
itself
–  Get increased performance from low Need for
Achievement person by rewarding with money
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Managers and execu#ves usually have a
stronger Need for Achievement than people in
other occupa#ons
•  Evidence points to strong Need for
Achievement as an entrepreneur
characteris#c
•  Nature of Need for Achievement behavior fits
well with such role demands
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for Achievement and Need for Power:
some rela#onships
–  Strong Need for Achievement person
•  Task centered
•  Future oriented
•  Performs to internal standard of excellence
McClelland’s Achievement Mo#va#on
Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for Achievement and Need for Power:
some rela#onships (cont.)
–  Strong Need for Power person
•  Draws a`en#on
•  Risk taking
•  Present oriented
•  Assesses situa#ons for change poten#al
 McClelland’s Achievement
Mo#va#on Theory (Cont.)
•  Need for Achievement and Need for Power:
some rela#onships (cont.)
–  Both types of people important for successful
organiza#ons
–  Strong Need for Achievement managers keep an
organiza#on going
–  Strong Need for Power people bring drama#c
change and innova#on
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
•  Early interview research with engineers and
accountants
–  Nega#ve events: mostly involved a person's job
context such as company policy and supervision
–  Posi#ve events: described aspects of the job and
feelings of achievement
–  Salary men#oned about the same number of
#mes in nega#ve and posi#ve reports
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Dissa#sfiers: items predominantly found in
descrip#ons of nega#ve events
–  Could lead to high levels of employee
dissa#sfac#on
–  Improve the dissa#sfiers and reduce
dissa#sfac#on
–  Not get higher sa#sfac#on
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Sa#sfiers: items predominantly found in
descrip#ons of posi#ve events
–  Could lead to high levels of employee sa#sfac#on
–  Their absence, or a person's failure to experience
them, would not produce dissa#sfac#on
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Two dis#nct con#nua: one for sa#sfac#on
and one for dissa#sfac#on
•  Not a single con#nuum with dissa#sfac#on on
one end and sa#sfac#on on the other
•  Herzberg eventually called the sa#sfiers
mo#vators; the dissa#sfiers hygiene factors
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Mo#vators
–  Achievement
–  Recogni#on
–  Work itself
•  Hygiene factors
–  Company policies and their administra#on
–  Quality of supervision
–  Working condi#ons
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Dissa#sfiers distracted from the mo#vators
•  Once the work context is improved, the
manager can try to provide the mo#vators
•  Use a process called job enrichment
•  Add more responsibility and autonomy to
the job
•  Creates opportunity for employee to
experience the mo#vators
 Herzberg’s
Mo#vator-Hygiene Theory
(Cont.)
•  Empirical research
–  Mixed results
–  Methodological issues
–  See the text book for details
 Interna#onal Aspects of the
Need Theories of Mo#va#on
•  Concept of needs holds across cultures
•  People from different cultures may express
and sa#sfy needs differently
•  Importance of needs in Maslow's need
hierarchy
–  United States: self-actualiza#on
–  La#n America: security, affilia#on
–  France and Germany: need for security
–  New Zealand: belongingness and love
 Interna#onal Aspects of the
Need Theories of Mo#va#on
(Cont.)
•  See textbook for results of some large
cross-country studies of McClelland's
Achievement Mo#va#on Theory
•  Use cau#on when applying need theories
of mo#va#on in different countries
•  Strong evidence they are culture bound
 Ethical Issues and the
Need Theories of Mo#va#on
•  Ethics of directly affec#ng employee behavior
without informed consent
•  Consider the ethics of ac#ons from the
different ethical views in Chapter 3
 Ethical Issues and the Need
Theories of Mo#va#on (Cont.)
•  U#litarian analysis
–  Total effects of the manager's efforts
–  Do they produce a widespread net posi#ve
benefit for the organiza#on?
•  Rights and jus#ce analysis: Employees' rights
to know their manager’s intent
 Ethical Issues and the Need
Theories of Mo#va#on (Cont.)
•  Ethical egoism
–  It is right for a manager to affect behavior because
it meets the manager's interests
–  Interests include unit’s work performance and
the manager's career
 Ethical Issues and the Need
Theories of Mo#va#on (Cont.)
•  Ethically required to create need sa#sfying
work experiences?
•  Exis#ng research does not always show higher
performance and sa#sfac#on from work
designs aligned with people's needs
•  Ethical answer rests on the philosophy of each
organiza#on and its managers
 Ethical Issues and the Need
Theories of Mo#va#on (Cont.)
•  Should managers consider cultural differences
in people’s needs?
–  Manage according to the needs of people in the
host culture, or
–  Manage as if they were in their home culture?
 Ethical Issues and the Need Theories
of Mo#va#on (Cont.)
•  U#litarian and rights-based analyses answer
"yes" to the first ques#on and "no" to the
second
–  U#litarian view: managing a mul#na#onal
opera#on so it aligns with local people's needs
–  Rights view: people have the right of congruence
with their needs in their work experiences