Classical Theories of Motivation
February 12, 2025
The Concept of Civil Liberties and Human Rights An important topic in political science concerns the provision of civil liberties and the practice of human rights in modern nation states. It goes without saying that in dictatorships, civil liberties are curtailed, and human rights are nonexistent. Hence, our focus in this article is on the […]
There are some tasks which can’t be done alone. Individuals need to come together, discuss things among themselves and work together towards the realization of a common goal. The individuals forming a team should ideally think more or less on the same lines and should have similar interests and objective. People with absolutely different tastes […]
In today’s world nothing can be done all alone. We need people around who can help and guide us at the times of crisis. Remember conflicts and misunderstandings lead you nowhere. They are just a sheer waste of time and energy. Individuals ought to be cordial with each other for peace at the workplace as […]
Crisis refers to sudden unplanned events which cause major disturbances in the organization and trigger a feeling of fear and threat amongst the employees. Following are the types of crisis: Natural Crisis Disturbances in the environment and nature lead to natural crisis. Such events are generally beyond the control of human beings. Tornadoes, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, […]
The World Economy is in a Perfect Storm of Economic Events The world economy is stagnating and while the stock market is booming, the real economy that consists of manufacturing and agriculture is in dire straits. While the United States is being nudged towards recession due to the effects of the US-China Trade War, Europe, […]
To bring Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation in synchronization with empirical research, Clayton Alderfer redefined it in his own terms. His rework is called as ERG theory of motivation. He recategorized Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into three simpler and broader classes of needs:
The significance of the three classes of needs may vary for each individual.
While according to ERG theory, if a higher-level need aggravates, an individual may revert to increase the satisfaction of a lower-level need. This is called frustration-regression aspect of ERG theory.
For instance – when growth need aggravates, then an individual might be motivated to accomplish the relatedness need and if there are issues in accomplishing relatedness needs, then he might be motivated by the existence needs. Thus, frustration/aggravation can result in regression to a lower-level need.
According to Alderfer, an individual can work on growth needs even if his existence or relatedness needs remain unsatisfied. Thus, he gives explanation to the issue of “starving artist” who can struggle for growth even if he is hungry.
Managers must understand that an employee has various needs that must be satisfied at the same time.
According to the ERG theory, if the manager concentrates solely on one need at a time, this will not effectively motivate the employee. Also, the frustration-regression aspect of ERG Theory has an added effect on workplace motivation.
For instance – if an employee is not provided with growth and advancement opportunities in an organization, he might revert to the relatedness need such as socializing needs and to meet those socializing needs, if the environment or circumstances do not permit, he might revert to the need for money to fulfill those socializing needs. The sooner the manager realizes and discovers this, the more immediate steps they will take to fulfill those needs which are frustrated until such time that the employee can again pursue growth.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *