Clayton Alderfer's ERG Theory of Motivation: A Departure from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Slides of Psychology

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ADMINISTRATIVE THINKERS

MPA SEMESTER II

PAPER: ADMINISTRATIVE THOUGHTS

TOPIC COVERED: CLAYTON ALDERFER

Prof. NAND LAL BHARTI

PROFESSOR AND HEAD

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW

CLAYTON ALDERFER(1940-2015)

INTRODUCTION :

American psychologist and consultant B.A. in psychology, 1962 Ph.D in psychology, 1966 certification by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), 1977

NOTABLE WORK:

1. An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Needs; Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance,
2. Existence, relatedness, and growth: Human needs in organizational settings,
3. The practice of organizational diagnosis: Theory and methods. Oxford University Press, 2005
4. The Five Laws of Group and Intergroup Dynamics. 2005
5. Diversity in organizations. Handbook of psychology. 2002 INFLUENTIAL IDEAS/CONCEPT
   1. ERG THEORY OF MOTIVATION

ERG THEORY

Clayton Alderfer further developed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by categorizing the hierarchy into his ERG theory (Existence, Relatedness, and Growth).

ERG THEORY is a theory of human motivation that focuses on three groups of needs that form a hierarchy: existence needs relatedness needs growth needs. The theory suggests that these needs change their position in the hierarchy as circumstances change.

Existence Needs Include all material and physiological desires (e.g., food, water, air, clothing, safety, physical love and affection). Maslow's first two levels. Relatedness Needs Encompass social and external esteem; relationships with significant others like family, friends, co-workers and employers. This also means to be recognized and feel secure as part of a group or family. Maslow's third and fourth levels. Growth Needs Internal esteem and self actualization; these impel a person to make creative or productive effects on himself and the environment (e.g., to progress toward one's ideal self). Maslow's fourth and fifth levels. This includes desires to be creative and productive, and to complete meaningful tasks

ERG THEORY…

Even though the priority of these

needs differ from person to

person, Alberger's ERG theory

priorities in terms of the

categories' concreteness.

Existence needs are the most

concrete, and easiest to verify.

Relatedness needs are less

concrete than existence needs,

which depend on a relationship

between two or more people.

Finally, growth needs are the least

concrete in that their specific

objectives depend on the

uniqueness of each person.

Relationships between Alderfer's ERG

theory concepts

There are three relationships among the different categories in Alderfer's ERG theory: Satisfaction-progression Moving up to higher-level needs based on satisfied needs.With Maslow, satisfaction-progression plays an important part. Individuals move up the need hierarchy as a result of satisfying lower order needs. In Alderfer's ERG theory, this isn't necessarily so. The progression upward from relatedness satisfaction to growth desires does not presume the satisfaction of a person's existence needs. Frustration-regression If a higher level need remains unfulfilled, a person may regress to lower level needs that appear easier to satisfy. Frustration-regression suggests that an already satisfied need can become active when a higher need cannot be satisfied. Thus, if a person is continually frustrated in his/her attempts to satisfy growth, relatedness needs can resurface as key motivators. Satisfaction-strengthening Iteratively strengthening a current level of satisfied needs. Satisfaction- strengthening indicates that an already satisfied need can maintain satisfaction or strengthen lower level needs iteratively when it fails to gratify high-level needs.

Differences between ERG theory and Maslow's

model

Alderfer's ERG motivation theory differs from Maslow's theory in

three ways:

1. A lower level need does not have to be gratified (i.e., a person

may satisfy a need at hand, whether or not a previous need has

been satisfied);

2. If a relatively more significant need is not gratified, the desire to

gratify a lesser need will be increased (i.e., the frustration in

meeting high-order needs might lead a person to regress to a

more concrete need category);

3. Alderfer's ERG theory allows the order of the needs to differ for

different people (e.g., it accounts for the "starving artist" who

may place growth needs above existence ones).

REFERENCES

1. Existence, relatedness, and growth: Human needs in

organizational settings,

2. Manoj Dixit; et. Al - Public Administration
3. Maheshwari, S.R. - Administrative Thinkers
4. Prasad & Prasad - Administrative Thinkers