Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow is well renowned for proposing the Hierarchy of Needs Theory in 1943. This theory is a
classical depiction of human motivation. This theory is based on the assumption that there is a hierarchy
of five needs within each individual. The urgency of these needs varies. These five needs are as follows-

FIGURE: Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Model

1. Physiological needs- These are the basic needs of air, water, food, clothing and shelter. In other
words, physiological needs are the needs for basic amenities of life.
2. Safety needs- Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional safety and protection.
For instance- Job security, financial security, protection from animals, family security, health
security, etc.
3. Social needs- Social needs include the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and
friendship.
4. Esteem needs- Esteem needs are of two types: internal esteem needs (self- respect, confidence,
competence, achievement and freedom) and external esteem needs (recognition, power, status,
attention and admiration).
5. Self-actualization need- This include the urge to become what you are capable of becoming /
what you have the potential to become. It includes the need for growth and self-contentment. It
also includes desire for gaining more knowledge, social- service, creativity and being aesthetic.
The self- actualization needs are never fully satiable. As an individual grows psychologically,
opportunities keep cropping up to continue growing.

According to Maslow, individuals are motivated by unsatisfied needs. As each of these needs is
significantly satisfied, it drives and forces the next need to emerge. Maslow grouped the five needs into
two categories - Higher-order needs and Lower-order needs. The physiological and the safety needs
constituted the lower-order needs. These lower-order needs are mainly satisfied externally. The social,
esteem, and self-actualization needs constituted the higher-order needs. These higher-order needs are
generally satisfied internally, i.e., within an individual. Thus, we can conclude that during boom period,
the employees lower-order needs are significantly met.

Implications of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory for Managers

As far as the physiological needs are concerned, the managers should give employees appropriate
salaries to purchase the basic necessities of life. Breaks and eating opportunities should be given to
employees.

As far as the safety needs are concerned, the managers should provide the employees job security,
 safe and hygienic work environment, and retirement benefits so as to retain them.

As far as social needs are concerned, the management should encourage teamwork and organize
social events.

As far as esteem needs are concerned, the managers can appreciate and reward employees on
accomplishing and exceeding their targets. The management can give the deserved employee higher
job rank / position in the organization.

As far as self-actualization needs are concerned, the managers can give the employees challenging
jobs in which the employees’ skills and competencies are fully utilized. Moreover, growth
opportunities can be given to them so that they can reach the peak.

The managers must identify the need level at which the employee is existing and then those needs can be
utilized as push for motivation.
Limitations of Maslow’s Theory

 It is essential to note that not all employees are governed by same set of needs. Different
individuals may be driven by different needs at same point of time. It is always the most powerful
unsatisfied need that motivates an individual.
 The theory is not empirically supported.
 The theory is not applicable in case of starving artist as even if the artist’s basic needs are not
satisfied, he will still strive for recognition and achievement.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator-
hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there
are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is
“No satisfaction” and the opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.

FIGURE: Herzberg’s view of satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

a. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for existence of
motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for long-term. But if these
 factors are absent / if these factors are non-existant at workplace, then they lead to
dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are those factors which when
adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not make them dissatisfied. These
factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance
factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job
environment/scenario. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the
individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:

 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It must be
equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies should not be too
rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible working hours, dress
code, breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans (mediclaim),
benefits for the family members, employee help programmes, etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe, clean and
hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained.
 Status - The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar and retained.
 Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his peers, superiors
and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should be no conflict or
humiliation element present.
 Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the employees.

b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded as

motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. These factors are inherent to work.
These factors motivate the employees for a superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers.
These are factors involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically rewarding.
The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit.
Motivational factors include:
 Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their accomplishments
by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement. This depends
on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and advancement
opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work. The
managers should give them ownership of the work. They should minimize control but
retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful, interesting and
challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated.

Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

The two factor theory is not free from limitations:

1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.

2. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity. But the research
conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and ignored productivity.
3. The theory’s reliability is uncertain. Analysis has to be made by the raters. The raters may spoil the
findings by analyzing same response in different manner.
 4. No comprehensive measure of satisfaction was used. An employee may find his job acceptable
despite the fact that he may hate/object part of his job.
5. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural reaction of employees
when they are enquired the sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. They will blame
dissatisfaction on the external factors such as salary structure, company policies and peer
relationship. Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for the satisfaction factor at work.
6. The theory ignores blue-collar workers. Despite these limitations, Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory is
acceptable broadly.

Implications of Two-Factor Theory

The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of the
hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the work
is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder and
better. This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job must
utilize the employee’s skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational factors
can improve work-quality.

Expectancy Theory of Motivation

Expectancy Theory of Motivation was developed by Victor H. Vroom in 1964 and extended by Porter and
Lawler in 1968.

The theory is based on the assumption that our behavior is based on making a conscious choice from a
set of possible alternative behaviors. According to Expectancy Theory, the behavior we choose will always
be the one that maximizes our pleasure and minimizes our pain.

As a manager, this means that one of your team members will only choose the right behavior (to work
hard) if they perceive the outcome of choosing this option is the most desirable for them. In simple terms,
that could mean that they might gain someone or that they might not lose something.

Within the theory there are three variables at play:

Expectancy. Effort -> Performance (E -> P)

Instrumentality. Performance -> Outcome (P -> O)

Valence. Outcome -> Reward (V(R))

All three factors must be present to motivate employees effectively.

1. Expectancy

Expectancy is the belief that if you work hard (effort) you will be able to hit the targets (performance) that
have been set for you by your manager.

You make this judgment based on a number of factors, including:

Your past experience.

Your confidence in your ability.

How difficult you perceive the target is to achieve, and whether or not the target is under your control.

An example of expectancy is thinking, “If I work hard I can achieve the targets my boss has set for me”.

2. Instrumentality

In this variable, you’re assessing how likely you are to receive a reward if you hit the targets that have
been set for you.

Again, you make this judgment based on a number of factors, including:

Is the relationship clear between performance and reward (outcome).

How much you trust the person who decides on the reward.

How transparent is the decision-making process around who gets what reward?

An example of instrumentality is thinking, “If I achieve all of the targets set for me then I believe I will get
promoted”.

3. Valence

So far we have a goal to hit and we understand the reward we’ll get if we hit it. The final piece of the
motivation puzzle is valence. Valence is simply the perceived value of the reward to you.

This could be negative if you actively want to avoid the reward, zero if you are unmotivated by the
reward, or one if you’re motivated by the reward.

When it comes to valency, an employee will have to weigh up the pros and cons, for example, “Do I want
to be promoted? Will the extra work result in even less time with my family? Is it really worth putting in a
serious effort for a whole year to receive a promotion and a 10% pay rise?”

Expectancy Theory Formula

Combining the three variables above gives us the following formula.

MF simply means Motivation Force, which you can think of as being someone’s motivation to do
something.

This formula is simply stating what we’ve already covered. That is, to be motivated you must think your
targets are achievable, you must clearly understand any reward you might receive, and you must actually
value the reward.
Expectancy theory of motivation
This theory was propounded by Victor Vroom. He has explained motivation as expectancy and hopes.
If people perform high, they expect high salary/ benefit, attractive benefits and remuneration
according to this theory there is interrelationship in between efforts, performance, expectancy and
outcome.

According to this theory, work effort is directed towards behaviors that people believe will lead to
desired outcomes. The basic element of this theory is that motivation depends on how much we want
something and how likely we think we are to get it. It normally happens among us that as we
experience different things in our lives, we tend to form expectations whether we can perform a job.
At the same time, we also develop expectations about whether our job performance and work
behavior lead to particular outcomes. Ultimately tend to direct our efforts to get these outcomes that
help us to fulfill our needs.

The theory states that an individual's performance depends on

1. Effort to performance (E--- > P) expectancy: it refers to person's perception of the probability that
effort will lead to performance. Expectancy is defined as a probability range between 0.0 and 1.0.
When a person expects that his effort will certainly accomplish the task then E---->P will be 1.0. On
the contrary, when a person is not certain that his or her performance will lead to task
performance then E---->P will be close to 0.0.

2. Performance to outcome (P---->O) expectancy: the degree to which an individual perceives the
probability that performance will lead to certain outcomes. If a person perceives there is absolute
certainty that a high performance will lead to a pay raise then P--->O will be close to 1.0. Whereas,
if the individual perceives that there is no certainty of a pay raise even after a high performance
level then P---->O will be close to 0.0.

3. Outcome valances: when an individual perceives that outcome leads to a high level of satisfaction
then he or she will be motivated to work. Valance is the anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction
that an individual feels towards an outcome. It ranges from -1 to +1 or from -100 to +100. A
positive valance means that the outcome will satisfy our needs whereas a negative valance means
that the outcome will not satisfy our needs.

Implication

As far as practical implications of expectancy theory are concerned, three conditions must be met to
motivate individual behavior at work. Firstly, the E---->P expectancy must be well above zero. In such
 a situation workers expect that exerting effort will certainly produce a high level of performance.
Second, similar to E----->P, the P----->O expectancy must also be well above zero. That is, the person
must believe that performance will realistically result in valued outcomes. Finally, the sum of all
valances to the individual must be positive. Apparently, performance outcomes influence work effort
only when they are valued by employees.

Achievement Theory of Motivation

McClelland, a psychologist, developed his Achievement Motivation Theory in the 1940s. McClelland
developed his theory based on his belief that all human beings have needs and naturally seek out ways to
have those needs met.

Achievement Motivation Theory is one of the famous works of American psychologist David Clarence
McClelland. This theory is also widely recognized as Need Achievement Theory, Need Theory and Three
Needs Theory. McClelland being influenced by Henry Murray’s initiatives developed this theory in the
early 60s.
Achievement Theory of Motivation is all about how needs of an individual change over a period of time
with changes in his experience. The theory also explains what effects an individual’s need for
achievement, power, and affiliation have on their behavior. McClelland has stated that every individual’s
motivation is driven by the need of these factors, irrespective of age, gender, race or culture one belongs
to.

Components of Achievement Theory of Motivation

Dominating factor
(components) of
S.N. motivation Characteristic of the person

 Are high performers

 Believe in excellence
 Have strong mind setting to accomplish the given
task
 Calculates risk of the task beforehand
 Demands regular feedback from the superiors.
 Prefers working alone to group works
1. Achievement  Appreciates accomplishment rather than rewards
(tangible or intangible)
 Have desire to control and influence others
 Are argumentative, competitive and assertive in
nature
 Enjoys status and recognition
2. Power  Are likely to feel frustration under uncontrollable
situations
 Desires to feel belongingness and relatedness
 Seeks love, affection and recognition
3. Affiliation  Are likely to agree on whatever his coworkers have
to say
  Fears rejection
 Prefers collaboration to competition
 Tends to avoid high risk and uncertainty
 Prefers group works to working alone
Explanation of the Components
Different people are motivated by different factors. These factors depend upon the nature or type of
person he/she is. Based on the fact, achievement theory of motivation was developed by considering
three major factors. They are

Need for achievement

There are people who are motivated by achievement or accomplishment in the workplace. Such people
are high performers and always look forward to excelling in their concerned field.
People, whose motivation is driven by achievement, prefer working on projects whose results are based
entirely on efforts and nothing else. Besides, they prefer moderately difficult or challenging tasks and
tend to avoid high risk as well as low-risk situations. It is because high-risk situations may result in
underachievement while low-risk situations are not convincing enough.
Talking about rewards, either tangible or intangible, it has negligible influence on people who are directed
by the need for achievement. However, they demand continued feedback from the superiors/supervisors
as it helps them in comparing their expected achievement with actual achievement.

Need for Power

According to McClelland, need for power is the desire in people to be able to control one’s as well as
other people’s actions. Such people’s motivation is neither driven by recognition nor by rewards, but only
by agreement and compliance from others.

Reportedly, people of this personality are found to be more argumentative, competitive, influencing and
assertive than those who value achievement and affiliation more. They are also known for their attitude
(positive) towards discipline.

However, people in this category are more likely to experience frustration in cases when situations are
out of control as they feel powerless.

Need for affiliation

Affiliation is positive, sometimes intimate, personal relationship.
In other words, affiliation can be defined as the positive response an individual receives in return of their
attempt to maintain an effective relationship with people who are present around him most of the time.

People who value affiliation above achievement and power always look forward to maintaining warm
interpersonal relationships with people they have recurring contact with. Having good bond with others
creates a feeling of belongingness and relatedness which automatically results in a supportive and
collaborative response from them.

However, these people are more likely to avoid highly competitive, uncertain and risky situations because
they desire to receive love and acceptance, and fear rejection. Thus, they also adhere to workplace ethics
and norms.
Implications of Achievement Theory of Motivation
The workforce is composed of employees with different nature. The employers must identify or recognize
these natures so that they could properly motivate employees and extract the best from them. While
different employees have different nature, employees can maintain a high level of motivation in them in
following ways.

Employees, whose motivation is driven by achievement, must be handed over challenging tasks with
achievable goals. While less challenging or low-risk tasks are perceived as tasks not worth spending time
and effort, tasks with unreachable goals demotivate these type of employees. Sports players are a good
example of people of this type.
Some employees’ motivation is highly influenced by power. Employees of this nature have strong desire
to acquire power or authority to manage self and others that they become committed to their duty even
when other motivational factors like payment are comparatively low. Example of such people is those
who join the police.

Employees, whose motivation is driven by affiliation, demand cooperative working environment. As these
employees prefer working in groups to working alone, they may be resistive to transfer due to their
preference to stay close to their friends and family. Their resistance can be observed even in cases when a
transfer is beneficial for personal development. Employees with such quality can perform well when they
are given tasks based on social interactions, for example, customer service, front desk clerk, etc.