Alderfer –ERG
Theory
Alderfer
(Farnham, 2008) distinguished three requirements: existence, relationship, and
growth. Instead of the five needs outlined in Maslow's theory, this theory pushes
it into three categories that may include all the needs of human experience
Existence Needs:
These include basic material needs. In short, it involves a person's physical
and physical safety needs (Song, Wang, and Wei 2007).
Relationship Needs:
People need significant relationships (with family, peers or top executives),
love and belonging and they seek to achieve public fame and recognition. This
class of interests contains external elements of Maslow's social needs and
dignified interests (Song, Wang, and Wei. 2007)
Growth Needs:
This needs group brings together the needs of self-development, personal growth , and advancement. This set of needs includes Maslow's inherent component of
self-authentication and respectability (Song, Wang, and V. 2007)
Figure
1.2 Alderfer–ERG Theory
Source:
(Alderfer1969).
At a work level, this means that managers must recognize their
employees' multiple simultaneous needs. In Alderfer's ERG model, focusing
exclusively on one need at a time will not motivate employees. The
frustration-regression principle impacts workplace motivation. For example, if
growth opportunities are not provided to employees, they may regress to
relatedness needs, and socialize more with co-workers. If you can recognize
these conditions early, steps can be taken to satisfy the frustrated needs
until the employee is able to pursue growth again (Robbins and
Judge, 2008).
I work for a leading bank and if the bank is highly
controlled and position oriented and not too many opportunities exist for employee
to communicate and interact among themselves or with senior managers and
leaders. In such cases, the organizational culture is all about work and task
and the only conversations people have in the workplace community is related to
problems, issues, challenges, and transactions to achieve targets the
relatedness need remains unfulfilled. So there exists a high probability that
the employees or team can regress to lower level Existence needs and seek
motivation through only salary and other benefits.
Similarly
if growth needs are not being fulfilled and employees do not seem to find
meaning in their work they believe that they are considered just as tools or
resources to meet the organizational goals and objectives, an insignificant cog
in the wheel, it is again possible that the members can regress to the
existential need centering on the money. Hence it's important that all the three
needs are balanced and focused attention is given to fulfillment of all three
needs. It is a key role of managers, leaders and HR community to ensure that
opportunities exist at all levels within the group, team or organization to
fulfill the relatedness and growth needs through structured or unstructured
processes and interventions.
List of References:
Arnolds, C.
& Boshoff, B. (2002). Compensation,
esteem valence and job performance: an empirical assessment of Alderfer's ERG
theory, The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
Baldoni,
J., (2005). Motivation Secrets. Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders.
[Online] http://govleaders.org/motivation_secrets.htm.
Liang
YC, MarkH, Chien C. (2011). - An
empirical study of the existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) theory in
consumer's selection of mobile value-added services. Vol 5. African journal
of business management
As discussed by McGrath and Bates,(2017) one of the limitations highlight The ERG theory does not offer clear cut guidelines. This theory says that an individual can satisfy any of the three needs first. But how will we determine which of the three needs is more important to that person?
ReplyDeleteFor example, if growth opportunities are not provided to employees, they may regress to relatedness needs, and socialize more with co-workers. If you can recognize these conditions early, steps can be taken to satisfy the frustrated needs until the employee is able to pursue growth again (Robbins and Judge, 2008).
DeleteWell explained.On the other hand, the ERG theory describes that human needs are difficult to predict and therefore cannot follow a strict five-level hierarchy as proposed by Maslow. Also Alderfer argued that every human being is different. Therefore in the workplace employees will be different from each other and their needs could vary from one to another or from the same employee over time (Castellanos, 2014).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Alderfer's ERG theory allows the order of the needs to differ for different people.
DeleteAgreed, compared to Maslow's theory, needs aren't in order and can be fulfilled in any order based on the requirement (Leadership-Central.com, 2019)
ReplyDeleteAgreed.Alderfer's ERG theory allows the order of the needs to differ for different people.
DeleteHi Radchika,Agreed,to further elaborate outgrowth of Maslow's Needs Hierarchy, ERG can be used to clarify and/or forecast organizational challenges, paradigms in partnerships, and decisions for personal development. According to Ivancevich, Konopaske, and Matteson (2008).
ReplyDeleteAgreed.Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has been criticized and modified by various critics, among which Alderfer’s is probably the most interesting and logical one. Alderfer has compacted Maslow’s five needs into three broad categories – Existence, Relatedness, and Growth, based on which the theory has been named as ERG Theory of motivation. ERG theory alike Maslow’s theory describes the needs in the pecking order.
DeleteInformational post, thank you for sharing! In contrast to the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, ERG theory is less sophisticated and more convincing (Armstrong, 2009). Caulton (2012) states that ERG has been used by researchers extensively to understand what triggers employee satisfaction in different studies.
ReplyDeleteThe ERG Theory of Motivation is a simplified but more flexible version of Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs.
DeleteHi Radchika, Agree with you
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wanous and Zany (1977), conducted a study that supported the integrity of ERG categories. Assessing the relationship between need satisfaction, importance, and fulfillment, they found that need fulfillment moderated satisfaction and importance. In other words, the importance of the need was based on the manner of its fulfillment. In addition, this phenomenon was more likely to exist within the categories of existence, relatedness, and growth, rather than between them.