Alderfer's ERG Motivation Theory

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a structural progression of psychological and physical needs. Maslow hypothesized that there were two distinct types of needs: deficiency needs and growth needs2. The deficiency needs,

The hierarchy of needs was first introduced by Abraham Maslow and he believed that all humans have needs and that we all strive to fulfil these needs. Maslow organised these needs and labelled them deficiency needs and growth needs, in order to move onto the next set of needs he believed that they must be at the very least partially achieved. The first set of needs are the basic set of needs to stay alive for example food, water and security and then safety and security for example stability and not fearing for your life, and then love and belonging which allows us to build relationships and giving or receiving acceptance and love. The next set of needs is Esteem, this relates to respect and independence, these needs are deficit needs. The needs which need to be met after these needs are growth needs, these consist of cognitive and aesthetic needs, self-actualisation and transcendence which is all about realising your full potential and to experience meaning and beauty. (Miller and Gibb,

Psychologist Abraham Maslow created Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a list of necessary needs in order to live with healthy mental. The levels are physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. Physiological deals with survival needs which include food, shelter, and water. Safety is the need to be secure from danger, a shelter or safe environment. Love is the is need for affection and belongingness, friends and family. Esteem is the personal worth, success and achievements. Self-actualization is actualizing one’s potential and what you are capable of. According to Maslow, the most important level is physiological and is needed for survival.

The first level of Maslow’s hierarchy is physiological needs. I, as a person, feel as though I have met all of my needs. I have the comfort of a home thanks to my mother and brother, food on the table to eat, a place to sleep and to call mine, of course air, and an unlimited supply of water. If I was deprived of these resources, I think I would be depressed. So many individuals long for the basics necessities that we take for granted, and if I was to be put in the kind of position that didn't offer me these needs I would be

Maslow, A.H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review 50, 370-96—this article details the five basic needs. We are beings of want and in all of our wants we are partially satisfied and partially unsatisfied. The article discusses motivations for behavior and how Maslow’s hierarchy plays a part in these motivations.

These demands are ranked in the order that they most preoccupy the individual. To illustrate, an individual is not preoccupied by physiological needs such as hunger or thirst then he free to seek out that which gives him a sense of safety; moreover, if the individual isn’t preoccupied with finding a safety, warmth, and shelter, he can spend time time seeking out companionship (Huitt, 2007). Maslow proposes 8 levels of motivational needs, the first four, termed the deficiency needs, need to be fulfilled adequately before the second four, the growth needs, can be achieved. The deficiency needs are: bodily needs, the need for safety, social needs, and self esteem. The Growth needs are: the search for understanding, the need to be aesthetically pleased, self actualization, and finally, self-transcendence, which is the highest level, where one has acquired wisdom (Huitt

As it was mentioned before, the key idea of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory relates to the existence of several sets of motivation and needs that govern human behavior. Hence, the major concepts of this theory include certain needs that are grouped into sets based on their place within the hierarchy of all the needs. The first version of the theory has five needs, which are divided into

Abraham Maslow stated that humans are driven by biologically established needs, which he identifies as deficiency needs (basic) and growth needs (meta) (The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, 2017). As most theories, the theory of self-actualization theory is based on stages to pass from one to another. The Maslow 's theory is often displayed as a pyramid where the lowest level that has to be fulfilled before any other upper level are the basic needs and the complex needs are at the top of the pyramid. In addition, Maslow contends that these self-actualizing individuals are highly creative and demonstrate a capacity to resolve dichotomies inherent in ultimate contraries, such as life versus death and freedom versus determinism, as examples (Olson, 2013).

Abraham Maslow theory argues that basic needs must be fulfilled in order for a person to fulfill higher needs. Maslow believed that the first need to be met involves physiological needs such as food and water. Once physiological needs have been met, the person must fulfill safety needs. After a person feels safe and secure, they will rise to the next level in the hierarchy of needs. The next level involves the need to belong, be loved, and be accepted.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows us that the most basic need is physiological needs that assure our survival like water, air, and food. Since these are the most important because without these needs the body shuts down they should be seen to first for survival. Maslow places Safety as the second most important need because after the survival need is met the human personality needs to feel safe. Safety comes in many forms from job security to health and well-being without safety the person will have stress disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and generational trauma for example, the holocaust victims and the generational fear that another might come about to the people. After safety has been taken care of the human need is love and to feel like they belong somewhere. Friendship, Family, and intimacy for example a person who has been abused or neglected might feel unworthy of love or even feel like they have to stay connected to the abusive person so they can have that intimacy even though it is hurtful.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explain the range of influence that growth needs have on the development of personality. Because of this, Maslow divided motivational needs into groups. The first group is the physiological needs, which include; air, drink food, water, warmth, shelter and sleep. The next level is the safety needs which include; security, order, law, protection from elements, and freedom of fear.

The first level of the hierarchy is the physiological needs, which include, the need for food, water, shelter and warmth. Most people should achieve this as a baby. These are the needs that are necessary for survival. Without these it is impossible for a human to function.

These needs cover everyday recurring human processes that help us function physically. Under physiological needs is our need to eat, drink, sleep, breathe and in other sources, sex. Unlike other needs, our physiological needs are the only kind of needs that can be over-satisfied (e.g. over-eating). Once we satisfy our physiological needs, we now can attend our need for safety, which covers every sense of the word. What I mean by “every sense of the word” is that safety is not limited to physical safety from external factors such natural disasters or terrorism. Safety can also take in the form of stability in one’s occupation, one’s resources in providing for one’s self, and even one’s need to be away from fear. With this satisfaction of such needs, we are now faced with the need for love. Unlike the first two needs, the need for love is far more dependent on abstract factors such as affection and belongingness and tends to stray away from mundane entities such as food and money. The need for love is our need to be in intimate relationships with others whatever the nature of relationship this may be. Once we have achieved love, Maslow postulates that humans will now work on achieving one’s self-esteem. Self-esteem needs cover self-confidence and the recognition of a positive reputation. Lastly, we are now faced with the highest need on Maslow’s hierarchy: self-actualization. Albeit unlike the previously

According to the ERG theory "existence needs are the desire for physiological and material well-being, relatedness needs are the desire for satisfying interpersonal relationships and growth needs are the desire for continued personal growth and development"(Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn 2005, p.5 chpt.6). For the same reason's that Maslow's theory would not be a good choice for this organization to use to motivate their sales staff; the ERG theory is also not suited for this type of employee group.

Clayton Paul Alderfer was a psychologist who was born on 1st September, 1940 in Pennsylvania. He expounded Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by integrating it into the existence, relatedness and growth model. He is also the proponent of frustration regression principle. This paper is a critique of Alderfer’s existence, relatedness and growth (ERG) model and its application today in the world of business.