Contents

Five models of Human Behavior are discussed:

Part I

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Herzberg's Hygiene and Motivational Factors
• McGregor's Theory X & Theory Y

Part II

• Alderfer's Existence/Relatedness/Growth (ERG)
• Vroom's Expectancy Theory

 

The thought manifests as the word;

The word manifests as the deed;

The deed develops into habit;

And habit hardens into character;

So watch the thought and its ways with care,

And let is spring from love

Born out of concern for all beings…

As the shadow follows the body,

As we think, so we become.

- From the Dhammapada - Sayings of the Buddha

Leadership & Human Behavior

 

Alderfer's Existence/Relatedness/Growth (ERG)

Clayton Alderfer's (1969) Existence/Relatedness/Growth (ERG) Theory of Needs postulates that there are three groups of needs:

• Existence - This group of needs is concerned with providing the basic requirements for material existence, such as physiological and safety needs. This need is satisfied by money earned in a job so that one may buy food, shelter, clothing, etc.
• Relationships - This group of needs centers upon the desire to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. Since people normally spend approximately half of their waking hours on the job, this need is normally satisfied to some degree by their coworkers.
• Growth - These needs are met by personal development. A person's job, career, or profession provides significant satisfaction of growth needs.

Alderfer's ERG theory states that more than one need may be influential at the same time. If the gratification of a higher-level need is frustrated, the desire to satisfy a lower-level need will increase. He identifies this phenomenon as the "frustration & shy aggression dimension." Its relevance on the job is that even when the upper-level needs are frustrated, the job still provides for the basic physiological needs upon which one would then be focused. If, at that point, something happens to threaten the job, the person's basic needs are significantly threatened. If there are no factors present to relieve the pressure, the person may become desperate and panicky.

Notice that Alderfer's ERG theory is built upon Maslow's, however it does differ. First he collapses it from five needs to three. And unlike Maslow, he did not see these needs as being a hierarchy in which one climbs up, but rather being more of a continuum:

While there has not been a lot of research on Alderfer's theory, most contemporary theories and related studies tend to give it stronger support than Maslow's theory.

Vroom's Expectancy Theory

Vroom's Expectancy Theory (1964)states that an individual will act in a certain way based on the expectation (belief) that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. This motivational model has been modified by several people, to include Porter and Lawler (1968). Vroom's Expectancy Theory is written as a formula:

Valence x Expectancy x Instrumentality = Motivation

• Valence (Reward) = the amount of desire for a goal (What is the reward?)
• Expectancy (Performance) = the strength of belief that work related effort will result in the completion of the task (How hard will I have to work to reach the goal?)
• Instrumentality (Belief) = the belief that the reward will be received once the task is completed (Will they notice the effort I put forth?)

The product of valence, expectancy, and instrumentality is motivation. It can be thought of as the strength of the drive towards a goal. For example, if an employee wants to move up through the ranks, then promotion has a high valence for that employee. If the employee believes that high performance will result in good reviews, then the employee has a high expectancy. However, if the employee believes the company will not promote from within, then the employee has low instrumentality, and the employee will not be motivated to perform better.

Next Step

Return to Part I of Leadership and Human Behavior (Maslow, Herzberg, and McGregor)

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References

Alderfer, C. (1969). An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Needs. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, vol. 4, pp. 142 - 175.

Bootzin, R., Loftus, E., Zajonc, R., Hall, E. (1983). Psychology Today: An Introduction. New York: Random House. Fifth Edition.

Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the Nature of Man. Cleveland: World Publishing Co.

Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a Psychology of Being. (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Maslow, A. (1970).  Motivation and personality (2nd ed.).  New York:  Harper & Row.

Maslow, A. (1971). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature.  New York:  McGraw-Hill.

McGregor, D. (1957). Proceedings of the Fifth Anniversary Convocation of the School of Industrial Management, The Human Side of Enterprise. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (April 9, 1957).

Porter, L. & Lawler, E. (1968). Managerial Attitudes and Performance. Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey Press.

Vroom, V. (1964). Work and Motivation. New York: Jon Wiley & Sons.