Clayton Alderfer’s Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG) theory is an extension of Herzberg’s and Maslow’s theories of motivation (Eloc,2020). ERG summaries Maslow and Herzberg’s theories and classifies human needs into three categories namely, existence, relatedness and growth needs.
Figure 1.0 : ERG theory of motivation
(Arnolds, 2002)
Existence Needs: The first two levels of Maslow's hierarchy are covered in this level: Safety & Physiological needs. It relates to an individual's need to stay alive and safe in the present as well as in future; it indicates that when a employee's physical needs are met, he feels physically comfortable to achieve other goals (Castellanos, 2014).
Relationship Needs: This level encompasses Maslow's third and fourth levels of hierarchy: Social needs & Self-esteem. It says that when a person feels physiologically safe and secure, he or she begins to focus on meeting social needs, and becomes suddenly interested in maintaining key interpersonal ties with others such as friends, family, coworkers, and employers. Relatedness provides a sense of identity and acceptance to the individual, and as a result, the individual feels a sense of belonging within his or her immediate society (Castellanos, 2014).
Growth Needs: This level encompasses the highest level of the hierarchy, similar to Maslow's theory: Self- actualization (Liang, MarkH & Chien ,2011). It suggests that when an individual feels safe, secure, and has recognized his own identity, he can seek to grow by being creative and productive, by expressing and implementing his own ideas in the workplace, and by feeling that his input is an important component in the accomplishment of meaningful tasks within the organization (Castellanos, 2014).
According to Caulton,(2012) ERG theory proposes to group Maslow’s Hierarchy into core concepts of Existence Needs, Relatedness Needs, and Growth Needs. However, each level of ERG Needs does not need to be completed before working to meet the needs of the other levels. Alderfer proposed that all of the needs could be worked on simultaneously. Employees can work on their basic needs for sustenance while also engaging in creative works (Caulton, 2012).
Video 1.0 : ERG Theory of motivation
Video 1.0 is illustrating that important principle to be aware in ERG theory is frustration regression principle, which basically says that if a higher-level need fails to be filled then a person may regress and seek to fulfill further lower-level needs instead now (Borkowski, 2009)
Common with the criticism levelled against Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, Crooks (as cited by Elock, 2020) emphasizes that the ERG theory fails to address a number of issues, of which the following two are the major ones. Firstly, human motivation is subjective. What is perceived by one person as a satisfying need may not be a satisfying need for another person. Secondly, not only do needs vary, but human behaviors as a result of an unsatisfied or satisfied need may also vary. Therefore, it can be argued that employee behaviors such as turnover and transfer from one location to another might be a result of either satisfied or unsatisfied needs in the workplace.
As a part of well-known organization in the south Asia, my company offers competitive salaries, incentives, and overtime to non-executive employees in order to meet the Existences needs. I believe that there is a friendly work environment in my organization and the management conducts monthly team gatherings and OBT training to improve the team community. It appears that this is how organizations attempt to meet the relatedness needs. When it comes to the growth needs, my company is practicing the pocket meeting concept for better communication & collecting the consents of all employees for decision making. Higher Management conducts weekly meetings with their line managers to discuss the next week's project execution plan. Line managers conduct the weekly meetings with other employees. All are respect to the other's ideas. In contrast, it provides soft skills development & technical training programs under the supervision of the HR division, with the aim of grooming the employees' careers. Management seeks to elicit innovative ideas from subordinates and implement them.
References
Arnolds, C., 2002. Compensation, esteem valence and
job performance: An empirical assessment of Alderfer's ERG theory. The
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(4), pp. 697-719.
Borkowski, N., 2009. Organizational
Behavior, Theory, and Design in Health Care. 1 ed. London: Jones and
Bartlett Publishers.
Castellanos, Y. E.
V., 2014. AN ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES THAT COULD AID THE COLLEGE
MANAGEMENT TO ENHANCE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, Dublin: NATIONAL COLLEGE OF
IRELAND.
Caulton, J., 2012.
The Development and Use of the Theory of ERG. Emerging Leadership
Journeys, 5(1), pp. 2-5.
Elock, E. S., 2020.
The Role of Motivational Theories in Shaping Teacher Motivation and
Performance: A Review of Related Literature. International Journal of
Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS, 4(4), p. 68.
Liang YC, M. C. C.,
2011. An empirical study of the existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG)
theory in consumer's selection of mobile value-added services. African
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Well explained. I would like to add a few things related to Alderfer’s ERG theory. This theory is applicable to the workplaces as it is more stable with the awareness of differences among people. Since people are different based on backgrounds, family circumstances and cultural environments, it helps to rank the needs of the people specially who are from other cultures (Kunchala, 2017).
ReplyDeleteThank you. According 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.
DeleteA good effort has been made to explain the depth of the theory and a comparison with the Maslow theory. It is evident that Alderfer is relatively new theory in comparison to Maslow. Moreover, Alderfer is a motivational construct with understanding the factors which contribute to individual human behavior. However, it cannot be validated by human behaviour. The theory elaborates that intrinsic factor cause a person to take specific actions. (Ivancevich et.al, 2008)
ReplyDeleteThank you Shanil. 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.
DeleteThe theory of existence, resistance, and growth, commonly known as ERG, is a motivational construct concerned with understanding the factors that contribute to individual human behavior. It is one of four content approaches that consider the intrinsic factors that cause a person to take specific actions (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2008).
ReplyDeleteThank you. 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 ( Ivancevich, Konopaske, and Matteson , 2008).
DeleteAccording to (McShane &Von Glinow 2000), It is not like Maslow’s model, nevertheless, ERG theory contains of ‘a frustration regression process’ whereby those who incapable to satisfy a higher transform to be frustrated and retrogress to the next lower need level. For example, if existence and relatedness needs have been contented but growth need achievement has been blocked, the individual will become discouraged and relatedness needs will again emerge as the central source of motivation
ReplyDeleteYes. As described by McGrath and Bates,(2017) one of the limitations highlighted in The ERG theory does not offer clear cut guidelines. This theory says that an individual can satisfy any of the three needs first. However, anyone cannot determined that which are the priorities for others.
DeleteAccording to Ivancevich, Konopaske, and Matteson (2008),ERG can be used to clarify and/or forecast organizational challenges, paradigms in partnerships, and decisions for personal development.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, 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)
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