David McClelland was a well-known Harvard professor who had been researching at the university for over thirty years. His research focused primarily on human motivation, but he also studied personalities in a broader sense (Johnson et al, 2018). This theory is also known as, The three social motives or Acquired Need Theory (Reduan, 2015).
According to the theory, three basic desires influence everyone's motivation. A person's motivation is driven by a desire for power, accomplishment, and affiliation. These needs are scalar, and everyone has a mix of them, though one is usually dominant. (Johnson et al, 2018). Everyone is more strongly motivated by some needs and less strongly motivated by others. He also stated that everyone has all three of these motives, albeit to varying degrees, and that the result of the needs is a unique mix that gives one's personality (McClelland, 1987).
McClelland’s theory of needs is based on three types of needs. They are described below.
Need for power
The unconscious desire to influence others and gain positions of authority. It is defined as the desire to influence others to behave in the same way that the individual would (Lussier and Achua, 2014). Employees who seek to influence, teach, or encourage others are highly motivated by power. They enjoy their jobs and place a high value on dedication (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017). Employees with a high level of this need seek position power to compel the actions of others. However, Powerful employees prefer to be in competitive, status-driven situations and actively seek the trappings of power (Rybnicek et al, 2019).
An employee's need for power can be of two kinds: personal or institutional. Those who require personal power want to be able to direct others. Individuals who require institutional power (also known as social power) want to organize the efforts of others to further the goals of an institution (Acquah, 2017). Employees typically develop a high level of risk tolerance. Because of their often highly competitive natures and need for ever-increasing status, they may be willing to take ever-increasing risks to increase their status and control (World of work project, 2018).
Need for Achievement
The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive for success is referred to as the Need for Achievement. The act of performing, obtaining, or accomplishing is referred to as achievement (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017). Need for achievement in simple term, a desire to outperform or outperform others, to solve problems and master difficult tasks (Anderson, 2018). The unconscious desire for excellence in accomplishments through individual efforts is referred to as the need for achievement (Lussier and Achua, 2014).
Employees who excel on the need for achievement have a stronger desire to perform at a higher level than their peers. They dislike succeeding solely by chance and prefer to be personally accountable for their success (Rybnicek et al, 2019). Furthermore, people with a high need for achievement are seen as more effective leaders and are happier in jobs that are challenging and require a high level of skill (Eisenberger et al. 2005).
Employees with high achievement needs seek to excel in their work and value recognition for their efforts. Also, they try to avoid situations that give only a minor gain, as well as high-risk situations where failure is possible (Acquah, 2017). McClelland discovered that people with a high need for achievement outperform those with a moderate or low need for achievement, and he observed regional and national differences in achievement motivation. He identified six characteristics of high need achievers (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017).
1. have a strong desire to take on personal responsibilities for completing a task such as a problem solving
2. set moderately challenging goals and take calculated risks
3. have a strong desire for feedback on performance
4. have a desire for success to achieve personal success
5. Look for difficult tasks.
6. individuals who do not shift the blame
Need for Affiliation
Affiliation need, according to Daft (2008), is the desire to form strong personal relationships, prevent conflict, and create a warm friendship. People who have an Affiliation need to seek social approval, companionship and fulfilling interpersonal relationships. It is also the unconscious desire to develop, maintain, and restore close personal relationships (Lussier and Achua, 2014).
Employees' primary motivation for doing good work is to please their co-workers and managers. And will go to any length to avoid disappointing them (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017). Employees who have a strong emotional need for affiliation can be very effective leaders in some situations. Their desire for social unity and sociability allows them to establish welcoming cultures, cohesive teams, and a genuine sense of collaboration and commonality (World of work project, 2018).
However, the same employees may not be effective managers when overly concerned with how others perceive them (Acquah, 2017). Employees who have a strong need for affiliation exhibit the following characteristics (Osemeke and Adegboyega, 2017).
1. have a strong desire for other employees’ acceptance and approval
2. tends to give in to the wishes of those co-worker’s friendship and companionship they value
3. respect a co-worker’s feelings
Management promoted an employee to the position of department manager at my workplace. That new manager was well-liked by everyone. That manager, according to McClelland's theory, belongs to the Need for Affiliation group. Employees liked that manager, so everything was fine at first. However, the manager's gentleness caused the employees to spend their working hours on personal projects. As a result, the department's performance declined.
When the management learned of the problems, they fired the manager and hired a new one. The newly appointed manager set project deadlines and strictly monitored daily progress. Also, whenever an employee needed help, that manager assisted and encouraged them. These actions improved the department's performance. According to McClelland's theory, the second manager belongs to the need for achievement group. That manager saw the department problems as a challenge and worked quickly to solve them.
Video 1.0 is explaining about McClelland’s theory and hoe to use that theory to monitor the employee’s performance.
Video 1.0: McClelland’s theory
(Source: EPM, 2018)
Reference
Acquah, A. (2017) Implications of the Achievement Motivation Theory for School Management in Ghana: A Literature Review. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(5), [online]. Available at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234675892.pdf. [Accessed on 01st November 2021].
Anderson, J. A. (2018) Managers’ Motivation Profiles: Measurement and Application. Business and Management, 8(2), [online]. Available at https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2158244018771732. [Accessed on 02nd November 2021].
Daft, R. L. (2008) The leadership experience. 4th edition. [online] Mason, OH: South Western, Cengage Learning. Available at https://pengalamanpangayoman.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/leadership-experience-2008.pdf. [Accessed on 06th November 2021].
Eisenberger, R., Jones, J. R., Stinglhamber, F., Shanock, L. and Randall, A.T. (2005) Flow experiences at work: for high need achievers alone?. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 26(7), [online]. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227534281_Flow_Experiences_at_Work_For_High_Need_Achievers_Alone. [Accessed on 02nd November 2021].
EPM, (2018) Three Needs Theory Explained. [online video]. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73ku3Ex_zZU. [Accessed on 06th November 2021].
Johnson, J., Irizarry, M., Nguyen, N. and Maloney, P. (2018) Part 1: Foundational Theories of Human Motivation. Motivation 101: A Guide for Public Servants, 1, [online]. Available at https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=motivationforpublicservants. [Accessed on 28th October 2021].
Lussier, R. N. and Achua, C. F. (2014) Leadership: Theory, application, skill development. 6th edition. [online] Boston, Cengage Learning. Available at https://dokumen.pub/qdownload/leadership-theory-application-amp-skill-development-1285866355-9781285866352.html. [Accessed on 01st November 2021].
McClelland, D. C. (1987) Human motivation. Cambridge University Press.
Osemeke, M. and Adegboyega, S. (2017) Critical Review and Comparism between Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland's Theory of Needs. Funai Journal of Accounting, 1(1), [online]. Available at https://www.fujabf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Critical-Review-and-Comparism-between-Maslow-Herzberg-and-McClellands-Theory-of-Needs.pdf. [Accessed on 01st November 2021].
Reduan. R. B. (2015) McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory. Sultan Idris Education University. [online]. Available at https://www.academia.edu/9358331/McClelland_s_Human_Motivation_Theory. [Accessed on 28th October 2021].
Rybnicek, R., Bergner, S. and Gutschelhofer, A. (2019) How individual needs influence motivation effects: a neuroscientific study on McClelland’s need theory. Rev Manag Sci, 13(1), [online]. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320358566_How_individual_needs_influence_motivation_effects_a_neuroscientific_study_on_McClelland%27s_need_theory. [Accessed on 01st November 2021].
World of work project (2018) McClelland’s Acquired Needs Motivation Theory. [online] World of work project. Available at https://worldofwork.io/2019/02/mcclellands-motivation-theory/. [Accessed on 01st November 2021].
Well written blog article Janakan. Further, McClelland proposes that those in top management positions should have a high need for power and a low need for affiliation (Hennessey et al., 2005). McClelland also believes that although workers with a need for achievement can make good managers, they are not best suited to being in director positions of the organization.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, according to McClelland, Effective management, results from several individual requirements that must be balanced by self-awareness and maturity. Further, employees can be motivated to come to work, which can affect their work effectiveness. Employee performance is important for organizations because it leads to business success, and it is important for individuals because it allows them to complete responsibilities (Putri and Wahyuningtyas, 2018).
DeleteHi janaka, agree with you, adding to your points, when considering the need theory, its important to differentiate the "needs" & "wants", where needs are universal regardless of geography or culture but wants can be different due to many given variables(Michalos, 2017).
ReplyDeleteAgreed Dineth, A need is a necessary requirement, whereas a want is a desire. The fulfillment of needs is necessary for survival, whereas the fulfillment of wants is not necessary for survival (Hasa, 2016).
DeleteHi Janakan, adding to your post according to the McClelland (1985) in overall explained, theoretical claims need motivation for employees when their need for power, affiliation, and achievement is activated.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Lakshan. Mcclelland theory states that all of these needs motivate individuals to varied degrees and proportions. The balance of these requirements in an individual creates a profile that might be beneficial in creating a motivating paradigm for them (Brandon, 2015).
DeleteAgree with you Janakan. In his 1961 book "The Achieving Society," David McClelland expanded on this study. He identified three motivators that he believes we all have: a desire for accomplishment, affiliation, and power. Depending on their strong motivation, people will have distinct qualities. These motivators, according to McClelland, may be learnt, which is why this theory is also known as the Learned Needs Theory.
ReplyDeleteThank you Isuru. McClelland's theory of needs, which is regarded as a content theory of motivation. In summary, McClelland's theory of needs proposes that each employee has many, often competing needs, and that employee motivation stems from their attempts to meet these needs (Rybnicek et al., 2017).
DeleteI agree with you "Although an exact understanding of motivation continues to evolve, mosttheoretical approaches argue that motivation emerges from both internal factors ofan individual that drive action and external factors of the environment that stimulateaction" (Locke and Latham 2004)
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Human motivation is based on the individual; each person has their own set of demands to meet, as well as the importance of building the optimal workplace structure and environment (Johnson et al., 2018).
DeleteHi Janakan, agreed, According to McClelland’s theory, a person’s specific needs are not natural but picked up during the course of their life.. These needs are shaped by the individual’s life experiences and can be classified under the three heads i.e. achievement, power and affiliation. According to McClelland, an individual’s quality of performance is directly influenced by one of these three needs. Hence, some people refer to McClelland’s theory as the Three Needs Theory or the Learned Needs Theory as well. (Lussier, R. N. and Achua, C. F. (2014)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Purnima. Every employee is driven by a primary need, and as a result, different stimulation is perceived as gratifying to varying degrees. McClelland's need theory provides both a set of well-defined internal motivation factors (needs)—particularly tailored for the workplace—and corresponding external incentive factors in this regard (Steers et al., 2004).
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