MCCLELLAND'S THEORY OF NEEDS

According to McClelland's tracheotomy of needs theory, the three needs, need for affiliation, need for power, and need for achievement are what drive most people's conduct at work. The hypothesis is supported empirically by a substantial body of work by McClelland and his collaborators that spans over 20 years (Harrell and Stahl, 1984). McClelland concentrated on describing and evaluating three different personality types that were high in one of the three primary acquired motives: the need for power, the need for affiliation, or the need for achievement. The desire to succeed in circumstances where one's performance will be judged against a standard is known as the "need for achievement." Affiliation can entail concern over creating, sustaining, or recovering a favorable affective relationship with another individual or persons. "Need for affiliation is the reason to strive for pleasant, sometimes intimate, personal interactions. A person with a strong craving for power will not seek praise or approval from others and will instead work to manipulate others in order to further their own aims or the goals of the greater good. People with a strong craving for power tend to just want others' cooperation and obedience rather than their approval or recognition (Woodside, Megehee, Isaksson, and Ferguson, 2020). These intrinsic motivators are rewards in and of themselves. Each of these demands has a different weight depending on the individual (Lilly, Duffy and Virick, 2006).

According to this notion, a person looks for a position that, either by its inherent qualities or managerial opportunities will meet his or her demands. For instance, those who have a high demand for achievement prefer employment that places a strong emphasis on personal performance (Liu and Wohlsdorf Arendt, 2016). Individuals with a high need for attachment, however, appreciate a company where the employers put their people first, and those with a strong desire for power favor positions that allow them to use their leadership abilities (Robbins, Coulter, and DeCenzo, 2008). Motives, rewards, and activity inhibition are the key elements of this approach. Achievement, power, and affiliation-related unconscious motives are internal feelings that drive and guide behavior. The achievement motive is an underlying need that drives people to work hard toward challenging or unique personal goals (Spangler, Tikhomirov, Sotak, and Palrecha, 2014).

Let's look at how people's desires for achievement, power, and affiliation may impact how they feel about their professions and how well they perform at work.

PEOPLE WITH STRONG AFFILIATION NEEDS

People with strong affiliation needs are drawn to work settings where they can cultivate and preserve pleasant ties with coworkers. When these individuals hold formal leadership roles, internal conflicts frequently arise because their desire for pleasant relationships with their coworkers conflicts with the normal demand of such positions that must discipline their subordinates (Harrell and Stahl, 1984). Making difficult decisions involving friends would be challenging for leaders with high leader affiliations. In bureaucratic institutions, excessive attachment can also result in corruption and favoritism (Spangler, Tikhomirov, Sotak, and Palrecha, 2014).

 

PEOPLE WITH STRONG ACHIEVEMENT NEEDS

Behavior that is focused on assessing one's own ability with respect to a standard of excellence is referred to as achievement motivation. In its purest sense, it refers to taking part in a task in order to determine one's capacity for success (Grund, Galla, and Fries, 2022). McClelland (1988) is of the view strong achievers "tend to seek out and perform better at moderately demanding tasks, take personal responsibility for their performance, seek performance feedback on how well they are doing, and explore new and more efficient ways of doing things (Burk and Wiese, 2018). The tendency to overlook interpersonal or political concerns for the sake of work completion is the negative side of the need for achievement. People with a high demand for achievement may struggle to work in groups, be uninterested in making decisions and upholding authority, and be ignorant of interpersonal interactions (Spangler, Tikhomirov, Sotak, and Palrecha, 2014).

 

PEOPLE WITH A STRONG NEED FOR POWER

People with high power motivation love using their social influence to make an impact on their surroundings, particularly the people they deal with. They also enjoy being persuasive and attracting attention. Power motivation is characterized by three themes:

01.          Powerful, decisive action (including providing assistance to others)

02.          Emotional effect

03.          Concern for reputation, fame, and state (Spangler, Tikhomirov, Sotak, and Palrecha, 2014).

According to Spangler, Tikhomirov, Sotak, and Palrecha, (2014) the problem of "abuse of power," which is frequently seen in bureaucratic environments, may result from a leader's need for power paired with the ability to exploit power for personal objectives.

 

APPLYING THE THEORY TO THE ORGANIZATION I WORK FOR IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

PEOPLE WITH STRONG AFFILIATION NEEDS (Application to the organization I work for in the insurance industry) 

The organization I work for performs team-building activities such as “outbound training” to nurture strong social contact among employees to communicate and learn about one another. Apart from the said the organization also focuses on group success depending on the circumstance instead of individual success. For example, team goals are set up so that, regardless of who contributed more, the entire branch is rewarded if they meet the goal during a specific period of time. As a result, the entire team is highly motivated when goals are met and shares in the benefits of their joint efforts.

 

PEOPLE WITH STRONG ACHIEVEMENT NEEDS (Application to the organization I work for in the insurance industry).   

The company I work for values employee performance, and there are many different methods by that achievers are recognized. The simplest form of appreciation for accomplishment is a thank you note delivered via letter to the person in question who has accomplished his assigned goals, such as meeting a monthly sales target.  The most lavish method of reorganizing staff is done during an annual awards ceremony, where outstanding performers who have made noteworthy contributions to the organization's success are recognized and honored in front of the entire organization.

PEOPLE WITH STRONG NEED FOR POWER (Application to the organization I work for in the insurance industry).  

An instance I recall is when the product development team came up with an idea to get an employee to name the new product and the opportunity was given to all. The employee who came up with the name was later recognized and appreciated while rewarded via a cash prize.  This created a reputation and fame for the employee in concern among his colleagues.

 

Source: Management Courses - Mike Clayton

REFERENCES   

Burk, C. and Wiese, B., 2018. Professor or manager? A model of motivational orientations applied to preferred career paths. Journal of Research in Personality, 75, pp.113-132. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.06.002 [Accessed 26 August 2022].

Grund, A., Galla, B. and Fries, S., 2022. Achievement motivation in students' everyday lives: Its relationship to momentary positive and negative activation and the moderating role of mindfulness. Learning and Individual Differences, 97, p.102176. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102176Get [Accessed 5 September 2022].

Harrell, A. and Stahl, M., 1984. McClelland's trichotomy of needs theory and the job satisfaction and work performance of CPA firm professionals. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 9(3-4), pp.241-252. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/0361-3682(84)90010-2 [Accessed 26 August 2022].

Lilly, J., Duffy, J. and Virick, M., 2006. A gender‐sensitive study of McClelland's needs, stress, and turnover intent with work‐family conflict. Women in Management Review, 21(8), pp.662-680. [online]  Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/09649420610712045 [Accessed 26 August 2022].

Robbins, S., Coulter, M. and DeCenzo, D., 2008. Fundamentals of management. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Spangler, W., Tikhomirov, A., Sotak, K. and Palrecha, R., 2014. Leader motive profiles in eight types of organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(6), pp.1080-1094. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2014.10.001 [Accessed 5 September 2022].

Woodside, A., Megehee, C., Isaksson, L. and Ferguson, G., 2020. Consequences of national cultures and motivations on entrepreneurship, innovation, ethical behavior, and quality-of-life. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 35(1), pp.40-60. [online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-10-2018-0290 [Accessed 26 August 2022].