motivation

Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs Theory Vs . Vroom 's Expectancy Theory

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Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs Vs . Vroom 's Expectancy Theory

Motivation in simple words is a drive , which enables a person in accomplishment of a specified task in a befitting manner . In psychological terms , motivation is the purpose for striving towards a goal . It forces a person to adopt a required behaviour that will ultimately guide and lead the person to the goal . Motivation is basically the reason for doing anything . It is the driving force behind all actions

of human beings , animals , and even lower organisms . Various theories have evolved over the period of time that adequately explain the process of motivation and work behaviour (Rose 1988 ,

. 25 . There is in fact a jungle of theories of motivation . What ever the approach being adopted to give meanings to the word `motivation ' it in any case is the art of helping people to focus their minds and energies on doing their work as effectively as possible . This essay will focus on two theories of motivation of two different approaches and will scrutinize these by comparing them with each other . The theories being addressed are the Maslow 's hierarchy of needs theory which is a content theory and the second will be the Vroom 's expectancy model from process approach The will first give synopsis of both the theories which will be followed by analysis and conclusion

Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs : Content Approach

The content approach enables us to understand what it is that motivates people . The content theorists are concerned with identifying the needs /drives that people have and how these needs /drives are prioritized . They are concerned with the types of incentives or goals people strive to attain in to be satisfied and perform well Abraham Maslow is considered to be the leading researcher in the field of behavioural changes and his hierarchy of needs theory identifies five levels of human needs namely physiological , safety , love , esteem and self-actualization . This theory stresses on satisfying each lower need before moving to the next higher level (Maslow 1943 , pp . 370-385

The first three levels comprise of deficiency needs which arise due to some deficiency in the physiological , safety /security , and love requirements of a human body . The physiological needs generally comprise of basic biological requirements like hunger , thirst , sleep and sex According to the Maslow , once these basic needs are satisfied , they no longer motivate . For example , a starving person will strive to obtain a carrot that is within reach . However , after eating his or her fill of carrots , the person will not strive to obtain another one and will be motivated only by the next higher level of needs . The next level defined by Maslow comprises of the `safety /security needs ' Maslow stresses emotional security as important as the physical safety . Like physiological needs , once the safety needs are satisfied they no longer motivate . The third level on Maslow 's hierarchy is the `the...