Which of the following needs are identified by McClellands acquired needs theory?

What is Acquired Needs Theory?

Acquired needs theory, also known as McClelland's Needs Theory, Three-Needs theory, Achievement Motivation Theory, or Learned Needs theory, is a theory that is based on the notion that people's needs are acquired as they live their lives or through experiences of life. The needs are derived from the reaction to the stimuli in the external environment.

Back to: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

How does McClelland's Acquired Needs Theory Work?

Acquired Needs Theory was proposed by a psychologist David McClelland. 

He proposed that an individual's needs are a result of experience acquired through life. 

Leaders can motivate subordinates by understanding the individual needs and finding ways to foster acquiring those needs. 

According to McClellan, there are only three needs, 

• achievement, 
• affiliation, and 
• power. 

These needs are tested using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) that uses images. 

The respondents view pictures and then create stories about them. These responses are evaluated and analyzed. Then the ratings attributed to each of the three needs are identified. 

Managers are supposed to be aware of the attributes given to each of the three needs. They provide the basis for their use and effectiveness in a firm. 

Even More on What is McClellands Needs Theory?

McClelland identified three basic motivating needs:

What is the need for Power? 

Power concerns the ability to influence others. Individuals with high power need are motivated to acquire a position through which they can influence and control others. 

Characteristics of power-need individuals include assertiveness, outspokenness, demanding, practical (rather than sentimental), and involved. 

The need for power can be effective in management positions if it is used to create better conditions or a more positive work environment. However, it can come at the expense of fostering necessary relationships or if it is used for ones personal gain at the expense of others or the organization. 

The people who have a high need for power have a desire to influence and control situations and people. 

People who become excellent managers have a high need for organizational power. This enables them to prioritize the needs of the organization. They need to control and organize the work of other people, resources and processes. 

One of the management principles is that the requirement for an association is constant in an organization in which individual power gives the ability to control the organization parts to the upper and middle management.

What is the need for Affiliation? 

This is the need for connection with others and is accepted (liked by others). It seeks to be emotionally attached and to avoid the pain of rejection. 

Characteristics of power-need individuals also include a need for intimacy and the desire to console others during difficult times. 

In management, this type of need can be a disadvantage. The manager tends to focus more on how they are perceived by others than on task accomplishment or performance. Disciplining workers can be difficult. 

Those individuals who have a high sense of association do communicate effectively with others. They usually favor tasks that foster the development and the maintenance of a relationship.

What is the need for Achievement? 

This is the need for personal achievement and is intrinsically motivated by task completion. 

Characteristics of achievement-based individuals include tendencies to take moderate-risk (not high-risk) decisions, prefer explicit goals, and seek immediate feedback on work. 

These individuals are highly dedicated to job task completion and meeting deadlines rather than focusing on material rewards. 

These individuals may find it difficult to manage others and to delegate tasks to others. They tend to be micromanagers, expect work to be completed exactly as directed, and expect others to be as motivated as they are. 

People who have high achievement needs are known as moderate risk takers since they need challenges to get the feeling of accomplishment. They do not attempt high-risk problems because of the high risk of failure. 

People like these are usually useful in situations that demand creativity and innovation. 

McClelland’s theory of needs is one such theory that explains this process of motivation by breaking down what and how needs are and how they have to be approached. David McClelland was an American Psychologist who developed his theory of needs or Achievement Theory of Motivation which revolves around three important aspects, namely, Achievement, Power, And Affiliation.

This theory was developed in the 1960s and McClelland points out that regardless of our age, sex, race, or culture, all of us possess one of these needs and are driven by it. This theory is also known as the Acquired Needs as McClelland put forth that the specific needs of an individual are acquired and shaped over time through the experiences he has had in life.

Psychologist David McClelland advocated the Need theory, also popular as Three Needs Theory. This motivational theory states that the needs for achievement, power, and affiliation significantly influence the behavior of an individual, which is useful to understand from a managerial context.

This theory can be considered an extension of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Per McClelland, every individual has these three types of motivational needs irrespective of their demography, culture, or wealth. These motivation types are driven by real-life experiences and the views of their ethos.

Contents

• 1. Need For Achievement
• 2. Need For Power
• 3. Need For Affiliation
• 4. Using the Theory
• The following two steps process can be used to apply McClelland’s theory of needs:
  • Step 1: Identify the Motivational Needs of the Team
  • Step 2: Approaching Team According to To Their Need type
  • Comparative Theories

1. Need For Achievement

The need for achievement as the name itself suggests is the urge to achieve something in what you do. If you are a lawyer it is the need to win cases and be recognized, if you are a painter it is the need to paint a famous painting.

It is the need that drives a person to work and even struggle for the objective that he wants to achieve. People who possess high achievement needs are people who always work to excel by particularly avoiding low reward low-risk situations and difficult to achieve high-risk situations.

Such people avoid low-risk situations because of the lack of a real challenge and their understanding that such achievement is not genuine. They also avoid high-risk situations because they perceive and understand it to be more about luck and chance and not about one’s own effort. The more achievements they make the higher their performance because of higher levels of motivation.

These people find innovative clever ways to achieve goals and consider their achievement a better reward than financial ones. They take calculated decision and always appreciate feedback and usually works alone.

The individuals motivated by needs for achievement usually have a strong desire of setting up difficult objectives and accomplishing them. Their preference is to work in a results-oriented work environment and always appreciate any feedback on their work. Achievement-based individuals take calculated risks to reach their goals and may circumvent both high-risk and low-risk situations.

They often prefer working alone. This personality type believes in a hierarchical structure derived primarily from work-based achievements.

2. Need For Power

The need for power is the desire within a person to hold control and authority over another person and influence and change their decision in accordance with his own needs or desires. The need to enhance their self-esteem and reputation drives these people and they desire their views and ideas to be accepted and implemented over the views and ideas over others.

These people are strong leaders and can be best suited to leading positions. They either belong to Personal or Institutional power motivator groups. If they are a personal power motivator they would have the need to control others and an institutional power motivator seeks to lead and coordinate a team towards an end.

The individuals motivated by the need for power have a desire to control and influence others. Competition motivates them and they enjoy winning arguments. Status and recognition is something they aspire for and do not like being on the losing side.

They are self-disciplined and expect the same from their peers and teams. They do not mind playing a zero-sum game, where, for one person to win, another must lose and collaboration is not an option. This motivational type is accompanied by needs for personal prestige, and better personal status.

3. Need For Affiliation

The need for affiliation is the urge of a person to have interpersonal and social relationships with others or a particular set of people. They seek to work in groups by creating friendly and lasting relationships and have the urge to be liked by others. They tend to like collaborating with others to competing with them and usually avoids high-risk situations and uncertainty

The individuals motivated by the need for affiliation prefer being part of a group. They like spending their time socializing and maintaining relationships and possess a strong desire to be loved and accepted. These individuals stick to basics and play by the books without feeling a need to change things, primarily due to a fear of being rejected.

People in this group tend to adhere to the norms of the culture in that workplace and typically do not change the norms of the workplace for fear of rejection. Collaboration is the way to work for the competition remains secondary. They are not risk seekers and are more cautious in their approach. These individuals work effectively in roles based on social interactions, for instance, client service and other customer interaction positions.

4. Using the Theory

McClelland’s theory can be applied to manage the corporate teams by being identifying and categorizing every team member amongst the three needs. Knowing their attributes may certainly help to manage their expectations and running the team smoothly.

The following two steps process can be used to apply McClelland’s theory of needs:

Step 1: Identify the Motivational Needs of the Team

Examining the team to determine which of the three needs is a motivator for each person. Personality traits and past actions can help in this process.

For example, someone who always takes charge of the team when a project is assigned. The one who speaks up in meetings to encourage people, and delegates responsibilities in order to facilitate achieving the goals of the group. Someone who likes to control the final deliverables. This team member is likely being driven by power.

Another team member who does not speak during meetings, and is happy agreeing with the team thoughts, is good at managing conflicts and may seem uncomfortable while someone talks about undertaking high-risk, high-reward tasks. This team member is likely being driven by affiliation.

Step 2: Approaching Team According to To Their Need type

Based on the motivating needs of the team members, alter your leadership style to assign projects according to the type of need of each individual team member. Challenging projects would definitely be a part of a work portfolio of someone who enjoys power while relatively simpler projects go to the kitty of someone derived from affiliation.

This information is crucial to influence while setting up relevant goals for the individual, monitoring, providing feedback, recommending the learning plan, etc. If a particular need type does not fit the position of the individual, he/she can be made aware of the same, so that they can either work in the right direction or accept their fate.

Comparative Theories

Another similar theory, Sirota’s Three-Factor Theory, also proposes three motivating factors that are close but not exactly the same as to McClelland, they are equity/fairness, achievement, and camaraderie.

A difference noted between Sirota’s and McClelland’s theory is that according to Sirota everyone starts a new job with enthusiasm and motivation to do good. But with time, poor company policies or any other conditions, causing employees to lose their motivation and effectiveness on work. While McClelland’s theory, states that one leading motivator helps individuals perform, which is generally based on one’s culture and life experiences.

Which of the following statements is true according to Mcclellands theory of needs?

Which describes McClelland's theory of needs?

Which of the following needs identified in the three needs theory has been researched the most?

What are the stages of Victor Vroom's?