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may cause resentment if they are not and if they have to sacrifice a Sunday afternoon
for a company picnic). Providing promotion opportunities at work, recognizing a
person’s accomplishments verbally or through more formal reward systems, job titles
that communicate to the employee that one has achieved high status within the

organization are among the ways of satisfying esteem needs. Finally, self-
actualization needs may be satisfied by providing development and growth
opportunities on or off the job, as well as by assigning interesting and challenging
work. By making the effort to satisfy the different needs each employee may have at
a given time, organizations may ensure a more highly motivated workforce.
Figure 14.5

© The New Yorker Collection 1995 Leo Callum from cartoonbank.com. All
Rights Reserved.
ERG Theory
ERG theory of Clayton Alderfer is a modification of Maslow’s hierarchy of
[3]
needs. Instead of the five needs that are hierarchically organized, Alderfer
proposed that basic human needs may be grouped under three categories,
namely, Existence, Relatedness, and Growth (see the following figure). Existence
need corresponds to Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, relatedness
corresponds to social needs, and growth need refers to Maslow’s esteem and self
actualization.
Figure 14.6 ERG Theory

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