Applying Alderfer's Existence, Relatedness, and Growth Model in Today's Business World

Critique

Clayton Paul Alderfer was a psychologist who was born on 1st September, 1940 in Pennsylvania. He expounded Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by integrating it into the existence, relatedness and growth model. He is also the proponent of frustration regression principle. This paper is a critique of Alderfer’s existence, relatedness and growth (ERG) model and its application today in the world of business.

Alderfer’s ERG model provides a satisfactory insight of how human beings strive to satisfy their needs for existence, relatedness and growth. He postulates that existence needs are fulfilled by the basic material things such as clothing, food and shelter (Alderfer, 1977, p. 132). Alderfer argues physiological and safety needs are lower in order and classifies them as existence needs. His model places Maslow’s esteem and interpersonal relations into the relatedness category. On the other hand, the growth category entails higher order needs such as self actualization needs. He is also responsible for the frustration regression theory, which explains that if needs high in the hierarchy are not satisfied, then an individual puts more effort to achieve the needs that are lower in order. For instance, if needs such as esteem and interpersonal relations are not fulfilled; the person will put more effort to achieve physiological and safety needs. This is simply because the lower level needs are easier to achieve.

Existence Needs

These are needs that are mainly concerned with basic survival and are considered as the lowest in order. Alderfer argues that this level of needs must be satisfied before one can think of all the other needs. At this stage, all the efforts are geared towards getting food, clothes and housing. Lack of n...

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...oncern is whether needs are satisfied or not, and he explains that these two options determines whether the individual becomes fulfilled or frustrated.

Works Cited

Alderfer, C. P. (1972). Existence, Relatedness, and Growth: Human needs in organizational settings. New York, NY: Free Press.

Alderfer, C. P. (1977). A critique of Salancik and Pfeffer's examination of need- satisfaction theories. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22(4), 658-669.

Alderfer, C. P., & Guzzo, R. A. (1979). Life experiences and adults' enduring strength of desires in organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24(3), 347-36.

Miner, J. B. (2011). Organizational Behavior 6: Integrated theory development and the role of the unconscious. New York, NY: Sharpe Inc.

Natemayer, W. E., & Hersey, P. (2011).Classics of organizational behavior (4th ed.). Illinois, IL: Waveland Press.