Human beings seldom work without any motivation and both Maslow theory of motivation, as well as ERG theory of motivation, tries to find out the factors which motivate people to work hard and by finding out these factors companies can concentrate on improving upon on those factors so that they get the best possible output from their workers. While both theories are similar as they try to find out motivation factors but there are many differences between the two theories, let’s look at the difference between Maslow theory and ERG theory of motivation –
Maslow Vs ERG Theory of Motivation
Meaning
According to Maslow theory of motivation every individual has five types of needs and each individual satisfies bottom level needs like food, water, shelter etc., and then move higher to satisfy higher level needs until he or she reaches at top of the pyramid to satisfy the self-actualization needs whereas according to ERG theory of motivation an individual has three types of needs right from existence level needs to growth needs in no particular order which every individual strive to satisfy.
Levels of Motivation
In the case of Maslow theory there are five levels of motivation, at the bottom level is the physiological needs like food, clothing, shelter than comes safety needs like job as well as financial security than third level of needs come which is social needs which include things like love and affection from friends and family after which comes esteem needs like recognition at workplace as well as at home and then comes the last need which is self-actualization needs whereas in case of ERG theory there are only three levels of motivation which is existence needs like food, shelter, clothing, safety etc…, relatedness needs like having good relations both at workplace as well as at home and last level is the growth need which includes things like having good reputation in society, and people respecting you at the workplace and so on.
Order of Levels of Motivation
In case of Maslow theory the order of levels of motivation is fixed that is physiological level comes first then comes safety level which is followed by social needs and esteem needs and the last level of needs is self-actualization level and individual moves gradually from one level to other levels of motivation but as far as ERG theory is concerned there is no particular order of motivation and individual can move in any order, hence individual after satisfying existence level needs can move directly to satisfying growth needs hence skipping relatedness needs and vice versa.
Timing of Theory
Maslow theory of motivation came earlier than ERG theory of motivation, while Maslow theory was prosed in the year 1943 by Abraham Maslow whereas ERG theory was proposed by Clayton Alderfer after 2 decades of Maslow theory of motivation.
Flexibility
Maslow theory of motivation is rigid in the sense that according to this theory an individual will have to satisfy the lower level of needs first in order to move to satisfy higher level of needs but when it comes to ERG theory it is much more flexible as according to this theory an individual can satisfy any level of need as there is no particular order of needs in ERG theory.
As one can see from the above that there are many differences between the two theories of motivation and that is the reason why any individual or company thinking of following either Maslow theory of motivation or ERG theory of motivation should carefully see the above differences and then decide which theory of motivation is best suited for a particular individual or company.