I have learned certain concepts about motivation. The following is a presentation of what I have learned about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Equity Theory. A contrast of the two theories will be made, and one will be chosen based on certain reasons.
Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs
The theory posits that what motivates people to have nothing to do with either conscious benefits or rewards. Maslow argued that people are largely motivated because they want to achieve certain needs. When a person fulfills a certain need, he is motivated to fulfill the next need in the hierarchy. Maslow came up with five needs: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. He then organized the needs in a hierarchy with the lowest level need being physiological and appearing at the bottom of the pyramid to the highest level need being self-actualization and appearing at the top of the pyramid. An individual must satisfy the lower level need before proceeding to the higher level needs. Once an individual has satisfied the lower level needs, he can proceed to satisfy the highest level need; self-actualization.
Equity Theory
This theory is grounded on the principle of equity or balance. In this theory one’s motivation is level is associated with the perception of fairness, equity, and justice practiced by the organization. When the perception of equity (justice, balance, fairness) is high, an individual is highly motivated. However, when the perception of equity is low, an individual is least motivated. Employees tend to evaluate equity on the basis of compensation (output) they receive versus their contribution (input). The employees then compare this with a peer of the same job group or cadre. If the ratio of output/input is lower than for a peer, the employee feels under-rewarded and negative equity tension arises. When the ratio is equal, the employee feels there is equity. However, when the ratio is higher than that for a peer, the employee feels over-rewarded, and a positive equity tension arises. There are four referents an employee can use to do a comparison: self-inside, self-outside, other-inside, and other-outside. An employee who feels there is inequity or negative tension can decide to do a number of things. An employee can choose to be less productive, sacrifice quality, choose a different referent, quit the job, change their self-perception, or change their perception of others.
Although the two theories deal with motivation, the sources of motivation in each theory are different. In Maslow’s theory, motivation is the need to achieve while in Equity theory, motivation is based on feelings about equity or fairness. Equity theory is about fairness in the distribution of rewards while Maslow’s theory has nothing to do with rewards. In Maslow’s, one has to satisfy a lover level need before satisfying the next need in the hierarchy but in equity, an individual just compares his ratio of output to input with others.
The two theories can be used to explain what motivate people in the workplace. However, I find Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as more valuable than Equity Theory. Whether employees are fairly or unfairly rewarded, they have to be motivated by needs in their lives. They have to satisfy lower level needs before they satisfy higher level needs. The reasons given for employees’ actions when they feel there is inequity hardly apply in real life situation because there are more to monetary rewards in employee motivation.
