Impacts of McClelland's Needs Theory in Workplace Components

McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Name and Number
Lecturer’s Name
Assignment Due Date
McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory
McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory is a motivational theory developed by David McClelland, an American psychologist. He believed that individual specific needs are acquired over time and molded with the person's experiences with life (Osemeke et al., 2017). The theory states that one’s behavior is motivated by the desire to satisfy three manifest needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. According to McClelland (1977), people do not inherit these needs but develop them through culture and life experiences. He further posited that every individual has these needs regardless of their culture, demography, or wealth.
The need for achievement is the urge to accomplish something or succeed in a competitive situation. They desire to prove their prowess over others. Such people set logically difficult but potentially attainable goals. They also accept moderate risks and are more concerned with personal achievement than rewards of success. McClelland (1977) argued that the achievement need is culturally acquired and is a primary psychological attribute of entrepreneurs based on the characteristics of individuals motivated by achievement.
The need for power is a person’s desire to hold control and authority over others. People with this need seek high-level positions in the workplace to exercise influence and control over others because such posts allow them to acquire leadership with power (Rybnicek et al., 2019). They are outspoken, demanding, realistic, and like participating in conversations. According to McClelland (1977), leaders use two aspects of power: positive and negative. Positive power is necessary when a leader desires to accomplish results through other people's efforts. Negative power involves using power for personal aggrandizement (McClelland, 1977). The latter causes harm to the organization.
The need for affiliation is the desire to have an interpersonal and social relationship with others. People with this need seek to establish and maintain friendships and emotional ties with others (Steinmann et al., 2016). They always want others to love them because they derive pleasure from being loved and tend to avoid rejection pain. Such people prefer jobs that require regular communication with co-workers because they are extroverts. Their extroversion enables them to work effectively in social interaction roles and client services.
Impact of McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory on Working in Teams
People’s intrinsic abilities, their constructed skills from experience, resources, and motivations are significant and independent factors that assist McClelland’s Manifest needs theory to be accomplished. Understanding one’s motivational needs with the use of this theory characterize a person's style and behavior, particularly in the workplace and any other task that requires teamwork (Thiagaraj & Thangaswamy, 2017). McClelland’s manifest need theory impacts collaboration in various ways.
Firstly, this theory encourages individuals to work as a team by participating in group discussions. For instance, employees motivated by the need for affiliation are always extroverts who can easily participate in group discussions. Since these people are encouraged by social interactions, they feel free to air their views without fear. As Steinmann (2016) noted, extroverts are more likely to take part in group discussions and command high levels of intra-group popularity. When they participate in group discussions, they make proper decisions and solve problems appropriately. This allows the group to overcome challenges that would have stymied an individual.
Secondly, McClelland's manifest needs theory encourages group members to solve more complex problems through the need for achievement. McClelland (1977) demonstrated that group members who are driven by achievement show more concern about group success. Equally, groups made up of members with high achievement motivation solve complex problems effectively. The relationship between managerial motivation, nurse outcomes, and patient satisfaction found that the need for achievement is associated with managerial use of leadership behavior, positive nurse outcomes, and patient satisfaction (Nayeri & Jafarpour, 2016). In other words, leaders inspired by achievement can motivate group members to work together towards attaining a primary goal because they are team players. By doing so, they welcome divergent knowledge and skills needed to solve a complex problem. This means that the need for achievement assists managers and employees to work together to achieve a common goal (Osemeke & Adegboyega, 2017). It creates productive teamwork that facilitates organizational growth and development.
Thirdly, this theory impacts how a team carries out its mission. Every team leader needs the power to influence others. This power enables them to keep everyone in the same direction and ensure that everyone is working on the same goal. People with the desire to hold control and authority over other people provide a clear vision for the team, provide a strategy for attaining the vision, motivate group members to use their talents, challenge the team to be innovative, and monitor progress (Rybnicek et al., 2019). These attributes are influenced by McClelland’s manifest needs theory, specifically the need for power. This need also gives a person the urge to provide guidance to team members. According to Thiagaraj and Thangaswamy (2017), leaders offer guidance to group members to ensure they are fulfilling their responsibilities. Guidance can include instructing team members and taking corrective measures when necessary. It also involves solving problems that can hinder performance.
Additionally, the need for power can build team morale. As noted, people with this desire are strong leaders who best suit leadership positions. They ensure that team members remain motivated by instilling a sense of confidence and trust in them. They also impact morale by creating a cooperative environment between team members so that they work to achieve group objectives instead of individual goals (Steinmann et al., 2016). Besides, the theory promotes essential values. People with the desire to influence others can promote essential values that are crucial to organizational success. They demonstrate honesty and integrity in all activities that enable them to serve as role models for team members.
Impact of McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory on Leadership Styles
McClelland’s manifest needs theory has shaped leadership styles like autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, and transformational leadership. According to Osemeke and Adegboyega (2017), this theory has increased the existence of these three leadership styles. Autocratic leadership is a style in which a person controls all the decisions and takes little input from group members. They make choices based on their beliefs and hardly involve others in their opinions. Therefore, this leadership style involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group. It is influenced by the need for power under McClelland’s manifest needs theory. The need to enhance self-esteem drives authoritarian leaders to desire their views and ideas to be accepted. As such, this theory impacts autocratic leadership style negatively and positively.
On the positive side, McClelland’s manifest needs theory (need for power) leads to quick decision-making due to autocratic leadership. This leadership style involves fewer organizational levels that must be aware of each decision. It also has less feedback from various management levels. This improves the speed of decisions, which is helpful in situations where a quick decision is required. In addition, this need enables autocratic leaders to handle crises effectively. Autocratic leaders are motivated by power. They can handle crises easily because they are in charge of all the judgments and decisions.
On the negative front, the theory leads to micromanagement in autocratic leadership. Since the reputations of the authoritarian leaders are in line, they tend to supervise every detail of the task the employee completes. Most of them turn into severe micromanagers, reducing the freedom of workers. This reduces the productivity level. Besides, the theory creates a work culture based on the authoritarian leader. This theory creates a work culture based on the leader’s ethics and morality, making it difficult for a poor working environment to change.
The theory also promotes a democratic leadership style through the need for achievement and affiliation. Unlike autocratic leadership, democratic leadership involves members in the decision-making process. Although decision-making can be slow, especially during disagreements, decisions made can be appropriate. Therefore, this theory motivates leaders driven by affiliation and achievement to participate in decision-making. It also helps establish a strong team because the leaders show concern in group discussion and team teamwork.
Impact of McClelland’s Manifest Needs Theory on Managing Power and Influe...