PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS: WORK PREFERENCE SCHEDULE

Tester: JM Date: 29th July, 2021

Testee: KD Time: 12:30pm

INTRODUCTION

Work preferences are the outcomes individuals desire from their engagement and are critical
determinants of Job attitudes and work motivation. (Gilbert et. al, 2008)
According to McClelland’s theory of motivation called as the Three needs theory, there are three
motives that are at play when an individual chooses a type of profession. They are:
• Need for achievement (nACH) - The need for achievement is the need to reach a certain
goal according to some personal set standards. They go for the jobs that allow them to have
personal responsibility and freedom. (Robbins et. al, 2012)

• Need for power (nPOW) - The need for power, according to McClelland, the need for
power came had three dimensions per se; The need to control others, the need to influence
society and the need to use the power to do something for the employees of the organization
or the society at large. (Pareek, 2018).

• Need for affiliation (nAFF) - Need for affiliation depicts the need to have friendly and
close interpersonal relationships and good managers are said to have lower need for
affiliation (Robbins et.al, 2012)

One more need is being described later, i.e., the need for job security. The need for job
security is defined as defined as an employee’s perception that their job or an important
feature of their job is secure. (Burchell, 2014).

To help understand what roles and work environments suit us, we need to understand our
work preferences. We can do this by thinking about the types of activities we enjoy and
the environments we work best in. Understanding our work preferences will help you target
your job search efforts to jobs that suit you.
METHODOLOGY

AIM:
To get a profile of a subject’s four psychological needs as reflected in their choice of occupation.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
(a) Work Preference Schedule Scale.
(b) Scoring sheet.
(c) Writing Materials.
(d) Manual.

PLAN:
The Work Preference Schedule will be administered on the participant. Participant will be asked
to rank the preference of the occupation among the choice and also state the reason for the same.
The responses obtained would be scored, analysed and interpreted.

PARTICIPANT’S DETAILS:
Name: Koustav Dhar
Gender: M
Age: 24
Educational Qualification: MSc Chemistry
Designation: G-1 Asst.
Organization: Abbott India Ltd

PROCEDURE:
The employee was welcomed and was made to feel comfortable. Rapport was established with the
employee and was later asked to fill in her personal details and was told that her responses would
be kept confidential. Consent was received from the employee and the following instructions were
given: “You are provided with several pairs of vocational or work areas. Indicate by a ( ) mark
for which of the two you would prefer if you were given a choice. For the vocation chosen, give
three reasons from the list that is given to you (A-K) why you had chosen a particular vocation or
work activity from the pair, by writing the corresponding alphabet of the reason. The three reasons
should be in an order of importance to you. The first reason being the most important reason, the
second one being less important and the third one being the least important among the three. There
is no right or wrong answer and time limit. Give your responses as fast possible without pondering
much on any question and please do not leave any question”. The objective of administering the
scale wasn’t explicitly said before the employee begins responding to the scale. The employee was
debriefed and thanked for their time and energy.

SCORING:
A tool of 11 reason statements are given which are marked from A to K. These reasons relate to
each of the four psychological needs-One reason (F) being common to achievement and Power
motives.
1) Give a score of 3,2,1 for the reasons respectively.
2) Write the scores obtained against each reason from A to K and add the scores.
3) The motives are then scored with the sum of scores of the reason which are provided in the
manual:
(a) Achievement: B, F, G
(b) Power: E, F, H
(c) Affiliation: C, I, K
(d) Security: A, D, J
4) The Maximum and minimum scores for the motive total are 72 & 0 respectively.
5) Higher the score, higher the need and the scores would be ranked accordingly.

ANALYSIS:
Add the scores for each of the 4 motives and then rank order them based on the scores for each
motive from highest to lowest. The higher the score, the higher is the need of the motive for the
individual and vice-versa.

RESULTS
Table 1: The raw scores and rank orders of the motives of the participant
SL.NO. MOTIVES RAW SCORE RANK ORDER
1. Achievement 22 2
2. Power 37 1
3. Affiliation 9 4
4. Security 14 3
 DISCUSSIONS

The test aims to measure four psychological needs as reflected in the choice of occupation. The
test was administered on the participant KD, who is 24 years old and an employee of Abbott
India Ltd.

From table 1, we can infer that for the need of achievement, need for power, need for affiliation,
and need for security, the participant obtained scores are 22, 37, 9, and 14 respectively. According
to the scores obtained, we can see that the need for power is in first position, the need for
achievement is second, the need for security is third and the need for affiliation fourth and the last.

From the results obtained, we can see that the first ranked psychological need that he desires
is the need for power. The need for power includes the need to control others, the need to influence
society and the need to use the power to do something for the employees of the organization or the
society at large. High need for power work best when they're in charge. Because they enjoy
competition, they do well with goal-oriented projects or tasks. They may also be very effective in
negotiations or in situations in which another party must be convinced of an idea or goal.

The second ranked psychological need that the participant desires from her organization is the
need for achievement. The need for achievement is the need to reach a certain goal according to
some personal set standards. It is the desire to do better, solve problems, or master complex
problems. They go for the jobs that allow them to have personal responsibility and freedom. They
work to excel by particularly avoiding low reward low-risk situations and difficult to achieve high-
risk situations. They have a strong need to set and accomplish challenging goals, takes calculated
risks to accomplish their goals, likes to receive regular feedback on their progress and
achievements, and often likes to work alone.

The third ranked psychological need is need for job security. The need for job security is defined
as an employee’s perception that their job or an important feature of their job is secure. The
participant seemed to give priority for those jobs that will meet her requirement for the need of job
security. The participant may want to make sure that she will keep the job with relative ease and
don’t have to worry about various factors that may make her lose her job. In this way, she can
focus on doing a better job and developing her career. Maybe by the need for job security, the
participant also means the security of income which can provide her a stress-free life and good
future.

The last ranked psychological need that the participant desires from her organization are the need
for affiliation. The need for affiliation depicts the need to have friendly and close interpersonal
relationships. But for the participant this need doesn’t seem to be that important.

INTROSPECTION REPORT

The test was easy as well as simple to do. The questionnaire just contained only 13 statements and
most of the statements were repeated. It made the test much easier because I don’t have to think
much and it didn’t take much time. I just looked back and whatever I have marked in the previous
statements, I followed the same options. But for the initial statements i.e., in the beginning I gave
quite an amount of time. It was a good experience overall. I would like to recommend this to my
colleagues too to check their work preference level once.

OBSERVATION REPORT

The subject took the assessment with much enthusiasm, attention and in a relaxed manner. The
subject was confused at times to choose their preferences as described in the statements. As some
questions were repeating, they were confident enough as they already answered those previously
so, with their reasons for their needs, they copied it. Throughout the activity the subject had them
own reasons to choose the options and filled it up with much sincerity and generosity. After the
test, the subject seemed to be very curious to get to know her results.

FINDINGS

• Observation: This study allows the participant to experience and to find out their psychological
needs as their choice for occupation.

• Interaction and participation: The subject disclosed openly on almost all the questions giving
valid and genuine responses to the questions. The participant was able to choose the options in
relation to their awareness of their preference level. They felt that the exercise enabled them to
get to about their impression towards their job preference better. The atmosphere was formal, yet
open. There was active involvement.

• Conclusion: The participant is having the first and foremost psychological need as the need for
power, followed by the need for achievement, need for security, and need for affiliation
respectively.

APPLICATIONS

1. McClelland's theory of needs can help to identify the dominant motivators of people
belongs to the team. One can then use this information to influence how to set goals and
provide feedback, and how to motivate and reward team members.

2. One can also use these motivators to craft, or design, the job around the team members,
ensuring a better fit.

3. McClelland's theory can be applied to manage the corporate teams by being identifying
and categorizing every team member amongst the needs.
 REFERENCES

1. McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory: Discovering What Drives Your Team. (2021,
August 5). Mind Tools. Retrieved from
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/human-motivation-theory.html

2. Kukreja, S. (2020, January 14). McClelland's Theory of Needs (Power, Achievement and
Affiliation). Management Study HQ. retrieved from
https://www.managementstudyhq.com/mcclellands-theoryof-needs-power-achievement-
and-affiliation.html

3. M, M. (2016, June 13). What is McClelland’s Needs Theory? definition and meaning.
Business Jargons. https://businessjargons.com/mcclellands-needs-theory.html
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