Analysis of the Theory of Acquired Needs from McClelland as a Means of Work Satisfaction

Abstract

The present work aims to demonstrate the most relevant points in the theory of acquired needs, formulated by the American psychologist David Clarence McClelland in 1961. The theory reports that the individual's success depends on two factors, from the socially acquired experiences to the of life and how these experiences should be treated to understand what needs the individual needs to meet to achieve motivation. From this point, the problem to be studied is intended to understand whether professional success can be measured based on three needs that, when met, would be enough to generate employee satisfaction with their work? The general objective of the research is the analysis of the theory developed by McClelland and how it can be more recently related to the concept of satisfaction in the professional environment. The research method for the proposed theme is a bibliographic search, as it stands out in the use of well-selected and updated information on the subject to be treated, in addition to being the most viable methodology to avoid redundancies in approaching the theme. It was obtained as a result of the analysis that amid so many problems found in managers, according to the point of view of the teams of collaborators, the concern to know the differences and needs of the team has not been a behavior properly adopted by the leadership. Therefore, it was concluded that the theory is useful for the reality of several globalization companies, but the problem lies in the neglect of leadership.