commit to user 13
and Muthaher 2007, managerial attitude and motivation Mia 1988. The results showed both a positive and negative relationship between budgetary participation
and job performance. Such inconsistent findings have prompted several researchers to examine the antecedent variables that affect job performance
indirectly during budgetary participation Yuen 2007. In this research will examine the need for achievement and work attitude as antecedent factors of
budgetary participation.
3. Need for achievement
It may be stated that need theory as the theory of motivation that addresses what people need or require to live a life of fulfilment, particularly with regard to
work. Need theory has a long-standing tradition is motivation research. There are various need theories of motivation. One of the most widely mentioned theories of
motivation is the Hierarchy of Needs Theory put forward by psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow views human motivation in terms of a hierarchy of
five needs, ranging from the most basic physiological needs to the highest needs for self-actualization. According to Maslow, individuals will be motivated to fulfil
whichever need is the most powerful for them at a given time. Starting with the physical needs, which are the most basic, each need must be satisfied before the
individual desires to satisfy a need at the next higher level. It is in the following hierarchy of importance according to immediacy that Maslow places human
needs: a Physiological needs: These are the basic needs for sustaining human life
itself, such as air, water, food, sleep, shelter, warmth and sex. They are as
commit to user 14
basic as needs that people will be motivated to fulfill them first through whatever behavior achieves this end.
b Safety or security needs: They consist of the need for clothing, shelter, and an environment with a predictable pattern such as job security,
pension, insurance etc. People are motivated to fulfill these needs only when the physiological needs are mostly satisfied.
c Affiliation, acceptance, love or social needs: Since people are social beings, they need to belong, to be accepted and loved by others.
d Esteem needs: They include the need for power, prestige, status, achievement, and recognition from others. Satisfaction of the self-esteem
need leads to feelings of self-confidence, worth, capability, and adequacy, of being useful and necessary in the world.
e Need for self-actualization: Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. This is the concept of fulfilling one’s potential and becoming
everything that one is capable of becoming. Need for Achievement as the part of esteem needs can be referred as an
individuals desire for significant accomplishment, mastering of skills, control, or high standards. People high in need for achievement are characterized by a
tendency to seek challenges and a high degree of independence. Their most satisfying reward is the recognition of their achievements. Sources of high need
for achievement include: a
Parents who encouraged independence in childhood; b
Praise and rewards for success;
commit to user 15
c Association of achievement with positive feelings;
d Association of achievement with ones own competence and effort,
not luck; e
A desire to be effective or challenged; f
Intrapersonal Strength. www.wikipedia.com A need for achievement also can be defined as the personal striving of
individuals to attain goals within their social environment Cassidy and Lynn 1989. The need for achievement is the employees desire to perform to high
standards and to excel in their job. Individuals with a high need for achievement like to set their own personal goals and are opposed to the organization setting
goals. These individuals also like goals in which they have a fifty percent chance of achieving, because they do not want goals that are too easy to achieve.
Individuals with a high need for achievement want frequent, specific feedback and to know how well they are performing their job. Individuals with a high need for
achievement also want to be in control of their workplace and work environment and to be responsible for their productivity Rayburn, Hammond, and Overby
2004. Individuals high in achievement needs have been characterized as ‘realistic’ and generally have occupational goals that are congruent with their
abilities. They are also found to be flexible in seeking detailed information and feedback from a variety of sources to help in their pursuit of excellence
Subramaniam 2002. Persons with a high need for achievement are potentially useful members
of an organization because they accept competitive situations, tend to be
commit to user 16
independent, and have an interest in excellence. They are also willing to take personal responsibility for success and generally perceive themselves to have a
higher ability than the others Yuen 2007. According to Choi 2006, a high need for achievement is characterized by
the following: 1 a high interest in tasks which require a considerable level of skill and
problem solving ability, 2 a tendency to set moderately difficult goals,
3 a preference for concrete and quantitative feedback, and 4 a pursuit of satisfaction which is derived from the task itself and task
performance. The need for achievement is an unconscious motive that drives individuals
to perform well or to improve their performance. Individuals with a high need for achievement have a propensity to demonstrate their ability in overcoming difficult
tasks while maintaining consistently high standards. Such individuals consistently seek feedback on their performance in order to learn from their mistakes and
prefer quantitative feedback. One reason why individuals with a high need for achievement seek objective feedback is that their motivation is intrinsic more so
than extrinsic and therefore they prefer objective appraisal rather than approval or acceptance based on the subjective appraisals of others Loon and Casimir 2008.
According to Steers 1975 a high need for achievement subjects will tend to place a higher valence on the attainment of their performance objectives than
will low need for achievement subjects, assuming such objectives serve to cue
commit to user 17
achievement- oriented behavior. Thus, when the tasks are of a challenging nature, he argued that high need for achievement subjects will manifest high expectations
of task accomplishment and will exhibit a high level of effort and concomitant involvement in their work. He found that individuals with strong higher order
needs demonstrate higher performance than individuals with weaker higher order needs.
4. Work attitudes
