People possess something that machines don’t-human spirit and inspiration. It is the spirit and inspiration that leads associates to apply their human capital to meet the goals of the organization, the human spirit is highly inspired through motivation. Motivation is essential to almost any aspect of life. Understanding job satisfaction and work motivation can be key elements to improving productivity. This paper seeks to introduce the four major need theories areas: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Motivation Theory, Alderfer’s ERG Theory, and McClelland’s Need for Achievement Theory. It also goes further to analyze these theories bringing to the fore various similarities and differences that exist amongst them.