Why do we need employees who are motivated? The key is to survive
(Smith, 1994). In the businesses that are changing so quickly, motivated
workers are essential. Employees who are motivated help organizations survive.
Employee motivation increases productivity. Motivating people may be the most
difficult task a manager has to complete. Motivating people may be the most
difficult task a manager has to complete. This is in part because employee
motivation fluctuates continuously (Bowen & Radhakrishna, 1991).
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological theory of
motivation that includes a five-tier model of human needs that is frequently
represented as levels within a pyramid. Prior to addressing needs higher
up the hierarchy, people must attention to those lower down. The needs include
physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization,
going up the hierarchy in order of importance (McLeod, 2018).
Figure 1 - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(Source: McLeod, 2018)
Figure 1 illustrates the following:
The five-stage original hierarchy of needs paradigm consists
of (Maslow 1987):
- Physiological needs - For human survival, such as air, food, drink,
shelter, clothes, warmth and sleep, are known as physiological needs.
- Safety needs - Protection from the weather, safety, security,
law, stability, and fearlessness.
- Love and belongingness needs - The third level of human needs is social and
relates to sentiments of belongingness after physiological and safety
requirements have been met. Interpersonal relationships are necessary for
conduct to occur.
- Esteem needs - Maslow divided self-esteem into two categories:
(i) regard for oneself (self-respect, accomplishment, mastery,
independence), and (ii) the need for respect or repute from others
(status, prestige)
- Self-actualization needs - Fulfilling one's potential, finding
fulfillment, and seeking out peak experiences. the goal of "being
whatever one is capable of becoming” .
The hierarchy of needs, according to Maslow, may change
depending on external factors or unique personal characteristics. He notes that
for some people, having self-worth is more essential than having love. The
majority of behavior is multi-motivated, as noted by who also stated that
"any conduct tends to be determined by several or all of the fundamental
wants simultaneously rather than by just one of them" (Maslow,1987, p.
71).
Deficiency needs vs. growth needs
This five-stage model can be divided into deficiency needs and
growth needs. The first four levels are often referred to as deficiency needs
(D-needs), and the top level is known as growth or being needs (B-needs).
Before addressing higher level growth wants, people must first
satiate lower level deficit needs. He later acknowledged that his earlier words
may have created "the misleading impression that a need must be met 100%
before the next need emerges" (Maslow, 1987, p. 69) and stressed that a
need's satisfaction is not a "all-or-none" phenomena (Maslow, 1943).
Everybody has the capacity and the motivation to climb the
hierarchy to a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, when basic
necessities are not met, progress is frequently halted.
The expanded hierarchy of needs
It is crucial to keep in mind that Maslow's (1943, 1954)
five-stage model has been enlarged to include cognitive and aesthetic needs
(Maslow, 1970a), as well as later transcendence needs (Maslow, 1970b):
- Cognitive needs -
knowledge and comprehension, inquiry and the desire for meaning and
predictability.
- Aesthetic needs -
appreciation of and pursuit of form, harmony, and beauty
- Transcendence needs - A
person is driven by ideals that go beyond themselves, such as mystical
experiences, specific natural experiences, aesthetic experiences, sexual
experiences, helping others, the quest of knowledge, and religious faith.
The following are some
limitations to Maslow's theory of needs: It is oversimplified and solely
considers human needs (V.S, 2010):
- The needs of every employee differ. Many people simply
consider their physical necessities and job security to be satisfying.
- The Maslow-proposed hierarchy of needs pattern may not
apply consistently to all employee groups.
- Maslow's theory of the "hierarchy needs"
does not apply in the modern day because everyone has several wants that
must be met, many of which may not necessarily fit Maslow's theory.
- The most appealing unsatisfied
need drives the most motivation; this is frequently because various people
are compelled to meet different wants at different times. The employee
actually has a strong desire to satisfy stage 3 of his hierarchy of wants
(Social Needs), and it is likely that he may exert less effort at work in
order to satisfy the unsatisfied motivator of his.
- It may not be necessary to meet
basic wants in order to recognize higher requirements. According to the
theory, a person who is deficient in basic needs or working in a
questionable environment will never be able to access the higher needs in
the hierarchy.
In conclusion, Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs Theory has been criticized for the reasons mentioned,
although it still has many benefits or virtues. It aids managers in
comprehending how their staff behaves. It aids managers in giving their staff
the appropriate financial and non-financial incentives. Overall, this
contributes to the organization's increased productivity, profitability, and
efficiency (Trivedi and Mehta, 2019).
Reference
Bowen, B. E., &
Radhakrishna, R. B. (1991). Job satisfaction of agricultural education faculty:
A constant phenomena. Journal of Agricultural Education, 32 (2). 16-22.
Lindner, J.R. (1998). Understanding
Employee Motivation. (online) archives.joe.org. Available at: <https://archives.joe.org/joe/1998june/rb3.php.> (Accessed
on 18th November 2022).
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A
theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.
Maslow, A. H. (1987).
Motivation and personality (3rd ed.). Delhi, India: Pearson Education.
Maslow, A. H. (1954).
Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row
Maslow, A. H. (1970a).
Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row
Maslow, A. H. (1970b).
Religions, values, and peak experiences. New York: Penguin. (Original work
published 1966)
McLeod, S. (2018). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. (online) Simply Psychology, Simply Psychology, pp.1–16. Available at: <https://canadacollege.edu/dreamers/docs/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs.pdf.> (Acessed on 21st November 2022)
Smith, G. P. (1994).
Motivation. In W. Tracey (ed.), Human resources management and development
handbook (2nd ed.).
Trivedi, A. and Mehta,
A. (2019). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs -Theory of Human
Motivation. International Journal of Research in all Subjects in Multi
Languages [Author: Anjanaen J. Trivedi, (online) 7(6). Available at:
<http://www.raijmr.com/ijrsml/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IJRSML_2019_vol07_issue_06_Eng_09.pdf.>
(Accessed on 20th November 2022).
V.S,
M. (2010). Entrepreneurship & Management. [online] Google Books. Pearson Education India. Available at: <https://books.google.lk/books?id=63fI9Ft2kPMC&pg=PA119&dq=What+is+a+limitation+of+Maslow%27s+hierarchy+of+needs+is+that+it+fails+to?&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXtpyg7cD7AhV3T2wGHYjLDooQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=What%20is%20a%20limitation%20of%20Maslow
>(Accessed 22 November 2022).
Agreed on the content above Piumadi. Further, Mulwa (2008) stated that 'Abraham Maslow’s theory of needs is specifically built on the idea that human behavior is really motivated by the simple desire to meet specific human needs in the society'. The most vital emphasis in the theory is that needs may vary according to time and situation (McGregor, 2017). As practical example, In Toyota company, all employees are satisfied in lower-level needs and well paid by the company, secured the job and working environment is safe (Liker, 2004). Further MacGregor (2003), stated that 'when a human satisfied with one need another one will appear and it is never ending process'.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, employee motivation is influenced by their capacity for enduring wants or desires, their ability to anticipate the effects of their choices, and the particular investments and risks they are willing to take. Employees who contribute to the performance of the organization or who generally wish to carry out their jobs more successfully are motivated by their own personal performance as a catalyst (Sekhar et al., 2013).
DeleteThank you for your comment Romeda. Today, it is well known that employees who collaborate with a desire for attaining exceptional outcomes with improved organizational culture are at the heart of any productive and successful business (Gignac & Palmer, 2011). The strength of consistent needs or desires, anticipation of the results of particular activities, and specific investments and risks all influence how motivated employees are. Employees who contribute to organizational performance or who desire to do their jobs more successfully in general are motivated by their own personal performance (Sekhar et al., 2013).
DeleteAgreed on the above content Ranga and adding furthermore, As Nadler and Lawler (1979), Denning (2010), and Rutledge (2011) point out, other criticisms of Maslow’s theory note that his definition of self-actualisation is difficult to test scientifically. Maslow's research on self-actualisation was also based on a very limited sample of individuals, including people he knew, as well as biographies of famous individuals that Maslow believed to be self-actualised, such as Albert Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Malshani. Everybody has the capacity and the motivation to climb the hierarchy to a level of self-actualization. Unfortunately, when basic necessities are not met, progress is frequently halted. A person's position in the hierarchy may change as a result of life events (McLeod, 2018).
DeleteGreat Post, Further would like to add that, according to Hagerty (1999) it is necessary to maintain the supply or fulfilment of lower needs consistently if you are to satisfy the higher level of demands and keep one motivated. On his article he tested the Maslow's theory to prove the above fact.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Insaff. People have a variety of demands because of their biological, psychological, and social nature. These needs, which might differ from person to person, proceed in a hierarchical order from basic physiological demands to higher-level social and psychological needs. By placing the needs in a certain order, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory, which is at the forefront of the most significant studies about motivation, also produced the "Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid." (Uysal, Aydemir and Genç, 2017).
DeleteAgreed on the above content Ranga J, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs model conveys how ambitious people are and how they constantly want more but this model does have limitation as this model does not take into account cultural differences, as companies can have multi-cultural workforces and their beliefs will be different from one another. (Borrington & Stimpson, 2013)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Tharaka. According to Hanley and Abell (2002), the idea of Maslow's hierarchy of needs was criticized by feminist philosophers, existentialists, environmentalists, and other groups for having a propensity to Western thought. They further criticize the philosophy for being wholly focused on personal development. Despite not fully ignoring relationships, the authors claim that Maslow's theory lacks in relationships because individuality is given a special emphasis. Maslow was unable to separate himself from this cultural context while studying in the United States, where the environment was conservative and utilitarian and characterized by difficult work and struggle (Hanley and Abell, 2002).
DeleteAgreed & add furthermore, Psychologist Abraham Maslow depicted that in order to advance to the next level of psychological development, a person must satisfy himself or herself in all aspects, regardless of where they currently exist. Human life characteristics are satisfied when they can access psychological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization processes throughout their lives. Many organizations used this theory to keep their employees motivated. (Jain, et al., 2019)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Farhan. Maslow (1943) first argued that before addressing higher level growth wants, people must first satisfy lower level deficit needs. He later acknowledged that his earlier words may have created "the misleading impression that a need must be met 100% before the next need emerges" (1987, p. 69) and stressed that a need's satisfaction is not a "all-or-none" phenomena.
ReplyDeleteGood Content on Maslow theory Ranga. Even though, it has not been verified by empirical research Maslow's hierarchy has an intuitive appeal and has been very influential. But to add on to this like many other theories it also has its own criticisms. the theory has been under criticism for its apparent rigidity - Priorities vary depending on the person and it is also difficult to accept people's needs progress steadily up the hierarchy. Interestingly, Maslow himself has expressed doubts about the validity of a strictly ordered hierarchy. (Michael Armstrong, 2006)
ReplyDelete