My MBA graduation, 2007 |
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory was a proposal in the early 1940’s by psychologist AhrahamMaslow of a way to motivate people at the workplace. Maslow suggested that a five-level hierarchy of human needs existed; that the needs were rated from first to
fifth; and were satisfiable in that order.The five types of need identified by
Maslow were physiological,safety and security,social or love, self-esteem and
self-actualisation needs.
According to Maslow, a
need on a lower plane had to be satisfied before a higher one could be a
motivator. However, Maslow did point out that a need did not have to be
completely satisfied before the next higher one became stimulating: a higher
need surfaced immediately a lower one was satisfied to a reasonable degree.
Maslow's theory states that a
need that has been satisfied ceases to motivate. In management terms, it means
the supervisor does not have to focus on giving an employee more of the same
thing to motivate them. She has to see what the need on the next higher plane is
and provide the environment in which the employee is able to achieve it.
What the foregoing
argument actually means is that if, for example, an employee’s physiological needs were
met, accommodating her in a bigger house would not motivate her as much as removing
the likelihood that she could lose employment anytime (which would likely make her
physically and emotionally insecure).The rationale of the argument is that this would
likely result in better performance of work by the employee.
What
are the Five Hierarchies of Needs in Maslow’s theory?
The five need levels in
Maslow’s theory are:
1.
Physiological
needs. These are survival needs and include food, water,
air and shelter.
2.
Safety
and security needs. These are needs to do with protection
from harm, increased job security and elimination of threats to an individual well-being.
3.
Social
needs. Social needs are also called love needs. They
concern desire for affiliation and acceptance by others.
4.
Self-esteem
needs. Self-esteem needs are about feelings of self-worth
and recognition of one’s work by others.
5.
Self-actualisation
needs. These constitute the highest need level, according
to Maslow. They concern desire to unleash one’s full creativity, search for greater personal
development and chances to explore new areas of challenge. The needs in this class do
not end, and so, desire to achieve is always there.
Figure: Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Empirical studies have
shown that Maslow’s theory has some big weaknesses.
Firstly, individual
differences in human beings mean that the needs are not always satisfied in the
order proposed by Maslow. For example, people like pugilist Muhammad Ali early
in their lives appeared to seek to fulfill self-esteem and self-actualisation
needs (I’m the greatest!) in spite of
their relative deficiency in ‘lower-order’ needs; seemingly defying the hierarchy
proposed by Maslow.
Secondly, needs can be
met both at the workplace and outside. A possible problem, in view of that, is
that a manager may be trying to address a need that has already been satisfied
outside; and the effort would be unlikely to make an employee work harder or
better. So, just because a need has not been met at work does not mean it has
not been satisfied even outside.
Thirdly, it is possible
for a person to address more needs than just one at the same time. For
instance, a good salary from a job can be used to satisfy physiological needs
like food and shelter but can also be a means of financing safety and security
needs like personal protection from criminal harm. In such a case, there is not always a
one-step-at-a-time progression from physiological to safety and security needs.
Notwithstanding the
weaknesses, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory remains one of the most
widely-known motivational theories.
How
Can the Needs be Addressed at Work?
The work-place can
address the employee needs proposed by Maslow in a number of ways. An example of
addressing physiological needs is paying an employee enough to buy life-saving
requirements like food, clothes and accommodation.
Sources of safety and
security include harmless tools and instruments, healthy work environments, as
well as pension schemes.
Social or love needs
can be met partly by providing an atmosphere in which employees are friendly to
each other and interaction is promoted in such ways as organising social events
including celebration of staff birthdays.
One management solution
to employee self-esteem needs is recognising outstanding achievement by, for
example, giving promotion, changing title and raising salary.
Opportunities for entering
unexplored arenas and allowing employee creative ability to fully come out can
help satisfy self-actualisation needs. They can include placing an employee at
the head of a major business diversification project team.
Conclusion
Abraham Maslow has made
at least two important contributions to the study of motivation:
·
- He has identified classes of needs that managers
can be aware require satisfying.
·
- He has made managers recognise that a
need that is not satisfied ceases to be a strong motivator.
Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs theory is one of the ‘content’ or ‘needs’ theories of motivation that
include Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory, David C. Mclelland’s
acquired-needs theory and Clayton Alderfer’s modified needs theory.
Rupert Chimfwembe
February 18, 2016