People and Organizations: Principles and Practice in Global Contexts



Review of Maslow’s Hierarchy:
Abraham Maslow has introduced his concept of a Hierarchy of Needs in the 1950’s, which helps us for understanding the about the motivation. His hierarchy proposes that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to meet higher level growth needs. This theory is one of the most widely known theories of motivation. According to Luthans (2002), motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency that activates behavior that is aimed at a goal. 

Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs & that some needs take precedence over others. Our most basic need is for physical survival & this will be the first thing that motivates our behavior. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs from the most basic to the highest are as follows.

  • Physiological needs are the basic needs & include needs for food, water & shelter to our presence.
  • Belonging needs involve the desire to connect with & be accepted by others.
  • Esteem needs are related to the two-pronged desire to have a positive self-image & to have our contributions valued & appreciated by others.
  • Self-actualization needs pertaining to the requirement of developing our capabilities & reaching our full potential.
When we analyze this theory, five levels of needs are not always present & orders of needs & hierarchy may not be common for all employees of the organization. Most of the times, actuality & availability the hierarchy of needs may be different than Maslow's theory. Further Maslow has considered only a narrow segment of the human population. In addition this theory does not consider the probability of cultural differences & on the other hand assumes that the same needs apply equally to all human cultures. Also this theory has failed to consider the probability of individual differences.

Conclusion
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs explains that people have certain needs that have to be met & their needs are ranked. Lower needs include survival needs like air, food & water & higher needs include self-esteem. The highest need is self-actualization, which means that a person feels he has met his potential. Maslow’s theory is very important & has a connection with function of human resources, but there are some limitations & difficulties of practical adaptability of the same as mentions above.

References

A.H. Maslow, "Critique of self-actualization theory", in: E. Hoffman (Ed.), Future visions: The unpublished papers of Abraham Maslow (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996)
Maslow's need hierarchy". Developmental Psychology.
A Theory of Human Motivation, original 1943 article by Maslow.
Luthans, F. (2002a). Positive organizational behavior: developing and managing psychological strengths. Academy of Management Executive

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