Use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory in Motivating Employees
Motivation is one of the most important factors in increasing productivity, boosting performance, gaining a sustainable competitive advantage, and achieving organizational goals at the lowest possible cost. It is a close factor relating to terms such as formal authority, charisma, rewards, and punishment: and indeed, a key factor in management that is frequently overlooked. As a matter of fact, motivation becomes an essential tool for increasing productivity with limited financial resources. Many theories have been proposed, and much research has been conducted on motivation for analysis purposes (Jonas, 2016).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Need Theory is said to be
one of the foundational principles of psychology, and it has been applied to a
variety of fields such as organizational behavior, organizational & behavioral
economics, and management studies and beyond. It has been applied in the
fields of organizational behavior, organizational economics, and management
studies by using the said theory as a framework to serve as a theory of
motivation for employees by understanding their needs
Evolution of the Theory
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a
psychological theory foreshadowed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A
Theory of Human Motivation." As a result, Maslow expanded the concept to
include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. However, over the years,
researchers and authors have criticized the theory as being irrelevant in most
parts of the world because it is Western in nature. Contrary to this assertion,
Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory is still relevant in every sector of our
business today, as its best analyses below Maslow's hierarchy of needs, where
lower order needs (physiological and safety needs) may be linked to
organizational culture. Every new organization goes through this lower order
stage, where they struggle to meet their basic survival needs.
Social needs would correspond to
the formation of organized roles within the organization into distinct units at
the third level of Maslow's hierarchy, depicting the human resource management
function that resonates according to the tone set by organizational culture.
Self-esteem and self-actualization would result from the positive interaction
of organizational culture and human resource management. This is demonstrated
by employees' performance, which demonstrates the organization's strength and
dependability in the face of competitors. It also implies that the
organization's employees have excelled and met their objectives, mission, and
vision statements, i.e. a stage similar to self-actualization
Significance of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Stress caused by fear-based
workplace climates is depleting employee decision-making and causing workplace
conflict. While it is difficult to quantify, it is easy to see why intelligent
and engaged employees are ideal: they make fewer mistakes and are more
productive. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is the primary metric used to frame the
reasons for motivation. It is also critical to understand the power dynamic
between employees and employers. Employers, unlike employees who cannot afford
to be unemployed, have less need for a specific employee due to the nature of
employment
Case Study from Zimbabwe
The purpose of this study was to
evaluate the practical application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory in
motivating employees at Masvingo Polytechnic. In applying the theory, the study
took careful consideration of the impact of employee individual differences. In
this regard, the study employed a deductive approach, with a qualitative survey
conducted among employees at the aforementioned institution. The survey sought
employee feedback on what they perceived to be the most important factors
motivating them as employees. The study found that motivation in general is an
essential factor in increasing productivity, and that Maslow's hierarchy of
needs theory can be very effective in motivating employees. It was also
revealed that the hierarchy was not fixed; employees on one level may have
needs at different levels of the hierarchy(Jonas, 2016).
Case Study from South Florida, USA
The research was based on
qualitative interviews with six employees from a South Florida university.
While employees were satisfied with their direct managers, the results showed
that there were motivational opportunities for further improving the work
environment through better compensation and development opportunities. Future
researchers and managers who wanted to improve their workplace through
effective motivational strategies found implications, recommendations, and limitations
References
·
Badubi, R. M., 2017. Theories of Motivation and
Their Application. International Journal of Innovation and Economic
Development, 3(3), pp. 44-51.
·
De Vito, L. et
al., 2016. Employee Motivation based on the Hierarchy of Needs, Expectancy
and the Two-Factor Theories Applied with Higher Education Employees. International
Journal of Advances in Management, Econmics & and Entrepreneurship, 3(1).
·
Jerome, D. N.,
2013. Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and
implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s
performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3),
pp. 39-45.
·
Jonas,
J. (2016) ‘Making practical use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory to
motivate employees: a case of Masvingo Polytechnic’, Journal of Management
& Administration, 2016(2), pp. 105–117. doi:10.10520/EJC-50954cc8a.
·
Nain, B., 2013.
Nain’sPorous Hierarchy of Needs: An Alternative to Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs. Indian Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(3), pp. 464-467.
·
Pardee,
R.L. (1990) Motivation Theories of Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor &
McClelland. A Literature Review of Selected Theories Dealing with Job
Satisfaction and Motivation. Available at:
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ed316767 (Accessed: 25 April 2022).
·
Stewart , C.,
Nodoushani, O. & Stumpf , J., 2018. Cultivating Employees Using Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs. Competetion Forum; Indiana, 16(2), pp. 67-75.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is understood individual growth is very important for organizational growth, according to Wiley, (1997) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory's key strength is the identification of individual needs for the purpose of motivating behavior. Managers can impact performance by appealing to an employee's unmet needs. One attempt to adapt Maslow's hierarchy by lowering the number of need categories is Alderfer's ERG Theory.
DeleteReference
Wiley, C. (1997). What motivates employees according to over 40 years of motivation surveys. International Journal of Manpower, 18(3), pp.263–280.
Hierarchy of Needs Theory is the basis for this approach (Eren, 2004, ; Koçel, 2010, ). With the E.R.G. Approach, Clayton Alderfer offers a more refined way of Maslow's Theory. In this approach, there are needs ranking similar to the Maslow's Theory and “satisfying needs in the lower levels before passing to the higher levels”principle is
Deleteadopted(Eren,2004;Kocel,2010)
Can be organized into a hierarchy of human needs. This hierarchy extends from more complex needs such as food and water to abstract concepts such as self-fulfillment (Hopper, 2020).
ReplyDeleteAgree with your krishan,food and water ,these kind of needs coming under physiological needs(Brooks,2006)
DeleteAgree with your point , Kaur(2013) further said ,Companies can help in keeping their Employees physiological needs by providing incentives to keep them healthy both in health and mentally.
ReplyDeleteMaslow initially stated that an individual must satisfy lower level needs in the pyramid to progress to higher levels, but later he clarified and moderated his earlier position in 1987 and stated that it is not necessary for a person to satisfy 100% to move to the next level (Maslow 1987, cited in McLeod 2018).
ReplyDeleteThe results of Hanif et al., 2013 show a contradiction with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs assumptions that lower-level needs should be satisfied first before moving up to the needs level. They also contradict the underlying assumption that only one need can be catered to at one time and multiple needs cannot be gratified at the same time.
ReplyDeleteGawel, J.E., (1996) says Maslow theorized that a person could not recognize or pursue the next higher need in the hierarchy until her or his currently recognized need was substantially or completely satisfied, a concept called prepotency.
ReplyDeleteNyambegera and Gicheru's (2016) study highlights the importance of multiple intrinsic factors that drive employee motivation, such as financial remuneration, empowerment, rewards and recognition, the nature of work, and an employee's perception of the contribution to the organization.
ReplyDelete