Maslows Hierachy of needs

MASLOW'S HIERACHY OF NEEDS

10th October,2018

Introduction

There are two ways where managers are challenging to motivate their workforce continuously. One challenge is to motivate the employees towards organizational goals and the other is to motivate employees in order to achieve their own personal goals and expectations. In each kind of organization, there is a conflict between fulfillment of needs and achieving organizational goals. Therefore, the managers should be strong and smart enough to manage and motivate the employees to fulfill both expectations (Shanks,2012).

Motivation

 Motivation theory examines the process of motivation. It explains why people at work behave in the way they do in terms of their efforts and the directions they are taking. It describes what organizations can do to encourage people to apply their efforts and abilities in ways that will further the achievement of the organization’s goals as well as satisfying their own needs. It is also concerned with job satisfaction – the factors that create it and it impact on performance (Armstrong,2006) Motivation is defined as the forces, drives, needs, tension states, or other mechanisms that starts and maintain voluntary activity towards the achievement of personal goals’ (Hoy and Miskel, 2008). Motivation is geared towards increasing people’s efforts and performance. That is why Bateman and Snell (1999), see it as a “force that energizes, directs and sustains a person’s effort towards the achievement of goals”

Difference between Engagement and Motivation

Engagement is an active agreement to do something for someone. Motivation is the will to do something. Both are critical to creating high performance teams (Croke,2018).

Typically, engaged employees are intrinsically motivated. They love what they do, strive to master new skills and are enthusiastic about applying their talents. And there’s a lot to be said for how an engaged workforce can boost any company’s bottom line Employee engagement can be defined in different ways. An engaged employee is one who produces results, does not change job frequently and more importantly is the ambassador of the company at all times. The performance of an engaged employee as defned by Hay group is as follows “a result achieved by stimulating an employees’ enthusiasm for work and redirecting it towards organization success. This result can be achieved only when an employer offers an implicit contract to the employees. That demonstrate specific positive behaviors which are aligned with organization’s goals”(Chandani ,.et al ,2016).Conversely, if your employees are extrinsically motivated, they more than likely need constant prodding in order to produce. This approach may work for a short time, but it’s unsustainable in the long run. Not every task or project can be rewarded with cash or perks. In addition, if employees’ sole source of motivation is fear-based ­– like fear of displeasing their manager or losing their jobs – they can burn

out quickly. In that case, what’s left is a group of disillusioned, disengaged employees who can impact the bottom line, too, but negatively (Richardson,2017).





Maslow first published Motivation and Personality, which introduced his theory about how employees satisfy various personal needs in the context of their work. He postulated, based on his observations as a humanistic psychologist, that there is a general pattern of needs recognition and satisfaction that people follow in generally the same sequence (Gawel,1997). The “motivation to work” published by Maslow probably provided the field of organizational behavior and management with a new way of looking at employee’s job altitudes or behaviors in understanding how humans are motivated. Probably the best-known conceptualization of human needs in organizations has been proposed by this theory (Avneet,2013).





Maslow's hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep, and warmth are for safety and security. As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship, and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority. Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization, which is a process of growing and developing as a person in order to achieve individual potential ( Gans,2018).

Five levels of Maslows Hierachy of needs :

(i) Physiological needs

These are biological needs which consist of the need for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, it is these physiological ones that would come first in the person's search for satisfaction (Jerome,2013).







(ii) Safety needs

When all physiological needs are met and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. While adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting), children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe (Jerome,2013).





(iii) Needs for love, affection and belongingness

When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging (Jerome,2013).



(iv) Needs for esteem

When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless (Jerome,2013).



(v) Needs for self-actualization

When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. However, it is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization (Jerome,2013).

Maslow’s needs hierarchy has an intuitive appeal and has been very popular. But it has not been verified by empirical research such as that conducted by Wahba and Bridwell (1979), and it has been criticized for its apparent rigidity – different people may have different priorities and the underpinning assumption. that everyone has the same needs is invalid. It is difficult to accept that needs progress steadily up the hierarchy and Maslow himself expressed doubts about the validity of a strictly ordered hierarchy. But he did emphasize that the higher-order needs are more significant. Focuses attention on the various needs that motivate people and the notion that a satisfied need is no longer a motivator. The concept of a hierarchy has no practical significance (Armstrong,2014).

Application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to an organizational context

Bank of Ceylon -which considered as the banker to the Nation and the   leader in commercial banking sector in Sri Lanka tend to be provide host of facilities to its employees to create a keen interest towards the organization and to increase the retention and ultimately to improve the Organizational productivity through Employee satisfaction.

Out of the 05 needs explained by Maslow, employees are expecting Love, Affection, Belonginess. Esteem needs & Security needs from their working organization. Bank of Ceylon facilitating its lower and middle level employees with following which are come under Employee Benefits, to fulfill   Security Needs. “Employee benefits are elements of remuneration given in addition to the various forms of cash pay. They also include items that are not strictly remuneration, such as annual holidays”.

•        Ontime salary and bonuses:   provide an attractive and competitive total remuneration package which both attracts and retains high-quality employees.

•        Personal security: these are benefits which enhance the individual’s personal and family security with regard to illness, health, accident or life insurance.

•        Pension schemes: these are generally regarded as the most important employee benefit.

                  The reasons for having a worthwhile pension scheme are that it:

-demonstrates that the organization is a good employer.              

                    -attracts and retains high-quality people by helping to maintain competitive levels of total remuneration.

-indicates that the organization is concerned about the long-term interests of its employees.

            

•        Financial assistance: loans, house purchase schemes, relocation assistance.

•        Personal needs: entitlements which recognize the interface between work and domestic needs or responsibilities, e.g. holidays and other forms of leave, child care, career breaks, retirement counselling, financial counselling and personal counselling in times of crisis, fitness and recreational facilities.

•        Promotions:

  - Promotion vacancies are notified in the HR department.

  -Vacancies are advertised internally.

  - Departmental managers should not allowed to refuse promotions transfers.

•         credit card facilities

•        Intangible benefits: characteristics of the organization which contribute to the quality of working life and make it an attractive and worthwhile place in which to be employed.

•        Positive organizational culture

•        Overtime payments– most manual workers are eligible for paid overtime as well as many staff employees up to management level

Love. Affection and Belonginess needs

         PROVISION OF EMPLOYEE WELFARE SERVICES

It seems obvious that the HR department provide employee welfare services. Inevitably, HR staff will be dealing with cases and providing advice because they are in constant contact with employees and may be seen to be disinterested. It is to be hoped that they will also have some expertise in counselling.

         They are very close enough to each member of their team to be aware of any personal problems affecting their work

         INTERNAL COUNSELLING SERVICES: Internal counselling services provided by full-time staff or volunteers

         WORK-LIFE BALANCE:

       providing scope for employees to balance what they do at work with the responsibilities and interests they have outside work .

These are providing By the Bank of Ceylon for the fulfillment of following.

•        improved productivity and quality of work;

•        improved commitment and morale;

•        reduced staff turnover;

•        reduced casual absence;

•        improved utilization of new recruits

•        provide for the personal needs of employees;

•        increase the commitment of employees to the organization;

ESTEEM NEEDS-

To meet the needs of “Esteem needs “Bank of Ceylon gives followings to the Top ranked employees as a tool of recognition and motivation.

•     Different forms of health Insurance Packages

•     Separate Cafeteria area reserved

•     Special Vacation plans

•     Packages from 5-star hotels

•     Luxurious Vehicles

CONCLUSION & RECOMMANDATION

         Maslow’s theory states that, when a person fulfilled his psychological and safety needs, he or she will develop a need to belong, then get respect and then ultimately realize his or her full potential. When people are happily working they will tend to do their job role with enthusiasm and will spread positive feeling to other stake holders including customers For example, while senior managers are responsible for ensuring that a bank's process for opening checking accounts is efficient – utilizing up-to-date technology – a bank employee will likely get involved at some point in the process If financial institutions focus on helping employees feel engaged and a part of something important, the results can be significant Like any business, the health of a financial institution begins with the people who work there (American Banker,2018).

         Regardless of these criticisms, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs represents part of an important shift in psychology. Rather than focusing on abnormal behavior and development, Maslow's humanistic psychology was focused on the development of healthy individuals. While there was relatively little research supporting the theory, the hierarchy of needs is well-known and popular both in and out of psychology. In a study published in 2011, researchers from the University of Illinois set out to put the hierarchy to the test.What they discovered is that while the fulfillment of the needs was strongly correlated with happiness, people from cultures all over the world reported that self-actualization and social needs were important even when many of the most basic needs were unfulfilled. Such results suggest that while these needs can be powerful motivators of human behavior, they do not necessarily take the hierarchical form that Maslow described (Gans,2018) .

         According to various literature on motivation, individuals often have problems consistently articulating what they want from a job. Therefore, employers have ignored what individual say that they want, instead telling employees what they want, based on what managers believe most people want under the circumstances. Frequently, these decisions have been based on Maslow's needs hierarchy, including the factor of prepotency. As a person advances through an organization, his employer supplies or provides opportunities to satisfy needs higher on Maslow's pyramid (Joseph,1997) .

References:

Armstrong ,M. and Taylor ,S.(2014) Armstrong’s Handbook of human resources Management Practice.13th Edition .UK:Kogan Page Limited.

Burton, N. (2012) Our Hierarchy of Needs. True freedom is a luxury of the mind. Find out why. Psychology Today.

Croke, A. (2018) Are Employee Motivation and Engagement the Same? (Infographic). [blog entry]07 October. Rhythm Blog. Available from http://www.rhythmsystems.com/blog/are-motivation-and-engagement-the-same [Accessed 07 October 2018].

Richardson,B.(2017) Are Employee Engagement and Employee Motivation the Same Thing?. Forbes Asia,[online].Available from  https://www.forbes.com/sites/paycom   /2017/03/09/are-employee-engagement-and-employee-motivation-the-same-thing/#6e49e9d72933  [Accessed 07 October 2018].

Gans, (2018) The Five Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by Kendra Cherry, a review of   How Maslow's Famous Hierarchy Explains Human Motivation.

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Hoy, W. & Miskel, C. (2008) Educational Administration: Theory Research and practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Jerome, N. (2013)’Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’ performance’. International Journal of Business and Management Invention 2013: Department of Economics Taraba State University Jailing, Nigeria 2 (3) pp.39-45.

Bateman, S. & Snell, A. (1999) Management- building competitive advantage.4th edition. Boston: Irwin McGraw hill. 

Shanks, n. (2012). Introduction to Health Care Management. [online] Google Books. Available at: https://books.google.lk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=z3U8V5IYR54C&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=management+and+motivation+nancy+shanks&ots=pC_ewHltmF&sig=yfFAAoOXrtzRKOZ8k_hmXi_wkY8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=management%20and%20motivation%20nancy%20shanks&f=false [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].