ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY & BEHAVIOR REPORT
HIERARCHY NEEDS OF THEORY:
ABRAHAM MASLOW:
Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 — June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who was best known for creating a Hierarchy of needs to explain human motivation. Maslow studied law at City College New York. After he developed an interest in psychology, he switched to the university of Wisconsin. Maslow earned all three of his degree in Psychology (a bachelor’s master’s and doctorate) from the University of Wisconsin. Abraham Maslow started teaching at Brooklyn College in 1937, and continue to work as a member of the school faculty until 1951. His theories including the Hierarchy of needs, self-actualization, and peak experiences Become fundamental subjects in the humanist movement. His theories focused on the positive aspect of human nature. Maslow had a severe heart attack due to which he died at the age of 62 in Menlo Park, California.
MASLOW’S MOTIVATION THEORY:
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is known as “Theories of Motivation”. Maslow’s theory tells us that our actions and behavior are motivated by completing certain physiological and psychological needs that progress from basic to complex.
Abraham Maslow first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, titled “A Theory of Human Motivation” and again in his upcoming book “Motivation & Personality”. This theory suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, move to advanced needs.
As a Humanist, Maslow believed that people have an inborn wish to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they can be. To achieve this eventual goal, a number of more basic needs must be met. This includes the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem.
Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a vital role in motivating behavior. There are five different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, starting at the lower level known as Physiological needs.
TYPES OF NEEDS:
1. Physiological Needs:
The base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is physiological needs. They are the things a person needs the most in order to survive. In addition to the basic requirements of nutrition, air, and temperature regulation, physiological needs also include shelter and clothing. They include the need for food, clothing, warmth, rest, and health. At this level, a person’s motivation comes from their innate will to survive.
For example: Oxygen, food, and water are the basic requirement for all living beings. Oxygen is the need for the survival of human beings along with eating and drinking are also essential for staying healthy. In short, these physiological needs must be satisfied before moving on to the other needs.
2. Safety Needs:
The second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of safety needs. Safety or security needs are related to a person as to feel safe and secure in their life and surroundings. Motivation comes from the need for law, order, and protection from unpredictable and dangerous conditions. To find stability and security, a person must consider their physical safety first.
For example: Along with an excellent job and salary, a safe working environment is the basic need of every employee. Employees strive to get a safe and secure work environment throughout their entire careers.
3. Belongingness & Love Needs:
The third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is love and belonging needs. Humans are social animals who crave interaction with other people. This level of the hierarchy describes the requirements for love, family, and friendships. People need to be loved and accepted and to have a sense of community. People could feel lonely or depressed when these demands aren’t met.
For example: Every individual hope for perfect family relationships and friendships. To avoid problems like loneliness and depression, it is important for a human being to have a healthy social life as personal relationships with family and friends plays an important role in our life.
4. Esteem Needs:
The fourth level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is esteem needs. A person’s need for respect, prestige, and recognition is tied to their need for self-esteem. Someone looks to satisfy their esteem requirements once their wants for love and belonging have been met.
Maslow broke up esteem needs into two categories: the need for respect from others and the need for respect from oneself. Respect for oneself relates to dignity, confidence, competence, independence, and freedom.
For example: when a student is motivated and appreciated, he will get excellent academic results, which will increase his recognition in school and society. Thus, this will improve the confidence and self-esteem of the student.
5. Self-Actualization Needs:
The fifth and final level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is self-actualization needs. Self-actualization is the accomplishment of one’s full potential and power. People want to improve their level to become prominent in society. Maslow’s said of self-actualization: “It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing. They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they are capable”.
For example: For instance, one person might achieve this feeling of self-actualization by working at NASA, while another can achieve this feeling by being an interior designer. Everyone has a different boundary of self-actualization and it has no concern with becoming famous. It is about our reaching our ability and understanding our creativity whether by becoming a doctor, actor, painter, etc.
By studying the theory of Maslow, two main questions come to our mind about how to explore the correlation between each level in the hierarchy of Maslow’s needs among adult learners.
Question 1:
Are the Self-Actualization needs level the single motivation governing other human needs?
Ans: The results of Pearson’s correlation analysis show a correlation among the five needs levels of satisfaction is all positive and significant p < 0.1 an average r value of 0.67 which indicates that self- actualization needs level is not the dominant level in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid.
Question 2:
Can lower-level needs of satisfaction predict the higher level of satisfaction in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
Ans: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can predict the higher-level needs of satisfaction as proven by a series of multiple regressions conducted in a step-wise procedure. This means that if a person is struggling to meet their physiological needs, they are unwilling to seek safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization on their own.
GROWTH VS DEFICIENCY NEEDS:
Maslow separated his hierarchy into two different types of needs: growth needs and deficiency needs. The main difference between growth and deficiency needs is the change in motivation as needs are met. Motivation increases as growth needs are met, and motivation decreases as deficiency needs are met. As mentioned previously, self-actualization is personal growth, thus making it a growth need. Growth needs begin from a desire to become better and grow as a person. As a person fulfills growth needs, their motivation increases as their desire to become even better increases.
Oppositely, deficiency needs concern the four levels below self-actualization: physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs. Deficiency needs stem from a person’s desire to get rid of deficiencies or obtain things they are lacking. As a person achieve the things they lack, their motivation to get these things decreases.
