2.Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

 

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs

Loh, Schapper, and Wrathall (2000) stated that there are five basic levels of needs arranged by lower-level needs that start with physiological & safety needs and then proceed on to higher-level needs of Belongingness, and esteem & eventually self-actualization.

 Considerations of this theory provided useful insights for organization leaders to consider unmet needs, support programs, and practices aimed at satisfying emerging or dealing with employee stress. (Ramlall (2004) cited Kreitner 1998). 

 

          

           

 

 

 

 

 

                                               McLeod, S. May 21, 2018

(Ramlall, 2004)This theory points out the main basic needs, physiological, safety, love needs, esteem needs & self-actualization. Employees in an organization are motivated, depending on their desires, intelligence, or conditions with these basic satisfactions. “The average member of society is more often partially satisfied and partially unsatisfied in all of one’s wants  This theory provides an opportunity to how to set up programs, job designs, and aims of a company to motivate employees. On the other side, this helps to deal with employees’ stress and working in a critical situation, and the delegation of work (Owusu, 2012).

I work as a banker in a leading private bank. In this organization, at the stage of joining the bank, most are individuals. They fulfill their physiological needs with their remuneration. In my organization in addition to salary, they offer meal allowance, fuel allowance, and transport allowance. Insurance covers, pension funds, and welfare funds are offered as safety & security needs.

According to Abraham Maslow's theory, a small number of people reach the level of self-actualization. The organization will satisfy its employee’s varied desires. In the long term, physiological desires could also be glad by wages & salaries. But it is important to recollect that pay might satisfy desires like safety and esteem needs. Insurance claims & pension plans will help to achieve safety needs. Providing a better work environment will complete social needs. Job opportunities or performance systems are ways of satisfying esteem needs. Self-actualization level could be reached by promotions or new opportunities in an organization. ( Omollo and Oloko 2015)

After 3 or four years, employees are turning to take responsibility for their spouses, children, and families and they want love needs. They need it in the workplace and in their home. Since to motivate employees at this stage banks consider enhancing other consumption loans and leave facilities, as social needs, there should be a proper and friendly workplace. Our bank always considers teamwork and interrelationship with co-workers.

Providing promotional opportunities, and job titles are the ways of satisfying self-actualization needs. Conducting training programs, and backup classes for promotional & banking exams are key aspects to motivate employees for their self-fulfillment in our bank.

(McLeod 2018 May) stated that the hierarchy of needs has expanded the five-stage model to seven & eight-stage models.

1)     food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.

2)     Safety needs- protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom fear.

3)     Love & belongingness needs- friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance.

4)     Esteem needs- which Maslow classified into two categories 1) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence and 2) the need to be accepted and valued by others (e.g. Status, prestige).

5)     Cognitive needs- knowledge and understanding, curiosity exploration, need for meaning, and predictability.

6)     Aesthetic needs- appreciation and search for beauty, and balance.

7)     Self-actualization needs-realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth, and peak experiences.

8)     Transcendence needs –A person is motivated by values that transcend beyond the personal self. E.g. Mystical experiences and certain experiences with nature, aesthetic experiences.

Reference List

Loh, D., Schapper, J. and Wrathall, J. (2000) The Maslow revival: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a motivational theory. Monash University Faculty of Business & Economics, p. 2.

 McLeod, S. A. (2018 May). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs | Simply Psychology (Accessed 06 May 2022).

Owusu, T. (2012) Effects of motivation on employee performance: A case study of Ghana Commercial Bank, Kumasi Zone. Commonwealth Executive of Master in Business Administration.

Omollo, P., and Oloko M., 2015. Effect of motivation on employee performance of commercial banks in Kenya: A case study of kenya commercial bank Migori country.International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 5(2), pp.90.

 Ramlall, S. (2004) A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organizations. The Journal of American Academy of Business Cambridge.54-55.