University Of Dhaka

EM 502: Principles of Management

Term paper on: Maslows need hierarchy theory.

Submitted by:
Mohammad Mohasin Sarder Batch: 20 ID: 3-11-20-22

Submitted To: Prof. Dr. M.A. Mannan Dept. of Management Studies University of Dhaka

Do you think Maslows need hierarchy theory is still applicable in factories in Bangladesh, especially in those factories where employees are mostly women? Why do you think so? Discuss along with your argument in favor of using a different motivation theory such as two factor theory for such employees.

Introduction: Maslows need hierarchy theory

In formulating positive theory of motivation, Maslow suggests a hierarchy of five basic needs (FIGURE 1). He says the starting point for this theory is the physiological needs. When all needs are unsatisfied, humans are dominated by the physiological needs, and all other needs are pushed in the background. He adds that humans live by bread alone only when there is no bread. But, when there is plenty of bread around, then other (and higher) needs emerge. Maslow describes the physiological needs in terms of two factors. One is homeostasis: bodys automatic efforts to maintain a constant, normal state of the blood stream. Second is the concept of appetites. If the body is deficient in some chemical, then that person will tend to develop a specific appetite for that missing food component. However, we have used a simpler way to describe the physiological needs: food, water, clothing, shelter, and warmth. Next in the pyramid are the safety needs, the belongingness-and-love needs, and the esteem needs. Maslow divides esteem needs into two sub-categories: self-esteem, and esteem from others. Finally, at the top of the pyramid is the self-actualization need. The Maslow's Pyramid of Human Needs is explained below:1. Physiological Needs: Physiological needs are the basic needs for sustaining human life. These needs include food, shelter, clothing, rest, air, water, sleep and sexual satisfaction. These basic human needs (also called biological needs) lie at the lowest level in the hierarchy of needs as they have priority over all other needs. These needs cannot be postponed for long. Unless and until these basic physiological needs are satisfied to the required extent, other needs do not motivate an employee. A hungry person, for example, is just not in a position to think of anything else except his hunger or food. According to Maslow, 'man lives by bread alone,' when there is no bread. The management attempts to meet such physiological needs through fair wages. 2. Security / Safety Needs: These are the needs connected with the psychological fear of loss of job, property, natural calamities or hazards, etc. An employee wants protection from such types of fear. He prefers adequate safety or security in this regard i.e. protection from physical danger, security of job, pension for old age, insurance cover for life, etc. The safety needs come after meeting the physiological needs. Such physiological needs lose their motivational potential when they are satisfied. As a result, safety needs replace them. They begin to manifest themselves and dominate human behavior. Safety needs act as motivational forces only if they are unsatisfied.

3. Social Needs : An employee is a human being is rightly treated as a social animal. He desires to stay in group. He feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the member of the group should accept him with love and affection. Every person desires to be affiliated to such groups. This is treated as basic social need of an individual. He also feels that he should be loved by the other members. He needs friends and interaction with his friends and superiors of the group such as fellow employees or superiors. Social needs occupy third position in the hierarchy of needs. 4. Esteem Needs: This category of needs include the need to be respected by others, need to be appreciated by others, need to have power and finally prestigious position. Once the previous needs are satisfied, a person feels to be held in esteem both by him and also by others. Thus, esteem needs are two fold in nature. Self-esteem needs include those for self-confidence, self-respect, competence, etc. The second groups of esteem needs are those related to one's status, reputation, recognition and appreciation by others. This is a type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied. The Organization can satisfy this need (ego) by giving recognition to the good work of employees. Esteem needs do not assume the motivational properties unless the previous needs are satisfied. 5. Self-actualization Needs: This is the highest among the needs in the hierarchy of needs advocated by Maslow. Self-actualization is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming. It is a 'growth' need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be ultimately happy. Here, a person feels that he should accomplish something in his fife. He want to utilize his potentials to the maximum extent and desires to become what one is capable of becoming. A person desires to have challenges and achieves something special in his life or in the area of his specialization. Though everyone is capable of self-actualization, many do not reach this stage. This need is fully satisfied rarely.

FIGURE 1 Maslows Hierarchy of Basic Needs

What humans can be, must be. Self-esteem: achievement, confidence, competence. Esteem from others: recognition, status, attention.

Self-actualization

Esteem

Family, friendship, and the desire to belong Social Needs Security, stability , dependency, protection; freedom from fear; need for law and order; a job with tenure; desire for a savings account, and insurance (medical, unemployment, disability, old age).

Safety

Food, water, clothing, shelter, warmth

Physiological

The Maslows Human Needs in perspective of Bangladesh is explained below:

1. Bangladesh Perspective on Physiological Needs: Given Bangladeshs levels of development, physiological needs are the prime needs of most Bangladeshis. To Most people of Bangladesh physiological needs are the most basic needs, independent from class of people. Most of people still strive for basic need and they will be happy if they are able to get the basic needs. 2. Bangladesh Perspective on Safety Needs : When physiological needs are completely satisfied the safety needs get precedence and dominate behavior. As most of the people are deprived of deficiency need they do not want to be safe because surviving is the main fight they will be happy if they get the deficiency needs. When they are fighting to get the deficiency needs, they do not bother whether they are safe or not. They sometimes even forget what they wanted to be. However, to several classes of people safety is very important for them; all of them came from the upper-middle or higher class. People who are mostly from the lower-lower to lower-middle want more of the deficiency needs and less of the safety needs. 3. Bangladesh Perspective Social Needs (Love/Belonging) : This includes friendship, intimacy and family. Every human should feel it because they live in a society which consists of families, clubs, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams etc. Bangladeshi people are known to be fond of loving, affection and family bonding. But a majority of the people think that these needs are worthless, that they have already passed half of their life to get the physiological needs. That journey was rigorously tough. So they did not care about love/belonging. Most people want to be loved or cared for, it is typically only those who triumph over their aim who express that love/belonging has a great value in their life. 4. Bangladesh Perspective on Esteem : Esteem is a need that is a natural want of every human being. Everyone wants to be accepted and valued by others. However, people need to engage themselves in family or society to gain recognition. They need some activity or activities that give them a sense of contribution, a feeling of being accepted and having self-value. Such activities could be within and or outside professional life. In Bangladesh many people failed to get their aim due to a lack of confidence as others treat them as a loser. They think they are fine with their physiological needs and will remain happy as long as they will consistently get their physiological needs. At the same time many people regrets and complaints against their family as well as society and/or government. Respect others and be respected by others has little meaning to them.

5. Bangladesh Perspective on Self-actualization : Self-actualization is a level of need that pertains to what a persons full potential is and realizing that potential. Almost all people have some aim at some point in their life, only a few of them achieved their aim. In Bangladesh most of them failed to reach their goal due to family and/or socioeconomic constraints. This reflects Maslows statement that hindrances prevent people from moving towards self-actualization. In the Bangladeshi case, the struggle to get the basic needs is the main hindrance of people to get to the self-actualization level. Is Maslows Need hierarchy theories are applicable in the factories in Bangladesh? Maslows need hierarchy theories can obviously be applied in the factories of Bangladesh, in accordance with the Maslows need hierarchy theory, as most of the worker in Bangladesh is from group having lower income, so majority of them are happy with having achieved their physiological needs, as to them meeting the basic need in life is great challenge, they strive to gather food, shelter and warmth and assurance of these is enough to motivate them. Once, they have assurance of basic need they thrive for their safety needs, Security, stability , dependency, protection; freedom from fear; need for law and order; a job with tenure; desire for a savings account, and insurance of medical, unemployment, disability and old age. But percentage of people seeking the safety need is lower than the people seeking physiological needs. Once achievement of physiological needs and safety need people starts seeking social need and Esteem need, in Bangladeshs socio-economic culture these two need are quite similar in nature, Bangladeshi people are known to be fond of loving, affection and family bonding and they engage themselves in family or society to gain recognition. At the same time they might fail and complaints against their family as well as society and/or government. But people tries to gain these until he has assurance of basic and safety need, even though they tries to achieve social need and esteem with their own groups, for example a worker in a factory tries to gain a notification from his own group member. Consistent with Maslows needs hierarchy, self-actualization is also the highest level in the Bangladeshi needs hierarchy, with only few their happiness with having achieved self-actualization.

Herzbergs two factor theory The Herzbergs two factor theory also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory or DualFactor Theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. It was developed by Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist, who theorized that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction act independently of each other. The two-factor, or motivation-hygiene theory, developed from data collected by Herzberg from interviews with a large number of engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh area. From analyzing these interviews, he found that job characteristics related to what an individual does that is, to the nature of the work he performs apparently have the capacity to gratify such needs as achievement, competency, status, personal worth, and self-realization, thus making him happy and satisfied. However, the absence of such gratifying job characteristics does not appear to lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Instead, dissatisfaction results from unfavorable assessments of such job-related factors as company policies, supervision, technical problems, salary, interpersonal relations on the job, and working conditions. Thus, if management wishes to increase satisfaction on the job, it should be concerned with the nature of the work itself the opportunities it presents for gaining status, assuming responsibility, and for achieving self-realization. If, on the other hand, management wishes to reduce dissatisfaction, then it must focus on the job environment policies, procedures, supervision, and working conditions. If management is equally concerned with (as is usually the case), then managers must give attention to both sets of job factors Herzberg analyzed the job attitudes of 200 accountants and engineers who were asked to recall when they had felt positive or negative at work and the reasons why. From this research, Herzberg suggested a two-step approach to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction:

Hygiene Factors Hygiene factors are based on the need to for a business to avoid unpleasantness at work. If these factors are considered inadequate by employees, then they can cause dissatisfaction with work. Hygiene factors include: - Company policy and administration - Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration - Quality of supervision - Quality of inter-personal relations - Working conditions - Feelings of job security Motivator Factors Motivator factors are based on an individual's need for personal growth. When they exist, motivator factors actively create job satisfaction. If they are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and effort. Motivator factors include: - Status - Opportunity for advancement - Gaining recognition - Responsibility - Challenging / stimulating work - Sense of personal achievement & personal growth in a job There is some similarity between Herzberg's and Maslow's models. They both suggest that needs have to be satisfied for the employee to be motivated. However, Herzberg argues that only the higher levels of the Maslow Hierarchy (e.g. self-actualisation, esteem needs) act as a motivator. The remaining needs can only cause dissatisfaction if not addressed.

Applying Hertzberg's model to de-motivated workers What might the evidence of de-motivated employees be in a business? - Low productivity - Poor production or service quality - Strikes / industrial disputes / breakdowns in employee communication and relationships - Complaints about pay and working conditions According to Herzberg, management should focus on rearranging work so that motivator factors can take effect. He suggested three ways in which this could be done: - Job enlargement - Job rotation - Job enrichment

Bangladeshs Need Hierarchy and Two factor theory: To determine the motivating factor in terms of Bangladeshs perspective, I have carried forward a small survey in a garments company (Shamoly Garments) in our locality, and tried to determine motivating factor in terms of Need Hierarchy and Two factor theory. I have interviewed 30 workers among them 15 of them were male and 15 of them were female. I also interviewed 25 management staff among which 18 were male and 7 were female. At first I will analyze the result of workers and then that of management staff. Out of 15 female workers all of them are happy with having achieved their physiological needs, they also feel safety and social need is also important to them due social condition of Bangladesh. All of them are from financially deprived people and they are happy if they can meet the necessity to bare life, and to continue their life in uninterrupted manner they want security in their life, they want security in their job, and proper supervision so that they dont get humiliated. Moreover they seek for social need, to want to get recognized in the society and they want love and affection from their surrounding friends and family. But again most of the worker are not motivated, to look deep into the manner I determined that they lack the basic hygiene factor as per the Two factor theory, most of them feel that they lack Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration, Quality of supervision, Working conditions and Feelings of job security. They want these to improve, and as we know from the Herzbergs theory that to motivate people we must ensure elimination dissatisfaction by assuring Hygiene factor. As they lack the hygiene factor hence they are not motivated. But as these people come from the financially deprived portion of society so they feel increasing wages and quality of supervision is important in motivating them. But situation is bit different for male workers; out of 15 workers 13 of them are happy with having achieved their physiological needs, they also feel safety, social need and esteem are also important to them due social condition of Bangladesh. As the workers are from financially weak people so they are happy just to bear bare necessity of life. To assure the bare necessity they must have security about their job and life. Apart from female workers who have strong desire social need, male workers have relatively less need for love and belongingness rather they have a great desire for self-esteem. Working condition are similar than that of female workers and they feel that they lack Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration, Quality of supervision, Working conditions and Feelings of job security. They want these to improve, and as we know from the Herzbergs theory that to motivate people we must ensure elimination dissatisfaction by assuring Hygiene factor. As they lack the hygiene factor hence they are not motivated. But as these people come from the financially deprived portion of society so they feel increasing wages and quality of work environment is important in motivating them.

A second survey, interviewing 25 management staff among which 18 were male and 7 were female has been done to find out what the most desired motivational factors of employees are. The questionnaire included eleven motivations, covering a variety of internal and external motivational factors: (i) monetary bonus, (ii) conveyance, (iii) physical security, (iv) appreciation, (v) a comfortable working environment, (vi) autonomy, (vii) recognition and reward, (viii) job security, and (x) fun and pleasure. The employees were asked to rank these motivational factors by their personal priorities.

Motivational Factors for Employees

25 Phusical Secyrity & Appriciation 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Conveyence and Autonomy

Work Enviornment

Monetary Bonus

The results of the ranking are shown in Figure. It shows that 20 employees marked job security as their top priority, followed by eighteen employees who marked a comfortable working environment as their second-highest priority. Twelve employees marked monetary bonus as their third-highest priority, while Eleven employees marked recognition and reward as their fourth-highest priority. Physical security and appreciation shared the fifth priority (marked each by nine employees), while seven employees marked Conveyance and autonomy while a total of ten employees marked fun & pleasure as their lowest priority. The most significant result of this survey is that job security constitutes the employees top priority, with 20 out of 25 employees marking job security as their top motivational factor. Hence, if an employee feels that his or her job is not secure, he or she will not be motivated. Job security depends on a variety of factors, like a companys longevity and success. If a company is well established and has an at least moderate growth rate, employees seem to be assured that their company wills not windup shortly. Similarly, if a company has a good human resource (HR) policy that shows a clear career path and promotion procedure, employees are typically more motivated than otherwise as most employee aim at having a good career.

Recognination

Fun And Pleasure

Job Security

Another important result of this survey is that a comfortable working environment has received very high marks. Among the 25 respondents, 18 respondents marked it as their second-highest motivational factor. A working environment which is free from unhealthy HR practices, office politics, and any kind of ism, sexual harassment and unhygienic office premises are considered comfortable working environment. In other words, a comfortable working environment is very much related to a high quality of work life. Most of the companies think that their employees are motivated mainly by monetary bonuses, or conveyance However, my survey results indicate that these motivational factors are neither the only nor the most important drivers of motivation for employees at the managerial level. Furthermore, it seems like that our recent corporate culture is not supporting employees motivation. This survey suggests that employers should think more about job security and the provision of a comfortable working environment. If employees are worried about their job security or unhappy with their working environment, employees will not be motivated and without motivated employees it will be difficult to survive in a global competitive business environment we are all facing these days. Hence, employee motivation is a must to intensify business in todays globalized world.

Conclusion:
Analysis of the needs hierarchy revealed that people in Bangladesh are trying to be happy without getting all the needs mentioned in Maslows hierarchy of needs. Most people are bound to be happy with whatever they have because their socio-economic condition could deteriorate any day. While being happy has some advantages, it also comes with scaling down ambitions that are needed for success. This scaling down of ambitions is also reflected in the results of the survey on employees motivational factors, where job security and a comfortable working environment were the leading motivations of upper-level employees. Reaching higher levels in the hierarchy of needs and achieving motivational factors are complimentary to each other. If a person is well motivated, he/she can achieve or try to achieve a higher level in the needs hierarchy. But people in Bangladesh are not getting the family and/or social support to realize their initially higher ambitions. In Bangladesh, people have to compromise their higher-level needs all the times because survival has to come first. So the upper levels of Maslows needs are typically untouched. Instead of reaching the top levels of Maslows needs, a new needs hierarchy is created, one which in most cases is completed after reaching the two most fundamental needs.

Bibliography:
Maslow, Abraham H. (1954) Motivation and Personality (New York, NY: Harper); some of the key aspects of the book are summarized at: http://www.abraham-maslow.com Mostofa Haque , Needs Hierarchy, Motivational Factors and Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Development Research Working Paper Series, December 2010 Two factor theory, www.Wikipedia.com Ricky W. Griffin, Management
Motivation in theory - Herzberg two factor theory, www.tutor2u.com