MASLOW’S THEORY IN PRACTICE

‘The most famous classification of needs is the one formulated by Maslow (1954). He suggested that there are five major need categories that apply to people in general, starting from the fundamental physiological needs and leading through a hierarchy of safety, social and esteem needs to the need for self-fulfillment, the highest need of all’ ( Armstrong-2014)

Maslow identified five levels of needs in his hierarchy: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs.

The most significant limitation of Maslow's theory concerns his methodology. Maslow formulated the characteristics of self-actualized individuals from undertaking a qualitative method called biographical analysis.

He developed a list of qualities that seemed characteristic of this specific group of people, as opposed to humanity in general.

Maslow's biographical analysis focused on a biased sample of self-actualized individuals, prominently limited to highly educate white males (such as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, William James, Aldous Huxley, Gandhi, Beethoven).

Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to empirically test Maslow's concept of self-actualization in a way that causal relationships can be established.

 Maslow's assumption that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their potential and self-actualize. This is not always the case, and therefore Maslow's hierarchy of needs in some aspects has been falsified.

Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty (such as India), it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness. However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow, people who have difficulty achieving very basic physiological needs (such as food, shelter, etc.) are not capable of meeting higher growth needs.

Also, many creative people, such as authors and artists (e.g., Rembrandt and Van Gogh) lived in poverty throughout their lifetime, yet it could be argued that they achieved self-actualization.

Psychologists now conceptualize motivation as a pluralistic behavior, whereby needs can operate on many levels simultaneously. A person may be motivated by higher growth needs at the same time as lower level deficiency needs.

CONCLUSION

Recently, businesses, enabled by a host of new technologies, such as cloud, social and mobile, have begun to serve the intangible needs of human beings, which sit at the top levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. These include. Many companies now exist to facilitate communities between friends, colleagues or potential mates. There are also many highly specific communities for people dealing with unusual circumstances, such as rare diseases or unusual hobbies. Many of these communities had not been able to gather and communicate previously.

 There are also many new ways for people to demonstrate, and be recognized, for their achievements. From the slightly frivolous (“How many likes did my new profile picture get?”) to the utilitarian (“How many stars did my most recent product receive?”), we are now able to measure our quality and impact in myriad ways.

Further, new organizations are enabling people to express themselves creatively and/or make a living in innovative ways. Some give artisans a forum to share and sell their handiwork, while others allow people to create new careers.

Armstrong, M(2014) Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice , 13th  ed, Kogan Page

Dessler, G (2013) Human Resource Management, Pearson, 13th ed., USA

CIPD (2007) Human Capital Theory, CIPD, London

Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and personality (3rd ed.). Delhi, India: Pearson Education.

Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2011). Needs and subjective well-being around the world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101(2), 354.