Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Human needs are an important part of human nature. Values, beliefs, and customs differ from country to country and group to group, but all people have similar needs. As a leader you must understand these needs because they are powerful motivators.

Abraham Maslow (1) felt that the basic human needs were arranged in a hierarchical order. He based his theory on healthy, creative people who used all their talents, potential, and capabilities. At the time, this methodology differed from most psychology research studies which were based on the observation of disturbed people. 

There are two major groups of human needs: basic needs and meta needs.

Basic needs are physiological, such as food, water, and sleep; and psychological, such as affection, security, and self esteem. These basic needs are also called deficiency needs because if they are not met by an individual, then that person will strive to make up the deficiency.

The higher needs are called meta needs or growth needs. These include justice, goodness, beauty, order, unity, etc. Basic needs take priority over these growth needs. People who lack food or water cannot attend to justice or beauty.

These needs are listed below in hierarchical order. The needs on the bottom of the list (1 to 4) must be met before the needs above it can be met. The top four needs (5 to 8), can be pursued in any order depending on a person's wants or circumstance, as long as all the other needs (1 to 4) have all been met.

THE 5 STAGE MODEL vs THE 8 STAGE MODEL

Maslow's original Hierarchy of Needs had only 5 stages: the 4 lower needs plus self-actualisation. However, in his writings and his later works Maslow recognised that self-actualisation included a number of elements such as the fulfillment of the person's Cognitive needs and Aesthetic needs. He also recognised that the most developed (most self-actualised) people had changed their focus from developing themselves (self-actualisation) , to helping others develop (which Maslow referred to as self-transcendence).

So although it is accurate to talk of a self-actualised person as a person who (amongst other things) has fulfilled their cognitive and aesthetic needs, and who is very focused on helping others; it is also helpful to split "self-actualisation" into these 4 parts, and particularly, to recognise that people on the highest level are not just focused on themselves.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (* Asterixes refer to stages that are only included in the 8 stage model)

• 8. Self-transcendence* - a transegoic (see Note below) level that emphasizes visionary intuition, altruism, and unity consciousness. A person who operates primarily from this level is more interested in helping the world and its peoples rather than him(her)self. Examples include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jesus, Muhammad etc.
• 7. Self-actualization - Self-actualized people know who they are, where they are going, and what they want to accomplish. They constantly strive to improve themselves and be the best they can be. They are very self aware, and are committed to their own personal development (which also enables them to help others as much as possible). As a result they tend to live in a general state of well-being and inner happiness (albeit frequently with a strong drive to continually improve)..
• 6. Aesthetic* - Aesthetics aim to be at peace. They are curious about the inner workings of all. They may also be very artistic.
• 5. Cognitive* - Committed to learning for learning's sake. Desire to contribute knowledge to the world and to their acquaintances. Keen to understand as much as possible.
• 4. Esteem - Have a feeling of moving up in world, desire recognition and a feeling of confidence. They want to be important and seen as important and successful.
• 3. Belongingness and "love" - This is the desire to belong to a group, to have close friends to confide with, and to be supported by. (Note: Love as used here refers more to the need to be loved rather than the desire to love. If a person is unconditionally loving or if their main focus is being as loving of others as they can, then they are operating out of Self-transcendence. This is the type of love demonstrated by Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, and some founders of N.G.O.'s and spiritual organisations.)
• 2. Safety (or Security) - The primary focus of people at this level is to be free and to feel free from immediate danger. A person at this level may have met their physiological needs, but then desire to feel secure that they will be able to meet these needs in the future.
• 1. Physiological - People at this level are primarily focused on meeting their needs for food, water, shelter, and sex.

Maslow posited that people want and are forever striving to meet various goals. Because the lower level needs are more immediate and urgent, if they are nor satisfied, they come into play as the source and direction of a person's goal.

A need higher in the hierarchy will become a motive of behavior as long as the needs below it have been satisfied. Unsatisfied lower needs will dominate over unsatisfied higher needs and must first be satisfied before the person can climb up the hierarchy.

Knowing where a person is located on this scale aids in determining an effective motivator. For example, motivating a middle-class person (who is in range 4 of the hierarchy) with a certificate will have a far greater impact than using the same motivator to motivate a minimum wage person from the ghettos who is struggling to meet needs 1 and 2.

It should be noted that almost no one stays in one particular hierarchy for an extended period. We constantly strive to move up it, while at the same time forces outside our control try to push us down it. Those on top get pushed down for short time periods, i.e., death of loved-one or an idea that does not work. Those on the bottom get pushed up, i.e., come across a small prize or receive a well paying job. Our goal as leaders, is to help our people obtain the skills and knowledge that will push them up the hierarchy permanently. People who have their basic needs met become much better workers. There are able to concentrate on fulfilling the visions put forth to them, instead of consistently worrying about how to make ends meet.

The best approach is to motivate people at the need level they are on, while also providing the higher-level motivation. e.g. If someone is starving it won't help to talk about how exciting and challenging a job is.... at least not until they have met their basic needs and can then focus on a higher level. At the same time, if you only focus on meeting the lower level needs, then you will only get low-level results from your workers.

Characteristics of self-actualizing people:

Self-actualizing people:

• Have better perceptions of reality and are comfortable with it.
• Accept themselves and their own natures.
• Their lack artificiality.
• They focus on problems outside themselves and are concerned with basic issues and eternal questions.
• They like privacy and tend to be detached.
• Rely on their own development and continued growth.
• Appreciate the basic pleasures of life (do not take blessings for granted).
• Have a deep feeling of kinship with others.
• Are deeply democratic and are not really aware of differences.
• Have strong ethical and moral standards.
• Are original and inventive, less constricted and fresher than others.

- PLEASE READ THIS SHORT QUOTE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT SELF-ACTUALISED PEOPLE ARE LIKE

- CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT EACH OF THE NEEDS IN MASLOW'S HIERARCHY

Note that the above readings are based on Maslow's 5 stage Hierarchy of Needs. (The difference is explained here)

Instead of doing a summary of this chapter,
please answer the questions provided on this page:

Note: The questions for this chapter are harder and will take about 6 times as long to answer as each of the questions for the other 16 chapters and 3 appendices.

Please open this Microsoft Word file and answer your questions in it. Then send the file as an attachment along with the summaries of all other chapters - also done in Microsoft Word (or exported as a Microsoft Word file from any other word-processing program).

• What level on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs do you feel that you primarily operate from?
• Do you operate from different levels at home? In relationships? In your Study? At work? In your hobbies/sports/pass-times? (Write which level you feel you operate on in each of these environments.)
• What evidence do you have that this is the level (or are the levels) you mainly operate from?
• Looking at the workforce in your country (and focusing on office workers to make the question more specific) provide a rough guess / estimate of the % of people who's focus you feel is primarily based on the following needs.
  
  e.g. If you feel that the main focus of 40% of office workers in developing countries is on meeting their safety or physiological needs, then fill this in. Then go on to the next level and do the same. Continue writing your estimates for each need, going down each column one at a time. Note that each column should total to 100%. So you'll probably have to play with your figures a little to get them to total this. (To make it easier for you, we'll accept if they total somewhere between 90% and 110%).
  
  Once you have completed one column (e.g. looking at office workers in developing countries), then go on to the next column.
  
  Rather than thinking abstractly about percentages, you could think of an actual group of people you work with, or have worked (or studied) with (or otherwise got to know). e.g. If you work with about 30 people then you could write your estimates based on them, and then multiply by a bit over three times.
  
  If you find this exercise a bit overwhelming (e.g. trying to make the percentages balance), then you could simply write a descriptive assessment (guess) for each. e.g. "Most people", "very few" etc. However, this will reduce the marks you are given for this question.
  
  

  	Your estimate of the percentage of office workers in developing countries who's main focus is on meeting this need	Your estimate of the percentage of senior-level office workers in developing countries who's main focus is on meeting this need	Your estimate of the percentage of office workers in developed / industrialised countries who's main focus is on meeting this need	Your estimate of the percentage of senior-level office workers in developed / industrialised countries who's main focus is on meeting this need
  Safety or Physiological
  Belongingness and Love
  Esteem
  Aesthetic or Cognitive
  Self Actualization
  Self Transcendence
  TOTAL Should equal 100% (Though we'll accept anywhere between 90 and 110%)	- - - - - - -	- - - - - - -	- - - - - - -	- - - - - - -

  
  
• What impact would the above percentages have on the level of performance of people in each category? How would your management style need to adapt in order to manage each category of people as well as possible?
  

 

As mentioned above, please open this Microsoft Word file and answer your questions in it. Then send the file as an attachment along with the summaries of all other chapters.

Herzberg's Hygiene and Motivational Factors

Herzberg developed a list of factors (2) which are closely based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, except it more closely related to work:

HERZBERG'S HYGIENE & MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS

Hygiene or Dissatisfies:

• Working conditions
• Policies and administrative practices
• Salary and Benefits
• Supervision
• Status
• Job security
• Fellow workers
• Personal life

Motivators or Satisfiers:

• Recognition
• Achievement
• Advancement
• Growth
• Responsibility
• Job challenge

Hygiene factors must be present in the job before motivators can be used to stimulate that person. That is, you cannot use Motivators until all the Hygiene factors are met. Herzberg's needs are specifically job related and reflect some of the distinct things that people want from their work as opposed to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs which reflect all the needs in a persons life.

Building on this model, Herzberg coined the term "job enrichment" to describe the process of redesigning work in order to build in Motivators.

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGreagor developed a philosophical view of humankind with his Theory X and Theory Y (3) . These are two opposing perceptions about how people view human behavior at work and organizational life.

Theory X

• People have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever possible.
• People must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives.
• People prefer to be directed, do not want responsibility, and have little or no ambition.
• People seek security above all else.

With Theory X assumptions, management's role is to coerce and control employees.

Theory Y

• Work is as natural as play and rest.
• People will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives (they are NOT lazy).
• Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement.
• People learn to accept and seek responsibility.
• Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are widely distributed among the population. People are capable of using these abilities to solve an organizational problem.
• People have potential.

With Theory Y assumptions, management's role is to develop the potential in employees and help them to release that potential towards common goals.

Theory X is the view that traditional management has taken towards the workforce. Many organizations are now taking the enlightened view of theory Y. A boss can be viewed as taking the theory X approach, while a leader takes the theory Y approach.

Notice that Maslow, Herzberg, and McGreagor's theories all tie together:

• Herzberg's theory is a micro version of Maslow's theory (concentrated in the work place).
• McGreagor's Theory X is based on workers caught in the lower levels (1 to 3) of Maslow's theory while his Theory Y is for workers who have gone above level 3.
• McGreagor's Theory X is based on workers caught in Herberg's Hygiene or Dissatisfiers, while Theory Y is based on workers who are in the Motivators or Satisfiers section.

 

• When you think about employees generally do you feel Theory X assumptions or Theory Y assumptions are more valid?  Why? Give examples.
  
  

 

A brief reminder:
Instead of doing a summary of this chapter, make sure you have answered all the questions provided on this page.