Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory QUESTION: Asses comparatively, Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory and Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation. To what extend do these theories apply to manufacturing companies? SOLUTION Motivation is an internal state that activates behavior and gives it direction. Motivation is the driving force behind all actions of human beings, animals and organizations. The main question facing managers of manufacturing companies today is how does this work? How to apply, when to apply and whom to apply. In today’s business world (companies) motivation plays an important role in determining whether a company will succeed or not. Motivation is a set of attitude or values that influence the human goal-director behavior. Within an organization the desired goals are often clearly defined, the manager tries to achieve the goals of the organization through the employees. For these the management normally seeks to change or maintain certain environmental factors so as to influence the inner drives which may change or sustain the behaviours of the surbodinates. HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY Psychologist Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs theory proposed that we motivated the five unmet needs, arranged in the hierarchy order which also lists examples of each type of need in both the person and work spheres of life. OR Needs can be said to be deficiencies that energise or triggers behavior to satisfy those need. Unfulfilled needs create a tension that makes people want to find ways to reduce or satisfy those needs. The stronger the need, the more innovative one is to satisfy them. Thus, the hierarchy of need theory by Abraham Maslow (1943) attempt to address this issue of need. This theory stresses two fundamental premises. First our needs depends on what we already have. Only needs not satisfied can influence behavior. In order words, a satisfied need is no longer a motivator. Second, our needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. once a need is satisfied another emmergies and demand satisfaction. Maslows then hypothesized five levels of needs and placed them in framework called the hierarchy because of the different levels of importance. These needs are physiolocal needs, security needs, affiliation needs, esteem needs and self actualization needs. There are two things to remember about Maslows model: 1. We must satisfy lower-level needs before we seek to satisfy higher-level needs. 2. Once we have satisfied a need, it no longer motivates us; the next higher need takes its place. IMPLICATIONS Not all employees are driven by the same needs and the needs that motivate individuals can change over time. Thus, manufacturing companies should consider which needs different employees are trying to satisfy and should structure rewards and other forms of recognition accordingly. TWO FACTOR THEORY Another psychologist, Fredrick Herzberg, set out to determine which work factors (such as wages, job security, or advancement) made people feel good about their jobs and which factors made them feel bad about their jobs. He surveyed workers, analyzed the results and concluded that to understand employee satisfaction (or dissatisfaction), he had to divide work factors into two categories: Hygiene Factors- * Company policy and administration. * Technical supervision. Interpersonal relations with supervisors, peers, and subordinates. * Salary * Job security. * Personal life. * Work conditions and Status. MOTIVATION FACTORS These are factors that contribute to job satisfaction: Achievement, Recognition, growth/advancement and interest min the job. These factors result from internal generators in employees, yielding motivation rather than movement. Herzbergs believed that these two levels of needs were equally important for job satisfaction; however they worked in different ways. If the lower needs are inadequate workers will quickly become dissatisfied, however as these needs are satisfied trying to motivate workers by just adding more hygiene factors such as wages or work hours is an inefficient and short term solution. A better way would be to appeal to their higher level needs by giving them more responsibilities or giving them greater scope of advancement. In this way the individual’s are satisfied as well as those of the organization. Job enrichment programs are needed to incorporate these motivating factors. Thus, motivation may mean different things to different people. In today’s manufacturing world, managers and employers must adopt an organizational culture, were motivation is the key to their mission as leaders. In an organization, different employees have different needs and different priorities, therefore managers must be able to establish their needs and be able to apply different motivational tools to satisfy needs. At the core of motivation is human need satisfaction. The inner need derived within an individual are believed needs to be activated to give rise to appropriate behavior, were such behavior could lead to fulfillment of the needs. In order to help managers motivate their workers more effectively, they should know that people have their own drives, aspirations and needs as human beings. Since the manager work with and through people, he must recognize the need to motivate his subordinates’ to work to best of their abilities otherwise; the efficiency of the workforce will be affected. Approach to motivation in organizations is challenging because of the complexity of the problem. Part of the complexity is that, every individual has different needs, different objectives and different values on the outcomes. Furthermore, the organizations vary in the kinds of products they produced, the kind of customers they served, and kids of financial structures they have. CONCLUSSION It is important to note that job satisfaction is not only about making people work and perform better, but also about stopping people from not performing well. Though, performing better not necessary always correlates to job satisfaction, but pinning the underline causes via consistent research is as important. Some management may discover that enhancing performance for one employee differs for another, but obtaining this data could be rewarding. REFERENCES: 1. Bede an, A. G. (1993) management (3rd) New-York: Dryden press. 2. Edward E. Lawler (1993) motivation in work organization, California wads worth publishers. 3. Steven I. Dugguh (2008) management theory and practice, Makurdi. Oracle publishers.

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