Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory - Essay Example

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory One of the theories leant is the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. This theory denotes that people have various motivational needs that an organization must satisfy. These needs are ranked in a hierarchy of five, and the organization must satisfy all of them. The first need is the need for survival, followed by the need for security. Other needs are desire to find love and belonging (social needs), the desire to have status and self-esteem, and the need of self-actualization (achieving ones goals and aspirations). An organization has to satisfy these needs if it wants to achieve efficiency from its customers (Bateman and Snell, 2013). It is important to denote that the satisfaction of these needs must be done in a hierarchical order. Starting with the most important need, that is need for survival; up to the least important need that is the need of self-actualization. Another theory is the ERG theory by Aldefer. According to this theory, an individual has three important needs that an organization must satisfy in order to motivate them. These needs are the desire to exist, relate and grow. According to this theory, these needs change as the position of an employee progresses (Tracy, 2013). Existence encompasses the desire to satisfy basic human needs such as food, shelter and clothing. Relatedness is the desire of an employee to form associations with employers, co-workers, and family members (Dessler, 2013). Growth is the desire of an employee to achieve his or her ambitions. McClelland needs theory is another theory of motivation. According to this theory, the needs of an individual are acquired over time, and it is their experiences that shape these needs. McClelland identifies three needs, which are achievement, affiliation and power. This theory is often referred to as the three needs theory. Under achievement, an individual takes a calculated risk to accomplish their goals. They tend to avoid high risks situations, because success there comes as a chance. They also tend to avoid low risk situations because there is no guarantee of success (Fábregas and Scalise, 2012). With affiliation, comes the desire of an individual to create relationships. On this basis, an individual favors collaborations, as opposed to competition. The individual also desires power. Under this need, two types of power exists, institutional and personal (Walters, 2010). Personal power involves the need to control friends, and family members. While institutional is the need to control organizations. The motivator-hygiene model theory is also another example of a motivational theory. According to this theory, an organization needs to understand the factors that cause an employee to be motivated, and ones that cause the same employee to be de-motivated. This theory denotes that factors that motivate an employee can change over a period of time, and settings of work (Ryan, 2012). However, the need of respect cannot change. It is the most motivating factor at any given point of an individual’s life. This theory further denotes that in an organization, there is an aspect of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Managers must put all this in consideration while formulating policies. The final theory is the equity theory of motivation. This theory explains that the motivation of employees come as a result of perceptions in relation to the fairness in which an organization treats its various employees (Schunk, 2012). This theory denotes that individuals value fairness, and this makes them to have motivation. Of these theories, the most important theory of motivation is the Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Model. This is because the theory is practical and identifies two factors that an organizations needs to consider while developing human resource policies. From this theory, we can denote that there are conditions within an organization that can make an employee to be satisfied, and there are others that can make an employee to be dissatisfied (Mcreynolds, 2012). From this theory, we can learn that the organization has to identify the factors that cause these two situations. The organization needs to implement a factor that will cause an employee to be happy, and reduce factors that will negatively affect the performance of an employee. Etisalat is a multinational company that is on the telecommunications sector. Etisalat Company uses both negative and positive techniques to motivate its employees. In using positive reinforcement techniques, Etisalat identifies top performing employees, each month, through its performance appraisal forms. For instance, the company usually recognizes the efforts of an employee, by using the tags as “employee of the month”. This technique motivates an employee, as a result making him or her to improve on the level of his performance to a much better standard. The company also has some negative motivational techniques (Cole, 2013). It has a written warning system whereby employees who are not efficient are notified of their inefficiency and a warning given. This can either be a threat to terminate their employment status. Etisalat normally rewards its most efficient employees with promotions, or a pay increase. The management of the company can also host them for lunch, or take them for further training to improve on their skills (Cole, 2013). The company also rewards its employees through praises, and letter on encouragement. These motivational and reward techniques are very effective in motivating its workers, and therefore increasing their productivity. This is seen on how the company is performing in its Asian and African markets (Etisalat, 2013). The company commands a huge market share in the telecommunication sector of the countries in which it operates. As an employee of the company, there are areas that do not motivate me, and hence my manager should look at these areas and provide changes. The most notable source of my dissatisfaction is the feedback process of the organization. This means that the organization has to create a feedback mechanism that will judge the effectiveness of our daily duties. Through this mechanism, I might learn of my shortcomings, and strive forth to improve on them. This is different from the appraisals which are done monthly, but they do not identify the weaknesses of employees. References: Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. (2013). M: Management. New York, NY.: McGraw-Hill Companies. Cole, A. (2013). Analysis of Etisalat. Munich: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Dessler, G. (2013). Human resource management (13th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Pearson Education. Etisalat - Company Profile - Company Profile. (n.d.). Etisalat - Company Profile - Company Profile. Retrieved October 31, 2013, from http://www.etisalat.com/en/about/profile/company-profile.jsp Fábregas, A., & Scalise, S. (2012). Morphology: from data to theories. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Mcreynolds, J. (2012). Motivational theories & psychology. Delhi: English Press. Ryan, R. M. (2012). The Oxford handbook of human motivation. New York: Oxford University Press. Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: an educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Tracy, B. (2013). Motivation. New York: American Management Association. Walters, J. H. (2010). Positive management increasing employee productivity. New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017): Business Expert Press. Read More