Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, McClellands Theory of Socially Acquired Needs - Coursework Example

The Joy of giving Introduction According to Jennie Keefe, “small tokens of appreciation for a job well done can often be a more powerful staff motivator than expensive benefits.”The focus of this easy is to critically examine the role played small trivial tokens in motivating employees within a particular organisation. It closely examines two content theories, namely Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and McClelland’s theory of social acquired needs in order to find supporting evidence (Rainey 2009, p.275). The essay also draws examples from the article of Joy of giving to highlight key examples supported by these theories. The essay also identifies some of the setbacks that can be witnessed as a result of overdependence of this method to provide motivation to the workforce. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs The modern organisation is faced by a number of challenges to overcome in order to realise the achievement of the set goals and objectives. Key among these challenges is a need to maintain a highly motivated workforce that is ready and willing to perform at its full potential in order to propel the organisation to its full potential. There are many different scholarly perspectives on what motivates employees and the most effective methods that can be used to boost the morale of employees.The important point to note here is the need to keep the workforce satisfied with their working environment before proceeding to offer small tokens to appreciate or recognise the individual effort exemplified by a particular employee. One of the content theories that support this kind of approach is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory which underscores the need for human motivation and outlines these needs in a hierarchy (Martin 2011, p.7). The hierarchy consists of five levels with each level demarcating a particular human need. These needs include physiological, security, social affiliation, self-esteem and self-actualization needs (Naidu & Rao 2008, p.84). Maslow further asserts that the needs at the bottom of the hierarchy need to be satisfied first before the others at the top of the hierarchy can actually be satisfied. This means that in order to motivate an employee one has to begin by ensure the concerns presented by physiological are met. These needs include such concerns as is the employee satisfied with the physical working environment, does he/she have adequate office space, is the room temperature favourable, is the lighting adequate and so on and so forth. If the employer is now sure that the employee is satisfied he can then proceed to meet security needs (Maslow 1817, p.17; Maslow 2000, p.6; Humann et al 2008, p.39). The security needs encompass ensuring an employee has job security, an attractive and competitive salary, an impressive retirement scheme, health insurance policy among others. With the security needs now met the employee will move to the next category; social affiliation where they will seek to get a sense of belonging within the organisation. The employee should make sure the employee is made to feel a part and parcel of the organisation and not simply a tool to be used to achieve the set organisational goals and objectives. At the same time the employees will seek to find affection within the organisation through socializing and active engagement in team activities. In addition, it is at this stage that an individual comes to the full realization that they can not exist in an island of their own and therefore will aggressively seek to be part of a social network within the workplace. It is worth noting that a meaningful interaction between the junior staff and senior personnel in the organisation can play an important role in motivating the junior staff. In addition, holding other social forums such as fun days and team building activities where employees from all ranks can freely mingle and have a good time is crucial at this stage. Employees are most certainly going to feel highly motivated after such evident. After fully meeting social affiliation needs Maslow argues that self-esteem would be the next need to satisfy (Fiore 2004, p.64). In self-esteem the employee will seek to find recognition through receiving awards and other tokens of appreciation. It is at this stage when trivial tokens can play an important role in stimulating the employee morale. In particular small and unanticipated gifts aimed at recognising and rewarding individuals who have shown exemplary service in the performance of their duties can trigger excitement and a jovial mood which is a key highlight in of heightened morale. As noted in the case study, the timing and manner in which the gifts are offered can also play an important role in how they are received and appreciated. For example, dishing out a bunch of flowers can cause it to loose meaning and also leave the employee feeling that the flowers are more of a right and therefore should be regularly given. It is important ensure that the gifts are tailored to meet the particular taste of the employee otherwise the impact of such a gift as a motivator will be null and void. There should also be an element of surprise. A gift not expected has a greater impact than the one which was easily anticipated therefore the management should always strive to create an element of surprise whenever dishing out a gift or an appreciation token. In addition the management should also not stick to one idea; it should strive to be creative in order to eliminate a feeling of boredom. Embracing new creative ideas will offer the staff a feeling of refreshment. Managers should realize that their employees are at different levels of hierarchical needs therefore, they cannot be motivated in the same way .Employees should be awarded with different sets of incentives that are based on their hierarchical needs (Maslow, 1817).Moreover, it is worth noting that the idea of small trivial tokens can only work at the self-esteem stage of the hierarchy of need as outlined by Maslow. This means that offering such tokens without first fulfilling the physiological, security and others needs found in the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs will only generated a limited or insignificant impact on the morale of the workforce. For example it would be of no significance to hand out a bottle of champagne to an employee who has no job security, is underpaid or woks in unfavourable physical conditions. To such an employee there would be little to celebrate about since his major concerns have not been met. In addition, this further goes to show that all employees in the work place cannot be motivated in the same way since they all fall at different levels in the hierarchy of needs. Therefore the idea of trivial tokens will certainly not work for all employees in the organisation at the same time. Another point to note is that once the needs have been met they seize to motivate and the urge for motivation moves to the next level (Heylighen 1992, p.40). A good example for this are the observations made by IT Lab Limited which show that upon the initial signing of the employment contract the many attractive company benefits trigger little excitement after a short while since the same employees seem to pay little attention to them therefore create a need for a new way to motivate the staff. McClelland’s Theory of Socially acquired needs Another theory that also helps to explain the motivational impact behind handing small but significant gifts to employees is the McClelland’s theory of socially acquired needs. The theory mainly pin points three key basic needs that humans will aim to satisfy in the society. These include affiliation, power and achievement ( Charles & Nova Southeastern university 2009, p.76; House 1996, p.333). McClelland asserts that any one individual will aim to satisfy any of the three socially acquired needs. Key to this discussion are individuals with an appetite for achievement. Such individuals will find extra motivation by realising that their exemplary efforts to achieve are recognised and appreciated (Cueva 2006, p.2). By giving the trivial gifts such as shopping voucher, a bunch of flowers, chocolates and many others will only trigger a catalytic effect on their zeal to excel. An example is witnessed at Peppermint PR a marketing communication firm where the management singles out top achievers who have way beyond their call of duty to execute tasks beyond what is normally expected of them. The company notes that by doing so it further stimulates the morale of these employees. However, it is important to note that an achiever will always remain an achiever with or without a motivating factor. The morale booster only acts to stimulate their zeal further.A disadvantage of giving tokens of appreciation to achievers occurs when the management fails to recognise a particular achievement. This can easily be translated to mean that the achievement was not good enough and therefore lead to an accumulation of pressure on the individual to make bugger and better achievements in order to be recognised and appreciated. This can be detrimental to their health at the same time affecting their changing their attitude to one dogged by stress and uncertainty. Conclusion Motivation can be regarded as a psychological process that helps to influence the behavior of employees by giving them a desire to realise the organizational goals. In order for any organization to survive in the current competitive market, it needs to motivate its employees.The trend by modern organisations to recognise and appreciate the exemplary achievements of their workforce is a key morale booster which should be encourage in all organisations. However, the organisation should always aim to first meet the basic needs of the employees as highlighted by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs before embarking on such a strategy. Every human being has an inherent urge for recognition and appreciation and therefore the organisation should positively tap in to this need in order to motivate its employees. A well motivated and vibrant workforce is the most crucial asset the organisation can pride itself in (Maslow 2000, p.6). 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