Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow - Essay Example

There are five levels in the hierarchy of needs, which the theorist categorized into deficiency needs and self-actualization needs. Maslow showed in the theory that people are motivated systematically. When they meet their basic needs, then they plan to achieve other goals.

The first layer of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is related to physiological needs. The second layer is related to the safety and security needs of a person. The third layer in the hierarchy of needs is related to social needs. e.g. need to make friends and interact with others. The fourth layer of needs in the hierarchy is related to personal worth and esteem. The Fifth or the last layer of the hierarchy is related to the need for self-actualization. At this stage, a person is motivated to achieve the highest degree of autonomy and comfort in life.

Engagement has become very necessary in today’s business world. “Engagement may have been optional in the past, but it’s pretty much the whole game today” (Hamel). This theory will be effective in increasing employee engagement because managers can target the first four layers of needs to increase employee motivation and engagement levels. The managers can provide employees with housing allowance to meet one of their basic physiological needs. They can also provide them with a safe and interactive work environment to meet their second and third layers of needs. The fourth layer of needs can also be met by appreciating the hard work of employees and encouraging them. If managers focus on these little things, they can definitely increase the employee engagement level.

Section 2: Needs Theory by Douglas McClelland

Douglas McClelland's theory of needs reveals that there are three needs, which affect or shape the behaviors of people. Those needs include the need for power, need for affiliation, and need for achievement.

The need for achievement is the need of a person to achieve all personal and professional goals. Achievement of any type of goal makes people happy and confident. Power is another human need. People, who are motivated by power, want to dominate and shape other people’s views and behaviors. The third need is the need for affiliation. People want to make relationships with other people in order to remain active in society.

This theory cannot be very effective in increasing the employee engagement level because it focuses more on materialism, which is neither good for an employee nor for the company. For example, this theory focuses on achievement and power. People definitely struggle in their lives to achieve something but when they will always work for personal achievements, they will put their job responsibilities aside and it will not be in favor of the company. Similarly, if managers give them more power than they should get in reality, they may become overconfident which will also shift their focus away from the job as will become involved more in influencing their colleagues and subordinates. Their emotions start influencing their focus on job responsibilities. After all, they are all emotional zombies (Hamel). Therefore, this theory does less in increasing employee engagement levels as compared to the theory described earlier.