Friday, 30 October 2020

 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

According to McLeod (2020), the way Maslow’s theory is explained relies on the fact that (a) human beings are motivated by a hierarchy of needs.(b) needs are organized in a hierarchy of prepotency in which more basic needs must be more or less met (rather than all or none) prior to higher needs.(c) the order of needs is not rigid but instead may be flexible based on external circumstances or individual differences.(d) most behavior is multi-motivated, that is, simultaneously determined by more than one basic need.

1.Physiological or Basic Needs – These include the basic physiological needs of a human. Hunger, thirst, sex, shelter, and other bodily needs  (Kaur, 2013). Maslow considered physiological needs the most important as all the other needs become secondary until these needs are met.

Figure 1.0: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

(Source: McLeod ,2020).

2.Safety needs - People want to experience order, predictability and control in their lives. These needs can be fulfilled by the family and society. For example, emotional security, financial security (e.g. employment, social welfare), law and order, freedom from fear, social stability, property, health and wellbeing (e.g. safety against accidents and injury) (McLeod, 2020).

3Love and belongingness needs - - The need for interpersonal relationships motivates behavior Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work) (McLeod, 2020).

4Esteem needs Maslow classified into two categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige) (McLeod, 2020).

5. Self-actualization needsRefer to the realization of a person's potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. The urge for this need only arises and only after all the above four categorical needs are consistently and adequately fulfilled (Jerome, 2013)

Implications of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory for banking sector

Man is a wanting animal” (MacGregor,2003), always expect and be ready for another request for fulfilment of another need after fulfilling one need. It is a never-ending process but it is the same urge of a man which makes him to do more. That urge is the sole driving force of an employee to achieve more or simply to give the employee’s best effort for an organization (Mawere, et al., 2016). When it comes to self-verification requirements, managers can provide challenging job opportunities that take full advantage of the employees' skills and skills. Moreover, they can provide growth opportunities so that they can reach peak levels (Jerome, 2013).

The bank I work for provides special loan schemes to its employees at low interest rates, such as Housing and repair loans, furniture loans, wedding loans, funeral loans, pilgrimage loans, educational loans, consumer loans, motor vehicle and repair loans, bicycle loans in order to uplift their employees and their family’s living standards. This satisfies the employee’s basic needs, wellbeing, security, love, and affection from their family’s and shelter and safety needs, which ticks the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs. Further, in general, the employees receive their monthly salaries which align with the industrial benchmarks, and allowances which are considered as monetary such as cost of living allowances, medical reimbursements, traveling/food/lodging reimbursements, fuel allowances, gas allowances, spectacle, and hearing aid reimbursements, surgical and hospitalization reimbursements, Entertainment and holiday allowances, annual bonuses, servant and drivers allowances, risk allowances, telephone bill reimbursements, which varies between individuals rank and position in the bank. Social needs may be satisfied by having a friendly environment and providing a workplace conducive to collaboration and communication with others. Company picnics and other social get-togethers may also be helpful if the majority of employees are motivated primarily by social needs (but may cause resentment if they are not and if they have to sacrifice a Sunday afternoon for a company picnic).

The institution rewards with monetary and non-monetary rewards for the achievement of various targets and goals, such as party financing of staff annual trips, foreign tours. And even the institution rewards to the highest-ranked corporate personnel   with luxury vehicles which is borne by the bank for their esteem needs and self-actualization needs. The banking institution claims to be one of the leading banks in the island and been awarded in many esteem rewards from reputed bodies and sustains in the industry by its competitive advantages where “people” are being involved.

The “hierarchy of needs” concept as illustrated in figure 2.0 is a useful way to look at the banking process: product and customer. At the bottom of the hierarchy is security, in the middle is (money) movement, and at the top level, performance (Shevlin, 2014).

Figure 2.0: Hierarchy of needs


                                                                                                              (source: Shevlin, 2014)

In the past years, consumers had a need for security–they wanted to know that when they put their money in a bank on Monday, that money would be there on Tuesday. With deposit insurance, and a highly regulated industry, that level of need s satisfied, and has been for a while now (Shevlin, 2014).

In the past years, consumers had a need for money movement–they wanted to know that when they wrote a check on their banking account, the money would be moved to whomever they wrote the check to. And they wanted to know that when they deposited a check into their account, that the money would be moved there (although the long wished that movement happened faster than it does). These needs have been long met, as well (Shevlin, 2014).

In the past years, consumers had a need for account performance–they wanted to know that they were getting the best rates, and paying the lowest fees. This is a relatively newer level of need, as consumers (especially, and predominantly, in the US) have become more affluent over the past 50 years. The Internet has contributed strongly to helping meet this need (Shevlin, 2014).

With the advent of electronic, mobile, and alternative payments, the security of transactions and the efficient/effective movement of money is being challenged. At the top of the pyramid, the increasing complexity of managing one’s financial life makes managing performance far more complicated than just tracking rates and fees. Sixscape Communications and Ensygnia address the changing security needs. Sixscape replaces insecure username/password authentication with certificate-based authentication, while Ensygnia’s technology improves identity verification  (Shevlin, 2014).

List of References

American Banker 2018, what banks can learn from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,[online] Available from https://www.americanbanker.com/opinion/what-banks-can-learn-from-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs [Accessed 25 October 2020]. 

Jerome, N 2013, Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(3), pp. 39-45.

Korzynski, P 2013, Employee motivation in new working environment. International Journal of Academic Research, 5(5), pp.184-188.

Pinder, CC 2008, Work Motivation in Organizational Behaviour. London: Psychology Press.

Ramlall, S 2004, A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organizations. Journal of American Academy of Business.

Weitz, B, Sujan, H and Sujan, M 1986, Knowledge, Motivation, and Adaptive Behavior: A Framework for Improving Selling Effectiveness. Journal of Marketing, 50(4), pp.174-191.

33 comments:

  1. According to Varma (2017) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, also known as Maslow’s Theory of Human Motivation, Maslow focused in particular on the needs of employees in the workplace. His theory proposes that there are five types of needs that employees need to have fulfilled in the workplace for them to reach their full potential. The five needs come in a particular order. When one of the needs is satisfied, the employee would be motivated by having the opportunity to meet the next set of needs in the hierarchy.

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    1. According to Jerome (2013) if a man’s physiological needs are satisfied by only 25% then there will be no sign of emerging the safety needs. But if his physiological needs are satisfied to the level of 50% then the emergence of the safety needs could be observed. Hence an employee can be satisfied in different percentages in all levels of the hierarchy without even a single level is not 100% fulfilled. Further elaborating his theory Maslow explains lower levels should always have a higher percentage of satisfaction than the immediate higher level if he is to be satisfied for a longer period of time.

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  2. Hi Janaka, it’s interesting how you have linked Maslow’s theory to banks consumer behavior for better performance. In that sense, Maslow’s basic principles can be linked to human psychology in marketing and this could lead to connecting with perspective customers If the organization appeal to their needs in a relevant, meaningful way. Also, it’s important to perform periodic evaluations of the marketing techniques as the target audience may not remain static. Point to take note and be aware is on which need hierarchy the organizations customer base is and how the product fits in. The more they are in sync, marketing will be more effective (Thompson, M, 2019).

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    1. Hi Sonali see this facts also:Maslow looks at the complete physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual and how they impact on learning. Applications of Maslow's hierarchy theory to the work of the classroom teacher are obvious. Before a student's cognitive needs can be met, they must first fulfill their basic physiological needs. For example, a tired and hungry student will find it difficult to focus on learning. Students need to feel emotionally and physically safe and accepted within the classroom to progress and reach their full potential.

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  3. According to the Maslow (1943), person must satisfy lower level need to go for a higher need. But According to the Zimmerman (2019), needs are not in a staircase hierarchical way and can be activated more than one need at a same time.

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    1. Iguisi (2009), emphasis that Maslow’s satisfaction theory demonstrates what motivate employees further, stimulate and reinforce the behavior.

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  4. Hi Janaka you have strategically applied Maslow needs to banking sector. Maslow argued that the failure to have needs met at various stages of the hierarchy could lead to illness, particularly psychiatric illness or mental health issues. Individuals whose physiological needs are not met may die or become extremely ill. When safety needs are not met, posttraumatic stress may occur (Kimberly, A. 2013)

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    1. Successful companies create an environment employees will feel high pitched about their self as a result, more they like themselves perform at higher level (Tracy, 2014). Manager’s responsibility is to get the best from each individual member of team or department therefor, organization has to carry out different motivation activities. It requires build good work environment based on the relationship between employees and management (Manmohan, 2013).

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  5. According to Moraes, Coelho De and Gladis (2012) mentioned, in construction Industry the major concern of employees related to safety in workplace, construction workers are always worried about the safety in jobsite, and that security is always a key factor in any work activity. social needs in construction industry that collaboration at workplace is the main factor with problem at the jobsite than friendship, participation and acceptance.

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    1. Organization need to know where employees are on the Maslow’s need pyramid in order to motivate them (Robbins, 2001).

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  6. According to Jerome (2013), if a man’s physiological needs are fulfilled by only 25% then there will be no sign of emerging the safety needs. But if his physiological needs are fulfilled to the level of 50% then the emergence of the safety needs could be observed. Therefore, an employee can be satisfied in different percentages in all levels of the hierarchy without even a single level is not 100% fulfilled. Maslow (1954), explains thet lower levels should always have a higher percentage of satisfaction than the immediate higher level if he is to be satisfied for a longer period of time.

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    1. Employees dissatisfaction is the main problem that decrease their motivation level therefor, management can improve motivation by giving relevant responsibilities to employees idea that, self-actualized employees deliver maximum work efficacy and creativity (Ozguner and Ozguner, 2014).

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  7. Regardless of these critiques, the hierarchy of needs of Maslow reflects part of a fundamental improvement in psychology. Instead of concentrating on abnormal behavior and growth, the humanistic psychology of Maslow concentrated on the development of healthy people (SUGIURA, 2011)

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    1. Employee likes to work in an environment which their need are met, they will perform without any support (Kaur, 2013).

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  8. Contemporary research by Tay and Diener (2011) has tested Maslow’s theory by analyzing the data of 60,865 participants from 123 countries, representing every major region of the world. The survey was conducted from 2005 to 2010. Respondents answered questions about six needs that closely resemble those in Maslow's model: basic needs (food, shelter); safety; social needs (love, support); respect; mastery; and autonomy. They also rated their well-being across three discrete measures: life evaluation (a person's view of his or her life as a whole), positive feelings (day-to-day instances of joy or pleasure), and negative feelings (everyday experiences of sorrow, anger, or stress). The results of the study support the view that universal human needs appear to exist regardless of cultural differences. However, the ordering of the needs within the hierarchy was not correct.

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    1. Thank you, With Maslow’s theory, an employee’s beginning emphasis on the lower order needs of physiology and security makes sense. Generally, a person beginning their career will be very concerned with physiological needs such as adequate wages and stable income and security needs such as benefits and a safe work environment. We all want a good salary to meet the needs of our family and we want to work in a stable environment (Borris, 2014)

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  9. A limitation of Maslow’s Hierarchy theory is that, the theory assumes that all people experience these needs in the same order, failing to recognize cultural and individual differences. In collectivist societies, for example, social needs may be considered more important than physiological needs (Sonia Kukreja, 2020).

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    1. Adding more , Maslow assumes that there are several prerequisites for meeting these needs. For example, having the independence of speech and expression, or living in a fair and equitable society, is not specifically mentioned in the hierarchy of needs. However, Maslow believes that having these things makes it easier for people to meet their needs. Although Maslow puts forward his own needs in the hierarchy, he also acknowledges that satisfying each need is not a complete or no phenomenon. Therefore, people do not need to fully meet the next requirement in the hierarchy(Goyal, 2012)

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  10. Maslow's Need theory is certainly the foundation for organizations to apprehend the motivation levels/needs of individuals; in contrast, an employee's journey up on the pyramid from deficiency level to growth level, does makes it difficult for managers to understand where exactly is the employee. This impedes the deployment of correct human resource management practices in place for motivational purpose (Armstrong, 2013). Basic needs should always not require to be satisfied to proceed up to the next step in ladder(Salanova & Kirmanen, 2010). The needs of people vary from person to person or based on situations (Armstrong, 2013). Basic needs should always not require to be satisfied to proceed up to the next step in ladder(Salanova & Kirmanen, 2010). I appreciate your perspective related to applying the Theory to identify your customer needs and the affiliation of the banking process to it, making it comprehensive.

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    1. Thank You, With self-actualization, the employee will be interested in growth and individual development. He will also need to be skilled at what he does. He may want a challenging job, an opportunity to complete further education, increased freedom from supervision, or autonomy to define his own processes for meeting organizational objectives. At this highest level, managers focus on promoting an environment where an employee can meet his own self-actualization needs (Justlow, 2011)

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  11. Maslow (1945) said people are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and their basic needs must be met before they reach the top level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Furthermore, lower-level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are met by external motivational sources, such as salaries, bonuses, medical benefits, lunch benefits, and pension benefits, while higher order requirements are met by instinctual motivation such as motivation coming from within an individual (Maslow, 1945).

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    1. Agreed on your comment, while adding to this organization success depend on employees behavior and output (von Rosenstiel, 2011). Maslow"s needs of hierarchy argue that there are five stages of human needs that motivate behavior. According to Kavya and Padmavathy, 2017 it is the best way to motivate and engage the employee to the organization.

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  12. According to Maslow, leaders need to know the level of a person on the hierarchical pyramid in order to motivate him/her. Then leaders need to focus on accomplishing that person’s needs at that level (Robbins 2001).

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    1. Organizations need to encourage employee initiatives and participation as this will help build leadership at different levels. For leadership roles formal authority is not the criteria but the initiatives and innovation are. Employee’s at all the level can choose to act as a leader if given an opportunity and this further helps motivating and influencing other employees (Jeffrey L. Herman et al, 2011).

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. When it comes to Needs safety requirements, managers should provide employees with job security, a safe and hygienic work environment and retirement benefits. When it comes to respectful needs, managers can appreciate and reward employees for meeting and exceeding employee goals. A qualified employee can be given a higher job/position within the organization (Maslow, 2013). When it comes to self-verification requirements, managers can provide challenging job opportunities that take full advantage of the employees' skills and skills. Moreover, they can provide growth opportunities so that they can reach peak levels (Jerome ,2013).

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    1. Moreover, Many scholars such as Greeno (2012), Guay et al (2010) are classified it into two kinds of incentive; firstly, material motives that represent the financial rewards that are given to employees for their exceptional work. Secondly, moral motives is defined as a set of incentives aimed at achieving emotional, psychological and humanitarian needs of employees such as; thankful and gratitude in employee effort, in the aim of raising spiritual of improvement in their workplace. Thus, those two kinds of incentive are expected to fill the research gap between the employee's ability and their willingness. Consequently, the organizations have to motivate their employees in order to enhance them to give their best work as well as to increase their performance.

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  15. Maslow states that an individual’s needs and wants are arranged in a hierarchy and they try to fulfil them according to the things what they already have (Rollinson, 2008). Once a level has been satisfied, it no longer will be a motivator. Though this theory is useful to identify needs and wants of people, it has been criticized by so many people as human needs and wants cannot be set in a hierarchy. We, as human beings seek many things at a single time (Brown, 2001).

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    1. Yes, There are also criticisms and research findings asserting that cultural diversity is decisive in the order of the hierarchy of needs. For example, in a study conducted in China, there is a conclusion that individuals satisfy their belongingness needs before everything, and in a study conducted in Turkey, the need for safety comes before the physiological needs (Varoğlu et al., 2000; Yang, 2003)

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  16. Two main premises of Maslow's theory are considered for their appropriateness to the ancillary staff. The first relates to the structure of human motivation into five types of needs that increase in complexity. The second explains the dynamic relationship between these needs determined by their level of satisfaction and importance (Smith, 2003).

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    1. The most important emphasis in the theory is that needs may vary according to time and situation (Quichi, 1982; McGregor, 2017).

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  17. Maslow's initial conceptualization included only one need for growth - self-actualization. Self-actualized people are characterized by: 1) being problem-focused; 2) incorporating an ongoing freshness of appreciation of life; 3) a concern about personal growth; and 4) the ability to have peak experiences. Later, Maslow differentiated the need for growth in self-actualization, in particular by identifying two of the first needs for growth as part of a more general level of self-actualization (Huitt, 2007).

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    1. Also Hanley and Abell (2002) proposed a new model based on the idea that the person is condemned to individuality for self-actualization in Maslow’s personal hierarchy of needs, and that the reflection of relationships on personal development is lacking. With this new model, they propose changes to the hierarchy of Maslow, with which the positive aspects of interpersonal relationships can be taken into account. This new interpersonal self-actualization model emphasizes the importance of relationships for personal development at every stage of psychological development and offers suggestions for parents, family life, and social life, emphasizing interpersonal and environmental interactions.

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