Introduction
Abraham Maslow gives the theory of human motivation and it is one of the major human growth motivation theories. Maslow’s statement about the stages of human growth and motivation is related to the presence of various needs that motivate people to a certain level. When one need is fulfilled, the individual moves to the next level of need, and so on. Motivation holds the key for harnessing the potential of humans in an organization (Woods & West 2010). It can be used as the lever of human evolution and development in order to enhance the performance with the spontaneous result. All hierarchical levels in the theory of human motivation present the desire of humans to satisfy their individual as well as social needs. It affects the job satisfaction, performance and motivation in the organization (Grenway 2008).
Stages of growth in humans
There are various needs related to physiological, personal and the social level that drive the stages of growth in humans. Maslow’s need hierarchy describes these needs in the form of hierarchical levels as presented below:
All the needs and stages of human growth are presented in the pyramidal form. The five-stage model is divided into basic needs and growth needs. Basic needs include physiological, safety, love and esteem needs, while growth needs include self-actualization. An individual has to satisfy the basic and lower levels of needs in order to progress on and meet the higher-level growth needs. Attaining the reasonable satisfaction for all the need levels can lead the individual to attain the highest level of human growth i.e. self-actualization (Dubrin 2008).
The biological and physiological needs include air, drink, shelter, food, warmth, sleep, etc. Safety needs comes at the second level, which include security, protection from elements, law, order, limits and stability in life. The third level is social needs that include factors of belongingness and love, such as family, affection, work-group, relationships, etc. The next level is esteem needs. Esteem needs are related to achievement, self -esteem, mastery, dominance, independence, prestige, etc. After all these needs and levels are crossed, there is arousal of self-actualization need. It involves realization of personal potential of the individual being with inclination towards self-fulfillment , seeking personal growth and attaining peak experiences (Dubrin 2008).
Guiding human motivations
The size of the pyramid in the Maslow’s theory represents the power of the needs. As the basic deficiency needs are very powerful needs and once they are fulfilled, an individual can think of moving up. As these needs form the basis of human motivation, the needs level move from the large solid to more tapering pyramidal shape. The need hierarchy model of Maslow is, however, criticized on many points considering the stages of human growth and development. For instance, needs are considered parallel rather than hierarchical in nature as the complex nature of human behavior can make it present on the two needs level at the same time. However, the theory is able to recognize the process of evolution of humans with considering human beings as the evolving entity that progressively move towards higher and higher levels of motivation (Srinivasan 2008).
The physical man is bound to the instincts and needs of the body, and thus is at the lowest level of the spectrum motivation. In order to evolve higher and lead to the development of vital and emotional being, it is necessary to be awakened by external motivators, such as the need for power, wealth, enjoyment and success. The vital man has the capability of getting self-motivated and self-dedication to a higher cause related to morality or spirituality. When this awakening to this higher motivation and dedication occurs, he takes him to a higher ideal.
Therefore, he not only gains acceleration on the path of his own higher evolution, but also becomes the dynamic instrument for the process of higher evolution of collectivity (Srinivasan 2008). The vital man gets inspiration by his higher values and ideals. Such men prove to be very effective and a heroic leader who leads the crusade for manifestation of these higher values in the outer life. However, if there is not enough awakening or lack of sufficient mental or spiritual awakening, the man becomes aggressive as well as intolerant tyrant (Srinivasan 2008).
Relevance to the motivation, job satisfaction and performance
The theory of human motivation affects the individual being in his performance and work in the organization. When the person is at the basic level, the motivation to do work comes from the satisfaction of basic needs of food, shelter, security and love and belongingness. Related to the motivation, Alderfer categorized these needs into existence, relatedness and growth needs. In the organization, some people work for earning money (existence needs), desire to get on with others (relatedness needs) or for earning promotion which is the growth needs. Motivation, job satisfaction and performance of the employee in the existence needs category is driven by paying enough, providing workplace safety and good working environment, incentives such as employee of the month, setting goals and treating people as individuals (Grenway 2008).
People present in the category of relatedness needs are motivated by showing respect, giving recognition and acceptance for the work, encouraging ideas, focus on team building, praising people, celebrating success, and involving people in decision-making. People with the growth needs are satisfied and perform well when they are motivated through making the work interesting, stretching them with new work, keeping them informed, encouraging people to think of them and offering training wherever needs arise. Thus, getting motivated or de-motivated from the work affects the job performance and satisfaction. Major de-motivators are lack of encouragement, lack of training, lack of recognition, no delegation, criticism, too much work, etc. In order to make employees feel motivated, there needs’ level should be recognized well (Woods & West 2010).
Conclusion
Motivation is necessary for human beings to work for their progression in life both at the personal and professional front. There are various stages of growth of human beings that is driven by their motivation. Motivation is directed by the level of needs on which the individual is present. Maslow’s need hierarchy provides for belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization and self-transcendence needs that guide the human motivation in general. Other motivation theory such as Alderfer theory also provides evidence for the role of needs in making the individual move up in life. As every level of needs get satisfied, the individual moves towards the self-enlightenment and self- actualization, thus turning from the physical man to vital man. In the organization, the work of the employee is directed by the motivation he gets for satisfying the current level of needs.
References
Dubrin, A.J. 2008. Essentials of Management. Cengage Learning.
Grenway, B. 2008. The Relationship Between Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction of African-American Human Service Employees. ProQuest.
Srinivasan, M.S. 2008. Motivation And Human Growth: A Developmental Perspective. Journal of Human Values, 14(1).
Woods, S.A. & West, M.A. 2010. The Psychology of Work and Organizations. Cengage Learning EMEA.
