Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs, Motivation in the workplace

Revision as of 22:12, 15 February 2021

Summary / Abstract

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (MHN) is a broadly accepted model and theory for understanding what motivates people through what needs they have. Maslow arranges the needs in a hierarchy in order of importance. This means that a higher level of need cannot be fulfilled unless all the needs of lower levels are satisfied[1]. In his theory motivation is derived from a lack of fulfillment of one need, and which ever level of need is deprived the most, will become what dominates the motivation of the employee[2]. Furthermore Maslow claims this model to be generally applicable for any type of employee in any type of work or workplace. This article will go through Maslow’s different levels of hierarchical needs, and how it relates to motivation of employees in a project, program, or portfolio (PPP). Here it will be gone through how it can improve output and quality of the work an employee does, and their commitment to the cause (I. E. the purpose of the project, for example the desired socio-economic benefits of an infrastructure project). The application of the model and theory will be gone through followed by it's limitations, and a discussion of it's pros and cons will be carried out based on the knowledge presented in the preceding chapters. This should then give a better understanding of how a manager, whether the manager manages portfolios, programs, or projects, can improve the team's efforts and results by giving the proper motivation and covering the fundamental needs of the employee.

Content

  •Big Idea
      -What is Maslow's hierarchical needs model and theory?
      -Walk through of the model and fundamental understanding of the theory
      -How does it relate to PPP?
      -Motivational theory relating Maslow's hierarchical needs in the context of PPP

  •Application 
      -How is it used?
      -When is it used?

  •Limitations 
      -What to be aware about?
      -When not to use the model?

  •Discussion
      -What are the benefits of this application?
      -what are the consequences of this application?
      -How can the consequences be mitigated?

  •Refrences

Big Idea

Maslow's model consists traditionally of five levels of different types of needs. Since the model is a hierarchy, then the first level of needs must be fulfilled before the second level can be unlocked. Below the five levels are explained generally in order from lowest to highest level.

The physiological needs are the first level. These consists of the need for water, food, sex and shelter, making it the most fundamental of the needs, and applies to most living organisms. The second level are the safety needs, i.e. Protection from any dangers or threads. This could be the thread of loosing a new job, or being infected by a dangerous disease. The third level are social needs. The need for love, belonging, friendship, and acceptance amongst peers are very fundamental needs for social creatures such as humans. The fourth level is called the Ego needs. These are split into two categories. A need for independence or autonomy and needs for self-esteem or self-worth [1]. The first category are needs for achievement, adequacy, and freedom, where the second category are needs for Status, recognition, and prestige.[1]. The fifth level is the level for self actualization needs. This is the need to live up to ones full potential, and to continue self development. Some might refer to this as fulfilling ones destiny [2].

From this model two postulates are worth highlighting. the first postulate is: "a satisfied need is not a motivator of behavior." [1] "To the extent that lower order needs become satisfied, the next higher-order level of needs becomes the most prepotent determinant of behavior" [1] This means that if an organization or a manager within that organization wants to have a high potential for motivating their employees, they must also incorporate high levels of satisfaction (i.e. high level of needs fulfilled). To put this into the context of project, program, and portfolio management, the 5 levels will be explained further.

A fundamental competency of any project manager is leadership of people[3], where motivation plays a vital role, and a fundamental responsibility of the project manager is what the team produces[3]. If the members of the team are not motivated to deliver high quality work, than a project failure is almost inevitable, therefore it is highly important for a manager to be able to motivate the team in order to steer it towards success[4]. A project team will consist of different people in different stages of life and possibly in different areas of the world. These are factors that often put people on different levels of the Needs Pyramid, as needs for esteem and self actualization becomes more important as people mature[1], where for a newly educated engineer high salaries might be more motivating. Therefore it is important to be familiar with all levels of the pyramid. Below they will be gone through with focus on how they relate to PPP specifically:

- The physiological needs are in the modern society merely a question of wages. High enough wages will allow team members to be able to afford food, shelter, and water. So to motivate people who are struggling with fulfilling their physiological needs, the most effective way would probably be to increase their wages.
- A different solution is needed to motivate people who are concerned about their safety. For instance if a project manager is worried that the projects he is responsible for in the program might be determined because of to much uncertainty, than a way to motivate him, could be for the program manager to make risk management a priority for those project. Given that the further risk management does not reveal critical risks for the projects, than the project manager would have obtained less uncertainty, and a stronger believe that the projects can be carried out, and through that motivate him to keep working. A more common example might be that a team member is worried about the results from a recently finished status report. Here a simple solutions could merely be for the manager to provide constructive feedback, and clearly communicate what is expected of the employee, and where help and knowledge can be obtained if needed.
- The third level is the need for love. If the over all team performance is poor, than it might be because the team development has not been optimal. It is important to strengthen team work in the team through building trust amongst members, communicate openly and effectively, and create opportunities for team building[4]. This will help to develop the team better, and will improve the people skills, technical competencies, and overall team environment and project performance of the team[4]. To conclude; A PPP-manager is able to create stronger teams, better motivation, and higher project performance, by being aware of the need for love.
- A skilled project manager might have had the feeling of being overlooked, or unrecognized for the hard work he does for his organization. In other words, the project manager has a need for esteem and recognition, and often this will bring the thought to mind: "Is any one noticing, what I am doing, and is it even worth doing it, if no one sees me?". If a project manager truly feels this way, then he might be much less inclined to actually use his skills and create good quality projects. It is therefore stressed how important acknowledgement and rewards are for motivation[4]. If the project manager is rewarded for his hard work, than he is much more inclined to continue working hard. Here rewards would not necessarily be of mainly monetary value, also promotions, or honorary titles (for example "project manager of the month") might do the trick, to show the employees that they are appreciated.

Applications

Limitations

Discussion

Refrences

[1] Pardee, L. (1990) Motivation Theories of Maslow, Herzberger, Mcgregor & McClelland. A litterature Review of Selected Theories dealing with job satisfaction and motivation. 1-24

   - A literature review of some of the most relevant theories dealing with job satisfaction and motivation

[2] Fallatah, R., & Syed, J. (2017). Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia. An Investigation Into the Higher Education Sector., 19-59.

   - A critical review of Maslow's theory and model

[3] (2017) "Project Management: A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide)", 51-69.

   - A quide of the competencies, skills, and tasks of a project manager.

[4] (2017) "Project Management: A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide)", 307-359.

   - A guide to resource management in PPP. How to develop a team