All humans have needs that must be met. These needs are often never explored by the average person, the person who performs their daily activities and habits with no reflection on why they do these things. The psychologist Abraham Maslow was determined to figure out why people behave in certain ways. The result of his search was a five part hierarchy of needs that attempts to explain human behavior.

The Hierarchy Defined

Basic Needs

The five parts of the hierarchy are, in this order, basic, safety, social, self esteem, and self-actualization. (Frunzi 143)  Basic needs are defined as physiological needs that must be met before a person can focus on any other aspect of their life, such as a social life. These needs are those required for sustenance: water, air, and food are several examples. If an individual is lacking one of these, their behavior will be aimed at obtaining them, whatever the cost. Once the need is met, the need will cease to motivate the individual. For the majority of Americans, we can see how this need is taken for granted. The majority of people have these needs met, and simply do not think about them constantly.  Within the organizational framework, there are several examples of basic needs: rest periods, work breaks, lunch breaks, and wages. (Frunzi 50)

Safety Needs

A point that Maslow stresses is that a person cannot move to the next level of the hierarchy until the present level is fully achieved. The next level of the hierarchy is safety needs, which do not become motivating goals of the until the basic physiological needs are met. Examples in the workplace of safety needs are job security, seniority, pensions, hospitalization, and life insurance. Defined, safety needs are the need for security, protection , and stability in the physical and interpersonal events of day-to-day life. (Schermerhorn 111) A person must be granted a freedom from fear; only then can they continue to excel. If an employee is working under the constant watch of a critical boss who threatens termination for inadequate performance, the employee will be unable to focus on the task at hand. The intangible pressures will affect the quality of the employee's work, leaving both the employee and the employer unhappy.

Social Needs

Once the safety needs of an individual have been met, he or she can move onto the next level of social needs. This is defined as the need for love, affection, and a sense of belongingness in one's relationships with other persons. (Schemerhorn 111) Examples of these needs are work groups, teamwork, and company softball outings. (Frunzi 50) Humans are inherently social and friendly creatures, and to deprive this need for affection will prohibit the individual from obtaining a higher plateau on Maslow's hierarchy. Friendships are beneficial to humans at home and in the workplace, but some employers do not realize the importance of this association. We are all aware that humans form meaningful relationships outside of the workplace, but the value of establishing enjoyable relations within the workplace is often underestimated. Research has shown that promoting social interaction among employees will "increase morale and productivity." (Frunzi 145)

Self Esteem Needs

After the needs of safety have been recognized and achieved, a person can pursue the needs of self esteem. This plateau is defined as the need for the esteem of others; respect, prestige, recognition, need for self-esteem, personal sense of competence, and mastery. (Schermerhorn 111) In my opinion, humans are egocentric, and everyone likes to be praised. This is part of this need fulfillment. A worker appreciates recognition for a job well done. This recognition will motivate them to continue working hard for the company. If the praise is lacking, the worker will begin to understand that doing quality work in unnecessary, asking "What does it matter? No one will notice anyway." The praise does not have to be a stop-the-presses party for the worker, but merely a few words of gratitude in the presence of their peers.

Self-Actualization Needs

The last level of Maslow's hierarchy, the pinnacle of achievement, is the plateau of self-actualization. This presents a lofty goal for an individual: the need to fulfill oneself; to grow and use one's abilities to the fullest and most creative extent. (Schermerhorn 111)  The goal of self-actualization is hard to define. The concept offers a variety of interpretations, because it differs based on each person. One individual may feel that their maximum potential is to be the manager of a local clothing store, after steadily climbing the ladder after high school graduation. For this person, this achievement will supply all the happiness he or she needs, and the person will be fulfilled. Another person may feel that a position of local manager is below their potential, so getting the title would not be adequate for happiness. One of my sources says that "such potential, when achieved by all employees, allows the organization to achieve heights beyond expectations." (Frunzi 145) My contention is that this is an impossible dream. The majority of people are far too under motivated to achieve at the peak of their potentials; but we shall explore this later.

Later Additions to the Hierarchy

Later in his career, Abraham Maslow continued his thought on the hierarchy and further divided the fifth level of self-actualization into four different parts. He assumed four things of self actualized people: they are 1) being problem focused, 2) incorporating an ongoing freshness of appreciation of life, 3) concerned about personal growth, and 4) able to have peak experiences. Based on these assumptions, he created four more levels. Instead of the fifth level being simply self-actualization, he named it cognitive: to know, to understand, and to explore. The sixth level is the aesthetic: the pursuit of symmetry, order, and beauty. The seventh level is self-actualization: to find self fulfillment and realize one's potential. The eighth and final level is transcendence: to help others find self fulfillment and realize their own potential. For more information on these new developments in the hierarchy theory, click here. For our purposes of analysis, we will focus on the original five levels.

Application of Maslow's Hierarchy

Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be applied to any organization. If effectively done, the organization can aim towards each individual achieving at maximum potential. There is one company that I worked for that came the closest to allowing the workers to achieve at this potential. This company was a small residential construction company in my hometown. Before describing just how the company provided these opportunities, I think it is essential to note that while a company can facilitate the items needed for each of the plateaus, the happiness cannot be realized fully without the accompaniment of outside facilitation. You see, in my hometown I had access to all the creature comforts that could make me happy: friends, family, shelter, etc.... So the hierarchy cannot be complete unless it is provided for in all aspects of an individual's life; both work and non-work time must offer to meet our needs. Assuming that the ultimate goal of pursuing self-actualization is true happiness, I will show how the combination of my home life and the construction company managed to point me in the right direction- towards the fifth and final plateau.

Again, the first level of the hierarchy is physiological needs. I worked outdoors, so I had air to breathe. I had food and drink and rest. I brought the food from home, and I always had enough to sustain my energy. The work was physically demanding, and my body needed a great deal of fuel, but this was not a problem. During work, I had the time to relax when it was needed. When I was tired, I had the freedom to rest. My boss had no stipulations on when the work must be finished. He simply trusted that I would complete the tasks in a timely manner.

My safety needs were also met by my surroundings, both during and after work. I had an air-conditioned house to go home to, a house that would be a stable and supportive resting ground after the long day. The work that I did was occasionally dangerous, but at the time I did not perceive it as a threat, so it caused me no concern. The job was also stable; I could count on it to be there every day for me, as we had an infinite list of projects to complete.

The third level of the hierarchy is social needs, and these were met in the job. I would work side by side with others my age, toiling in the sun all day long. Close bonds develop through these associations. Each day I could look forward to the work, and one reason for this was the people I had the privilege of working with. Occasionally I would work with other groups in the company, such as the framers or trim carpenters. I also enjoyed this, because we would laugh, jeer, and tease each other as only men will do in the presence of each other. The job provided a feeling of acceptance and welcomeness that served to meet my social needs.

The next item the landscaping job helped me achieve was the esteem level of Maslow's hierarchy. As the head landscaper, I had the respect of the other workers in the firm. The boss trusted my decisions and judgments. If I suggested a more aesthetically appealing layout for a section of a garden, he would often compliment me and adopt my idea instead of his own. I developed a personal sense of competence as I gained more knowledge of the field, knowing what would work and what wouldn't.

The next step is self-actualization, meaning that I had mastered the field of landscaping. In some respects, I may have approached this level. I was happy to go to work every day, so I had a feeling of fulfillment in my life. There is some intangible benefit to an eight-hour day of manual labor that today's "knowledge workers" will never fully appreciate and understand. This feeling certainly has something to do with the warm sun on my skin, the feeling of accomplishment in seeing a project evolve from start to finish, and then watching the resulting plants grow over time. For the most part, I had a great deal of learning to do before I would feel truly comfortable in the job. However, the opportunity was there if I had chosen to pursue it. I could have taken time out of my work day to study different

techniques, trends, and tricks of the trade.

Other Views of Maslow's Hierarchy

Dissident views are few and far between, but there are some people who do not sympathize with the endless chase for the "American Dream". I'll define this as the never-ending chase for another promotion, in order to buy more things.  Dissidents see these pursuits as foolhardy, attempting to show others how materialism has turned the American society into a collection of greedy slaves. One such voice is Bill Huitt, who wants the typical working citizen to see that "their lives are being wasted, working hard and feeling stressed for someone else's profit." (Huitt) He uses Maslow's hierarchy to convince people that if their needs aren't being met in the workplace, they should boldly quit and search happiness elsewhere. For more information on Huitt's views, visit his web site.

There are some other interesting interpretations of Maslow's work. One scholar explains that "the lower levels of the hierarchy - the physiological and safety needs are characteristic of all living systems, while the social needs are hared with social animals such as our primate cousins, and the self-actualization needs appear to be uniquely human." (Robinson) For more information, visit the web site.

Maslow was a ground-breaking psychologist, in that he was the first to concentrate on the humanistic approach to understanding and describing human behavior. The prominent psychologists of his time focused on the neurotic behaviors of the disturbed, or studied animals to predict human behavior. Maslow held the belief that humans were inherently good, that "humans tend toward love and growth, (wynne)", saying that "violence and other evils occur when human needs are thwarted" (wynne). For more information on these views, click here.

Some intellectuals feel that self-actualization is possible for everyone, but obstacles are in their way. "The only reason that people would not move through the needs to self-actualization is because of the hindrances placed in their way by society." (Georgen) When an individual reaches these boundaries, they will act accordingly, and this can be used as a method for explaining human behavior. For more information on this view, click here.

For additional information on human behavior as defined by Maslow, or on any other psychological matter relating to Organizational Behavior, refer to the web site for the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Conclusion

In conclusion, observing Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be a useful way for an organization to help their employees. Providing their personnel with an appropriate atmosphere will lead to the employee's development along the path towards self-actualization. Constructing this paper has given me a number of ideas that will be helpful when I start my own business, as I now plan to adopt a humanistic approach to management.  The construction firm I was a part of gave me an opportunity to do become self actualized. A strong home life is also necessary to reach the final plateau, but the organization can lead the charge.