Essay On Relevance Of Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs Theory And Herzberg’s Theory On Personal Experience

My professional background

After completing my under graduation in sociology from King Abdul-Aziz University, I joined as a part time social worker in a school, which comprises of administrators, teachers, a social worker and a psychologist.
Here I came to know about a bright student, from the psychologist and the social worker, who was gradually deteriorating in her studies, became very inattentive and refused in communication. The school gave me instruction to look into the matter and to find reasons behind this situation and probable solutions. I took the initiative to talk with her and tried to find out the reasons behind these in a very consoling and friendly manner. These helped the student to share her problems with me. This impressed the social worker and the psychologist about how much I have achieved after only working there for one year. After talking with her family with her consent, I was able to ease her out of her psychological stress due to the adverse effects that have risen in her family, between her parents.
She was much worried about the consequences of divorce between her parents and its outcome on her family, her future relations and her siblings. The poor student relied on me with great hopes that I may be able to save her family. She was finally able to cope with her present and her future. My school was much impressed in my ways of handling such a situation and helping them with the problem.
The school authority asked me to continue with the school for more than a year. However, I was unable to do this since I have to realize my dreams in pursuing my career in Industrial Organizational Psychology. Later the social worker and the psychologist used to send many students to me asking for my advice and thoughts and depending on me to help some of the students in solving out their problems and I still continue to be in good terms with the people from there.

Insight into Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs and its relevance to my personal experience

In the first half of the 20th century, psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and the behaviorism theory of J.B Watson and B.F Skinner have identified human beings as faulty machines. In their respective ways, both the theories have dehumanized our perceptive what does it perceives to be humans.
In the later part of the century, American psychologist Abraham Maslow tried to establish optimistic mental health and contentment are not just mental sickness or misery. He initiated a different theory, which is termed humanistic psychology. This theory completely differs from the earlier theories as it recognizes human have the urge to exist, to develop, to look for happiness and accomplishment and to live up to maximum capacity.
He suggested that various factors influenced human beings in different times. These driving forces are hierarchical which usually starts from the base layer and work our approaches upwards. He tried to put together needs-based agenda of human motivation, based on his clinical understanding of people. The initial and the most extensively spread adaptation of his theory expresses hierarchy of needs.
These govern five motivational needs, which portrays as hierarchal levels within a pyramid. This model consists of five stages divides into basic needs such as physiological, safety, love, esteem and growth needs ensuring self-actualization. The four lower order needs are physiological needs and the highest level is the growth needs. The lower needs must be satisfied before higher order needs influences behavior. The levels, from top to bottom are as follows:
Self-actualization: governs morals, creativeness and problem solving, i.e. personal growth.
Esteem: governs self-esteem, confidence, achievement and respect, i.e. responsibility or reputation

Belongingness: such as love, friendship, family and intimacy, and relationship or work group

Safety: security of environment, employment resources, security, law and stability
Physiological or Biological: includes food, water, air, shelter, sex, warmth etc.
The basic needs motivate people if they are not satisfied. The humans are motivated by means of trying to achieve certain goals in life. These achievements act as enormous sources of fulfillment for the people who perceive them all the way through.
The lowest level comprises our basic physiological needs i.e. such things that helps us to survive like food, water, shelter, sleep and sex. No one is able to survive without these basic needs. The next level is a safe environment; there should be elimination of fear senses, where law and order, security, and stability are essential.
Once these needs are fulfilled, there comes belongingness and love. At this level, we seek for love, intimacy, friendship that governs all aspects of life such as family and work group. At this level, one looks for a steady relationship and marries for love and this love ensures in work group and among co-workers. After wards comes the fourth level where there develops self-confidence, a sense of achievement, a proper understanding of what he or she is doing, and governs self-respect and reputation. After achieving all these levels, a person understands all his or her potentials. The motivation here governs a sense of fulfillment, where the person has creativity, solving problems and achieves personal growth in its maximum level.
The desire to accomplish such needs becomes stronger if the duration of being deprived is for a longer period. Once a person goes without food for a longer period, he becomes hungrier. Everyone has to gratify the basic needs of lower level before moving ahead on to higher level of developmental needs. After satisfying these needs one can reach the topmost level i.e. self-actualization.
Everyone is capable of and has the wish to move up the hierarchy level to the stage of self-actualization. Sometimes failure disrupts achievements from failure in the lower levels. Several life experiences such as divorce, loss of job may persuade a man to rise and fall in between the levels of hierarchy. According to him, one person among hundreds of people becomes totally self-actualized. Our society rewards motivation primarily on respect, love and other social needs. The basis of his motivational theory depicts that humans are motivated by unsatisfied needs; the lower factors are satisfied first, later the higher needs are satisfied.
The basic needs are satisfied before a person acts unselfishly. These basic needs ensure deficiency needs, as long as human are motivated to gratify these cravings, they move towards development and self-actualization. In relation to work place motivation, it is necessary for the leadership to understand the active needs for employee motivation. In this regard, this theory indicates the fundamental, or the lower order needs such as physiological or safety needs must be satisfied first in order to follow in higher-level motivation in accordance with self-fulfillment.
Once a need is fulfilled, it stops acting as a motivator and the next on superior rank starts to motivate as it achieves psychological priority. This theory is fully applicable in our everyday life. This theory helps us in understanding our motives in our life. Once I started working in the school, all my biological or physiological needs were fulfilled, where I could eat, drink and sleep. At this stage, my motivation is directed towards a higher level. The safety level ensures security, stability where I can gain these elements. Joining the school as a volunteer gives me the stability and gives me the opportunity to implement my knowledge to a higher level governing my education. This safe and stable environment gives me further motivation to enhance myself to another level.
The whole environment of the school, the staffs are very friendly and good co-workers for which I enjoy working there and grow myself. This helps to develop a personal relationship with my fellow workers and gives me motivation to increase my potentials further. Here I started working as a counselor and handling problems of the students, which gives more motivation in my personal growth. The first success with a problem student really gives me more energy in my work, and I started to work more for the betterment of more and more students.
This ensures me that I am growing. The next level of esteem came to me when they offered me to be the in-charge of the advisory board, and gave a suitable title. This gave me self-respect and self-confidence, a sense of responsibility, and gave me reputation. I achieved an independent status. After working for some time and receiving all the acceptance of my fellow workers, I realized that I have achieved all the things that are prevalent in that institution.
I am limiting myself to the highest level of safety needs, as even though there is a underlying feeling of affection from my organization, I on a personal level strongly believe that to rise to the consecutive three levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, growth is strongly necessary, for which achievement of the professional objectives – namely qualifications and more professional responsibilities - are highly important.

Insight into Herzberg Theory and its relevance to my personal experience

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral researcher proposed a two-element hypothesis or motivation-hygiene theory in case of employment, professionalism and even sometimes, personality. As per Herzberg, there are some factors which lead to satisfaction, while others prevent dissatisfaction. He has suggested that in case of professional environment, the opposite of dissatisfaction is not always satisfaction, as he believed the causes to satisfaction or dissatisfaction are completely different and unrelated.
According to Herzberg, the opposite of satisfaction is no-satisfaction and the opposite of dissatisfaction is no-dissatisfaction. The factors to determine satisfaction and no-satisfaction have been termed as motivator factors. Likewise, the factors to determine dissatisfaction or no-dissatisfaction are termed as hygiene factors.

Hygiene factors

Hygiene variables are those employment factors which are critical for presence of motivation at working environment. These don't prompt positive fulfillment for long haul. However in the event that these elements become non-existent at work environment, then they prompt disappointment. As such, cleanliness elements are those variables which when satisfactory/sensible in a vocation, appease the workers and don't make them disappointed. These elements are associated with work.
Cleanliness variables are likewise called as maintenance factors as they require constant supervision and monitoring. These components portray the employment environment or situation. The cleanliness elements symbolize the physiological needs which the people need and anticipate that the very same would be satisfied. Hygiene factors include:
Pay - The pay or pay structure ought to be proper and sensible. It must be equivalent and focused to those in the same business in the same area.
Organization Policies and administrative policies - The organization arrangements ought not to be excessively inflexible. They ought to be reasonable and clear. It ought to incorporate adaptable working hours, clothing regulation, breaks, excursion, and so forth.
Benefits - The workers ought to be offered health awareness plans (mediclaim), benefits for the kin, employee development programs, and so on.
Physical Working conditions - The working conditions ought to be protected, clean and hygienic. The work supplies ought to be redesigned and decently maintained.

Status - The workers' status inside the association ought to be natural and held.

Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the workers with his associates, bosses and subordinates ought to be proper and adequate. There ought to be no contention or embarrassment component present.

Employment stability - The association must give professional stability to the workers.

Motivation factors
According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors can't be viewed as motivators when it comes to employment. The motivational variables yield positive fulfillment. These variables are characteristic to employment and professionalism. These components intrinsically motivate the workers for an unrivaled execution. These components are called satisfiers. These are elements included in performing the occupation. Representatives discover these components naturally remunerating. The sparks symbolized the mental needs that were seen as an extra advantage. Motivational components include:
Recognition – The employees have to be provided with the much needed recognition for their hard work and achievements in the organization.
Sense of achievement - The representatives must have a feeling of accomplishment. This depends on the nature of work and job role. There must be a product or something which provides the employee a sense of achievement on completion.
Growth and development opportunities - There must be development and growth opportunities in the employment environment to inspire the employees to perform well.
Responsibility - The representatives must consider themselves in charge of the work. The supervisors ought to provide for them responsibility for work. They ought to minimize control yet hold responsibility.
Meaningfulness of work - The work itself ought to be significant, intriguing and trying for the worker to perform and to get spurred.
The conclusion he drew is that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are not alternate extremes. The inverse of Satisfaction is No Satisfaction. The inverse of Dissatisfaction is No Dissatisfaction. Rectifying the reasons for dissatisfaction will not lead to job satisfaction. Nor will inclusion of job satisfaction components lead to elimination of dissatisfaction or ‘no dissatisfaction’.
If the work environment is hostile, a promotion or growth given to an employee will not be successful in achieving satisfaction. Likewise, if the work environment is highly conducive, restraining employees from growth will create a negative impact on the organization. As per Herzberg, the elements prompting occupation fulfillment are partitioned and different from those that prompt employment disappointment. Therefore, on the off chance that you begin killing disappointing employment variables you may make peace, yet not so much improve execution. This appeases your workforce rather than really spurring them to enhance execution.
The Two Factor Theory or Herzberg's Theory of Motivation is considered to be one of the most appropriate industry oriented aspect till today, holding to the test of time. On the other hand, through its presence there have been numerous scrutinizes over the years. In 1968, Herzberg showed that there were 16 different studies from different parts of the world that were conducted in different environments and groups of people, which highlighted criticisms as well. The most common limitations to Herzberg’s theory are mentioned below:
1. The Two Factor Theory accepts that cheerful representatives create more.
2. What persuades one individual may be not be as effective a motivator for an alternate single person.
3. Doesn't record for individual unique attributes that could give an alternate reaction to a factor or hygiene aspect when it came to profession.
For instance, one may get sufficient employment recognition, however he or she may not be fulfilled by the level of obligation. Therefore, I would scrutinize the interior motivational estimation of employment recognition for the single person. Using the same, examination concentrated on the relations between the hygiene variables and the motivating factors. Taking these factors into consideration it might seem that discounting the Herzberg two-factor theory makes more sense, but indeed it would be foolish to overlook the crucial aspects underlying differentiation of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
I would like to mention here there are various aspects that have been identified by me in my self-analysis of personal experience. It would be wrong to solely rely on the aspect of personal needs and reflections – understanding of the two theories and their underlying implications have proven very helpful to me, in expressing myself more effectively with theoretical inferences.
The main theoretical aspects that have been highlighted in this presentation are that of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg Hygiene-Motivation concept, when it comes to professionalism and job satisfaction. When compared to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, I have found out that my level of professionalism and work experience can be stated to be at the highest level of safety needs at the school. When compared to Herzberg’s theory, I would like to highlight that even though most of the job hygiene factors related to employment at school have been achieved, I have found myself to have limited opportunities when it comes to job satisfaction.
The school, or my employer organization, has been able to provide me with favorable outcomes when it comes to recognition, responsibility and achievement. Whether be it through responsibility of the student in the first place or the fact that they want me to extend another year of services, I feel highly contempt with the recognition, responsibilities provided. Being put in charge of the Advisory Board is the best sense of achievement that has been provided to me. However, when I analyzed the promotion opportunities and opportunities for personal growth, I felt that these motivation factors have not been addressed in all completeness by the organization. It is this very reason which forces me to conclude that further growth is needed, which will be possible from movement.