Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

One of the first and popular motivational theories to describe why people have dissimilar

needs at diverse times is Abraham Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory discovered in the late 1943

and formulated in 1954. He revealed five basic classes of human needs and positioned them in a hierarchy (Burton K, 2012). According to the Maslow’s theory, once each level of need has been satisfied, an individual will be motivated to progress and meet the next higher level of need. Starting with the simplest needs such as:

  Figure 01

                Source: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by Saul McLeod, published May 21, 2018

Physiological Needs:

Physiological needs are human basic needs which are critical for human living in various participating communities in the society. Physiological needs are such human basic needs as food, water, clothing, shelter and oxygen. Essentially, human race or human society will just die out or go into extinction without the human basic needs in the society. It can hardly be argued that freedom and democracy, art, quality music and sports are in the way they should be in people and societies that have not fulfilled their compulsory needs (Maslow, 1954)

 Safety & Security Needs:

Safety needs related to obtaining a secure environment free of risks to one's well-being, such as job security, financial security and free of harassments. Many people who work in dangerous jobs, such as oil miners and construction workers, would be motivated by the opportunity to work in a safer environment. These are the needs such as protection from danger, being confident and not feeling fear (Daft, 2013)

 Love and Belonging needs:

After physiological and safety needs are met, the third level of human wants is social, which involves feelings of belonging. Belongingness is a human emotional need for interpersonal interactions, affiliation, closeness, and group membership. According to Maslow, humans have an effective need for a sense of belonging and acceptance within social groups such as friends, family, colleagues, and subordinates, among others.

Esteem Needs :

Onah (2015) asserts that when people achieve their social needs that they focus attention on such matters as reputation, recognition, self-esteem and prestige or self-worth, self-respect, status, among others that give people strong confidence to participate in activities that will certainly improve their living conditions in their various communities in the society

Self-Actualization:

Self-actualization is the fifth degree of need in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and it deals with people's desire to develop their hidden talents and potential in society. Self-actualization or self-realization must assist people in developing the desire to exploit all their latent talents. In fact, this is the fulfillment of self-actualization or self-realization requirements, as proposed by Abraham Maslow in the hierarchy of human needs in society. According to Omah (2015), self-actualization is defined as self-fulfillment-the need to achieve a person's full potential in order by him or her to become the best that he or she is capable of being in society.

Application

I am currently employed at Huawei Sri Lanka, the world's leading telecom company. Global telecom corporations are currently facing challenges, particularly with regard to supply chain issues. Furthermore, despite Huawei's special hurdles with geopolitical issues, the corporation has managed to lead in the market with a competitive advantage over other competitors. The primary reasons are employee motivation and leadership.

In accordance with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Huawei offers a welcome package to new employees that includes a nice laptop and other related items. In addition, Huawei always maintains the environment by providing quality air circulation and spacious office cubicles with comfortable working seats and the highest level of hygiene. Offering kitchen amenities such as fruits, snacks, tea, and coffee allows employees to feel more connected to the organization. Every employee can take a power nap after lunchtime, and management believes that all these practices meet basic requirements while also achieving a high productivity on a daily basis.

To maintain environmental safety, the office has complied with property safety legislation as well as GDPR for digital safety. Huawei provides financial security to its employees by offering industry-standard competitive remuneration and benefit packages. After five years of work, every employer is entitled to purchase a certain number of shares. In addition, Leadership has designed a project-based attractive incentive plan for sales-oriented personnel that is focused on long-term objectives.

Engage the intellectual mind set of Huawei employees to satisfy their need for love and belonging to the organization. Huawei offers a variety of activities both inside and outside the firm, including regular team meetings, team building outings, company paid holidays for family and appreciation gifts for special occasions like international women’s /Men’s day.

Huawei has an aggressive reward and reconditioning program to reward and uplift their status within and outside of the organization. Furthermore, prominent employees will be recognized and mentored for the next level on the career ladder.

Based on Huawei leadership's satisfaction of four levels of needs, employees have improved their performance, competency, efficiency, and effective which leads to innovation and obtaining a competitive edge when compared to other competitors in the market.

References

 Armstrong, M. (2014). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 13th ed.     London, UK: Kogan Page Limited: ISBN 978-0-7494-6964-1, pp.169–182.

 Burton, K. (2012), A Study of Motivation: How to get your employees moving SPEA Honors Thesis   Spring Indiana University, p.9

 Daft, R.L. (2020). Organization Theory & Design. 13th ed. S.L.: Cengage Learning; 13th Edition.

 Maslow, A.H. (1954). Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row.

 Omah, F.O. (2015). Human Resource Management 4th Edition. Enugu: John Jacob’s Classic   Publishers Ltd.