Organizational Behavioral Theory

An organization is composed of different persons performing different tasks to accomplish a common purpose. Organizational behavior involves studying how people and groups perform together in an organization. It looks at the ways of managing individuals, groups, and processes properly. The topic of organizational behavior is extensive and includes the fundamentals of organization design, theories, management, and motivation practices. An essential driver in an organization is motivation. Motivation dictates what employees choose to do, the extent of effort they put into a task, and the amount of time they will work to finish a task. An organization’s behavior will be shaped by motivated employees who will work more efficiently and effectively.

A workforce that is motivated will strongly influence the organization. Job satisfaction and motivation are firmly tied. Job satisfaction is the way employees feel about the tasks assigned to them that they should accomplish. This may be affected by the social and physical nature of the workplace. Employees who are more satisfied with their jobs have more motivation to perform their jobs well (“Abahe.co.uk,” 2001). The motivation theory that this paper will focus on, which also falls under the behavior theories, is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow developed a theory about human motivation in 1943, and he named it the Hierarchy of Needs. In the United States, this theory has been popular. It describes the needs of human beings in five general categories. Maslow argued that after an individual has met their needs in one category, they get the motivation to fulfill their needs at a higher level. The categories of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are as follows.

Physiological needs – these are the lowest and the first of the needs. They comprise the most basic requirements humans need to survive. They include shelter and food.

Safety needs – This is the second level of needs, which comprises a person’s need for security, safety, and protection. Personal safety is in the interpersonal and physical events of daily life.

Social needs – the social needs make up the third level of needs that are associated with a person’s social behavior. The basis of these needs is the desire for people to be accepted as part of a group. The desire for affection and love are also in this category of needs.

Esteem needs – these make up the fourth level of needs and are related to a person’s needs for respect, prestige, and recognition. The personal sense of competence of individuals is also part of these needs.

Self-actualization -This is the last and the highest level of needs. The needs in self-actualization are tied to a person’s desire to reach their full potential. They do this by growing their abilities and using them to reach their full potential, which is also their most creative extent (McLeod, 2007).

As employees move higher in a corporate hierarchy, they may be able to see the needs that are of higher order as more important than those on the lower levels. The needs may vary on the stage of career a person, their geographical location, and the structure of their organization. In other cultural contexts, the hierarchy of needs may lack effective application. This is because some cultures may value social needs more than safety and physiological needs. Additionally, this theory makes it necessary for the manager to be able to identify and understand the needs of the employees. Doing this is not always easy and is likely to lead to inaccurate assumptions. In the proper context, however, this theory helps to recognize the importance of needs. It, therefore, gives a proper way of conceptualizing the factors that motivate the employees and, therefore, helps in directing organizational behavior.

Testing of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow arranges the five needs in a hierarchy, and the fulfillment must follow a specific sequence. The first needs to be fulfilled are the physiological needs, and once they are satisfied, then the next level of the hierarchy is fulfilled. “The chief principle of organization in human motivational life is the arrangement of basic needs in the hierarchy of lesser or greater priority” (Hagerty, 1999). This theory of individual fulfillment of needs was extended to the need fulfillment of nations. Research by Hagerty (1999) used Maslow’s hierarchy to predict Quality of Life development in countries over time. The study created a new database that included a lifetime series from 1960 to 1994 in 88 countries. It covered all the aspects that measure five Maslow’s level of needs.

The result of the research showed that there was a significant agreement with some of the predictions of Maslow. These included the sequence of needs achievement. The trajectory of quality of life also conformed to the S-shape trajectory. His growth mechanism, however, which states that countries must slow one area of growth to increase another, was never confirmed by the study.

References

Abahe.co.uk. (2001). Organizational Behaviour. Retrieved from https://www.abahe.co.uk/business-administration/Organizational-Behavior.pdf

Hagerty, M. R. (1999). Testing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: National quality-of-life across time. Social Indicators Research, 46(3), 249-271.

McLeod, S. (2007). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology, 1.

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