Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory is based on the needs of people. He identified five distinct categories of needs. He arranged these needs into a hierarchy, and stated that individuals wish to satisfy particular need to a moderate extent, and then tries to satisfy the next need in the hierarchy.
Categories in Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
The five categories proposed by Maslow are:
- Physiological Need: Basic and primary needs required for human existence are physiological needs. These needs relate to the survival and maintenance of human life. These needs include such things as food, clothing, shelter, air, water and other necessities of life. These needs must be satisfied repeatedly until human beings die.
- Safety and Security Needs: After satisfying the physiological needs, people want the assurance of maintaining a given economic level. Individuals seek protection from natural environment, biological danger, economic deprivation and emotional threat from other beings and animals. In order to motivate employees, organisations provide fringe benefits, health and accident insurance, housing loans, etc
- Social Needs: Man is a social animal. Social needs emerge from the basic urge of individuals to associate, belong with others, make friendship, make companionship, desire to be accepted by others and seek affection. Organisations should provide scope for formation of informal groups, encourage working in teams, and provide scope for interpersonal communication, interpersonal relationships and interpersonal understanding to motivate employees
- Self-esteem Needs: Maslow believes that people seek growth. They have natural desire to be identified and respected by others. This instinct is called as esteem. Esteem needs are associated with self-esteem and esteem from others. The need for power, self respect, autonomy, self confidence, achievement, recognition of competence, knowledge, desire to have freedom, status and secure attention of others, appreciation are some of the esteem needs individual wishes to satisfy. Maslow identified them, as higher order needs. The nature of esteem needs is that they are dormant until basic, security and social needs are fairly satisfied. Satisfaction of esteem needs produce a feeling of self-confidence, strength, capability and adequacy in the individuals. The fulfilment of esteein’needs leads to self confidence strength and capability of being useful in the organisation. Whereas inability to fulfil these needs results in feelings of inferiority, weakness and helplessness.
- Self Actualization Needs: Self-actualization is transformation of perception and dream into reality. Individuals have inner potential to do things different from others. Realising the full inner potential, one wishes to become what he is capable of becoming. After his other needs are fulfilled, a man has the desire for personal achievement. The sense of achievement gives him satisfaction
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