International Journal of Education & Management © 2014 Indian Association of Health, Research and Welfare

Studies, 2014, 4(4), 353-356 ISSN-p-2231-5632-e-2321-3671

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Application of the Maslow's hierarchy of need theory;

impacts and implications on organizational culture,
human resource and employee's performance
Chinky Upadhyaya
Department of Psychology, Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut, Uttar Pardesh

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is an excellent model for understanding human motivation the current paper throws
light on the relevancy of the hierarchy of needs theory in business organizations today, the review explores the
relevance of the theory on organizational culture, human resource management and employee's performance and its
application towards achieving results in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives.

Keywords: hierarchy of needs theory, organizational culture, HRM and employee's performance

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology anticipated by values, philosophy and rituals that hold the organization together; its
Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human portrait, self-image, inner workings, interaction with the outside
Motivation". Maslow consequently extended the idea to include his environment where some of the values are kept in written form while
observations on humans' innate curiosity, over the years researches others are unwritten but yet adhered to strictly (Schein, 1984). The
and authors has tend to criticizes the theory as being irrelevant in culture of an organization is sometimes dynamic in nature,
most part of the world for is western in nature Contrary to such particularly after doing effective strength and weakness analysis,
assertion, Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory remains relevant in out of which can be eliminated and advantages retained and
every sector of our business today as its best analyzes below strengthened (Shumen, 2009). A valid organizational culture is
Maslow's hierarchy of needs where the lower order needs called corporate culture (Shumen, 2009). Schein (1984) argues that
(physiological and safety needs) may be linked to organizational we can describe "how" a group constructs its environment and
culture. Every new organization passes through this lower order which behaviour patterns are discernible among the way it does its
stage in which they struggle with their basic survival needs. things. It is clear that organizational culture is a process that the
At the third level of the Maslow's hierarchy, social needs would organizational founders, top management and employees learn,
correspond to the formation of organized roles within the socialize and adopt over time (Schein, 1984). It selects the best
organization into distinct units, depicting the human resource culture that suits the organization's objectives and that can be easily
management function which resonates according to the tone set by be accepted by wider environment (Robbins & Judge, 2009).
organizational culture. The positive interaction of organizational Organizational culture is the normative glue that holds an
culture and human resource management would result in self-esteem organization together (Tychy, Fombrun, & Devanna, 1982). Support
and self-actualization. This is manifested through the employees' by Schein (1990), in a more comprehensive fashion, argued that
performance which showcases the strength and reliability of their culture, as values and behaviors that are believed to lead to success
organization in the face of competitors. It also implies that the and are thus taught to new members. Forehand and Gilmer (1964)
organization through its employees has excelled and met their suggest that culture is the set of characteristics that describe an
objectives, mission and vision statement, i.e. a stage that can be organization and distinguish it from others. Alvesson and Berg
considered parallel to self-actualization. (1992) state that, organizational culture is a management tool that
helps in work rationalization and efficiency thinking: an attempt to
Organizational culture develop control mechanisms that are not based on compulsion or on
Organizational culture has proven to be very elusive because of the direction. Parker (2000) argues that workers strive to get to
lack of a single definition that is generally accepted by all command themselves or each other. The manager's task is
organizational culture literatures. One of the issues involving culture considered to be the creation of a culture and its manipulation. The
is that it is defined both in terms of its causes and effects (Shili, power of cultural theories is seen particularly in fields in which
2008). Organizational culture is a complex network of values and direct control and guidance mechanisms are difficult or impossible
norms that guides an individual's behaviors. It involves a set of to maintain (Parker, 2000). Collins (1998) sums up the matter by
beliefs, values, assumptions and experience that are acquired stating that cultures are historically developed, socially maintained
through learning, socializing and sharing by members of social unit and individually interpreted. Every culture, however, has an in-built
such as people in the organization (Rousseau, 1990) Almost all the propensity to merge behaviour, which happens by creating common
definitions of culture emphasizes the organizational assumptions norms and a shared social identity; such absolute behaviour within a
developed, nurtured and mentored consciously or unconsciously given organization is called corporate culture (Collins, 1998).
over organization's life cycle;, these includes experiences, norms,
Human resource management
Correspondence should be sent to Chinky Upadhyaya Human resource management is a multi disciplinary organizational
Department of Psychology, Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut function that draws theories and ideas from various fields such as
354 UPADHYAYA/ APPLICATION OF THE MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY

management, psychology, sociology and economics (Storey, 1992). Physiological needs: These are biological needs which consist of the
Aimed at developing people through work (Bratton & Gold, 2001), need for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body
human resource management includes administrative activities that temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were
are associated with planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, deprived of all needs, it is these physiological ones that would come
training, appraisal motivation and remuneration (Storey, 1992). first in the person's search for satisfaction.
Robbins and Judge (2009) sum up human resource management by Safety needs: When all physiological needs are met and are no
five key concepts: motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can
staffing and training. Similarly, Storey (1992) describes the five become active. While adults have little awareness of their security
functional areas of human resource management as staffing, needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in
rewards, employee development, employee maintenance and the social structure (such as widespread rioting), children often
employee relations. In addition, human resource management may display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe.
be viewed as a distinctive approach to employment management Needs for love, affection and belongingness: When the needs for
which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through strategy safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class
deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce (Storey, of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow
1992) using an integrated array of cultural, structural and personal states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and
techniques (Senyucel, 2009). Likewise, Armstrong (1995) proposes alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection
human resource management as a strategic and rational approach to and the sense of belonging.
managing of organization's most valued assets, the employees who Needs for esteem: When the first three classes of needs are satisfied,
contribute to the achievement of their goals and objectives. In the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for
summary, human resource management involves all management both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others.
decisions that influence the relationship between the organization Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-
and its employees (Gregory, Harris, Armenakis, & Shook, 2009). respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the
Employee's performance person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world.
When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak,
Employee's performance is an issue that has received wide attention
helpless and worthless.
in literature and research due to its importance since every
Needs for self-actualization: When all of the foregoing needs are
organization aims to achieve higher performance (Ojo, 2009). For
satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization
clarity, the two concepts, employees and performance, will be
activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to
defined separately as follows to ensure common understanding
be and do that for which the person was "born. The aforementioned
Employees are people who are hired, working on the basis of part
theory may be applied to the roles of organizational cultural and
time or full time under an employment arrangement, whether it is in
human resource management in improving employee's performance
written or oral expression. It also includes agreement on the
despite some criticism or limitations of the theory.
remuneration and the kind of duties expected of the employee within
a time frame (Shumen, 2009). Impacts and implication of hierarchy of needs theory on
Performance is the achievement of a set of assigned tasks that are organizational culture
anchored to time, with a result indicator that will measure the
The hierarchy of needs theory is relevant to this study as the theory is
accomplishment level of the task assigned, which can be measured
applicable to organizational orientation and employee motivation
only when a performance standard has been put in place (Shumen,
(Greenberg & Baron, 2003). They further argue that the theory is
2009). Performances are activities that ensure goals are consistently
able to suggest how managers can lead their employees or
being met in an effective and efficient manner (Cardy & Selvarajan,
subordinates to become self-actualized. The idea implies the dual
2004; McNamara, 2005). Employee's performance refers to the
role of the theory first to organizations and second to employees on
observable behaviours and actions which explain how a job is done,
the basis that both the organization and the employees must decide
plus the results that are expected for satisfactory job performance
on the performance of their organization, and that when employees
(McNamara, 2005). To achieve or encourage higher performance
put in their best in the service of the organization, the culture and
from employees, the following criteria should be considered (Cardy
human resource practice should also ensure that the employees' level
& Selvarajan, 2004).
of needs are reflected in the values the organization holds with high
Theory of the hierarchy of needs esteem (Greenberg & Baron, 2003).
Abraham Harold Maslow proposed a theory that outlined five The cultural framework of the organization should reflect the fact
hierarchical needs which could also be applied to an organization and that employees' physiological and security needs are paramount;
its employees' performance (Gordon, 1965). According to Maslow's therefore, when such needs became culturally focused, performance
theory, one does not feel the second need until the demands of the will be improved tremendously in that organization (Maslow, 1954).
first have been satisfied or the third until the second has been This argument implies a reversed effect that if the need is not
satisfied, and so on. Abraham Harold Maslow proposed a theory that culturally focused on, the performance standard will not be met. As
outlined five hierarchical needs which could also be applied to an employees yearn for social needs, it is the role of organizational
organization and its employees' performance (Gordon, 1965). culture to create the values and norms that human resource practice
According to Maslow's theory, one does not feel the second need will focus on when planning for the smooth running of the
until the demands of the first have been satisfied or the third until the organization, with employee relationship being one of the key areas
second has been satisfied, and so on that human resource must strengthen (Storey, 1992).
 International Journal of Education & Management Studies, 2014, 4(4), 353-356 355

Culture and human resource management practice should help Self-actualization needs. Leaders who can satisfy employees' self-
employees attain their self-esteem and self actualization need When actualization needs are the most effective leaders. This enables
employees discover that their organization cares so much about their organizations to fully utilize employees' ability and potentials which
developmental status, employees will offer their best to the service of way enhance the overall productivity and effectiveness of the
the organization. business. Organizations can offer challenging and meaningful
assignments to encourage and explore employees' creativity and
Impacts and implication of hierarchy of needs theory on
innovation ability to maximum extent.
human Besides, Maslow (1970) added “needs to know and understand”
Resource management: Human resources management are to the existing five level of needs. The implications for this are
considered to be very important in organizations, theories about how obvious; organization should offer both pre-work training and on-
to motivate people to perform more efficiently and effectively are job training.
discussed extensively in research areas. One of the basic theories is
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs Human resource management is a Impacts and implication of hierarchy of needs theory on
multidisciplinary organizational function that draws theories and employees
ideas from various fields such as management, psychology, Performance: Organization benefits can also play a large role in an
sociology and economics (Storey, 1992). Aimed at developing employee's satisfaction and performance. Some organizations offer
people through work (Bratton & Gold, 2001), human resource bonuses or extra benefits to certain employees who make the effort
management includes administrative activities that are associated to improve their performance. This can include tuition performance
with planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal or allocations to attend specialized conferences. These sorts of
motivation and remuneration (Storey, 1992). Robbins and Judge
ancillary benefits can stimulate an employee to take on new
(2009) sum up human resource management by five key concepts:
opportunities to improve themselves and, as a result, improve his or
motivating, disciplining, managing conflict, staffing and training.
her performance in their current position. It can also set his or her
Similarly, Storey (1992) describes the five functional areas of
career path in a better direction, for future growth and promotion
human resource management as staffing, rewards, employee
(McNamara, 2005). The method a organization chooses for
development, employee maintenance and employee relations. With
performance reviews and evaluations can have the biggest effect on
significant influences by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Malone and
employee performance. Organizations that fail to review their
Lepper (1987) have integrated a large amount of motivational
employee's performance or recognize a job well done may soon find
research into a summary of several ways the leadership of
disgruntled employees. Furthermore, organizations that stringently
organizations can design environments that are self motivating.
monitor employee work without providing employees the
*Motivation through Challenges
opportunity to provide feedback may also result in non-motivated
*Motivation through Curiosity employees (Cardy & Selvarajan, 2004).
*Motivation through Control The performance reviews to keep employees motivated and
*Motivation through Fantasy performing well include periodic, regular, honest and objective
*Motivation through Competition feedback to the employee (Collins 1998, and Cooper, 1998).
*Motivation through Cooperation However, the organization should also have some mechanisms in
*Motivation through Recognition. place for the employee to give feedback about ways the organization
Physiological needs. Organizations should provide better staff could also improve itself and make itself a better place to work.
meals with ample time and space. Organizations should pay Allowing open communication in both directions will keep the
allowance on employees' food and life essentials. employees more satisfied with their performance review and
Safety needs. A safe working environment should be provided, for happier with their compensation level in relation to their work.
example, in dangerous industries like construction industry, Recommendations: Based on the review, the following are
company should provide helmets to protect employees from recommendations for the stakeholders of organizations concerned.
potential dangers, warning boards should be conspicuous at Create a unique culture: Each organization should work towards
extremely dangerous sites. As financial security is also a kind of creating its own unique culture instead of copying another
safety needs, organizations should pay employees fairly and ensure organization's culture through the right application of the hierarchy
them stable career. of needs theory as propounded by Maslow, the right cultural
Social needs. Create an environment of team spirits, generate a elements must be selected, blended and fine-tuned over time to fulfil
feeling of acceptance and belonging by organizing company parties the unique requirements of one's organization this entails the first
or company culture trainings. For those who are dispatched to other stage in the hierarchy pyramid .
places, either within national boundaries or abroad, offers them Link organizational culture to HRM practice: Some leaders extol a
enough time to reunite with their families. certain culture, but yet when it comes to incentives, employees who
Esteem needs. Leaders should recognize employees' achievement, practice the extolled culture are not recognized for their efforts,
either by financial means or spiritual means. Organizations should simply because the organization's HRM function does not have a
set specific awards for achieving certain goals and tasks. The awards system in place. Instead, organizations should consciously map key
should not only be financial motivations but also mental motivations cultural elements to their HRM function to motivate employees to
like praises. Organizations should also make promotions based on partake in the culture that the management has endorsed. This may
achievements rather than seniority and provide status to make be achieved by customizing an existing HR system in the market
employees feel valued and appreciated. which depicts the social needs.
356 UPADHYAYA/ APPLICATION OF THE MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEED THEORY

Ensure that organizational culture aims to enhance employees' theory is paramount.

performance: It is pointless to practice a certain culture for the sake
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