UAMP 2004 THEORIES, ROLES AND MODELS OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (FAS)

PUBLIC RELATIONS
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

NAME: LEE KHER CHERN

STUDENT ID: 1405250
LECTURER: MS ENG MAY CHUEN

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is the understanding of the human needs and what motivates them.
It is believed by Maslow that people possesses a set of motivational system unrelated to the
rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) once stated that to achieve certain needs,
motivation is needed. "Motivation is some driving force within individuals by which they
attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfill some needs or expectations" (Mullins, 1996).
When ones need is fulfilled, he or she will seek to fulfill the next need and it continues. In the
Maslow's (1943, 1954) hierarchy of needs includes five motivational needs, often depicted in a
pyramid with five stages or levels.

There are five basic needs within the stage model, which is; physiological needs, safety needs,
belongingness and love needs, esteem, and growth needs also known as self-actualization. The
needs to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied when the
basic needs that motivate people are unmet. Some example of it is; the longer a person does not
eat the more hungry he or she will become. Based on Maslow's paper known as A Theory of
Human Motivation in 1943, one must satisfy ones lower level of basic needs before progressing
on to the next higher level of needs. When one satisfies ones needs with reasonable satisfaction,
he or she may be able to reach the highest level known as self-actualization. Self-actualization is
the realization of ones personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak
experiences. Every individual is able and capable to move up the hierarchy as long as the desire
is there towards the final level of self-actualization. But the progress is often obstructed by
failures to meet the lower level of needs. Examples; when one does not have breakfast, he or she
is unable to move on to do their daily routines without the energy provided by the breakfast.

One of the first four levels known as deficiency needs is Physiological needs which includes; air,
food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep which represents the lowest level or basic needs.
People tend to be satisfied with these needs, but predominant when unmet. During emergencies,
safety needs is crucial when health and security is threatened. Once these two levels of needs are
met, belongingness needs comes into the scene when one obtains love and intimate relationships
or close friendships becoming important. The fourth need of the deficiency need is the esteem
needs, this includes the needs for recognition from others, confidence, self-esteem and
achievement. The highest level which is the self-actualization which is not driven or motivated
by deficiencies but rather one's desire for personal gains or growth and the need to become all
the things a person is capable of becoming (Maslow, 1970).

Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be applied to the needs of the employees in an organization.
According to this theory, everyone human have needs that must be satisfied. How does Maslow's
hierarchy apply to the employees as a motivation to work in the organization is by applying the
five-stages of the needs. Psychological needs of the employees, this motivates them to work in
order to survive as air, food and water is needed as well as shelter to sleep in. This means that the
employees are motivated to work in order to keep their job and receive a salary to pay the bills
and a sense of financial independence (Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., Griskevicius, V., Becker,
D. V., & Schaller, M. 2010. Goal Driven Cognition and Functional Behavior- The FundamentalMotives Framework. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19:1, 63-67). If the
organization's employees work in conditions of extreme cold or hot, they would never be able to
advance to the next level of the five-staged pyramid as they simply would not have the
motivation to do so. Being said, the employees need access to things such as restroom breaks,
food and beverages or even social activities. For majority, the basic needs of a job are that the
salary allows them to pay the bills and live according to the lifestyle they are used to or based on
the lifestyle of a certain geography. Having a sense of financial independence is innate in almost
all of us with very few people brave enough to run a risk and disregard monetary reward in favor
of other factors. For many of us this is SURVIVAL.

The second would be the Safety needs; the employees should be motivated to feel that they, their
family, their property and other resources such as investments are safe of any threats. With safety
needs being the priority need, ensuring a safe workplace that includes ergonomic furniture and
securing the building with safeties or hiring security guards. Job security is the key to the safety
needs. Not surprisingly, creating a sense of belonging is a key to buying an engaged culture
where companies with a history of social and camaraderie-building activities have higher degrees
of employees engagement than companies that focuses their objective entire on business and
profit. Thus with a company that provides employee engagement that lets them feel a sense of
family would motivate them to work better and climb the hierarchy. The fourth need; Esteem
needs of an employee within an organization is the employees belief that he or she is doing a
good job and that the contributions they contribute are of value and recognized. With an
organization that praises the employees or reward them will ensure the employees to feel that
they are achieving their needs as well as their contributions being recognized and it matters to the
organization they are in. Confidence is the key. As the employee gains confidence due to the fact
that they are accepted and recognized for their contributions will ensure that they believe in
themselves and providing a better productivity and engagement within the organization.

Finally self-actualization, self-actualization growth refers to the actual needs of a person for
personal gains or growth and discovery that is present within the person's life. According to
Maslow, an individual is always "becoming" and is never passive or static in these terms which
means that the self-actualization individual comes to find a meaning to life in whatever that is
important to them in their daily life (Maslow, 1962). While according to Kenrick, each individual
person is special and unique with different motivations for self-actualization that leads them to
different directions (Kenrick et al., 2010).

Within an organization that maximizes their employees true potential provides the way to the
highest level of self-actualization. Employees wish to be the best in what they do within the
organization. The key aspect to self-actualization is by ensuring the employees are put into
positions that they are capable of and not putting them into situations where they would be
mentally challenged which may result in them to be in over their heads. Self-actualization is
realized when employees feel important and recognized, they feel like they can take on more
ownership of their role, and more of a leadership role within their company. This kind of
employee is incredibly beneficial to the health of employee engagement because their
enthusiasm and attitude actually inspire others to want to perform on their level. Its contagious.

An organization that consist of healthy, fully engaged workforce of employees are the ones that
successfully achieved level five of the hierarchy needs or self-actualization. Maximizing the
potential of the employees motivates them to maximize their own potential in achieving selfactualization where they may create a ripple effect of employee engagement along the way. It is
crucial to note that self-actualization is a constant and continuous process of "becoming" rather
than a perfect state one reaches of a 'happy ever after' (Hoffman, 1988).

With the five needs being mentioned, they are critical for the fulfillment of a satisfying
professional life and career, The first two needs of the employees are quite simple in nature;
paying them their wages or salary accordingly and livable so that they would not think that their
job is on the line all the time. Having a strong organizational structure that promotes teamwork
and strong engagement among employees is enough to fulfill the third need which is the
belongingness and love. The fourth need, esteem, is where things like employee recognition
come into play strongly. It is strongly advised to encourage and praise the employees for their

outstanding work or contribution. Recognize them publicly for their accomplishments and
rewarding them for what theyve done.

Thus, in order for a company or organization to motivate their employees is to implement or

apply Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to ensure that the employees are motivated to work which
provides a better productivity and engagement for the organization itself.

References
Hoffman, E. (1988). The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow. Jeremy P. Tarcher,
Inc.
Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., Griskevicius, V., Becker, D. V., & Schaller, M. (2010). GoalDriven Cognition and Functional Behavior The Fundamental-Motives Framework. Current
Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 63-67.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.
Maslow, A. H. (1962). Towards a psychology of being. Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company.
Maslow, A. H., & Lowery, R. (Ed.). (1998). Toward a psychology of being (3rd ed.). New York:
Wiley & Sons
Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company.
Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and Personality, 3rd Edition.
McLeod, S. A. (2014). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Mullins, L (1996), 4th Edition: Management and Organisation Behaviour, Pitman Publishing,
London.