Maslow

Motivation can be defined as the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robbins & A., 2013). Motivated employees work harder, and more efficiently. Furthermore, they develop loyalty toward their organization and are therefore less likely to leave their job. In the actual competitive environment, motivated employees remain the fundamental resource of any successful company. Google, for example, dedicates its success to its motivated employees. Robbins and Judge (2013) assert, “The best-known theory of motivation is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs” (P. 203). This theory can serve as a framework for organizations to identify the various needs of their employees and provide them with benefits that will motivate them and increase their performance in the workplace.

Background

Born in 1908, in Brooklyn, New York, Abraham Maslow was the eldest of seven children. His parents were the first generation of Jewish immigrants from Russia. He received his Ph.D. in psychology in 1935 from the University of Wisconsin. He served as a professor at Brooklyn College and then at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Maslow’s earlier research was oriented on primates’ behavior. He eventually focused later on the positive side of human behavior. Even though, he published extensively through his professional career, he is well known for his 1943 publication A Human Motivation theory , where he first mentioned his self-actualization theory. In 1954, Abraham Maslow developed the Hierarchy of needs in his book, Motivation and Personality . Abraham Maslow is one of the founder and driving forces behind the Humanistic Psychology . He died of a heart attack in 1970 in California.

Hierarchy of needs theory.

According to Maslow’s theory, every human being has five fundamental needs that are physiological, safety, social, esteem, and Self- actualization. Illustrated in a pyramidal form, these needs can be...