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Independent University Bangladesh

Human Resource Management
HRM 509E: Homework: 02
Submission: 14th October 2016 (Hardcopy, in class)
a. In addition to the handout, consult a good text book to gain comprehensive
knowledge of Maslow's theory of motivation. Summarize Maslow's theory of motivation
in less than 15 sentences. (Marks-15)
Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He believed that people possess a set
of motivation systems unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires. Maslow (1943) stated that
people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to
fulfill the next one, and so on. This five stage model can be divided into basic (or deficiency)
needs (e.g. physiological, safety, love, and esteem) and growth needs (self-actualization).
The deficiency or basic needs are said to motivate people when they are unmet. Also, the
need to fulfill such needs will become stronger the longer the duration they are denied. For
example, the longer a person goes without food the more hungry they will become.
One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth
needs. Once these needs have been reasonably satisfied, one may be able to reach the highest
level called self-actualization.
Every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of selfactualization. Unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs.
Life experiences, including divorce and loss of job may cause an individual to fluctuate
between levels of the hierarchy. Maslow noted only one in a hundred people become fully
self-actualized because our society rewards motivation primarily based on esteem, love and
other social needs.

b. What do you understand by 'motivation'? (Marks-5)

Motivation means internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to
be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain
a goal.
Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the
intensity of desire or need, incentive or reward value of the goal, and expectations of the
individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain
way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she
wants a better grade in the class.

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c. Can you think of needs that are not covered by Maslow's scheme of needscharacterization? Give examples. (Marks-5)
Maslow's assumption that the lower needs must be satisfied before a person can achieve their
potential and self-actualize. This is not always the case, and therefore Maslow's hierarchy of
needs in some aspects has been falsified.
Through examining cultures in which large numbers of people live in poverty (such as India)
it is clear that people are still capable of higher order needs such as love and belongingness.
However, this should not occur, as according to Maslow, people who have difficulty
achieving very basic physiological needs (such as food, shelter etc.) are not capable of
meeting higher growth needs.

d. Can a higher-order need start to function when a lower-order need remains

unsatisfied? Explain your answer. (Marks-10)
Satisfy lower order needs first. Since higher order needs will not motivate people as long as
lower order needs remain unsatisfied, companies should satisfy lower order needs first. In
practice, this means providing the equipment, training, and knowledge to create a safe
workplace free of physical risks, paying employees will enough to provide financial security,
and offering a benefit package that will protect employees and their families though good
medical coverage health and disability insurance.

e. Do you think a person may remain un-motivated even when needs described by
Maslow are fulfilled? Explain your answer. (Marks-10)
Yes, I think a person may remain un-motivated even when needs described by Maslow.
Maslows hierarchy of needs was helpful to a certain extent in pointing out to managers why
traditional management or hierarchical bureaucracy with managers acting as controllers of
individuals was unlikely to meet the psychological needs of employees. But it offered an
unrealistic route to meeting those needs like ascension up the hierarchy of needs towards selfactualization. The truth is that not everyone wants or needs or is able to be a self-actualizing
artist or leader.

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f. Why a lowly-paid employee may not care about 'safety' at work place? (Marks-15)
A low paid employee may not care about their workplace safety because if the workplace is
good then salary not to be concern. A safe and healthy workplace not only protects workers
from injury and illness, it can also lower injury/illness costs, reduce absenteeism and
turnover, increase productivity and quality, and raise employee morale. In other words, safety
is good for business. Beside that, protecting workers is the right thing to do. Employers can
save $4.00 to $6.00 for every dollar spent on a safety and health program. Workplaces with
successful safety and health management systems reduce injury and illness costs 20-40%,
according to OSHA.
The cost of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths is much greater than the cost of workers'
compensation insurance alone. Insurance is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to these
costs.

g. Explain in about 6 sentences what do you understand by 'self-actualizing' person.

(Marks-5)
Self-actualized people are those who were fulfilled and doing all they were capable of. The
growth of self-actualization refers to the need for personal growth and discovery that is
present throughout a person's life. For Maslow, a person is always becoming and never
remains static in these terms. As each person is unique the motivation for self-actualization
leads people in different directions. For some people self-actualization can be achieved
through creating works of art or literature, for others through sport, in the classroom, or
within a corporate setting.

h. Mention at least 3 limitations of Maslows theory. (Marks-6)

The limitations of Maslows theory are:
1. The Theory is lacking about the motivators of extrinsically driven individuals: At
stage 4 and stage 5 of the chart (Esteem Needs and Self-Actualization Needs), the
theory is of questionable relevance to individuals that are driven by extrinsic rewards.
2. Difficult for manager to identify the need level for employees- There will be some
difficulty for managers in deciding which need level employees are on, and this
might curb the motivation of employees at the workplace.
3. The Most Powerful unsatisfied Need provides the most motivation- This is often due
to the fact that different individuals are driven to satisfy different needs at a certain
time.
4. Basic Needs may not need to be satisfied to acknowledge higher needs- Based on the
theory, we assume that if an individual that is lacking in basic amenities or in a
questionable working environment, he/she will never unlock the higher needs in the
hierarchy.
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