Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Essay -- Essays Papers

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs When one thinks of what families do for each other, they will most likely think of care. More specifically they think of the care that a parent has for their child. Parents have to meet certain â€Å"needs† for the child in order for the its healthy survival. Children must be fed and clothed. Parents must also watch over the safety of and be the friends of the children. Cheering on in good times and making their child the best it can be are also responsibilities of parents. The family metaphor is used when describing the Human Relations method of management. In this the management of a company is seen as the parents and the employees are seen as the children. Employees, as seen as the children also have certain needs as well. These needs are very similar. Abraham Maslow did studies of the basic needs of human beings. He put these needs into a hierarchical order. This means that until the need before it has been satisfied, the following need can not be met (Encyclopedia, 2000). For example, if someone is hungry they are not thinking too much about socializing. In the order from lowest to highest the needs are psychological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. The first three are classified as lower order needs and the last two are higher order (Hierarchy, 2000). Without meeting these needs workers are not going to be as productive as they could otherwise. The first three are considered to be essential to all humans at all times. The last two have been argued but are mostly considered to be very important as well. A person’s behavior at one specific point in time usually controls their attitude at that time. Managers must be able to understand these basic needs of their workers. If these needs are not dealt with in a certain correct way than workers will not reach their maximum potential. If the lower order of needs is not met than people are not happy. The same can be said of the higher order. Food, water, sleep, and sensory gratification are all at the top of the hierarchy. These and other needs are considered to be part of the psychological needs. These rest at the top of the hierarchy because they are the essence to basic human survival. The list of these needs can be much larger or shorter depending of personal opinion. Maslow himself said that said â€Å"it would be po... ..., safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs. He put these needs in a pyramid shape; meaning that without the prior need met the next need can not be met. Managers must know that people must have these certain needs met before they can be productive. If someone is hungry of worried about their safety than they will not be as great of an asset as someone who has these needs met. Not only do managers need to recognize these needs but they also need to find a way to satisfy the needs of their workers. References Encyclopedia Britannica Online. (2000). Maslow, Abraham. Encyclopedia Britannica [online]. Available: (www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/410,5716,52534+1,00.html). Goble, F.G. (1970). The Third Force. New York: Grossman Publishers. Heirarchy of Needs, Abraham Maslow (2000). [online]. Available: (www.itconsultancy.com/backround/maslow/index.html). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (2000). [online]. Available: (www.connect.net/georgen/maslow.html). Miller, K. (1999). Organizational Communication. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Wilson, C. (1972). New Pathways in Psychology. New York: Taplinger Publishing Company.