Maslows Hierarchy of needs Essay

I am basing my Theory and Application on both Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Locke’s Goal Setting Theory. Theory and Application Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs was first published by psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 article, â€Å"A Theory of Human Motivation â€Å". Abraham Maslow believed that that as humans strive to meet our most basic needs, we also seek to satisfy a higher set of needs. Maslow presented these needs in a hierarchy that consisted of the following: 1. Physiological/bodily needs. 2. Safety needs. 3. Love/belonging needs. 4. Self-esteem. 5. Self-actualization. I am going to describe each level in the hierarchy of needs and evaluate them in terms of evidence that shows that they work and that they are useful for managers in understanding how they might motivate their staff. The example I am using is Understanding and motivating health care employees: integrating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, training and technology by Suzanne G. Benson PhD and Stephen P. Dundis JD, PhD. With all the challenges facing the health sector, there was a need to understand how the managers could motivate the staff. This was becoming increasingly concerning and this is where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs proved useful. Maslow created a pyramid split into 5 levels, each containing one of the 5 needs. Level 1 Physiological needs: Physiological needs are the basic survival needs such as oxygen, food, water, shelter etc. Unless these basic needs are fulfilled, the individual will be unable to move to the next level, as these are these needs are needed for survival. In work terms, these basic needs would be wages. If an employee is being paid fairly he/she will be happy to move to the next level of the hierarchy. If not, they will be thinking about why they aren’t being paid fairly and the next levels won’t be in their mind. Level 2 Safety Needs: When physiological needs are fulfilled, safety needs come into consideration. This involves not only a safe working environment but mental safety. In this case training has a big influence because workers see training as a way of being safe. Managers must make employees realise that with new technology brings change. Employees feel that they are under pressure with the new technology leading to advancements in computers. They feel they are inadequately trained and this is where managers must spend resources, time and money on training. Level 3 Love/ Belonging Needs: Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation and managers must understand this to ensure employee involvement, production and motivation, etc. With the new technology in healthcare, brings in the new ‘virtual teaming’. Some employees might feel a lack of social presence that face to face contact has. Managers must know this and that the opportunities to participate in new and different work groups can definitely expand an employee’s belongingness. Level 4 Self-Esteem: Self-esteem in a workplace is usually based on an employee’s successful performance appraisals, which helps employee’s feel valued and respected within an organisation. This boosts self-esteem. In the case of the healthcare problem, there was an issue with the technology because employees where not known by name anyone but by numbers. When employees are not being interacted with personally by managers and other group members they feel insulted and meaningless. Managers must take this into consideration. Level 5 Self-Actualisation: The need for self-actualisation is only relevant when all needs below Self-Actualisation are fulfilled. It is the need for an employee to do what he/she feels they are meant to do. In the healthcare training, an employee should be exposed to learning that affects every single part of his/her life. The new technology offers this training but a person must be shown the right path towards the correct training in order for it to become meaningful. Managers play a role in doing this. Locke’s Goal Setting Theory Dr Edwin Locke found from research that specific and difficult goals led to  better performance than easy goals. Easy goals are not a motivating force whereas if a goal is hard, you feel more accomplished after completing it. The harder the goal, the greater the effort. This helps motivate employees because they will grow in confidence once they complete a difficult task. Goals help push employees to goal-relevant actions rather than concentrating on irrelevant matters. I believe that this is true and to motivate goals must have: 1. Clarity. 2. Challenge. 3. Commitment. 4. Feedback. 5. Task complexity. Clarity When goals are clear and specific there is less chance that there will be a misunderstanding. Managers should make goals measurable with a definitive time set for completion, and this will in turn leave the task/goal a lot more precise. If an employee is set a clear objective he/she is then motivated towards one thing. If the goal is unclear employees will be less motivated. The goal should be Smart, Measureable and Time-bound (SMART acronym). Challenge Usually employees feel that if a goal is very challenging and they complete it, then the manager will be impressed. This motivates an employee because they will feel accomplished and important to the company. Rewards may also boost motivation because with greater challenges comes greater rewards, so therefore managers must give employees challenging but realistic goals in order to motivate their staff. Challenges must be realistic because employees will feel demotivated if they are unable to complete the challenge. The goal should be Achievable (SMART Acronym). Commitment Goals can be agreed upon between managers and employees. This gives the employee a sense of involvement and they are more likely to be committed to a goal if they have been involved in creating the goal and making decisions. Goals should be consistent and credible in order for the commitment to be there. If a goal is difficult it will require a lot more commitment compared  to and easy goal therefore employees will be motivated to get the goal completed. Agreed goals will lead to commitment (SMART Acronym). Feedback Employees must get feedback about their goals from their managers in order to clarify expectations and to gain recognition. Goals can be broken down into parts when it is going to take a particularly long time to reach a goal. Feedback can then be given after each part in order to get a task done efficiently. Regular encouragement will motivate employees to reaching a goal. Task Complexity When a goal is very difficult, employees should be given sufficient time to reach the goal. If the employee is stressed out then they will be demotivated. Employees should be given time to practice what is needed to reach the goal. Difficult tasks can frustrate employees and managers have to deal with this by giving them sufficient time and training needed to complete the task. Conclusion: I believe that both Maslow’s and Locke’s theories provide a useful knowledge into how to keep an employee motivated in the workplace. Goal setting is the best theory in my opinion because it is a simple step by step way on how to reach a goal without demotivating your employees. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs shows a manager how to make the employee feel secure, needed and appreciated in the workplace whilst also keeping them motivated to strive towards self-actualisation. Reflection and Application The theory that best explains my motivation to perform in DCU is the Goal Setting Theory. I feel this best describes my motivation to perform because I always set out goals in life, whether they are small goals or big goals. For example one of my goals in DCU is to finish with a Masters in Engineering after 5 years. This is a big goal and it requires a lot of motivation and time. My main goal at the moment is to pass all of my modules in my course. To do this my goal must have the 5 following steps: 1. Clarity. 2. Challenge. 3. Commitment. 4. Feedback. 5. Task complexity. In order to reach my goal I must evaluate the goal using these 5 steps. Clarity My goal is clear and measurable and has a specific date for completion. Moodle plays a vital part in reaching the goal as it assists me in my studies and help me keep track of my time limits for each task. I am motivated towards my goal of passing all my modules because I know what each module consists of. Challenge I am motivated towards finishing the first year of my course and passing each module because my course is difficult. When I finish my course I will feel accomplished in what I have done. I also know that if I do well, it will be well received at home because they also know that it is a difficult course. I see this as a reward because if the course was easy I would not be as motivated to do well. Commitment Getting involved in setting out goals also gets me motivated. It makes me feel more committed because I know I have to reach the goal because I helped set it. Although this isn’t the case in most of my modules, it is in one, that is Technical Drawing. I have to set the time for our project to be finished and this adds added pressure which helps motivate me. Feedback Feedback plays a massive role in motivating me to reach my goals. When I am told I am doing something correctly and that my work of a high standard, it motivates me because I know I am slowly reaching my goal. Feedback gives me an insight into how to do things correctly if I am doing them wrong, which is very useful when you don’t know if you are doing something correctly. It can also help me gain recognition. Task Complexity If the work load is too much or difficult for me, I usually need more time at the task in order to reach a goal. If this is the case I usually give up my spare time in order to work on the more complex and difficult parts of my  course. If I am under too much pressure I will be demotivated so this is why I carry out the goal setting theory in order to keep motivated and to ensure that I reach my goals. References www.mindtools.com http://www.unc.edu/courses/2007fall/nurs/379/960/module%209%20delegation%20perf%20appr/Benson%20unders%20and%20motiv.pdf http://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/642/Articles%20syllabus/Locke%20et%20al%20New%20dir%20goal%20setting%2006.pdf

How advertising and commercials influence my life Essay

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The roles of diverse schools in America Term Paper

The roles of diverse schools in America - Term Paper Example Educating children, belonging to different cultural backgrounds, is crucial and special efforts need to be carried out in order to educate them as their future and career is at stake. For the sake our discussion, I will shed some light on the roles of diverse schools in America. Role of any school in treating and educating children, belonging from different backgrounds, is of extreme importance. A country having many states, and is populated by people from different backgrounds, cannot overlook this aspect while educating children. Managing diversity requires serious and sincere efforts on part of schools. Children cannot feel motivated and encouraged until and unless they have a sense of worth in them. When they feel that they are considered important, even if they belong to minority groups, only then they strive hard towards achieving their targets. Thus, this thing takes us to the point that one of the roles of schools in America is to manage diversity. There are few underlying concepts that need to be addressed while talking about roles of diverse schools in America. At the start of 20th century, there occurred a gender gap in attainment of education, with women striving more towards acquiring higher education than men in US (Lopez, 2002). However, race and gender differences are not biological, rather they arise because of difference in perceptions, experiences and response of a particular minority group towards another. Statistics have shown that by 2007, this gender gap in attaining education reached to a level of 2.3 million with 9.6 million women and only 6.3 million men that were enrolled in college. However, incorporating the racial aspect it was observed that this trend of acquiring higher education was more common in â€Å"white† women than their male counterparts. Similarly, talking about African- American population, women were double the times the

HISTORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Research and evaluate one or two works of twentieth-century literary Paper

And evaluate one or two works of twentieth-century literary criticism that take a psychoanalytic approach to Shakespea - Research Paper Example Perhaps some of the most intriguing insights have come as a result of the psychoanalytical school of critical investigation. Sigmund Freud himself analyzed the play advancing a number of theoretical notions on Hamlet’s subconscious and Oedipal relation to his mother. This essay considers ‘The Oedipus-Complex as An Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery:?A Study in Motive’ a famous psychoanalytic interpretation of Hamlet advanced by theorist Ernest Jones and work by Sigmund Freud in analyzing Hamlet. One of Sigmund Freud’s primary theories and a central element of psychoanalysis is the understanding that man is affected by a repressive urge towards love for their mother. Referred to as the Oedipal Complex, Freud indicates that men are then motivated by an urge to murder their father and marry their mother, except this is generally repressed. Hamlet makes a brilliant representation of this theory in action, as Hamlet’s complex relation between his mother and her new-husband, also his step-father, Claudius constitutes a significant element of the play’s narrative structure. This interpretation is not lost on Jones, who argues that in large part Hamlet’s intensity of conflict with Claudius is rooted in these psychological urges. Jones writes, â€Å"Hamlet's second guilty wish had thus also been realized by his uncle, namely to procure the fulfilment of the first -- the possession of the mother -- by a personal deed, in fact by murder of the father† (Jones). In these regards, Claudius has actually usurped and realized Hamlet’s repressed childhood desire, namely the wish to murder his father and marry his mother. It’s believed that the conflict associated with their relationship is then a direct result of this unconscious psychological urges. While Jones argues that a great degree of Hamlet’s actions are motivated by these unconscious Oedipal desires, there remains a number of questions related to t his psychoanalytic examination. One of the predominant questions one wonders is that if Hamlet is so consumed by his desire to marry Gertrude, and Claudius has usurped his ability to accomplish this repressed desire, than why does Hamlet not simply murder Claudius. It’s clear that Hamlet is willing to go to these extremes, yet throughout the play he refrains from this action. In these regards, Jones argues that Freud believes Hamlet’s unwillingness to murder Claudius is related to an unconscious unwillingness. For Jones, if Hamlet were to kill Claudius it would be killing off this unconscious childhood fantasy, and in doing so, it would be in a sense removing an aspect of himself and internal constitution. Freud himself considered this issue and wrote, Hamlet is able to do anything -- except take vengeance on the man who did away with his father and took that father's place with his mother, the man who shows him the repressed wishes of his own childhood realized. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish. Here I have translated into conscious terms what was bound to remain unconscious in Hamlet's mind.... In addition to demonstrating an overriding interpretation for Hamlet’s unwillingness to murder Claudius, this passage from Freud also contributes to interpreting Hamlet’s overall motivations throughout the pla

Cross-Cultural Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cross-Cultural Psychology - Essay Example With respect to evolutionary behaviour, this form of giving up one’s life has slowly evolved over the ages in India. In the ancient times, the phenomenon was prevalent among kings and queens as the queens would usually give up their lives when their husbands died in wars, rather than remain widows for the rest of their lives. Since then, the practice has evolved a great extent and has taken shape in an adverse manner, causing degradation to the entire Indian society. If one thinks of the custom as something that would have evolved over the ages and helped the situation get better, Sati is not the best explanation for growth and development within society at all. It is in fact something that has been hindering the same, and has not let women gain absolute freedom. Sociological factors have also helped to lead to this very custom of Sati. It is a custom that has evolved from the very thoughts of people living in olden day India; the country witnessed ideals arising from a very p atriarchal form of society where the men folk had the power to decide what was to happen and how it was to be carried out.

Manitoba unemployment rate forecast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Manitoba unemployment rate forecast - Essay Example By the year 2010, the province’s economy experienced a 2.4% growth per year. Manitoba’s economy remained unchanged amid the slowdown in the country’s economy. The province also registered a 2.4% increase in labor income. In addition, the economy has experienced an increase in employment levels due to increased demand for skilled laborers. Consequently, the unemployment levels have gradually reduced over the years. However, there are minimal changes in the unemployment rate in the province since 2010. The province has registered various changes in the overall labor force (Marcil, n.p.). Employment in an economy represents a number of eligible individuals who are willing to work and can be engaged in full time or part-time labor at prevailing wage rates. This is because the economy needs human capital where individuals play a part in the manufacture of goods and services for the economy. At this level, the economy experiences full employment where all available labor resources are utilized in an economically efficient way. On the other hand, unemployment is the number of individuals in an economy who are ready and capable to work, but cannot find a job. Therefore, the jobless individuals who are unwilling to work in an economy are not classified in the unemployment category. Unemployment is a key measure of economic health of a region or country. There are three types of unemployment namely frictional, structural, and cyclical unemployment (Kennedy 37). The frictional unemployment is a short-run unemployment resulting from the process of searching for a new employme nt by individuals. Structural unemployment represents a persistent lack of jobs whenever the incomes in employment markets do not match up the supply and demand. Finally, cyclic unemployment refers to the short-term unemployment related to the vicissitudes of the market. The unemployment rate determines the levels of unemployment in an economy (Kennedy 37).