Question 1

Abraham Maslow is revered as a great psychologist who lived from 1908 to 1970. He is renowned for the Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. He came up with 5 levels of human needs. On the lowest quadrant of the pyramid lay the physiological needs which entailed food, sexual activity and breathing. Maslow considered these needs to be very basic and an essential for every human being. The next level of needs was the safety needs which encompass both financial and personal security as well as health and the well being of an individual. As the pyramid advances, there are other greater needs that human beings desire such as love and affection, esteem and self actualization. These needs are satisfied in order of their hierarchy such that one would not satisfy a high need without first satisfying a lower need within the Maslow hierarchy need.

Maslow hierarchy of needs is indeed imperative in that it illuminates the most important and the least important needs of human beings. Through this theory, we are able to identify the most basic human needs. In addition, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs enables us to gain a succinct understanding of the theory of motivation. Most times, managers would first of all seek to meet the basic needs of their employees so that they can be able to motivate their employees to higher levels.

Critics on the other hand suggest that human needs cannot be classified into hierarchies as Maslow did. A onetime philosopher argues that people are diverse and have different needs that they consider as basic. The hierarchy can therefore not be considered to be universal. What one considers to be a fundamental need may not be fundamental to another. Maslow was criticized for testing a small sample of about 100 students to come up with the hierarchy of human needs. The limited testing cannot therefore be construed to be sufficient.

Question 2