Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of needs.

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Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of needs.

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who developed a hierarchy of needs to help explain how people are motivated. According to Maslow, people seek to have their physical needs such as warmth, food and shelter satisfied first. Once these have been satisfied then people want their security needs satisfied e.g. a home, a family, safety. The next level includes the social needs of the worker such as love, being part of a group, a sense of belonging and then the ego needs of doing work, being congratulated, being successful, and at the top, self fulfilment needs i.e. a sense of achievement, responsibility and personal growth.

Once a need has been satisfied, it no longer motivates and people look towards the next higher need. If a need is not satisfied then it can lead to frustration and aggression. Hierarchy of needs below:

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Self fulfilment

Esteem needs

Social needs

Security needs

Physical needs

Maslow’s theory was and still is attractive to managers. It offers a more individualistic approach to motivating employees; by recognising what motivates one person may not motivate another.

Many firms have implemented Maslow’s motivation theory into their business. In addition to stimulating work, ability to publish scientific work, opportunities to travel, a world-class reputation, public service, public safety and promotional opportunities. The following are some other reasons students enjoy working for the USGS:

Careers in water resources.

“If a student ...

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