Motivating Staff: A Comparison of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory

This article compares Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory and recommends ways to apply these theories in the organization. It discusses how motivation is an important part of the workplace and how both financial and non-financial incentives can drive the best out of personnel. The article also provides references for further reading.

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Motivating staff
1/28/2019

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Introduction
Motivating is an intangible human resource and a defined concept in the Management and
Leadership practice of workplace. Motivation among personnel in the workplace is an
important employer function, which drives to achieve particular actions. The motivation
theories assist an employer to understand the effective approach to induce employees
(Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl and Maude, 2017). In the following, an effort has been made to
compare the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two-factor theory and recommend
ways to apply these theories in the organization.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Herzberg’s Two- Factor Theory
It is stated that through broad research, Maslow and Herzberg maintained their theories,
which are used in workplaces all around the world. The Maslow hierarchy of needs was
initiated by Abraham Maslow in 1943 and on the other hand, the two-factor theory was
initiated by Fredrick Herzberg in 1959. The Maslow theory is depending upon the thought of
satisfying the human needs and wants, while Herzberg theory is depending upon the
utilization of motivators involves recognition, intrinsic job, promotion, opportunity, and
achievement for success. The basis behind the Maslow theory is depending upon the fact that
employer needs to recognize strategies that they will monitor to make their personnel become
self-actualized and self-dependent as they are expected to work at their best creative
capabilities. On the other hand, in Herzberg theory, wants can be achieved with the help of
two factors without a particular hierarchy (De Vito et al., 2018).

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(Najjar and Fares, 2017)
The Maslow theory is depending upon the fact on the pyramid of human needs, which is
categorized as five needs i.e. Psychological needs, social security need, social affiliation
needs, esteem need, and self-actualization need. On the other side, Hertzberg theory
determines as categorization on two factors i.e. Hygiene or maintenance factors that are
dissatisfiers and Motivation factors motivate their personnel. The Maslow theory recognizes
the need of every employee and assists them in order to satisfy those needs, which should
maintain the organizational culture in an effective manner. The Hertzberg theory
distinguishes the factors among internal motivators and external motivators in the
organization as an employer is making effort to improve job satisfaction and productivity of
an employee. Moreover, both the theories determine the difference of needs between human
beings, which indicates different things induce different people (Osemeke and Adegboyega,
2017).
Recommend the ways to apply the theories in the organization
With Maslow theory, personnel should pay concentration on driving the hierarchy of needs to
carry a reasonable degree of satisfaction. Herzberg’s Two- Factor Theory contributed to
developing opportunities for personal growth and recognition among the employees. These
two theories are self-driven in order to accomplish success and growth. Performance and
productivity at work are associated with the personnel pay, as they have might have no
control over that, which is external. However, organizations should have committed to
continue to retain its employees and continuously working on strategies that can assist in
motivating its workforce (Fallatah and Syed, 2018).
Conclusion
Motivation is a significant part for employees in the workplace as it not only depends upon
financial incentives but also non-financial incentives, which assist in drive the best out of
personnel. The Hertzberg theory of hygiene and motivation factors and Maslow theory
develop a substantial contribution and have extensive applicability in today’s world.
Therefore, it is a significant component of management by integrating into the environment.
In terms of the concepts and application, these both the theories are distinct from each other
and should be adopted by every organization.

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References
Alshmemri, M., Shahwan-Akl, L. and Maude, P. (2017) Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Life
Science Journal, 14(5), pp.12-16.
De Vito, L., Brown, A., Bannister, B., Cianci, M. and Mujtaba, B.G. (2018) Employee
motivation based on the hierarchy of needs, expectancy and the two-factor theories applied
with higher education employees. IJAMEE, 55(8), pp.233-256.
Fallatah, R.H.M. and Syed, J. (2018) A Critical Review of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
In Employee Motivation in Saudi Arabia, 44(6), pp. 19-59.
Najjar, D. and Fares, P. (2017) Managerial Motivational Practices and Motivational
Differences between Blue-and White-Collar Employees: Application of Maslow's
Theory. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, 8(2), p.81.
Osemeke, M. and Adegboyega, S. (2017) Critical Review and Comparism between Maslow,
Herzberg, and McClelland‟ s Theory of Needs. Funai Journal of Accounting, Business and
Finance, 1(1), pp.161-173.