Impact of Maslow's Hierarchy on Organizational Culture

This document provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory on organizational culture, human resource practices, and employee performance. It discusses various motivation theories, including Maslow's, Herzberg's, McGregor's, and others, and their implications for HR practices. The assignment also examines the relationship between job satisfaction, motivation, and withdrawal behaviors, as well as the role of psychological contract fulfillment in organizational change. It provides a literature review of relevant studies and concludes with a summary of the findings.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Table of Contents
1. Understanding Organizational Behavior..............................................................2
a. Effect of the changes........................................................................................2
b. People management using organizational behavior.........................................3
2. Opinions, attitudes and values..............................................................................4
a. Overview of the opinions, attitudes and the values along with examples........4
b. Analysis of the values displayed by Bron with respect to the actions taken
against the proposed sale of Bronzz.......................................................................................5
3. Motivation in the workplace................................................................................6
a. Description of the overall environment before the proposed sale....................6
b. Identification and the explanation of three issues that have developed at the
organization 7
4. Motivational approaches......................................................................................9
a. Identification and explanation of the two specific ways to assist the
improvement of motivation....................................................................................................9
b. Discussion on the relation between the ways and the motivation theory.......10
c. Application of the motivational theory in order to improve the given situation
at Bronzz…………………………………………………………………………………...11
References....................................................................................................................13

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1. Understanding Organizational Behavior
a. Effect of the changes
Organizational behavior is directly affected by the various dependent variables such
as the productivity of the employees, the absenteeism of the employees, the employee
turnover and the job satisfaction of the concerned employees of the concern. The sudden
agreement of the owner of the organization regarding the takeover of the company by a larger
organization has led to an unrest among the employees of the company. The employees of the
company are found to be unstable after the sudden decision of the takeover and thus tend to
have a lower productivity due to the constant state of unrest and instability that has been
prevalent in the company.
The employees of the company might resort to the absenteeism due to the lack of
stability of the company. The reduction in the number of the employees after the takeover
might have created a huge amount of unrest among the employees of the organization. The
current situation of the company demands the application of the collegial model of
organizational behavior. The collegial model of the organizational behavior states that the
employees of the organization must be treated as a team (Kehoe & Wright, 2013). This in
turn is expected to motivate the employees of the concern to work towards the goals that are
set for the concerned company. The employees of the concern should be motivated to engage
themselves in the company and work as a team towards completion of the concerned task at
hand.
The sudden decision of the owner to accept the takeover by the other larger company
has led to the provision of the reduction in the number of the employees as well as the entire
management team. This has led to the conditions wherein the concerned employees might
tend to stop working with the organization due to the current situation in the company. This

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has a great effect on the job satisfaction of the concerned employees (van Scheers & Botha,
2014). The constant threat faced by the employees due to the acceptance of the takeover has
led to the poor performance of the concerned employees. This has even led to the lowering
down of the chances of the imminent takeover by the larger organization. The concerned
company might have to deal with a low employee morale in this case due to the suddenness
of the decision on the part of the owner regarding the matters of the turnover. The company
might also have to face a huge employee turnover rate due to the fact that the takeover would
lead to a reduction in the number of employees in the concerned company.
b. People management using organizational behavior
The people who have been working with the organization since the inception of the
concerned company might have been highly shocked by the sudden decision of the takeover
of Bronzz along with the low amounts of information that are made available to the
concerned employees. The organizational behavioral theory that is best suited for the given
condition is the X and Y theory of motivation that was put forward by McGregor. This theory
states two different theories related to the motivation that can be provided to the concerned
employees. The theory X states that the employees might be motivated by laying more stress
on the strictness of the supervision, the rewards and the penalties that might be awarded to
the concerned employees of the concerned organization externally (Gürbüz, Şahin & Köksal,
2014).
The theory Y however tends to be in contrast with the theory X that has been
mentioned above. The theory Y states that the job satisfaction of an employee might be the
greatest motivation to the concerned employee. The job satisfaction of the employees might
help the concerned employees to get highly motivated and thus help the concerned
organization to perform better with the passing days (Mohamed & Nor, 2013). The job
satisfaction of the employees helps them to attempt and approach the tasks at hand without

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the need for the direct supervision of the concerned senior employees. The two theories that
are put forth by McGregor in the famous X and Y theory of motivation are the two continua
that are different from each other. In order to attain the most efficient employee production,
the concerned management is advised to abide by a combination of both the theories. The
concerned management is advised to apply the theories for the enhancement of the
performance of the employees of the concerned organization in accordance to the
personalities that are depicted by the concerned employees. The employees who are driven by
the attitude to perform at the concerned organization tend to be task-oriented (Ahmad, Idris &
Hashim, 2013). The management must put forth various rewards in order to motivate the
task-oriented workforce. The employees who depict the relationship-oriented personalities
might tend to be motivated by the job satisfaction that the concerned task at hand might
provide them. The concerned management is advised to focus majorly on boosting the morale
of the workforce which might help in the progress of the concerned organization.
2. Opinions, attitudes and values
a. Overview of the opinions, attitudes and the values along with examples
Employee opinions play a huge role in the performance of the concerned
organization. The opinions of the concerned employees of the organization helps the
concerned organization to deal with the issues that might be raised within the organization
(Wiley, 2014). The employee opinions might prove to be helpful for the concerned
management of the organization in order to motivate the employees as this provides the
employee with the feeling of being important in the concerned organization. An example of
the employee opinion might be a situation where in the concerned management of an
organization might conduct a survey among the employees asking for their opinion on a
certain change that heh management has been attempting to implement.

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The employee attitude refers to the psychological state of the mind of an employee
which helps in determining the ways in which the concerned employee might perceive a
given situation. The employee attitude generally tends to determine the behavior of the
concerned employee in a situation (Maynard & Parfyonova, 2013; Arrowsmith & Parker,
2013). An example of good employee attitude might be found in the cases where the
concerned employee maintains a positive outlook towards the completion of the task at hand
within the assigned deadlines.
Employee values might be defined as the capabilities, experiences and skills that are
brought along by the concerned employee while the concerned person joins the serving force
of the concerned organization (Van den Heuvel, Schalk & van Assen, 2015; Chung-Chieh &
Chen, 2013). An example of the employee values might be cited in the cases wherein the
concerned employee shows the necessary characteristics of dependability, loyalty, open-
mindedness and reliability.
b. Analysis of the values displayed by Bron with respect to the actions taken against
the proposed sale of Bronzz
Bron, in the concerned case study, is observed to have agreed for the takeover of
Bronzz, by a larger organization. This step by Bron has resulted in the unrest among the
employees of the concern. The organization that might buy the company, Bronzz has put
forth certain conditions regarding the number of the employees that it is ready to incorporate
within the system. The buyer organization had proposed a reduction of at least 20 employees
from workforce at Bronzz and that there should not be any management team at Bronzz. The
agreement of Bron to these terms had led to the spread of rumors among the employees,
thereby affecting the overall performance of the company.

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The values that were displayed by Bron in this case are those pertaining to the
positivity, optimism and motivation. The owner of Bronzz demonstrates the use of positivism
and optimism when she puts across the fact that the employees who have to be terminated
from serving Bronzz, might be offered positions in various other departments of the company
that has put forth the offer of the takeover. She further motivates the management team
responsible for the various functionalities of the existing staff at Bronzz by hoping that even
they might be offered better positions after the merger. This might help the concerned
managerial staff as well as the other employees who have been serving the company to
remain optimistic and deliver the best quality of the service to the organization. The values
demonstrated by Bron, however, is not observed to be effective enough since the condition of
unrest is observed to have been continuing in the concerned organization.
3. Motivation in the workplace
a. Description of the overall environment before the proposed sale
The overall environment of the company in discussion, Bronzz had been very jovial
and supportive. The employees of the organization were observed to be working as a team
towards the progress of the company. There had been no major issues within the organization
pertaining to the employees and the concerned management. The employees of the
organization were observed to have a huge amount of job satisfaction. The job satisfaction of
the employees tended to motivate the employees to work harder in order to help the concern
to attain the aimed success. The management team of the organization is observed to have
been supportive of the staff who have been working at the various departments of the
company. This helped the company to make a commendable progress in the concerned field.
The employees of the company helped the company to become one of the best employers in
the country by demonstrating the high levels of job satisfaction that had been a part of the
employment at Bronzz. The employees demonstrated a great amount of collaboration among

7ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
themselves thereby installing an environment of harmony in the concerned company. The
management team responsible for the overall improvement and performance of the company
demonstrated a huge amount of understanding for the concerned staff and thus helped the
staff to develop and get promoted based on their performance in the company.
b. Identification and the explanation of three issues that have developed at the
organization
The company has been facing issues regarding the staff and its welfare since there has
been an announcement of the concerned sale of the company to the larger business
organization. The three issues that are observed to have been present in the concerned
company are as enlisted below.
 Employee retention
The employees of the concern have to face a huge amount of retention in case the
takeover by the larger company takes place. This retention of the employees might lead to a
greater unrest among the concerned employees which might in turn affect the performance of
the company. The management of the organization is advised to follow the motivational
theory proposed by Maslow. The motivational model of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs states
that the employees serve the concerned organizations based on the various needs that they
aim to fulfil (Kaur, 2013). The Hierarchy of Needs model by Maslow is recognized by the
pyramidal structure of the model. The basic structure of the model states that the basic needs
of the concerned employee should be met in order to ensure that the employee aims for the
needs that have been dealt with in the higher levels of the pyramid (Pinder, 2014).
 Job insecurity
The employees of the concern, in this case, are observed to have been facing issues
with the insecurity that has been looming over their concerned jobs. In order to

8ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
motivate the employees in this state of the company, the management might resort to
the application of the Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation. This theory states
that there exists separate set of factors that might affect the job satisfaction of the
employees. The Herzberg’s two factor theory of motivation, also known as the
intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation or the Motivation-Hygiene theory, states that the
factors involved in the increment of the job satisfaction of the employees might not
maintain a linear relationship with the factors that tend to enhance the dissatisfaction
among the concerned employees (Malik & Naeem, 2013). The various intrinsic
motivators include the recognition of the concerned employees, their growth potential
and the recognition of the employees. The various extrinsic motivators might include
the job security, the remuneration that is offered to the employees and the fringe
benefits that are dedicated towards the employees. Lack of information
The company in discussion in this case, Bronzz displays the condition of the lack of
the information on the part of the employees of the concern. The employees of the
concern have reported the fact that the announcement of the sale of the company had
been a huge shocking news for them. The managerial employees of the company are
observed to be busy with the activity of securing their own jobs and paying lesser
heed to the various rumors that have been spreading in the concern. The motivational
model that might be appropriate for the current situation is the X and Y theory as
proposed by Douglas McGregor (Lawter, Kopelman & Prottas, 2015). The theory
puts forth two contrasting models of motivation that can be extended towards the
workforce of the company. The X and Y theory model of motivation by McGregor
puts forth two theories, theory X and theory Y.

9ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
The theory X lays more stress on the various authoritarian ways to deal with the
concerned employees of the organization. the theory X lays more stress on the various
methods of strict supervision over the employees and extending the various rewards to
the concerned employees. The theory Y, on the other hand, lays more stress on the
motivational role played by the job satisfaction of the concerned employees (López-
Domínguez et al., 2013).
4. Motivational approaches
a. Identification and explanation of the two specific ways to assist the improvement
of motivation
In the present scenario, the employees of the company in discussion, Bronzz might be
required to be motivated in order to improve the performance of the company. The
management of the organization might have to resort to the various ways in order to motivate
the employees of the concern. Two of the ways that the concerned management might
implement in order to boost the morale of the concerned employees are enlisted below.
 Rewards and incentives
The employees of the concern might be allowed certain rewards and incentives that
they might help them to get motivated in order to perform better than the present
times. The rewards and incentives tend to provide the concerned employees with the
needed motivation for the performance level that the employees must demonstrate in
order to facilitate the progress of the company (Arslan & Staub, 2013). The rewards
that should be awarded to the concerned employees might be distributed on the basis
of the performance that they put forth towards the improvement of the company. The
concerned management might offer the concerned employees with the both financial
rewards as well as the non-financial incentives in order to motivate the concerned

10ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
employees (Osabiya, 2015). The non-financial incentives extended towards the
employees of the concern might include the various promotional opportunities, the
enrichment of the job at hand. The employees of the concern might also be motivated
by the recognition that they might receive from the concerned management of the
business organization. Flexible work shifts
The concerned management might also help to provide the employees of the concern
with the needed motivation in their performance. The flexibility of the shift timings of
the employees in the company might allow the staff to maintain the concerned needs
and the obligations towards their own families as well as their own personal
obligations (Taormina & Gao, 2013). The flexible work shifts at the company might
allow the concerned staff to bring about a huge reduction in the fuel costs and the
other matters pertaining to the commuting time that the concerned employee has to
bear. The flexible work shifts in many cases tend to allow the employees to work
from a location of their choice and at the hours wherein they might feel comfortable
and fresh enough to work (Odumeru & Ogbonna, 2013). The flexible work timings
also help the reduction of the burnout of the employees that might occur due to the
overload of the tasks for the concerned employee.
b. Discussion on the relation between the ways and the motivation theory Flexible work timings
The motivational theory that can be associated with the flexible work shifts of the
company is Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs. This theory states that the
various needs of the concerned human being in order to facilitate the motivation that
is required to regulate their behavior. The concerned management of the organization
should put more stress on the Maslow’s model of hierarchy of needs in order to form

11ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
a better understanding of the needs of the concerned employees (Jerome, 2013). This
in turn helps the employers to assist the needs of the concerned staff members and in
turn result in the high productivity of the members Rewards and incentives
The motivational theory that might be implemented by the company in order to
facilitate the rewards and the incentives towards the deserving employees of the
concern. The concerned management of the organization is advised to put more stress
on the application of the Herzberg two factor theory of motivation in order to allow
the proper rewards and incentives to the employees. The Herzberg theory of
motivation lays more stress on providing the concerned employees with the needed
job security, the appropriate salary and the other fringe benefits to the concerned
employees (Ghazi, Shahzada & Khan, 2013). The theory also lays stress on the
various emotional needs of the employees like the recognition and growth potential of
the concerned employees (Miner, 2015).
c. Application of the motivational theory in order to improve the given situation at
Bronzz
The current scenario at Bronzz needs to be improved so as to regain the previous
levels of performance if the company. The concerned management might resort to the
application of the two-factor theory of motivation that was proposed by Frederick Herzberg.
The concerned management of the company might resort to the factors that are stated by
Herzberg in the concerned theory (Yusoff, Kian & Idris, 2013). The employees of concern in
discussion, Bronzz, must be provided with the job security that they have been deprived of
since the announcement of the sale of the company. The employees must be provided with
the job security in their respective posts in order to help them to concentrate on their
performance thereby helping the improvement of the overall performance of the company.

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The employees of the organization are advised to be provided with the needed recognition in
the company. The management of the company is also advised to have a sound knowledge on
the growth potential of the employees of the concern which might help them to motivate the
concerned employees of the concern.

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