Maslow's Theory and Criticisms: Examples from Hofstede's Work to Motivation Theories

Organization behavior

Organization behaviour
Discuss Maslow's theory and detail the criticisms that have been levelled against it.
Summarise with examples from Hofstede's work through to the theories of motivation.
Maslow hierarchy of needs theory is considered as one of the popular motivational theory
given by Abraham Maslow. In this theory, the emphasis is given on fulfilling the basic needs
of the employees. In relation to this theory, there are five tier model concerned with human
needs (Ye, Ng & Lian, 2015). The five stages linked with this theory are Physiological
needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs and self-actualization need.
The physiological needs emphasizes on basic needs such as salary and working environment.
Safety needs emphasizes on the aspects such as security and stability. The next is love and
belongingness needs that are concerned with trust and friendship. Esteem need is the next
factor that emphasizes on dignity and status. The last is self-actualization needs which is
linked with the personal growth. Hence, it can be said that the main motive of this theory is to
enhance the motivation level of workers towards the allocated work (Osemeke &
Adegboyega, 2017).
There are also various criticisms that are linked with Maslow hierarchy of needs theory. One
of the criticisms relates with the fact that there is no supporting scientific evidence that prove
the Maslow theory. The other criticism stated that Maslow created this theory from the
individual perspective and only emphasized on improving the self. These are the major
criticisms that are linked with Maslow hierarchy of needs theory (Rathi & Lee, 2017).
Geert Hofstede has also criticised the Maslow hierarchy of needs for being biased on the
cultural grounds. He has said that placing the self-actualization needs above the social needs
showcase a western, individualistic value system which does not apply to the other cultures.
Hofstede’s work has criticised this theory for example, he argued that individualistic society
emphasizes on the individuals in spite of the entire group which supports the principle of self-
actualization and self-esteem given by Maslow (Salisu, Chinyio & Suresh, 2016). However,
collective society emphasizes on the community and acceptance which is against the
principle of self-actualization. Self-actualization is analysed as one of the basic desire of the
people but this can be possible in cultures that are highly individualistic and also it can be
said that this does not apply on the collectivist cultures (Bhatti, Aslam, Hassan & Sulaiman,
2016). For example: In China, the need for self-actualization is proposed by Maslow which
does not exist at all.
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