Analyzing Maslow's Hierarchy Theory and Team Building Theory in Organizational Behavior

This essay analyzes the importance of Maslow's Hierarchy Theory and Team Building Theory in managing organizational behavior. It examines the benefits and drawbacks of these theories and explores their connection in improving employee engagement and performance.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
The essay throws light on analyzing the two organizational theories which play a
significant role in managing the different activities in the organizations appropriately. The two
theories which have been chosen in the respective essay include the motivation theories and
teamwork theory. Motivation Theories are defined as the process of stimulating the process
which will be stimulating the different individuals to action which will be beneficial in analyzing
the desired goals. The respective motivation theories which have been selected for the essay is
Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory which helps in determining the different needs which are required
to be fulfilled and gain a competitive advantage in the theory.
Motivation helps in satisfying the needs of the different individuals which will be helpful
in reducing the turnover among employees and improves the level of efficiency among the
different employees. On the other hand, Team Building Theory based on team-building will be
providing realistic experiences which will be empowering the different individuals to contribute
to the achievement of the common goals. The main aim and purpose of the essay are to analyze
the importance of the different motivation and team building theories which will be appropriate
for enhancing the different objectives and meet the targets appropriately. With the help of the
different real-life examples, the connection between the two theories is required to be identified
which will be appropriate for managing the overall morale of the team members in an effective
manner.
Analysis and Examination of Maslow’s Hierarchy Motivation Theory
The Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory is defined as the hierarchy of needs wherein the people
have five major needs such as physiological needs, security needs, social needs, self-esteem

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needs along with self-actualization needs. As commented by Bouzenita and Boulanouar (2016),
the different people would not move on down in the list by the next step until the previous needs
are being met and satisfied. In addition, the psychological needs such as the working conditions
are required to be met as it will be helpful in managing the different requirements such as the
inclusion of restroom along with breaks that play a major role in providing them with a
comfortable working environment. The job security along with employee engagement plays a
major role in improving the teamwork and spirit and gain a competitive advantage in the market
(Bishop, 2016).
On the contrary, Cook and Artino Jr (2016), have opined that there are different
disadvantages of the respective theory such as cultural differences as the theory can be different
in various nations, and the satisfaction among the different employees depends on the various
factors which are different. Therefore, in such a scenario, Maslow's Hierarchy Theory is difficult
to measure satisfaction as the needs are subjective. As the respective theory is too culture-bound
which lacks validity in the different cultures, and the expectations in the Western-educated
workforce can affect the efficiency of the respective theory negatively.
For instance- Google Company is termed as one of the top-rated employers as the
culture of the company is highly attractive which helps in managing and retaining the different
employees appropriately (CNBC.com, 2019). Google optimizes the talent among employees
through designing and motivating the strong teams which is one of the successful approaches to
become competitive. In Google, Sundar Pichai tried to meet the different basic needs of
employees and generate job satisfaction among the employees which helps them in performing
effectively and gain competitiveness in the market in an accurate manner as well. In addition,

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Google offers flexible shifts to the different employees along with work culture which is true to
its philosophy.
From the overall analysis of the different pros and cons of the Maslow’s Hierarchy
Theory, it can be identified that it is one of the essential aspects which can be used by the
different companies in order to improve the employee engagement along with improving the job
satisfaction among the employees in an effective manner. Moreover, as opined by Einstein,
Addams and Roosevelt (2016), the motivation theory plays a major role in managing the
different demands of employees and making them motivated to perform the different tasks
appropriately. However, there can be changes that can be made in theory by managing the
different cultural approaches and it can be the same in all organizational culture. Through
motivation, it will be leading to job satisfaction, and it engages the different team members in
performing different tasks.
Analysis and Examination of Team Building Theory
As commented by Harrigan and Commons (2015), the Tuckman's stages of group
development help in providing the different employees with the real experiences which will be
beneficial in empowering the different employees to contribute towards achieving the goals and
gain competitive advantage (Betts & Healy, 2015). As per the respective theory of the team
development, it can be identified that Tuckman mainly focuses on the different processes in
which the different teams tackle different tasks from initial formation along with the overall
completion of the tasks.
Firstly, the forming is the aspect wherein it includes the high dependence of the leaders for the
guidance and providing direction with the different employees. The leaders must be able to

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motivate the different members of the team who will be beneficial in achieving the different
goals appropriately (Jonas, 2016). Moreover, clarity in purpose is required to be increased which
will be appropriate for making the team members face the different challenges appropriately
without any problems. In addition, the different team leaders need to delegate the different tasks
among the team members which will be efficient in achieving the different goals. In the stage of
performing, the entire team will be working towards the strategic vision through the participation
of the leader as it will be leading to the engagement of the employees appropriately.
However, as opined by Lee and Hanna (2015), there can be different demerits of the
team development aspect wherein the different team members may belong from different cultural
backgrounds and they may not be ready to perform together. In addition, the decision-making
process takes a lot of time for the sake of finding the consensus and hence it can delay can occur
which will be inappropriate for managing the different tasks in an accurate manner in the team
building process. Moreover, Neubauer and Martskvishvili (2018), have commented that in the
team building process, the leaders who are involved can create unequal involvement of all the
employees and there can be the clash of ideas which will be affecting the entire process of
decision-making.
For instance- In Google, there is a high level of time building which is being conducted
by Sundar Pichai which affects the morale of the employees appropriately. The different tasks
are being delegated among the different employees who are specialized in different departments,
and it is easier for them to complete the tasks within the stipulated time frame. The different
researchers have been able to find that there is the encouragement of the equal time talk along
with exhibiting the empathy which is the two critical aspects that should be considered while
creating a safe workplace (New York Times.com, 2019). There is always proper following of

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team culture which has mutual respect for one another along with interpersonal trust which leads
to the successful team building, and they can safely contribute towards the conversion.
From the overall analysis of the team building a culture at Google, it can be identified that the
team building is highly dependent on motivation. As commented by Betts and Healy (2015),
motivation plays a vital role in managing the different kinds of demands of employees along
with engaging the different employees which will be helpful in gaining competitive advantage in
the market. The proper allow of the equal talk time is essential wherein the different team
members are allowed to speak up on the topic on which they have expertise along with gaining
more flexibility in managing the different activities appropriately.
The connection between Two Theories
From the overall analysis of the two organizational behaviour theories, it can be
identified that there is a positive correlation between Maslow's Hierarchy Theory of Motivation
with the Team Building theory. The motivation among the different employees is one of the
critical aspects at the workplace which will be leading to the overall positive performance of the
organization, and it will be one the regular routine in the companies (Quested et al., 2017). The
motivation among employees is critical and important for every company due to the different
benefits which will bring to the organization. When the different needs of the employees are
being met, it will be beneficial in increasing the commitment among the employees as to when
the employees are motivated at work; this will help them in performing more effectively which
are being assigned to them.
In addition, with proper motivation, there will be proper and appropriate team
development among employees who will be appropriate for making the different decisions, and it

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will be beneficial for the overall success of the company. As commented by Raes et al. (2015),
the motivation can be helpful in facilitating the worker in reaching the personal goals which will
be facilitating the self-development of the individual. From Maslow's Hierarchy Theory, it can
be seen that the level of efficiency of the employees will be improved which will be generating
the best results.
In the development of the team, it can be identified that motivation is the main and
crucial element which is required to be improved and there will be a generation of positive
communication at the workplace as well. The development of the team can be improved through
generating job satisfaction among the employees that can value the individual contributions of
the various individuals in the organizations (Shih et al., 2019). With the implementation of
Maslow's Hierarchy Theory, the basic needs of the employees are required to be met by the
higher officials as they are the major assets of the companies. When the basic needs such as the
job satisfaction and the other aspects such as flexible shifting, it will be enhancing the
performance of the different employees that will motivate them in performing the tasks as per
their requirements.
From the above, it can be identified that job satisfaction is the crucial element that can be
generated when the employees feel that they are being valued and their contributions play a
major role in the organizations. Through managing the different needs of the employees, it will
be beneficial in increasing the overall willingness of the employees to perform (Venter, 2017).
The team leaders need to understand the different concerns of the employees and provide them
with equal opportunity as it can create a huge impact on the morale of employees and their
performance as well. Moreover, the different leaders can motivate along with inspiring the
individuals appropriately such as the leaders need to show confidence in each person along with

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helping in building pride in the contributions which are made by the employees (Soetanto &
MacDonald, 2017).
Lastly, from the entire analysis between the connection between motivation and the team
building activities, it can be identified that there should be recognition of the ability of the
employees along with making them feel the part of something in the team which will increase
their morale and improve the performance of the task appropriately.
Conclusion and Discussion
Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a positive correlation between Maslow's
Hierarchy Theory and the Team Building aspects in the organizations. With Maslow's Hierarchy
Theory, the basic needs are required to be met with the different employees as it improves the
morale of the employees. Furthermore, the motivation is considered to be the crucial element
which will be benefitting and satisfying the different needs of employees along with delegating
the tasks as it plays a vital role in providing all employees with equal opportunities.
Maslow's Hierarchy Theory will be reducing the problems, and there will be an increase
in engagement among the different employees and gain a competitive advantage in the market as
well. Lastly, it has been identified that motivated employees can be able to increase the
productivity of the overall firm along with allowing the organizations to achieve greater heights
in the future as well. Motivated employees can lower the level of absenteeism, and the
employees will be feeling that their opinions are being valued.

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