On Tue, 24 Jun 1997, Mike Jay wrote:
> I just wanted to add some of my thoughts on Maslow's Hierarchy. I am by
> no means any kind of expert but I wanted to offer this:
>
> I believe Maslow was trying to communicate to us...a hierarchy of needs
> exists. ...snip....
>
> Obviously, motivation theories attempt to explain a very complex issue
> that is constantly emerging, yet if one contemplates Maslow's work, it is
> obvious that he is correct in drawing our attention to this complex web of
> iteration surrounding a needs hierarchy. If we use it like a carrot and
> stick mentality, it obviously "works at times" which causes us to
> generalize it across all action--what gets rewarded get done, (Michael
> Leboeuf)--yet if we can envision a prism of motivation we can see clearly
> that understanding that there is a hierarchy of needs and that it makes
> sense to understand a whole body can be in multidimensional planes at one
> time, I think we can utilize the theory to begin to understand the natural
> laws surrounding the emergence and sustainability of complex adaptive
> systems.
Adding my own thoughts to Jay's helpful interpretation
The two most useful ideas I take from Maslow are that:
1) people are not motivated by higher level needs (perhaps within a given
context, as Jay suggests) when lower level needs are unsatisfied. E.g. an
employee will not work from self-actualization motives when security needs
are threatened by arbitrary and capricious management decision-making
habits with respect to terminations and promotions.
2) Satisfied needs do not motivate. Eg. offering more money to someone
who has all the material things they want, or offering the opportunity to
work as a team to someone who is happy with existing work relationships,
will not stimulate an increase in productivity or creativity or whatever
is desired.
I am intrigued by the question of how motivation under capitalism works in
relation to Maslow's hierarchy. One interpretation may be that for many
people, captitalism creates a constant state of financial insecurity in
which safety needs are never quite satisfied, giving rise to the
predominance of the "Type A" personality in U.S. culture. Type A's, while
seeming achievement-oriented, are considered to be primarily fear-driven.
Another interpretation may be that, for many people, the
consumption-oriented culture of capitalism (i.e. Wilson-Schaef's
"addictive society" creates a situation in which social, (status) ego, and
self-actualization needs are inextricably bound up with the accumulation
of wealth. If wealth has become the ultimate criteria of
self-actualization, the unlimited desire for capital accumulation is
better explained.
--Lee Holmer <llh@seattleu.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>