Question

Antonio has a number of employees who report to him. he has been considering how to motivate these employees to higher levels of performance and productivity. antonio believes that most people are motivated by the satisfaction they receive from doing their jobs. he thinks that workers have a personal need to do well on the job. another manager, dexter, argues that while antonio may be right, it is important to offer financial incentives. dexter believes that workers don't really want to come to work and that managers therefore have to provide a "carrot" to ensure quality and productivity. part of his evidence is that employees keep complaining about pay, working conditions, and benefits even though the company pays well above average for the industry and the area. several days after this conversation, both dexter and antonio attend a workshop on employee motivation that explains herzberg's motivation-maintenance theory. refer to case 7.1. antonio's approach to motivation will probably lead him to emphasize which level of maslow's hierarchy of needs?​

Answer 1

The Maslow hierarchy of needs is an interesting scheme to classify our needs. The most necessary one are at the bottom of the pyramid; Physiological needs like food and water are the most essential ones. Then follows safety, the feeling of love or belonging and having self-esteem, namely thinking that you are worthy. In the end, the highest level of needs is the need for self-actualization, the need to fulfill our potential and to achieve the goals we set out to achieve. While dexter would focus on the bottom of the table, antonio would give more emphasis on the need for self-actualization since according to his opinion this is an important factor enhancing worker priductivity.