Q.2. Explain Abraham Maslow’s motivation theory. (AKTU. 2009 - 10)
Ans. Perhaps the most famous theory of motivation was developed by Abraham Maslow (1954, 1970). Maslow believed that employees would be motivated by and satisfied with their jobs at any given point in time if certain needs were met. As Table shows, Maslow believed that there are five major types of needs and that these needs are hierarchical—that is, lower-level needs must be satisfied before an individual will be concerned with the next level of needs. It is helpful to look at a hierarchy as if it were a staircase that is climbed one step at a time until the top is reached. The same is true of Maslow’s hierarchy. Each level is taken one step at a time, and a higher-level need cannot be reached until a lower-level need is satisfied. Maslow’s five major needs are discussed next.
Basic Biological Needs: -
Maslow thought that an individual first seeks to satisfy basic biological needs for food, air, water, and shelter. In our case, an individual who does not have a job, is homeless, and is on the verge of starvation will be satisfied with any job as long as it provides for these basic needs. When asked how well they enjoy their job, people at this level might reply, “I can’t complain, it pays the bills.”
Safety Needs: -
After basic biological needs have been met, a job that merely provides food and shelter will no longer be satisfying. Employees then become concerned about meeting their safety needs. That is, they may work in an unsafe coal mine to earn enough money to ensure their family’s survival, but once their family has food and shelter, they will remain satisfied with their jobs only if the workplace is safe.
Safety needs have been expanded to include psychological as well as physical safety. Psychological safety—often referred to as job security—can certainly affect job motivation. For example, public-sector employees often list job security as a main benefit to their jobs—a benefit so strong that they will stay in lower-paying public-sector jobs rather than take higher-paying, yet less secure, jobs in the private sector.
The importance of safety needs was demonstrated in a 2004 survey asking employees about the work factors that were most important to them. The most important factor for all age groups was benefits (a safety/security factor), whereas feeling safe in the workplace was the second most important factor for older employees and the third most important factor for young and middle-age employees. The survey found an interesting gender gap in that feeling safe at work was the most important factor for women but only the fifth most important factor for men.
Social Needs: -
Once the first two need levels have been met, employees will remain motivated by their jobs only when their social needs have been met. Social needs involve working with others, developing friendships, and feeling needed. Organizations attempt to satisfy their employee’s social needs in a variety of ways. Company cafeterias provide workers with a place and an opportunity to socialize and meet other employees, company picnics allow families to meet one another, and company sports programs such as bowling teams and softball games provide opportunities for employees to play together in a neutral environment.
Q. 3. What do you mean by the learn job satisfaction and what are the reasons for job satisfaction research.
Ans. Job satisfaction is the result of various attitudes possessed by an employee. In a narrow sense, these attitudes are related to the job and are concerned with such specific factors as wages, supervision, steadiness of employment, conditions of work, advancement opportunities, recognition of ability, fair evaluation of work, social relations on the job, prompt settlement of grievances, fair treatment by employer, and other similar items,
In short, job satisfaction is a general attitude which is the result of many specific attitudes in three areas, namely, specific job factors, individual characteristics, and group relationship outside the job.
Reason For Job Satisfaction Research: -
For an industrial organization the consequences are extremely important. By discovering attitudes on factors related to the job, a firm can correct certain bad situations and thereby improve the job satisfaction of its staff. From this point of view it would be justified in being concerned only with this area and neglecting the individual “ego” and its employees’ adjustment to groups outside the plant. However, and industrial organization can benefit materially if it knows what individual attitudes contribute to job satisfaction. For one thing, applying this knowledge will result in better selection procedures. This is a broad implication as far as job satisfaction is concerned, and even though most industrial and business organizations feel that it is not their problem, it nevertheless exists. It is also directly related to vocational guidance, schools and colleges, public and private employment agencies, etc. Society as a whole must face it realistically.
