I really enjoyed our discussion on Monday regarding what motivates us. I feel as if I have examined Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs in almost every class since high school. I think this speaks to the importance placed on this model and the relevance it has, even though it is a relatively old model. Even though the validity of this model is debated among scholars I still think it gives some good insight as to why we do the things we do. Apart from some obvious discrepancies, such as the example discussed in class of sacrificing food for your family, I think that the hierarchy of needs is pretty accurate. Even though I think that this model is a pretty good representation of reality, I do not think that it is perfect. I think that it is very possible to fulfill a need while still being deficient in a lower need. A good example of this is that someone may be totally fulfilling their esteem needs while still being deprived in the loving and belonging need. Say someone is very successful, they have a good job, like what they do and feel great about their work. On the other hand, this person struggles with maintaining relationships with people and outside of work they do not have any close family or friends. This shows that someone may be able to move up in the hierarchy while not fulfilling a lower echelon. Apart from the discussion of the hierarchy of needs I found the motivator-hygiene theory of job satisfaction pretty interesting. I was surprised that much of what makes up the hygiene factors do not play into us being satisfied. I would think that something such as salary would be the biggest motivating factor. I liked watching the video on Google and seeing all of the things they take into consideration to give their employees either satisfaction or no dissatisfaction. I think that this could be a highly effective way to not only attract high caliber employees but also improve the quality of work received from the employees and how the employees feel about their work.
I agree with you on the flaws of Maslow's hierarchy. Another issue that I found is that it seems to work on a cooker-cutter mentality of what people want, rather than strictly what they need. You used the example of an individual who excels at work, but who struggles with maintaining relationships. I know a number of people who put a significant emphasis on relationships, but plenty who are far less social by nature. If an individual does not desire strong or close relationships but can fulfill the categories of needs that seem more applicable to that person, then I think that person could still reach the level of self-actualization or at least a comparable happiness. Overall, Maslow seems to discount that different people want and need different things in tailored proportions.
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