Question 5 (d)
Maslow's need hierarchy and Herzberg's two-factor theory distinguished (short note)
7.5 marks
- Time to write
- About 15 minutes
From an older CBCS paper
Question
Question 5 (d) · 7.5 marksWrite short notes on any two from the following:
- Differentiate between the Need Hierarchy theory of Maslow and the two factor theory of Herzberg.
Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.
Before you write
Read off the question and its marks
Read from the question
- any twoThe paper asks for any 2, and this is one of them. Only 2 are marked: a third earns nothing.
- Differentiate betweenSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.
- short notesA note opens with the meaning, then two or three key points. No long introduction.
Write it in this order
- Read; underline the asks; jot your points 1 min
- 1 Maslow's need hierarchy theory in brief 1½ marks 2 min
- 2 Herzberg's two-factor theory in brief 1½ marks 2 min
- 3 Points of difference, with example 4 marks 7 min
- 4 Common ground ½ mark 2 min
- Check: every ask answered, key terms underlined 1 min
Short on time? Trim steps 1–3 evenly rather than skip one: each is capped at its own marks. End with step 4 in a line or two.
Try it first. About 15 minutes for 7.5 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.
Solution
Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.
Maslow's need hierarchy theory
Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, set out his theory in a classic paper of 1943. It is built on human needs, which he arranged in a hierarchy of five levels: basic physiological needs, safety or security needs, affiliation or belonging needs, esteem needs and, at the top, self-actualisation. The theory assumes that behaviour is driven by needs, that a need once satisfied no longer motivates, so that only the next higher need can, and that a person moves up the ladder only after the lower need has been met. In a firm, a basic salary meets physiological needs and job security and pension plans meet safety needs.
1AC, clean desk, water cooler—Mohan has nothing to complain about, and still no spark.
Hygiene factorsWhen they are adequate, employees are merely not dissatisfied.
2Hand him a real project and the same desk comes alive; colleagues gather and clap.
MotivatorsThese relate to the content of the job itself; their presence produces satisfaction and motivation.
Herzberg, extending Maslow's work, studied about two hundred accountants and engineers near Pittsburgh in the 1950s, asking them when they had felt exceptionally good or bad about their jobs; good feelings were linked to the job itself and bad feelings to its surroundings. He concluded that there are two separate sets of factors. Motivators, or satisfiers, such as the work itself, achievement, responsibility, recognition and advancement, relate to job content. Hygiene or maintenance factors, or dissatisfiers, such as working conditions, pay, company policy, job security and supervision, relate to job context.
| Basis | Maslow | Herzberg |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | The needs of the person as a psychological being | The conditions of the job that satisfy those needs |
| Structure | Five needs in a single ordered hierarchy | Two distinct sets of factors, motivators and hygiene factors |
| Satisfaction and dissatisfaction | A satisfied need stops motivating and the next one takes over | Not opposite ends of one scale; some factors mainly dissatisfy, others mainly motivate |
| Lower-order needs | Must be met before higher needs can motivate | For many workers in modern society already met, so they only maintain the present level |
| Pay | Basic salary meets the most basic need | Pay is a hygiene factor of job context |
| Origin | A theory of human needs set out in 1943 | A field study of accountants and engineers using critical incidents |
The table rests on the sources for each row: the focus and the lower-order needs; Maslow's structure, assumptions and pay; Herzberg's two factors, his rejection of the single scale and pay as a hygiene factor; and the origin of each theory.
For a software engineer in Hyderabad, Maslow would ask which level of need is now uppermost, perhaps esteem; Herzberg would say that a pay rise may stop her being dissatisfied but that challenging work and recognition are what will motivate her.
The two models are inter-related and broadly similar, since Herzberg built on Maslow, yet they differ in where they look for motivation. Maslow's theory reminds managers to identify an employee's level of need before trying to motivate; Herzberg's adds that management's role is to provide a proper environment for performance, helping rather than bossing.
Where the 7.5 marks sit
| # | Component | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maslow's need hierarchy theory in brief | 1.5 |
| 2 | Herzberg's two-factor theory in brief | 1.5 |
| 3 | Points of difference, with example | 4 |
| 4 | Common ground | 0.5 |
| Total | 7.5 |
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