Advantages and Disadvantages of Maslow Theory of Motivation

Maslow theory of motivation as the name suggest is a theory of motivation according to which the majority of people will have set pattern of needs which can be segregated into five parts and the individual will first fulfil the basic or bottom of pyramid needs which is physiological needs like food, shelter clothing, after which he or she will move to next level of pyramid and fulfil safety needs which include things like job security, financial security. After satisfying physiological and safety needs individual will move to satisfy social needs which include things like love and affection from friends and family, once social needs are fulfilled individual will move towards 4th level of pyramid and satisfy  esteem needs like recognition  and gradually he or she will reach the top of pyramid and satisfy the self-actualization needs.

Advantages of Maslow Theory of Motivation

Simple to Understand

The biggest advantage of Maslow theory of motivation is that it is very simple to understand and even layman can understand and relate to this theory because we all go through one or other stage of needs pyramid during our lifetime. Hence as far labor is concerned his or her need will always be limited to lower level of need pyramid that is food, shelter and clothing but as far as a billionaire businessman is concerned his or her top priority will be top level of pyramid and that is self-esteem or sense of achieving all things and he or she will never think about food, shelter, clothing as these needs have been fulfilled long back.

It takes into account Human Nature

Another advantage of this theory is that it gives consideration to basic human nature that is demanding more as lower level needs are satisfied. It can be better understood with the help of an example suppose a small kid is hungry and he or she has given two options one is food and other is toys than he or she will not select toys rather he or she will eat food first and then demand the toys. Hence one can say that this nature of greed is inborn in human and Maslow’s Theory of Motivation addresses that beautifully.

Relevant in All Fields

It is relevant in almost all fields of life because whether you are home or at office you start with basic need only so at home you first priority is doing necessary arrangements so that you get food daily, then next come security of your home and once security and food aspect is taken care of you move to social affection by calling your relatives and friends at you home and then come the self-esteem when you decorate your house with expensive furniture and showpieces to show off the society.

Disadvantages of Maslow Theory of Motivation

Not all Individuals Think in the Same way

The biggest disadvantage of this theory is that not all individuals think in the same way hence for some individuals social affection and respect is more important than safety needs and that is the reason why one sees many people do grand ceremony of their children’s birthdays or marriages or purchasing expensive cars in order to show off to society before buying insurance plan for family or purchasing a house for the family as they get more satisfaction from showing off to society than fulfilling safety needs of the family.

Culture Differences

Another limitation of this theory is that there are bound to be cultural differences when this theory is applied to different nations as each nation or country has different culture so for example in countries like USA kids after certain age leave their home and parents do not have to worry about their kids future and kids also do not have to worry about their parents whereas in countries like India where joint family culture is prevalent kids and parents both have to think about each other when they are fulfilling their needs.

Difficult to Measure

It is very difficult to measure the satisfaction which one gets after satisfying each level of need as it is subjective in nature because it deals with human mind which cannot be predicted by any machine or method. Hence some people will get satisfied even after fulfilling physiological and safety needs while some people will not be satisfied by fulfilling all level of needs.

As one can see from the above that Maslow Theory of Motivation has advantages as well as disadvantages but still it is one of the most used and important theory when it comes to measurement of needs hierarchy of human beings.