Advantages, Disadvantages and Limitations Of Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ Theory.
‘ Hierarchy of Needs ’ theory is a valuable approach of thinking about human motivations and incentives, identifying similarities and qualitative differences among them.
Maslow in his ” Hierarchy of Needs ” (1943) theory claimed that people will not be motivated by their higher-order needs, such as the need for self-actualization, up until the lower-order needs, such as need for food, shelter, and safety have been met.
Here are the key advantages, disadvantages and the limitations of well-known Maslow’s ” Hierarchy of Needs ” Theory.
Advantages of Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ Theory
- Maslow’s theory has a natural appeal, in which it can be adopted and implemented in an uncomplicated manner.
- Unique advantage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is its perceptive insight into human nature.
- ‘ Hierarchy of Needs ’ theory is a valuable approach of thinking about human motivations and incentives, identifying similarities and qualitative differences among them.
- It has relevance in modern-day applications, specifically in the world of business, in which it assists to interpret human behaviour and motivation.
- It provides an advantageous summary of human needs, which can also be used in product planning, product positioning, product pricing and also sales channels’ designs.
Disadvantages of Maslow’s ‘ Hierarchy of Needs ’ Theory
- The major problem with Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs theory is that it cannot be verified empirically, because there is no proper method to measure accurately how satisfied one level of need must be before the next higher need becomes operative.
- Maslow considered only a narrow segment of the human population. The expressions in the “hierarchy of needs” theory, such as “self-esteem” and “security,” have broadly diverse classifications in cultures around the world. For that reason, it is difficult for researchers to measure these needs or to generalize them across all human populations.
- The model is too unsophisticated:
- The same product or service can gratify a number of needs at once.
- The theory lacks empirical backing for the rank-ordering of the needs.
- The theory is too culture-bound, in which it lacks validity across different cultures and the expectations of the hierarchy may be limited to Western cultures.
Limitations and Inadequacies of Maslow’s Hierarchy
- Despite the fact that Maslow’s hierarchy makes a great amount of sense from an intuitive perspective, there is only a very little evidence to fully support its hierarchical phase.
For instance, the idea of self-actualization suffers from unclear classifications and a absence of evidence other than anecdotal.
- The model does not consider the probability of cultural differences, on the other hand assumes that the same needs apply equally to all human cultures.
- The model fails to consider the probability of individual differences, nonetheless assumes that the same needs in the same order apply equally from one person to another irrespective of nature.
Despite the fact that Maslow’s hierarchy absences scientific backing, it is to a certain extent renowned and is the very initial theory of motivation.