What do you mean by behavioral science approach? Explain Abraham Maslow's need hierarchy theory with its major contributions.

  Behavioral Science Theories(approach)

Unlike the traditional scholars, the behavioral scientist advocated the importance of peoples' behavior for effectiveness of management. The developed the concepts of motivation, leadership, communication teamwork, and reward.

Maslow's Needs

Maslow's need hierarchy (priority) theory is one of the most popula theories of motivation in the management literature. This theory is based o human needs, comprising a five-tier model depicted as hierarchichal levels within a pyramid. The needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before one can attend to the needs higher up. Maslow believed that once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate a man. Then, the next higher level of need emerges.

There are five different levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Each of them is discussed below:-

1. Physiological/biological needs: These include the most basic needs that are vital for human survival. Some examples of physiological needs include air, water, food, clothing, shelter, and sex.

2. Safety/security needs: Once physiological needs are satisfied, people move toward safety needs. Every person wants security, safety and stability. Safety needs include physical, environmental and emotional safety and protection. For instance- Job security, financial security, protection from animals and natural calamities, family security, and health security.

3. Social needs: The next need in the hierarchy involves feeling loved and accepted. It includes the need for love, affection, care, belongingness, and friendship. At this level, the need for emotional relationships drives human behavior. People desire to feel loved and accepted by other people to avoid problems such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety.

4. Esteem/Ego needs: They are higher order needs and also called egoistic needs. They are related to the prestige and status of a person. According to Maslow, there are of two types of esteem needs.

Self-esteem: It is inside the person, hence intrinsic. It includes self confidence, achievement, competence, self-respect, independence and freedom which are self-realized.

Esteem of others: It is outside the person hence extrinsic. It includes status, recognition, attention, and appreciation which are achieved through others.

It is difficult to satisfy the esteem needs as compared to lower order needs. If satisfied, they produce feelings of confidence and worth. However, modern organizations offer fewer opportunities for the satisfaction of these needs to the people working in the lower level.

5. Self-actualization needs: The final need under Maslow's model is the need for self-actualization. Self-actualization may be described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, and potentialities. Self actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested fulfilling their potential.

Self-actualization needs are unique in nature. They can never be fully satisfied.  People have limited opportunity for these needs to be satisfied.

 Contributions/Advantages of Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory

 The main contributions of Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory are as:

• This theory highlights why a person behaves differently in different situations.
•  It provides a comprehensive view of human needs.
•  It allows managers to analyze the unsatisfied needs of employees for motivation purpose.

Limitations/Disadvantages of Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory

The following are the main limitations of Maslow's need hierarchy theory are :-

• It is almost a non-testable theory.
•  It must be viewed as a theoretic statement or base rather than an abstraction from field research. 
• It is clinically derived theory and its unit of analysis is individual. 
• The model is based on a relatively small sample of subjects. The need classification is somewhat artificial. 
• Needs cannot be classifie into 5 steps hierarchy.
• The need priority model may not apply at all times in all places. In case of some people, the level of need may be permanently lower (individual differences).