Education: needs & desires
Learn about the things you want and where they fall in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
DO YOU know which basic things you need to survive every day? You’ll probably agree that first and foremost you need air, food and water. Then you need parents to take care of you, a safe home to live in and clothes to cover and warm you.
Let’s learn more about these basic as well as other needs, and how they can motivate a person’s behaviour.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY
In 1943, American psychologist Abraham Maslow came up with a hierarchy (or levels) of needs. Since then it’s been widely used, especially in the business world. Maslow’s theory is that as soon as a person’s basic needs have been met they start yearning for higher things. You can see why this theory is important for business because it gives managers an idea of what motivates their employees and customers to behave in a certain way.
According to Maslow’s theory, someone who has enough money to afford basics such as food moves on to what they can buy to satisfy their higher needs and desires. For example, they might decide to spend money on burglar bars so they can feel safer in their home.
WHAT ARE NEEDS AND DESIRES?
Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs provides a way to sort out which things are more important to us than others. Do you know the difference between needs and desires? You might have already heard these terms in your economic and management science class. Consumers for example have needs for goods and services they regard as essential for maintaining their standard of living. In this context, desires refer to the goods and services consumers would like to have but which aren’t critical to their survival or to satisfy a basic standard of living.
Maslow identifies five levels 1 Physiological or basic needs: Food, water, clean air, accommodation and tolerable weather. 2 Safety needs: Physical safety and financial security. 3 Social needs: Friends and family. 4 Esteem needs: Status and self-esteem. 5 Self-actualisation needs: To be happy.
Let’s look at the first level of basic needs. The needs on the lower levels must first be satisfied before the higher needs can become motivators that inspire you to strive for new things. For example, if you’re a pianist but you’re starving you wouldn’t have
the motivation to play beautiful music. A supermarket cashier who hasn’t had a break to rest and eat lunch will be less productive in the afternoon than one who did have a break and something to eat. In the business world, suppliers of fast food and cooldrinks, and service providers such as hotels, try to satisfy some of these basic needs.
Once our basic needs are catered for, physical safety and financial security on the second level come into play.
When a poor family move from a rural area to an informal settlement in a city they’ll first try to meet their basic needs like getting food and erecting a shack near a water source. Then they’ll be motivated to look for permanent employment that will give them financial security so they’ll be able to afford safer accommodation.
But there’s an exception to the second level. Whenever there’s a serious threat (such as war), safety becomes more important than basic needs.
Social needs (also called love and belonging needs) involve interaction with friends and family.
These needs can be satisfied by meeting places like restaurants, but also through technological developments that allow us contact with others such as social media, the internet and cellphones.
For example the family living in the informal settlement will make friends with their neighbours and they’ll visit one another. They’ll also get one or more cellphones so they can stay in touch with friends and family who live in the rural area far away.
After your basic needs have been met, esteem needs become important.
Esteem could refer to how you feel about yourself (self-respect, independence and a feeling of self-worth). It could also be how others see you or what they think of you. Their admiration for your status, achievements and self-confidence therefore satisfies your need for recognition.
In the business world, companies that offer exclusive services such as skiing and diving holidays focus on this need for recognition and status. Not everyone can afford or pursue these activities, so they make you stand out from your group.
The top level, self-actualisation, is about ultimately reaching the highest goals you’ve set for yourself in life. Maslow reckons we can’t really be happy unless we become everything we’d like to be. We all have various dreams and goals. You might want to become a famous singer, your friend wants to be a successful writer and your little brother dreams of becoming a Springbok rugby player or playing soccer for Bafana Bafana. Your brother can meet his need for self-fulfilment only by becom- ing a national sportsman.
But this highest need can’t be realised until all the other needs at the lower levels have been met. If you’re battling just to afford food and always worry about meeting other basic needs, you can’t think about self-fulfilment or higher life goals.
YOUR POSITION SHIFTS IN THE HIERARCHY
You don’t operate on just one level of Maslow’s hierarchy. We’ve already mentioned the example of the restaurant where you can eat and socialise (levels one and three). In the business world, different industries focus on satisfying various levels of needs. A guesthouse offering overnight accommodation meets level one needs while a restaurant satisfies level three and special weekend tours to interesting destinations speaks to some people’s needs at level five.
The hierarchies aren’t identical for individuals or culture groups. In a country such as Japan the corporate organisation – large company – where people work is very important to their sense of belonging. They feel they belong there and it fulfils their social and esteem needs. But in South Africa and in most Western countries people are less concerned about where they work.