Management and Motivation

We recognize readily enough that a man suffering from a severe dietary deficiency is sick.The deprivation of physiological needs has behavioral consequences.The same is true—although less well recognized—of deprivation of higher-level needs.The man whose needs for safety，association，independence，or status are thwarted is sick just as surely as the man who has rickets.And his sickness will have behavioral consequences.We will be mistaken if we attribute his resultant passivity，his hostility，his refusal to accept responsibility to his inherent“human nature”.These forms of behavior are symptoms of illness—of deprivation of his social and egoistic needs.

The man whose lower-level needs are satisfied is not motivated to satisfy those needs any longer.For practical purposes they exist no longer.Management often asks，“Why aren't people more productive?We pay good wages，provide good working conditions，have excellent fringe benefits and steady employment.Yet people do not seem to be willing to put forth more than minimum effort.”(https://www.daowen.com)

The fact that management has provided for these physiological and safety needs has shifted the motivational emphasis to the social and perhaps to the egoistic needs.Unless there are opportunities at work to satisfy these higher-level needs，people will be deprived;and their behavior will reflect this deprivation.Under such conditions，if management continues to focus its attention on physiological needs，its efforts are bound to be ineffective.

People will make insistent demands for more money under these conditions.It becomes more important than ever to buy the material goods and services which can provide limited satisfaction of the thwarted needs.Although money has only limited value in satisfying many higher-level needs，it can become the focus of interest if it is the only means available.