Self-Actualisation is Impossible Within Today's Organizational Essay

Self-Actualisation is Impossible Within Today's Organizational Settings - Essay Example An individual employee would be motivated to take action if nothing hinders the emergence of high-level needs. Maslow’s hierarchy needs was designed according to U.S. cultural values. According to organizational behaviourists, organizations which endeavour to accomplish the needs of their personnel, attract the best workforce and consequently motivate the workers to perform excellently. The organization can use the wages, the work environment, and the people around the workplace to motivate the employees to work harder and achieve certain goals (Schreuder & Coetzee 2010). When organizations meet the low- order needs of the personnel, the workers will struggle for self-actualization, working to become the best they can be. The employees will thus deliver at their optimal level of creativity, turning into exceptionally valuable assets to the company. The contemporary organizations have therefore; put in place measures and strategies to enable the workers to self-actualize by acc omplishing the low-order needs of the employees. Nevertheless, some organizational behaviourists argue that it is impossible to satisfy several high-order needs in organizational settings (Hodson 2001). Eventually, the concept of self-actualization is difficult or impossible to achieve effectively in organizational settings. This paper will discuss whether it is possible for an organisation to realize self-actualisation for its individual employees. The paper presents an argument for and against self-actualisation within today’s organizational settings using illustrations from the contemporary organizational contexts. The possibility of self-actualisation within organizational context Self-actualisation is possible in high-level management than low level management because top managers are better equipped to meet their self-actualization and esteem needs. This is because the backdrop of challenging jobs and opportunities at organisational levels motivates self-actualisation n eeds. Working in teams increases employees’ abilities to satisfy their self-actualisation needs. This is because teamwork gives the employees the incentive to participate in decision making which impact on both the team and the organisation’s performance. Some employees are among group of employees trained by organisations to carry out multiple job tasks that may include hiring and training subordinates, and even terminating employment based on failure to perform satisfactorily. Self-actualisation and esteem needs begin to get satisfied when employees get to learn different tasks. Employees who are less empowered or have little control over their job tasks may feel no need for self-actualisation with regard to their job tasks. Empirical evidence shows that the satisfaction of self-actualisation needs varies according to employee’s job tasks, age, background, and the size of the company (Hellriegel & Slocum 2007). Dorer and Mahoney (2006) observe that organisatio ns could increase their productivity by increasing the individual performance of each employee and by optimisation of untapped potential inherent in employees. A full operational employee is actively involved in the development and utilisation of all his/her