Critical evolution of Maslow Hierarchy

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (HON)

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (HON) is a developmental psychology theory proposed by Maslow (1943).This theory puts forward the idea that individuals move through a fundamental number of hierarchical motivations, in order of importance, are: physiological, safety, belongingness, love self-esteem, self-actualization and self-transcendence (Maslow,1954,1943).

 The first state in the HON and according to Maslow the most fundamental, account for basic human physiological needs such as food, water, homeostasis, sex and breathing. Moving on, when these needs are met, the second stage refers to both psychological and physical safety, such as security of body, family, property and morality. The next stage in the HON refers to love and belongingness and incorporate intimacy and friendship (Maslow 1943, 1954).

A Critical Evaluation of Maslow Theory 

Maslow's hierarchy needs theory has both pros and cons. According to his theory only few people are able to achieve self-actualization without fulfilling other needs. According to his theory an individual cannot become fully self-actualized without satisfying one’s physiological needs, without love, without a sense of belonging, without self-esteem. Some would oppose this theory. Some might think that the things he defined as needs are not really needs.

No one can deny that food, air, shelter are needs, but may disagree that esteem, love, artistic expression are not needs but desires. Some may even argue that self-actualization is not essential to being a happy or successful person. One of the disadvantages of his theory is its inflexibility. One person should be able to satisfy one level of need first before moving up to another level. For example one cannot move from Social needs but for satisfying the need for love and belongingness. Second, One need is activated at a time.

An individual cannot fulfill all needs at the same time. On the other hand this theory sets out simply how to tackle life. With this theory I have found that it becomes clearer what an individual is trying to achieve and importantly why an individual is trying to achieve it. It’s a step by step process which helps individuals to understand their needs and it also helps in identifying one’s needs. There is little evidence to suggest that people are motivated to satisfy only one need level at a time, except in situations where there is a conflict between needs.

References, 

Gegory,B.T.Harris,S.G.Armenakis,A.A.Shook,C.L.(2009).Organizationalcultureand effectiveness:A study of valies, attitudes, and organizationaloutcomes, journal of Business Research,62/2,673-679

King-Hill,Sophie(2015)Critical analysis of Maslow’s hierarchy of need.The step journal:student teacher prerpection,2(4).pp.54-57

A Maslow,(1943). “A theory of human motivation”,vol 50,no 4,pp.370-396.

A.Maslow,(1954). “Motivation and personality”NewYork,NY:Harper.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR TALENT POOL

 Talent pool is,

The suitable, skilled people who are available to be chosen to do a particular type of job.

(Definition of “talent pool” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary, Cambridge University press)

The Advantages of Talent Pools

Talent pools are groups of employees who are being trained and developed to assume greater responsibilities within the organization. Often, but not always, they are the individuals who have been identified as high –performing and high potential.Creating a talent pool takes some planning; here are several steps to developing an organizational talent pool.

Review your organizational strategies. The goal here is to identify the competencies needed to make those strategies happen. In the future, strategies will change, but it’s possible competencies will remain the same.Assess the company’s current talent to identify any skills gaps. This can be accomplished using a variety of techniques including performance reviews, assessments, multi-rater feedback and interviews.

Develop a buy, build and borrow strategy for bridging the gap. Organizations do not have to create a talent pool for everything. They can “buy or hire” talent from the outside where skills are limited. If the organization has the resources, they can “build” talent from within through skills development .For niche skills, the company can “borrow” talent using contingent workers when necessary.

 Other one is create modules or groups of activities that will help employees get the skills they need. Once the organization knows the skills they’ll be helping employees develop, it’s time to figure out how to make it happen. It could be through a combination of internal/external training as well as project-based learning.

Monitor progress and make regular adjustments. Like succession planning, talent pools need to be monitored. The organization should conduct regular talent assessment as well as monitor market conditions.

As the example Learnership talent pool in Toyota;                                                                        

The company would like to support the incumbents or the successful candidates to learn and work in many technical disciplines. In the completion of the programme, candidate will receive an NQF level 2certification.it will qualify you when you went to apply a job position that requires this qualification. At the moment,the company is hiring about 338,875 and more.

References;

Cambridge Business English Dictionary, Cambridge University press

5 steps for creating organizational talent pools by Sharlyn Lauby posted February 10,2017/Performance Management

Learnership talent pool at Toyota on 24 Aug 2017 in South Africa

https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E39904 01/hcm92pbr0/eng/hcm/hhcs/task Managing Talent Pools-ac7fd7.html,20.11.2017,8.05am

Employer / Employee Relationship

Trade Union

Trade union is an association of employees formed to improve their incomes and working conditions by collective bargaining with the employer or employer organizations. (Collins English Dictionary copyright Harper Collins publishers)

The origin of trade unions can be traced back to 15^th century Britain, where the rapid expansion of industrial society then taking place, drew women, children, rural workers and immigrants in to the work force in large numbers and in few roles.

There are many opportunities available for the trade union. As an example,

Nestle staff unions threaten to strike over pensions “act of betrayal”

Trade unions representing Nestle workers have warned of strike action if the company decides to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.

The food giant said the proposal would affect 7,600 employees in the UK, switching them to a defined contribution scheme. 

Nestle said the costs of providing a DB scheme “continued to increase substantially in recent years” and it was facing a pension black hole of £850m.

In a joint statement, unions Unite and GMB said the move could be seen by the workforce as “act of betrayal” and urged the firm to think again.

Stuart Fegan, GMB national officer, said: “Over 7,600 Nestle workers in the UK which these proposals will affect will wonder why a company such as Nestle generating significant profit here and in other world markets can justify such detrimental plans. Particularly as these proposals directly affect those Nestle workers who manufacture the products that make Nestle the leading world food manufacturer. Fegan warned there would be industrial action if the firm decided to go ahead with the change.

The firm said it was paying £86m each year to cover the deficit, on top of its normal annual contribution of £37m to the DB scheme. Since 2009 more than £600m has been paid in to cover the deficit, which stood at £850m at the end of 2014.

 “Now Nestle is tearing up their contracts with their future with many workers facing being worse off in retirement. We will not stand by and let that happen and would urge Nestle to think again and honor its past promises.”

References:

(Collins English Dictionary copyright Harper Collins publishers)

 http://www.theactuary.com/news/2015/07/nestl-staff-unions-threaten-to-strike-over-pensions-act-of-betrayal/15.11.2017,09.05am  

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/trade-union.html/15.11.2017,8.30am


 

Emerging Trends of Learning and Development

Learning and development defined

Learning and development is defined as the process of ensuring that the organization has the knowledgeable, skilled and engaged workforce it needs. (Armstrong.2014)

Trends and Recommendations

With recent technology advancements and the rapid adoption of social collaboration, learning and development has come a long way. Five key trends and best practices that companies should consider include  the use of mobile  technology,  adoption of  social learning tools, alignment with corporate objectives, use of adaptive learning principles, and the ability to measure effectiveness.

   

Going mobile has transformed the way companies work, interact, and collaborate. With global penetration rates skyrocketing, organizations that are not considering mobile in all areas will have a difficult time competing for talent. Despite this reality, companies are still slow to embrace mobile learning solution. Most companies recognized that mobile learning solution can improve adoption, expand global reach, and engage users better, but do not understand how to execute a mobile strategy.

Companies are quickly embracing social media tools, as well as investing in social collaboration tools to better engage employees and foster a learning culture. Although social has become mainstream, companies still lack the knowledge and insight around how to use these tools for learning and development. Companies are using document sharing ,discussion forms, and blogs, but they aren’t generally using video or micro-blogs shows are more effective to improve their learning functions.

Adaptive learning is a methodology that breaks traditional models and allows employees to learn at their own pace. It has gained popularity with educational institutions, referred to as “adaptive teaching,” where a teacher will gather information on individuals students to learn what they need to do to improve their learning.

Other one is aligning with business objectives. The learning of the past operated in soils where learning professionals had little interaction or input from other areas of the business. The learning of the future must be closely aligned to overall corporate strategies in order for companies to achieve results.

Measuring Effectiveness is to determine if the learning strategy in place is driving business outcomes, companies must find a way to consistently measure its effectiveness. Currently, most companies are considering team encouragement, employee engagement, and employee satisfaction over more concrete business metrics such as retention, turnover, and revenue per full-time employee.

References

Harrison,R Learning and Development(2009)

Armstrong M (2013)handbook of human resource management 13^th ed

Training magazine (2015 July) (https://trainingmag.com/5-trends-future-learning-and-development)

TALENT MANAGEMENT

Talent Management in Global firms

Talent management is the process of ensuring that the organization has the talented people if needs to attain its business goals if involve the strategic management of the flow of talent through an organization by creating and maintaining a talent pipe line. (Armstrong hand book of human resource management practice, 2004)

Talent management as the goal oriented and integrated process of planning, recruiting, developing, managing and compensating employees. (Desseler human resources management, 13th edt.102p)

The South African motor industry is evolving through challenging times, placing tremendous pressure on Toyota SA motors to remain efficient and competitive.

The organization has identified human capital as one of its most valuable resources contributing to the achievement of this goal. It is therefore imperative that the organization implements a strategic talent management policy that would focus on retaining talented staff members and created a competitive advantage. The objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of talent management as a retention tool with the aim of determine the employee perception and factors influencing competitive advantages of talent management and to provide recommendations to Toyota on the importance of strategic implementations of talent in order to increase staff retention and improve competitiveness.

This was to be achieved through the breakdown and analysis of the relevant components of talent management along theory comparison and the aid of quantitative research the objective was achieved by sampling two hundred employees of Toyota. The empirial studies revealed that the perceptions of the employees were misaligned with international best practices particularly in terms of the identification of talented employees. Overall there was consensus that a strategic talent management policy would greatly benefit the organization to archive its business objective. A large percentage of respondents believed that talent management is very important to Toyota.It was found that the majority of respondents believed that in order to improve the talent pool it was vital to develop individual career paths for all employees. The results reveal that a key factor for employee retention was better developmental opportunities. It was recommended that Toyota South Africa should nurture existing talent and policy in order to attract and retain the best talent.

Conclusion

These global talent challenges arise due to the ever-changing characteristic of the environment. Possible HR actions that can be used to build an integrated and flexible system for global talent management and described some of the barriers to success in this endeavor.

References

Armstrong’s hand book of human resource management practice, 2004

Desseler,human resource management.13^th edt,102p

http://handle.net/10413/14040

https://researchspace.ukzn.ec.zq