Application of Maslows Theory of Needs to Mobilize a Community free essay sample

This is done through advocacy, organizing communities and mobilizing resources. Other than theories of economics, development and politics, community development is also influenced by contributions from the field of psychology. Different branches of psychology help us to understand community needs, their cultural dispositions, and how communities form social cohesion and participate in community initiatives. The concept of psychological sense of community was initially propagated by the psychologist Seymour Sarason (1974). The Sense of Community describes the sentiment of belonging, trust and cooperation that people of a community feel toward each other. With this sense of community, members are able to feel empowered enough to participate in the communitys activities. This is important for community workers and organizers. By acknowledging the communitys contribution to development, understanding their values and opinions, community development workers are able to get more cooperation from an empowered community. Disempowering a community means disregarding peoples values and needs and thus making them feel disconnected from the larger community. We will write a custom essay sample on Application of Maslows Theory of Needs to Mobilize a Community or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of needs is particularly useful in understanding how change agents mobilize communities into action and eventually get their all important buy-in, in developmental projects they propose and implement. Participation in community development is successfully attained when an analysis of the communitys needs is undertaken. Lack of support for community initiatives may be because community members are still striving to meet their primary needs and as such the community cannot be involved in meeting secondary needs. Overview of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow, an American professor of psychology, identified a hierarchy that represents the priorities that individuals and communities espouse in order to survive and reach their fullest potential. The basis of Maslows theory is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. Maslow, position is that there are general needs (physiological, safety, love, and esteem) which have to be fulfilled before a person is able to act unselfishly. These needs were dubbed deficiency needs. While a person is motivated to fulfill these basal desires, they continue to move toward growth, and eventually self -actualization. The satisfaction of needs is quite healthy, while preventing their gratification most often than not will make people ill or engage in an anti-social behavior. As a result, for adequate motivation of the masses, it is important that project managers understand which needs are active for the community. In this regard, Abraham Maslows model indicates that basic, low-level needs such as physiological requirements and safety must be satisfied before higher-level needs such as self-fulfillment are pursued. As depicted in hierarchical figure 1 below, sometimes called Maslows Needs Pyramid, Figure 1: Maslow’s Needs Pyramid Relevance of the Maslow’s model to community development Maslow’s theory can be applied in mobilizing communities for purposes of implementing change/development programs. In order to appreciate how useful the theory is in mobilizing, this paper explores the various need levels as espoused by Maslow (1983), and seeks to discuss how such need levels could be exploited when mobilizing communities Physiological Needs: are the basic needs of feeding, accommodation, salaries/wages that are perceived by the community members to be sufficient for the purchase of the essentials of life. Human needs theorists offer a new dimension to conflict theory. Their approach provides an important conceptual tool that not only connects and addresses human needs on all levels. Furthermore, it recognizes the existence of negotiable and nonnegotiable issues. That is, needs theorists understand that needs, unlike interests, cannot be traded, suppressed, or bargained for. Human needs theorists further understand that although needs cannot be compromised, they can be addressed in a generally win-win or positive-sum way. People are motivated to work towards achieving a need that they feel they have. The more acutely they feel the need the more willing they are to work towards meeting that need. It is for this reason that communities should be exposed to experiences that could in a reasonable time earn the community a higher value than it currently has. A project manager’s ability to effectively appeal to one of these motivational drivers is a key determinant to the potential success of a project. A project manager should also beware that communities are at different levels of development. Different communities (or even members of the same community) will be at different levels of development and awareness at any one time and a community’s behavior is heavily influenced by its history and various forces around it. In such circumstances, we expect that a community will most likely behave differently not only from other communities, but, also within the same community. It is for such reasons then that it would be unreasonable to expect a community that is struggling with its basic survival to be enthusiastic about unselfish pursuits. Some services, BepaPay, for example, may be marketed successfully to those in the third or fourth level of Maslows hierarchy because those people are driven by the needs for increased self-esteem and need to belong to the middle class. The same marketing campaign is unlikely to appeal to those on the first level, as they are driven by the most basic of human needs: food, water and other elements of survival. Safety needs- Here, individuals are concerned with their economic/physical safety. People are concerned about their economic stability, presence of job/ employment opportunities and job security for those that are employed. As a Project manager, one need to really sell idea that with the new project, the local youth will get meaningfully engaged. That they’ll get employed and will not, therefore, partake in other social ills like crimes in the community. This will mean the society will be safe for all members to go about their businesses without fear. Also, the Project manager may need to stress the positivity of such a project in so far as production for the market is concerned. In this, people will be able to earn enough to be able to provide daily bread for their dependants. Social needs (belonging, love) People naturally have a motivation towards feeling accepted, belonging to some group/association. As a project manager, one need to group or encourage such targets to organize themselves into an association that will then be meeting as regularly as is reasonable to share views/concerns and benchmark. By this association, people will be able to overcome/avoid the ever present susceptibility to feelings of loneliness, social anxiety and clinical depression which is often the consequence of absence of the belonging lement, especially, for retirees who find themselves alone after disengaging from work-based networks. Associations are made up persons who freely/voluntarily choose to join together to get something done for a common cause. Such organization could be churches, professional associations, self help groups, etc. People in these organizations get together around an issue, something recreational, or anything at all that draws them together, not beca use they are paid to be there but because they have a common interest. The time and energy that people put into associations is there to be tapped and exploited by the program manager. For example, in a rural community, women self help groups provide a useful forum to introduce maternal and neonatal health program/projects and will most certainly get a buy-in. Key people to these groups e. g. Chairman, secretary etc. should be chosen democratically by members as a participatory mechanism. The best way to find the appropriate individuals is to partner with a group that already has credibility in the community and already meets periodically. When such a community group has already assembled for a meeting, the project manager need to try conducting an assets inventory exercise (what is it in the society/community that the manager and the project can benefit from be it skills, competencies, existing power structures etc. ). This is not only an icebreaker but also a way of conveying the message that the resources that already exist (in the community) will be identified and tapped into. Once the project manager identifies individuals who can and want to help, he/she needs to prepare to work with them in project implementation. People who love to organize will stand out in the course of the group meetings and it’s the project manager’s role to ensure they are recruited as they are a valuable part of the community change structure. Esteem According to Maslow (1983), humans need to feel respected, including the need to have self esteem and self respect. Esteem presents typical human desire to be accepted and valued by others. They may feel the need to seek fame and glory. People may have a need for status, recognition, fame, prestige and attention. Someone driven by the need for self-esteem, in needs level four, is looking for recognition and validation. As a Project manager, one has to stress how such persons stand to gain by accepting and being part of the project. For instance, the project manager may need to allow those that seem to be motivated by recognition and status or fame to hold positions in the project e. g. as liaison persons. By doing this, the manager will help the community members who are at this point motivated by positions of leadership and recognition to fulfill their needs while helping the entire community realize its developmental agenda as proposed by the change agent, and ratified by the community members. Those who are thrilled and motivated by the need to be masters in what they do, the project manager need to support them strongly in order to realize their needs even as the project meets its goals. Human needs theorists posit that although needs cannot be compromised, they can be addressed in a generally win-win or positive-sum way. Self actualization Refers to what a person‘s full potential is and the realization of that potential. This level defines the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the most that one can be. In the case of project implementation, the project manager needs to study and understand his participants/the target population to map out those at this level. Upon identification of such, the project manager needs to bring them on board be the best farmers, in case of farming project. The project manager need to tap into their ability to perceive reality efficiently, democratic attitudes, spontaneity of thought and action, concern for community welfare, etc. to secure their buy-in and support. In this category, there could be those who have actualized and are now motivated by the need to help others. The project manager needs to identify such, at the level of stakeholder analysis and approach them with the view of bringing them on board as partners. In this sense, people will feel appreciated and will deploy their maximum effort and resources to ensuring the success of the project because they believe the ultimate successes of the project will be shared by them. However, Maslow posited that a journey- in whatever form it takes- can be rewarding than the actual destination. The project manager can, therefore, apply this to the practice of appreciating the worth of each of the individuals ‘travelling’ with them rather than focusing so intently on the end-game that they lose all sight of human emotions. Implications of need hierarchy for Empowerment and Development If Maslows theory holds, there are some important leadership implications to enhance a community’s motivation and eventual empowerment. †¢Physiological Needs: are the basic needs of feeding, accommodation, salaries/wages that are perceived by the community members to be sufficient for the purchase of the essentials of life. Safety Needs: are needs to for a safe environment to live in, freedom from threats, and relative security. †¢Social Needs: Create a feeling of acceptance, belonging, and community by reinforcing team dynamics. †¢Esteem Needs: Recognize achievements, assign important projects, and provide status to make people feel appreciated and valued. â € ¢Self-Actualization: Provide challenging and meaningful work which enables innovation, creativity, and progress according to long-term goals. However, not all people are driven by the same needs – at any given time different people in different social strata may be motivated by entirely different factors. It is important therefore to understand the needs of each set of people in different communities in order to be able to meet their peculiar needs and motivate them to commitment and more patriotic acts. Conclusion It is expedient to conclude that attainment of economic or social of empowerment (development) in any community, state or nation depends strongly on the extent to which the masses are psychologically empowered. For effectiveness of a project, a project manager needs to bear in mind the facts about the complexity of human nature as he/she interacts with the community. Failure to do so will result in his/her frustration and also most likely being a stumbling block to the community’s empowerment and own development. But we also know something more positive. With the appropriate support such as provision of enabling conditions and removal of hindering ones; and also provision of financial and technical support, the community is however not only willing, but also able to uplift itself.