Change in people [Archives:2002/30/Business & Economy]

The Road Ahead
BY RAIDAN A. AL-SAQQAF
[email protected]
Most of us nowadays work hard everyday & toil in order to achieve whatever goals we have set for ourselves. Usually one of these goals aims at adding more to our self-importance, it may even exceed that to becoming an unsatisfied need that we need to satisfy.
According to Abraham Maslows theory of human needs, the needs of an individual are divided into 5 levels:
1-Instinctive needs, i.e., basic requirements such as Hunger, thirst, etc.
2-Safety needs: safety from crime, disasters, societal disorganization, etc…
3-Social needs: i.e., love, family & friends, etc.
4-Self-esteem: i.e. confidence, competence, adequacy, achievement etc.
5-Self-actualization: like Importance, fame, etc.
The shown hierarchy forms the basic structure for human needs, it is critical to satisfy the first four levels of needs to reach the last one, but until reached; people hustle to satisfy it.
In todays organizations; the responsibility of managing people is not laid only on the personnel department, it is the responsibility of the whole management to manage their employees affairs in such a manner that guarantees harmony with the needs of the workforce, and on top of them self-importance.
Managerial practices should always change with the change of the people, their needs, and what are their next needs to be satisfied.
You are not the same you were five years ago, and you are not likely to be the same after other five years from now, you have different needs than you used to have, and those will probably change by time.
Unfortunately many managers do not change their management styles accordingly. They should adopt different working habits when it requires in order to keep pace with the changing working force.
Recognition is a good method of appreciating the changes in people; people like to feel important. Recognition can be done through many ways not only through money; in fact, money is just a means through which recognition is done, and giving them honors is a much more cost-effective than giving them money.
If enough attention was given to each person on a par with his importance, there would be less industrial disputes and there wont be a need for the people to form small groups where they feel more important.
End note: People like to feel important, make them feel important and they wont look for elsewhere to find their self-importance.



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