Entrepreneurs vs their Maslow’s Hierarchy needs
Understanding the Age in which we live will assist you in rethinking your business. At different stages, it causes changes in how one conduct business. Entrepreneurs emerge in all ages shaping the economy and the evolution of industry.
Entrepreneurial behaviour is influenced by how basic needs are met as they evolve. According to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it reflects how our actions fit into our unmet needs by creating different businesses system.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Maslow’s philosophy is founded on the desires of humans. These needs are prioritized in order of decreasing to raising importance as culture evolves. This hierarchy of needs theory is still relevant today when it comes to understanding human motivation, behavioural changes, and personal growth. Before an individual can achieve their full potential, the basic needs have to be fulfilled first. This same principle holds true to entrepreneurs at different ages too, achieving excellence and financial success. Entrepreneurial behaviours, activities, and perspectives serve as economic stimulants. After all, entrepreneurs are human beings with basic needs.
Physiological needs – Agricultural age
The first physiological needs of mankind during the agricultural era are to survive. The 18th Century was the Agricultural Age where farmers, fisherman, miners and woodcutters, to name a few have to provide food, water, warmth and shelter for their families. They are the agripreneurs in this age where surviving is the key. Agirpreneurs begin advancing each of their specialties to support more necessity in life by constructing permanent settlement to transporting of goods. When the quality of life improves and more money is required for personal protection, improved healthcare, and transportation, the agriculture age gives way to the Industrial age, which meets the 2nd need of the Hierarchy.
Safety needs – Industrialization age
Following the satisfaction of the first physiological needs, the needs for economic stability and protection emerge. Meeting these needs requires more money. And hence, the entrepreneur is promoted to do more work in his enterprise. The 19th century was the Industrial Age, entrepreneurs naturally shift hand-making goods to machines-made, where land size shrank and factory work boomed. New innovations ushered in the industrial revolution, allowing entrepreneurs to become wealthier and invest in yet more new inventions. Entrepreneurs like Matthew Boulton invested in inventor, James Watt, who later refines on steam engine apparatus invented in the 1700s by Thomas Newcomen. The steam engine was the most significant technical accomplishment. And, later on entrepreneur, Henry Ford unveiled his first automobile car in 1908s ending the industrial age development.
When these, including physiological needs are met, these become inactive.
Love/Belonging social needs – Information age
Maslow conceived that as people satisfy a need on one level, we desire and focus on the next level of need as a driving force for behaviour. The Information Revolution of the mid-twentieth century had an effect on our entrepreneurship thought. The world, including entrepreneurs now is increasingly aware of society’s need for friends, a partner, affectionate relationships, and a sense of community. Since the information age is built around the use of technology to disseminate information in a timely and convenient manner. Allowing people to stay connected with their friends and loved ones at ease, satisfying one needs to express affections. Entrepreneurs – Bill gates from Microsoft, to Apple’s Steve Jobs and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, have all changed the way we communicate, ways to get accepted and sense of belonging today. Humans have a strong desire to live and be a part of communities such as work groups, religious groups and family.
Entrepreneurs are doing just as they did a century ago; however, they are doing it digitally and envisioning that information age will meet the next set of human needs today.
Esteem Needs – Digitalization age
The Digitalization Era – the Age of Creators – has begun in the twenty-first century. The globalization of the economy and advancement of modern technologies have transformed the way business owner view their operation, focusing on how to capitalize. The way entrepreneurs connect and conduct business has changed dramatically as a result. Online business raises awareness and provides external recognition for entrepreneurs who have created something unique and extraordinary. This brings recognition and confidence, which satisfies their esteem needs.
Modern days
Taking a glimpse back, most would never have predicted these significant changes to their industries. Out of many, one difficult aspects of becoming an entrepreneur in modern times is keeping up with the ever-changing digital landscape. Knowing that in today’s digital world, words travel faster, being recognized for their company would mean benefit, self-confidence, and a good reputation. Entrepreneurs now desire for the esteem needs realising that this would brings recognition to their business. Two of China’s most well-known entrepreneurs are Jack Ma, who founded the internet commerce company, Alibaba, in 1999 and Liu Chuanzhi, who founded Lenovo in his Beijing office in 1984.
Question: Have we come to a world of Self-Actualization for entrepreneurs? How do entrepreneurs react to achieve this?
