From Longman Business DictionaryLBED_21_aMaslow's hierarchy of needsMas‧low’s hie‧rar‧chy of needs /ˌmæzləʊz ˌhaɪrɑːki əv ˈniːdz-loʊz ˌhaɪrɑːr-/ noun [uncountable]HUMAN RESOURCESMARKETING a THEORY (=set of ideas) about MOTIVATION developed by Abraham Maslow, which has been used to explain the reasons why people decide to buy things or continue to work for an organization. Maslow identified five levels of human need: physiological - the need to eat, sleep etc; safety and security - the need to feel safe, have a job etc; belonging - the need to belong to a group, have friends and feel loved; self-esteem - the need to be successful in a particular job or activity and be respected by other people; self-actualization - the need to have new ideas and use your imagination to produce new things. The theory states that needs on one level must be satisfied before the next level can be reached, and only unsatisfied needs influence human behaviour
