Technology and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The IT Value Hierarchy: Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a Metaphor for Gauging the Maturity Level of Information Technology Use within Competitive Organizations(PDF)

Although information technology products and services may be equally available, the innovative use of IT to create competitive differentiation has clearly been achieved y many organizations. What IT executives often lack is a contextual framework in which to explain the path to increasing value for their firms. The authors believe that this framework can be explained through the use of a needs hierarchy based on a comparison to the human psychological needs hierarchy described by Abraham Maslow more than sixty years ago.

The parallels to technology in education is uncanny. This paper provides a nice framework for the technology planning process. Just replace IT executives with staff, administration, BOE, and community. 🙂