Mr. John Tsang, Accounting Department Manager, sat back in his chair and remembered his thoughts of 3 months back. He had just said goodbye to the work crew after they had installed the new modular office system. The redesign of the office had been an idea developed by John after attending a seminar in Hong Kong Productivity Center, titled "Bringing Technology to the Office Environment." John had been excited by what he had seen and heard.

The new concept of creating a separate office space for each employee by using 8-foot-high partitions was ideal. This would give his office staff of ten women and five men maximum privacy and ultimate productivity. It would be far better than having all the desks in a big open room where everyone could see everyone else, where they talked constantly, and even pulled their chairs together and held informal meetings.

John wasn't so sure about his decision now. His once highly efficient work group had not been performing well. Work was not being completed on time and what was being completed was inaccurate. Neither of these results was acceptable in an accounting department. John had analyzed all the elements in the work environment to determine what had caused the change. Everything was the same, except for one thing - the modular office.

Questions:

1. Which one of Maslow's five needs do you think has been influenced by the installation of the modular office? Explain with reason. (20%)

1. Give TWO suggestions on what can be done with the newly modify modular office to provide the opportunity for people to satisfy the need that has been limited? (20%)