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Flames come out of the Taj Mahal hotel during a gun battle, 29 November 2008
(Photo: Reuters)

On November 26, 2008, the hotel, Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, was one of the 5 locations in Mumbai, India, that were attacked by terrorists. The intriguing fact is that despite the horrific attack, Taj employees “stay at their posts, jeopardizing their safety in order to save hotel guests”. This has lead to the attention of HBS professor Rohit Deshpandé who researched on what motivate these employees to have such level of loyalty and dedication to the company and the guest.

The vice chairman of the hotel said “they knew all the back exits—the natural human instinct would be to flee…in the process, some of them, unfortunately, gave their lives to save guests.” Taj general manager Karambir Singh Kang insisted on staying  at his post to help direct a response to the ongoing attack even after he received the news of the death of his wife and two young sons in a fire that swept through the hotel’s top floor.

“Not even the senior managers could explain the behavior of these employees.” – Deshpandé

Deshpandé stated that there is no definitive answer to the behavior of Taj employees but managers who read the case should understand the importance of intrinsic motivation.

The article clearly presents the idea that employees are not always motivated extrinsically. Similarly, Maslow believed that workers are motivated more than money, and psychological needs from the hierarchy must be met in order to motivate employees.

Perhaps, Taj employees have fulfilled esteem needs and are reaching the level of self-actualization, where employees are driven to become the best that they can be. In esteem level, praises and recognition helps boost ego. Also training shows employees are recognized and valued by the firm. Further, decision-making are granted  to increase morale. The problem solving skills, morality, and spontaneity of Taj employees shows they have  met self-actualization needs.