A study was conducted to expand the body of research that tests the validity of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory in a work context where it often serves as a guide for the supervisor's relationships with his subordinates. Data was gathered by questionnaire which tested for a hierarchy of needs among instructors at four community colleges in North Carolina. The semantic differential technique was used to measure needs satisfaction, and needs importance was measured by a ranking procedure. Correlations of needs importance and needs satisfaction revealed no evidence of a hierarchy of needs as described by Maslow. The finding suggested that a job offering reasonable opportunities to satisfy the basic needs will break down the heirarchical relationship posed by Maslow. Thus, supervisors who use the hierarchy of needs theory to guide relations with subordinates should re-examine their approach and consider other theories that explain the interrelationship of needs and predict subordinate behavior. For example, there is the theory of a two-level hierarchy of needs that places the essential biological needs on the bottom of the hierarchy and all the other needs (security, social, other-esteem, self-esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization) on the next level. Such a theory holds that all of the upper-level needs are of equal importance, with the dominant need varying from moment to moment and from day to day. (TA)