Maslow on Management

Different Management Principles at Different Levels in the Hierarchy

Each new invention, each new discovery creates turmoil behind the lines. The people who have settled down comfortably are shaken and disturbed out of their comfort. It is clear then that any great discovery, any new invention . . . anything which will require a reorganization of the conquered territory will not easily be accepted ...

Where we have fairly evolved human beings able to grow, eager to grow, then Peter Drucker’s management principles seem to be fine. They will work, but only at the top of the hierarchy of human development. They assume ideally a person who has been satisfied in his basic needs in the past, while he was growing up, and who is now being satisfied in his life situation. He was and now is safety-need gratified (not anxious, not fearful). He was and is belongingness-need satisfied (he does not feel alienated, ostracized, orphaned, outside the group; he fits into the family, the team, the society; he is not an unwelcome intruder). He was and is love-need gratified (he has enough friends and enough good ones, a reasonable family life; he feels worthy of being loved and wanted and able to give love-this means much more than romantic love, especially in the industrial situation). He was and is respect-need gratified (he feels respect-worthy, needed, important, etc.; he feels he gets enough ...