MASLOW ON MANAGEMENT

Ceylan CIZMELI

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Maslow on Management
Hierarchy of needs Humanistic psychology

Motivation

Synergy

Eupsychian Management

Maslow on Management
1940s: Maslows health problems and his temporary job at Maslow Cooperage in Pleasanton, CA. 1954: Maslows book `Motivation and Personality` was published. 1960: Douglas McGregors book `The Human Side of Enterprise` was published. He introduced two different managerial perspectives based on Maslows humanistic approach, i.e. Theory X and Theory Y.
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McGregors Theory X and Theory Y for Management

1. Theory X Workers are inherently lazy and irresponsible, therefore, a hierarchical management structure is needed with a narrow span of control. 2. Theory Y (Mirror image of Maslows humanistic approach) Workers are hardworking and cooperative by their nature, however, there is a pool of unused creativity in the workforce. So, managers should try to remove those barriers.

Maslow on Management
1962: Maslows sabbatical at NonLinear System (NLS) high-tech company in CA after publishing his book `Toward a Psychology of Being` and his observations of reorganization of the workplace at NLS. The results were striking: Decreased absenteeism and turnover accompanied by increased productivity and profits!

Maslow on Management
Maslows interpretation: Rather than seeing the management as dichotomous (Theory X vs. Theory Y), one should consider it as a continuum and, look for the opportunities of synergy that drives the convergence of the companys and employees interests through what he called `enlightened management`.
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Maslow on Management
Neither X nor Y is a real representation of what is going on in business environment. As people move from basic needs towards self-actualization needs in his so-called hierarchy of needs, the sources of motivation change for them. At the very initial stage, while a highly paid job could be a great motivator, at the later stages being creative, assuming independence or finding a meaning in the job, relating it with the society could be more powerful sources of motivation. He called this compensation (that you come to give more importance to these than how much you are paid over time) as metapay. Thus, taking into account the changing nature of the source of motivation for people as they move further in the hierarchy of needs, and organizing the work environment accordingly are what give rise to the enlightened management.

Maslow on Management
So, the take-home message of the enlightened management for managers: `You have to have different personnel policies for different people in different situations for them to be truly efficient and effective!`

Maslow on Management
The enlightened management reflects a great trust in employees and assumes that every worker prefers to be a prime mover rather than a passive helper. In his book Maslow on Management, he lists 36 principles of Eupsychian Management:

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Maslow on Management
1. 2. Everyone is to be trusted. It is good-will present among all the members of the organization rather than rivalry or jealousy. 3. Everyone is more likely to get more pleasure out of loving than out of hating. 4. Everyone is more likely to prefer responsibility to dependency. 5. Hostility is primarily reactive rather than character-based. 6. Everyone is courageous enough for eupsychian processes. 7. Everyone has a conscience. 8. There is the wisdom and the efficacy of selfchoice by everyone. 9. Every well-developed people would rather create than destroy. 10. Every well-developed people would rather be interested than be bored. 11. Assume that people can take it, that they are tough, stronger than most people give them credit for.

I. Trust in human nature

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Maslow on Management
12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Everyone has the impulse to achieve. Everyone has a tendency towards selfactualization. Everyone is open to development. Everyone prefers to be respected. Everyone has the potential to grow through delight and boredom. Everyone prefers to be a whole person, not a part. Everyone prefers to be a prime mover rather than a passive helper. Everyone has the potential tendency to identify with more and more of the world. Everyone has metamotives and metapays. Everyone prefers meaningful work to meaningless work. Everyone prefers personhood, uniqueness as a person, identity (in contrast to being anonymous or interchangeable).

II. Strong belief in the need for self-actualization within human nature

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Maslow on Management
23. 24. 25. III. Strong belief in capacity, cooperation and productivity of workers 26. 27. 28. 29. Everyone has the same ultimate managerial objectives. Everyone can enjoy good teamwork, friendship, good group spirit. Everyone has the preference for working rather than being idle. Everyone has a tendency to improve things. Everyone involved in the organizations are healthy enough. The organization is healthy enough, whatever this means. People in eupsychian plants are not fixated at the safety-need level

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Maslow on Management
30. 31. 32. Everyone dislikes fearing anyone (more than he likes fearing anyone), but that he prefers fearing the boss to despising the boss. Everyone likes to be justly and fairly appreciated, preferably in public. Everyone prefers or perhaps even needs to love his boss (rather than to hate him), and that everyone prefers to respect his boss (rather than to disrespect him). Everyone has the "ability to admire. Assume that there is no dominancesubordination hierarchy in the jungle sense or authoritarian sense (or "baboon" sense). Everyone is to be informed as completely as possible of as many facts and truths as possible, i.e., everything relevant to the situation.
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IV. Preference for mutual exchange and fair performance evaluations within working environments

33. 34.

35.

Maslow on Management

V. Complexity of human nature

36.

Every time we talk about a good trend in human nature, we must assume that there is also a countertrend.

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Maslow on Management
Is it really possible and cost-effective to achieve this ideal of enlightened management? Was Maslow an utopian or a realist?
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Maslow on Management
1966: Maslow was elected to the presidency of American Psychological Association (APA). Since then till his dead in 1970, he worked on the formulation of a Theory Z approach to management, an alternative to dichotomous approach of McGregor. Today Abraham Maslows theory of eupsychian management is still inspiring many managers and management thinkers to create a humanized the workplaces despite the increasing complexity of working environments.
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Suggested Readings
Maslow Business Reader http://progmanager.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/m aslow-on-management/ http://www.maslow.org/sub/assumptions.php http://eqi.org/maslow.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hste in/hoff2.htm

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