Maslow on Management

by Abraham H. Maslow

Anyone who has sat through a psychology course has seen Abraham H. Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a pyramid capped by the highest human need of all, the need for, what Maslow famously termed, self-actualization. Since his death in 1970, Maslow's voluminous writings have made him one of the most influential thinkers in counseling psychology. He is a revered father figure to the human potential movement. But few know him as a brilliantly insightful analyst of how to lead people and make organizations more productive. Maslow on Management should change that.

In 1962, Maslow spent the summer at an electronics factory that was one of the first to try giving workers a say in organizing production. He watched and kept a journal, later published under the intimidating title Eupsychian Management. The book, which had been long out of print, has been republished with extensive commentaries as Maslow on Management.

Some of Maslow on Management is, as Warren Bennis writes in the foreword, "hilariously innocent." Reflecting on the power of well-managed workplaces to unleash creativity, Maslow suggests that the U.S. economy would benefit "if we kept all the factories running at full blast and simply gave things away." Yet his deeper point--that good management leads to good psychological health--is startlingly advanced for 1962, when the business world was still widely thought of as nurturing nothing more than soulless conformity. He was surprisingly prescient, too, in warning that participatory management taken to excess becomes sloppy and weak. While encouraging open communication, an effective leader "should have the power and the ability to keep his mouth shut," Maslow writes. He advises that gentle, permissive management is fine if workers share democratic values, but if not, "break their backs immediately."

Full of rambling, half-finished thoughts and provocative speculations, Maslow on Management is no nine-step plan for building winning work teams. But anyone seriously interested in understanding management will find the book useful as a fascinating reflection of a brilliant mind thinking deeply about the nature and purpose of work. --Barry Mitzman

Genres: Business, Psychology, Management, Nonfiction, Leadership, Reference, Education

312 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow developed the theory of a hierarchy of needs and contended that satisfying basic physiological needs afterward motivates people to attain affection, then esteem, and finally self-actualization.

The first of seven children to Russian immigrant Jewish parents, he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1930, his Magister Artium in 1931 and his Philosophiae Doctor in 1934 in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maslow taught full time at Brooklyn college, then at Brandeis, where he was named chair of psychology in 1951. People know humanist-based Maslow, for proposing for an individual to meet to achieve ably. Maslow analyzed and found reality-centered achievers.

Among many books of Maslow, Religion, Values, and Peak-Experiences , not a free-thought treatise, neither limited "peak experiences" to the religious nor necessarily ascribe such phenomena to supernaturalism. In the introduction to the book, Maslow warned that perhaps "not only selfish but also evil" mystics single-mindedly pursue personal salvation, often at the expense of other persons. The American humanist association named Maslow humanist of the year in 1967.

Later in life, questions, such as, "Why don't more people self-actualize if their basic needs are met? How can we humanistically understand the problem of evil?," concerned Maslow.

In the spring of 1961, Maslow and Tony Sutich founded the Journal of Humanistic Psychology with Miles Vich as editor until 1971. The journal printed its first issue in early 1961 and continues to publish academic papers.

Maslow attended the founding meeting of the association for humanistic psychology in 1963 and declined nomination as its president but argued that the new organization develop an intellectual movement without a leader; this development resulted in useful strategy during the early years of the field.

Maslow, an atheist, viewed religion.

While jogging, Maslow suffered a severe heart attack and died on June 8, 1970 at the age of 62 in Menlo Park, California.

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_...

http://www.maslow.com/

http://psychology.about.com/od/profil...

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/...

http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslo...

Reviews

[Peter Timson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There seems to be a movement to suggest that his work is / was no longer valid. I read this book not long after it was published and about 20 years after his work was introduced to me at university. For me, we should build on his work and not dismiss it. Might save some of the malaise we have at the moment... and ease the mental pressures that seem to be affecting society at some cost. A book that one does not need to read cover-to-cover. One can dip into it.

[Mike Zickar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's refreshing to read Maslow in what was his primary book on management and management theory. Maslow was lured away from academia for a Summer to spend time in an electronics company in San Diego and he was inspired by the organization, Non-Linear Systems, as well as by reading Peter Drucker and Douglas McGregor.

This book is his recorded journal (he dictated it into a recording device) and it is by design, rough and desultory. At times, it feels like notes for a future book, one that unfortunately never got written.

It is fun to chase Maslow's mind around various topics related to management, selling, democracy, and economics. Unlike most psychologists today, he has a great mind for the big picture and the interconnection of our work.

[Rom Gayoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abraham Maslow's genius comes through in his ability to reflect upon our human condition and his formulating theories to help us better understand each other. His Hierarchy of Needs was very influential for me and helped me better understand people's priorities according to their needs. I often look at other societies through these lenses in order to make sense of their thought process.

[Teri Temme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the conversational style of this journal. Fantastic resource and a great read. Can't wait to explore some of his thoughts even more. So happy I finally got the opportunity to read it. Definitely worth it.

[Kim Caudill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Maslow's 36 basic observations on management and critiques of Peter Drucker and interesting synopsis.

[Will Holcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is high on my list of the most important books I have read.

I once had someone tell me that no successful businessman can make it without being ruthless and cutthroat. Maslow makes it clear that this mindset is outdated. We can have a form of capitalism that works very everyone. A business that cares about its employees, the community, and the environment, can be an extremely successful business.

[John R Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maslow takes some time out to consider social psychology on sabbatical. He is best known for self actualisation, part of individual psychology.

He asks what sort of society self actualised people would create, and what forms of society would best produce self actualised individuals.

[Juan Pablo Moncada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabiduría!

Grandioso libro! No deja de aportar en ningún momento sabiduría para todos los aspectos de la vida. Excelente aporte por Abraham Maslow.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Human love is about going to meet someone or waiting for them.

[Al Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overwhelmingly dull. Sad, because I love Maslow's other ideas. Not that he doesn't make good points here, just....ugh. Had to slog through it.

[Michael Beaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sort of book you never stop reading...Just read it over and over...sometimes to remember things forgotten in prior passes, other times to find things missed.

[Christopher LaFayelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

my feeble words to describe this explosion of thought and direction into my feeble brain...Inspirational, it took me here in some ways

[Gerhard Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Sad that not much has change since Maslow wrote this. He apparently said that he feel that his journals were written for his grand-children. Perhaps another few generation I would said.

[Cherida]

So much of my leadership training is pulled from this book. It is an extremely thought provoking read!