Pyramid of Logical Levels A personality has several basic qualities that give rise to many beliefs, which, in turn, give impetus to the development of even more numerous skills, expressed in various types behavior and helping to adapt to different

Share with a friend:

Let's say that you come home and you urgently need to finish reading a chapter interesting book, however, you feel incredibly hungry. In this case, will you first take up the book, and not the refrigerator door? Hardly. It all lies in the basic needs that every person has, and Maslow's pyramid systematized them.

The basic concept is as follows: until a person satisfies his basic desires, for example, satisfies his hunger, he will not think about high things. Naturally, there are exceptions, which only confirm the rule - after all, all people are different. But it was still possible to put forward several main assumptions, which later formed the basis of a diagram where needs are arranged according to a hierarchy - step by step, from the lowest levels to the highest.

Maslow's theory is based on such ideas. The pyramid, according to many sources, appeared later - the psychologist’s thoughts were simply presented in a more convenient and visual form.

However, you cannot rely only on this table, since everyone has different goals in life. For some, the priority is power and its achievement; for others, respect in the family circle will be enough.

Maslow's pyramid consists of 5 main categories, also called steps:

1. Basic, physiological needs: hunger, thirst, procreation.
2. Protection and safety needs; comfort.
3. Social needs: having a couple, family, friends, the need for care and love.
4. The need for success and recognition.
5. Spiritual needs: self-development, self-expression, self-identification.

The further a person reaches in his aspirations, the more developed he is spiritually and emotionally, the more clearly the qualities of his personality and character appear, the more he is aware of his actions. There are also those people who will go far for the sake of their ideals - they may even neglect to satisfy basic needs just to achieve what they want.

First stage: physiological needs

The needs of this category belong to those that are also called instinctive. They are the most basic, and it is to them that a person pays attention first. If he does not satisfy the desires of the first level, he simply will not be able to exist normally. An example is the feeling of hunger. It is unlikely that you will go to achieve success in business without first having a hearty breakfast. This level also includes:

• oxygen;
• sexual desire;
• in addition to the food itself - water (drink).

Although these needs are important, they do not dominate the individual all the time. It is enough to satisfy them minimally to move to the next step in Maslow’s pyramid. Frequent diet breakdowns are also a good example.

The average woman who doesn't have too much strong desire to lose weight, sooner or later she will fail anyway, because she has a need to satisfy her hunger.

Second stage: need for protection

When Small child he is afraid of monsters under the bed, he absolutely does not care what his peers think about him at this moment. The only thing he wants to do is call his parents for help. That's what he does. This is a manifestation of the needs of the second level: a person needs comfort. If he is not there, then he feels uncomfortable, cannot concentrate on doing other things, and becomes irritated.

This is why constant contact with mother or father is so important for a child. In loved ones you can see security, a faithful friend who will always save and support.

The popularity of religion is also due to the need for protection. Feeling patronized higher powers, the person calms down, believes that everything is fine, and that help will definitely come if something bad happens.

Third stage: social needs

A person wants to join society and become part of it. He is afraid of loneliness. Such a need becomes significant when the needs of the previous stages are satisfied.

All their lives people are looking for company - a soul mate, family, true friends. During adolescence, the need to be part of something becomes dominant, overshadowing everything else. That is why there are subcultures, groups where there is a clear leader - everyone else follows him. Teenagers very often look for an idol to inherit their behavior.

Over time, the circle of acquaintances narrows. Usually there are several close friends next to a person, the rest remain at the level of friends. Of course, everything here also depends on certain type individuals, because there are also those who, even in mature age strive for new acquaintances. However, usually people try to become a full-fledged, formed unit of society. For this there must be permanent partner, children, several good friends. When this need is satisfied, a person thinks about success.

Stage four: need for success and recognition

When you have both a family and a home, thoughts come to mind that you need to do something else to make your name known, so that others will talk about you. However, as noted at the beginning of the article, Maslow’s pyramid also allows for the fact that for some, a reliable reputation only among their family is enough. The majority begins to look for themselves in others. This is how ideas about creating new projects and starting a business are born. Most often, this satisfaction of this need becomes a priority among teenagers (to do something that others do not do in order to look cooler) and among people who have already more or less settled down.

Anyone will be pleased if others appreciate what he does, respect him not only as a unit of society, but also as an individual. This is why the statement is so popular that work that you like ceases to be work - a person who has internal motivation and a desire to do something will do it even if there is no reward for it, except attention and approval from others. Because of this, the fourth level is so connected with the fifth, last, highest level.

Fifth stage: spiritual needs

When a person finds his recognition and does everything to achieve mastery in this area, he is at the very top of Maslow's pyramid. Many people want to engage in self-development, since this feeling is inherent in all people, but few actually begin to develop spiritually. Maslow believed there were several reasons for this:

• fear of being unaccepted, misunderstood (usually comes from childhood);
• stereotypes that have taken root in society (it is they who prevent women from mastering “male” professions, and men from mastering “female” ones);
• fear of taking risks (the sense of security is violated, there is no satisfaction of the second level according to Maslow’s pyramid).

A person who is able to resist is ready to move forward. Usually she already has a set of qualities acquired thanks to life experience– creativity, democratic character, acceptance of not only oneself, but also human nature, resistance to social stereotypes, independence, willingness to learn from oneself and others.
Abraham Maslow believed that only 2-3% of people reach the last stage.

Maslow's pyramid also has a more detailed classification, consisting of 7 levels. The first four needs remain the same as the first classification (physiology; safety; care and love; success and recognition). The fifth stage is divided into three levels:

• needs for knowledge of the surrounding world;
• needs for beauty, aesthetics, improvement of the bad;
• self-development.

The five (or seven) steps only reflect the basic needs of humanity, and Maslow’s pyramid can be useful in that it teaches you to correctly understand and, most importantly, accept your desires and needs. It is worth remembering that everything, first of all, depends on the person himself, on his way of thinking and goals for the future.

American psychologist Abraham Maslow spent his entire life trying to prove the fact that people are constantly in the process of self-actualization. By this term he meant a person’s desire for self-development and constant realization of internal potential. Self actualization is highest level among the needs that constitute several levels in the human psyche. This hierarchy, described by Maslow in the 50s of the 20th century, was called the “Theory of Motivation” or, as it is commonly called now, the pyramid of needs. Maslow's theory, that is, the pyramid of needs has a step structure. The American psychologist himself explained this increase in needs by saying that a person will not be able to experience higher-level needs until he satisfies the basic and more primitive ones. Let's take a closer look at what this hierarchy is.

Classification of needs

Maslow's pyramid of human needs is based on the thesis that human behavior is determined by basic needs, which can be arranged in the form of steps, depending on the significance and urgency of their satisfaction for a person. Let's look at them starting from the lowest.

First stage - physiological needs. A person who is not rich and does not have many of the benefits of civilization, according to Maslow’s theory, will experience needs, first of all, of a physiological nature. Agree, if you choose between lack of respect and hunger, first of all you will satisfy your hunger. Physiological needs also include thirst, the need for sleep and oxygen, and sexual desire.

Second stage - need for security. A good example Infants serve here. Not yet having a psyche, babies at the biological level, after satisfying thirst and hunger, seek protection and calm down only by feeling the warmth of their mother nearby. In adult life the same thing happens. U healthy people the need for security manifests itself in a mild form. For example, in the desire to have social guarantees in employment.

Third stage - the need for love and belonging. In Maslow's pyramid of human needs, after satisfaction of physiological needs and security, a person craves the warmth of friendly, family or love relationship. The goal of finding a social group that will satisfy these needs is the most important and significant task for a person. The desire to overcome the feeling of loneliness, according to Maslow, became a prerequisite for the emergence of all kinds of interest groups and clubs. Loneliness contributes to social maladaptation of a person and the occurrence of serious mental illnesses.

Fourth stage - need for recognition. Every person needs society to evaluate his or her merits. Maslow's need for recognition is divided into a person's desire for achievement and reputation. It is by achieving something in life and earning recognition and reputation that a person becomes confident in himself and his abilities. Failure to satisfy this need, as a rule, leads to weakness, depression, and a feeling of despondency, which can lead to irreversible consequences.

Fifth stage – the need for self-actualization (aka self-realization). According to Maslow's theory, this need is the highest in the hierarchy. A person feels the need for improvement only after satisfying all lower-level needs.

These five points contain the entire pyramid, that is, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As the creator of the theory of motivation himself noted, these stages are not as stable as they seem. There are people whose order of needs is an exception to the rules of the pyramid. For example, for some, self-affirmation is more important than love and relationships. Look at careerists and you will see how common such a case is.

Maslow's pyramid of needs has been challenged by many scientists. And the point here is not only the instability of the hierarchy created by the psychologist. In unusual situations, for example during war or in extreme poverty, people managed to create great works and accomplished heroic deeds. Thus, Maslow tried to prove that even without satisfying their basic and fundamental needs, people realized their potential. The American psychologist responded to all such attacks with only one phrase: “Ask these people if they were happy.”

4. Gertsberg's 2-factor model

The two-factor theory of F. Herzberg is based on two large categories of needs: hygiene factors and motivating factors. Hygiene factors connected with environment, in which the work is carried out, and motivating - with the nature of the work.

Herzberg called the first category of needs hygienic, using medical significance the words “hygiene” (prevention), since, in his opinion, these factors describe the employee’s environment and serve primary functions, preventing job dissatisfaction. Herzberg called the second category of factors motivating or enabling, as they encourage employees to perform better.

Hygiene and motivating factors in Herzberg's theory

It should be noted that Herzberg made the paradoxical conclusion that wages are not a motivating factor. Indeed, in the table wage is in the category of factors leading to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

5. Complex system of economic conditions

Conjuncture- the state of any social phenomenon at a certain point in time. Depending on what particular phenomenon serves as the object of study, conditions are distinguished: economic, political, social; demographic; socio-political, etc. Each of these types of conjuncture, in turn, is the basis for a more complex typology of the states of elements within a given phenomenon. For example, economic conditions can be classified according to hierarchy levels (world economic conditions, economic conditions of a particular local market) or by coverage of the product range (general business or commodity). The situation can only be studied from the perspective of a dynamic approach.

The economic situation is very complex system, which can be studied from a variety of perspectives. It was this circumstance that was the reason that there are almost as many definitions of economic conditions as there are authors devoting their own to it. scientific works. In the domestic economic literature there is a narrow and broad interpretation of the concept of economic conditions, however, in both cases, the term “conjuncture” means a temporary, transitory, peculiar combination of specific economic, social, weather and other conditions and factors that affect the formation and interaction of supply and demand. In order to give the most acceptable definition of the economic situation, it is necessary to carefully analyze the properties and structure of the economic situation. It should immediately be noted that, despite the relative autonomy of each economic situation in an individual market, it is only an element of a more complex economic situation at a higher level of the hierarchy. At the same time, each element of the economic situation being studied can be presented on its own or in the form of a system of more low level hierarchy, or as a result of the functioning of such a system.

6. Functional structure assumes that each management body is specialized in performing individual functions at all levels of management.

Compliance with the instructions of each functional body within its competence is mandatory for production units. Decisions on general issues are made collectively. The functional specialization of the management apparatus significantly increases its efficiency, since instead of universal managers who must understand all functions, a staff of highly qualified specialists appears.

The structure is aimed at performing constantly recurring routine tasks that do not require prompt decision-making. They are used in the management of organizations with mass or large-scale production, as well as in cost-type economic mechanisms, when production is least susceptible to scientific and technical progress.

Functional management structure

Application area: single-product enterprises; enterprises implementing complex and long-term innovative projects; medium-sized highly specialized enterprises; research and development organizations; large specialized enterprises.

Key Benefits of a Functional Structure:

High competence of specialists responsible for the implementation of specific functions;

Freeing line managers from dealing with many special issues and expanding their capabilities for operational production management;

Use of experienced specialists for consultations, reducing the need for generalists;

Reducing the risk of wrong decisions;

Elimination of duplication in the performance of management functions.

The disadvantages of the functional structure include:

Difficulties in maintaining constant relationships between various functional services;

Lengthy decision-making procedure;

Lack of mutual understanding and unity of action between functional services; reducing the responsibility of performers for work as a result of the fact that each performer receives instructions from several managers;

Excessive interest in achieving the goals and objectives of their departments;

Reduced personal responsibility for the final result;

The difficulty of monitoring the progress of the process as a whole and for individual projects;

A relatively frozen organizational form that has difficulty responding to changes.

A type of functional structure is linear-functional structure. The linear-functional structure ensures such a division of managerial labor in which the linear management links are called upon to command, and the functional links are called upon to advise, assist in the development of specific issues and prepare appropriate decisions, programs, and plans.

Linear-functional management structure

Heads of functional departments (marketing, finance, R&D, personnel) exercise influence on production departments formally. As a rule, they do not have the right to independently give them orders. The role of functional services depends on the scale of economic activity and the management structure of the company as a whole. Functional services carry out all technical preparation of production; prepare solutions to issues related to the management of the production process.

Advantages of a linear-functional structure:

More in-depth preparation of decisions and plans related to the specialization of workers;

Freeing line managers from resolving many issues related to financial planning, logistics, etc.;

Building relationships “manager - subordinate” along the hierarchical ladder, in which each employee is subordinate to only one manager.

Disadvantages of a linear-functional structure:

Each link is interested in achieving its own narrow goal, and not the overall goal of the company;

Lack of close relationships and interaction at the horizontal level between production departments;

An overly developed vertical interaction system;

Accumulation at the top level along with strategic operational tasks.

7. Divisional structure - an enterprise management structure in which the management of individual products and individual functions is clearly separated. A divisional structure arises when the main criterion for uniting employees into departments is the products manufactured by the organization.

The divisional structure is sometimes called the product structure, program structure, or self-contained business unit structure. Each of these terms means the same thing: different departments come together to produce a single organizational result—a product, program, or service for a single customer.

The emergence of such structures is due to a sharp increase in the size of enterprises, the diversification of their activities, and the increasing complexity of technological processes in a dynamically changing environment.

The main difference between a divisional structure and a functional one is that the management chain for each function converges in the divisional hierarchy at a lower level. In a divisional structure, differences of opinion between departments will be resolved at the level of the division, rather than the head of the company.

In a divisional structure, divisions are created as autonomous units with their own functional departments for each division.

An alternative to product line divisionalization is to group companies' activities by geographic region or customer group.

In such a structure, all functions in a particular country or region report to one division manager. The structure helps to focus the company's efforts on the needs of the local market. Competitive advantage can be achieved through the production or marketing of a product or service that is tailored to the characteristics of a given country or region.

Famous Maslow's pyramid of needs, which is familiar to many from social studies lessons, reflects the hierarchy of human needs.

Recently, it has been criticized by psychologists and sociologists. But is it really useless? Let's try to figure it out.

The essence of Maslow's pyramid

The work of the scientist himself and common sense suggest that the previous level of the pyramid does not necessarily have to be “closed” 100% before there is a desire to be realized at the next level.

In addition, it is obvious that under the same conditions one person will feel some need satisfied, but another will not.

It can be said that different people different heights of the steps of the pyramid. Let's talk about them in more detail next.

Levels of Maslow's pyramid

Quite briefly and succinctly, the essence of Maslow’s pyramid can be explained as follows: until the needs of the lowest order are satisfied to a certain extent, a person will not have “higher” aspirations.

The work of the scientist himself and common sense suggest that the previous level of the pyramid does not necessarily have to be “closed” 100% before there is a desire to be realized at the next level. In addition, it is obvious that under the same conditions one person will feel some need satisfied, but another will not. We can say that different people have different heights of the steps of the pyramid. Let's talk about them in more detail next.

Physiological needs

First of all, this is the need for food, air, water and enough sleep. Naturally, without this, a person will simply die. Maslow also included the need for sexual intercourse in this category. These aspirations make us related and it is impossible to escape them.

Need for security

This includes both simple “animal” safety, i.e. the presence of a reliable shelter, the absence of the threat of attack, etc., both due to our society (for example, people experience enormous stress when there is a risk of losing their job).

Need for belonging and love

This desire to be part of a certain social group, take their place in it, which is accepted by other members of this community. The need for love needs no explanation.

Need for respect and recognition

This is recognition of a person’s achievements and successes as much as possible big amount members of society, although for some their own family will be enough.

Need for knowledge, research

At this stage, a person begins to be burdened by various ideological issues, such as the meaning of life. There is a desire to immerse yourself in science, religion, esotericism, and try to understand this world.

The need for aesthetics and harmony

It is understood that at this level the person strives to find beauty in everything and accepts the Universe as it is. In everyday life he strives for maximum order and harmony.

Need for self-realization

This is the definition of your abilities and their maximum implementation. A person at this stage primarily engages in creative activity, is actively developing spiritually. According to Maslow, only about 2% of humanity reaches such heights.

You can see a generalized view of the pyramid of needs in the figure. You can cite a large number of examples both confirming and refuting this scheme. Thus, our hobbies often help satisfy the desire to belong to a certain community.

Thus they pass one more step. Around us we see many examples of people who have not reached level 4 of the pyramid and therefore experience some mental discomfort.

However, not everything is so smooth. You can easily find examples that do not fit into this theory. The easiest way to find them is in history. For example, young Charles Darwin’s thirst for knowledge appeared during a very dangerous voyage, and not in a calm and well-fed home.

Such contradictions lead to the fact that today a large number of scientists reject the familiar pyramid of needs.

Application of Maslow's pyramid

And yet Maslow’s theory has found its application in our lives. Marketers use it to target certain aspirations of the individual; some personnel management systems, by manipulating employee motivation, are built on the basis of a pyramid.

Abraham Maslow's creation can help each of us when setting personal goals, namely: deciding what you really want and what you really need to achieve.

In conclusion, we note that in original works Maslow did not directly contain the pyramid. She was born only 5 years after his death, but of course on the basis of the scientist’s work. According to rumors, Abraham himself reconsidered his views at the end of his life. How seriously to take his creation these days is up to you.