Concept · Classic Management Theory
Hierarchy of Needs
Origin: Abraham Maslow (1943)
Biological Parallel
Maslow's pyramid mirrors energy allocation in all organisms: metabolism comes first (food, water), then safety (shelter, territory), then reproduction (mating, offspring), then social status (dominance rank). Bears in pre-hibernation hyperphagia consume 20,000 calories daily, ignoring mating opportunities—survival needs override reproductive drives. But hierarchy isn't rigid: salmon sacrifice survival entirely for reproduction, revealing that priority shifts with life history strategy. Maslow captured a pattern, but biology shows the sequence is conditional, not universal.