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Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualisation in employee motivation encompasses the concept that a human need is no longer a motivator when that need is satisfied, with people then motivated by the next hierarchical unsatisfied need. An organisation must offer managers and workers a means for climbing the hierarchy in order to maintain motivation. The top of the hierarchy is self-actualisation, whereby people become fully involved in a self-satisfying external cause by working at something they fully enjoy.

A survey of University Business Schools (UBSs) in the United Kingdom and United States illustrates how these institutions can be subject to contradictory pressures, from the academic envionment and from the business community. An important area of conflict is the long-term perspective of the academic world compared with the need for a quick response required by business. The conflict between these two cultures can lead to uncertainty about the role of UBSs, though some of the problems of organization which affect UBSs also apply to parent universities, and solutions can thus be extrapolated.