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Management
Challenges for the 21st Century
By
Peter Drucker
HarperBusiness, 2001 - 224 pages
The nice part about Drucker’s book is that he gives tips
and suggestions, along with things to look for in the next
generation of managing workers.
At times his language can be a bit more boring than his
excellent compilation work The
Essential Drucker but this book is definitely
worth the cost..
Drucker wastes no time in this book by stating what he
believes is the most powerful social force working today and
some of the consequences that arise from it.
He believes the aging of the population in the developed
countries will have profound impacts on future wealth creation
and societal structures. This is a result of a lowering of the
birthrate in these countries.
When you then add the fact that an additional 2 billion
people are projected to live on this planet in the next 20
years you begin to really think about the profound potential
impact to the planet and business.
Drucker states that "the most important, and indeed
the truly unique, contribution of management in the 20th
century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the
'manual worker' in manufacturing. The most important
contribution management needs to make in the 21st century is
similarly to increase the productivity of 'knowledge work' and
the 'knowledge worker.' The most valuable assets of a
20th-century company were its production equipment. The most
valuable asset of a 21st-century institution, whether business
or non-business, will be its knowledge workers and their
productivity."
That comment alone illustrates that Drucker fully
understands the implications that arise from countries
evolving their economies from agricultural to industrial to
service and technology based knowledge economies.
I read a lot of business books and I have to say that
Drucker really gets the “big picture” better than 99.999%
of the people out there. If
you want some other good books related to this book try Free
Agent Nation by Daniel Pink and As
the Future Catches You by Juan Enriquez (two
chapters succinctly FULLY explain the value of the knowledge
worker in the 21st Century. The rest of the book is
extra info. on genomics but it is VERY EASY to read).
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About the
Author:
Peter F. Drucker
was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909. Educated in
Austria and in England, Mr. Drucker holds a
doctorate in Public and International Law from
Frankfurt University in Germany. He also has
received honorary doctorates from American,
Belgian, Czech, English, Japanese, Spanish and
Swiss universities. Since 1971, Mr. Drucker has
been Marie Rankin Clarke Professor of Social
Science and Management at Claremont Graduate
University in Claremont, California, which named
its Graduate Management Center after him in 1987.
In addition to
teaching, Mr. Drucker currently acts as a
consultant, specializing in strategy and policy
for both businesses and nonprofits, and in the
work and organization of top management. He has
worked with many of the world's largest
corporations and with small and entrepreneurial
companies; with nonprofits such as universities,
hospitals and community services; and with
agencies of the U.S. Government as well as with
Free-World governments such as those of Canada and
Japan. In the past, Mr. Drucker has variously been
economist for an international bank in London;
American economist for a group of British and
European banks and investment trusts; and American
correspondent for a group of British newspapers.
From 1950 to
1971, Mr. Drucker was Professor of Management at
the Graduate Business School of New York
University which awarded him the university s
highest honor, the Presidential Citation in 1969.
From 1979 to 1985, he also served as Professorial
Lecturer in Oriental Art at Pomona College, one of
the Claremont Colleges. He also acted as Professor
of Politics and Philosophy at Bennington College
in Bennington, Vermont.
A prolific writer
on subjects relating to society, economics,
politics and management, Mr. Drucker has published
30 books which have been translated into more than
twenty languages. In addition to his writings on
management and economics, he has written an
autobiographical book entitled, Adventures of a
Bystander, and co-authored Adventures of the
Brush; Japanese Paintings. Mr. Drucker has made
several series of educational movies based on his
management books, and he was an editorial
columnist for the Wall Street Journal from 1975 to
1995, and serves as a frequent contributor to
magazines.
On June 21 2001,
Dr. Peter Drucker, author of The Effective
Executive and Management Challenges for the 21st
Century, received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom from President George W. Bush."
Dr. Peter Drucker is the world's foremost pioneer
of management theory. Dr. Drucker has championed
concepts such as privatization, management by
objective and decentralization. He has served as a
consultant to numerous governments, public service
institutions and major corporations. Dr. Drucker
is a Professor of Social Sciences and Management
at the Claremont Graduate University in Claremont,
California, which named its Graduate School of
Management after him. He helped establish and
continues to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the
Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit
Management in New York City, which awards the
Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation.
He is currently applying his expertise to the
management of churches and other faith-based
institutions and to the reorganization of
universities worldwide. It was established by
President Truman in 1945 to recognize civilians
for their service during World War II, and it was
reinstated by President Kennedy in 1963 to honor
distinguished service.
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