Father of Management

For the alphabet 'F' in the A2Z challenge, I was initially planning to write on the topic "Flexibility in Management". However, I felt that the first post of the challenge which dealt with "Agility in Business" had more or less discussed the importance of being flexible, innovative, fast and smart to handle 'uncertain ' economic scenario of today. Therefore, I decided to write instead on the "Father of Management" who richly deserves our tribute for the following: (1) Enunciating innovative management thoughts (2) His ideas have stood the test of time (3) Predicted many future events/developments like the emergence of the "Knowledge worker", a term coined by him in 1959. (4) we still rely to a great extent on his thoughts to manage businesses of today.

Yes I am refering to the one and only Peter.F. Drucker, whose book " The practice of Management" written in 1954 was the first book to look at management as a whole and the manager role as a separate responsibility. The book created the discipline of modern management practices. Drucker, born on November 19, 1909 was an Austrian-American management consultant. educator and author. His writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation.

In 1971, Drucker developed one of country's first executive MBA programs for working professionals at Claremont Graduate University and was the professor of social science and management of the said university till his death at the age of 95 in 2005. The school was named the Peter.F.Drucker Graduate School of Management in his honour in 1987.

Drucker has written 39 books which have been translated in to 36 languages. Some of the popular books include "The Effective Executive,” 1966; “Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices,” 1974; and “Managing in a Time of Great Change,” 1995. In 2004, he released “The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done.” Drucker has also written a regular column in the Wall Street Journal for 10 years and contributed frequently to Harward Business Review, The Atlantic Monthly and the Economist. He made eight series of educational films on management topics.

As a consultant, Peter Drucker did not rely blindly on statistics. He liked to probe further by asking important questions to self/ others and thinking through a problem. After answering the questions, the client would come out with solutions themselves. He believed in practising ethics and morality in business as also treating the employees well for best results. He believed that dedicated employees are key to the success of any company. He always put marketing and innovation ahead of finances and problems associated with it. Drucker pioneered the corporate social responsibilty (integrating social and environmental concerns in business operations) concept which is today a norm and a legal requirement in many countries.

Peter Drucker in his books had predicted many of the major developments of the late twentieth century, such as privatization and decentralization; the rise of Japan to economic world power; the decisive importance of marketing; and the emergence of the information society and lifelong learning associated with it. After the big stock market decline of October 1987, Drucker said he had expected it- “Pigs gorging themselves at the trough are always a disgusting spectacle, and you know it won’t last long.” and added further “When you reach the point where the traders make more money than investors, you know it’s not going to last,” .

The motivational techniques of Drucker were used by executives at some of the biggest companies in corporate America, including Intel Corp. and  Sears, Roebuck & Co. Business Week magazine hailed Drucker as “the most enduring management thinker of our time,” and Forbes magazine featured him on its cover in 1997 with the headline: “Still the Youngest Mind.” The "father of management" and his innovative ideas are sorely missed by the industry all over the world. However, he will continue to be fondly remembered in the years to come as the flavour of his ideas is reflected in almost all of the modern management practices.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z 2023