The End of Economic Man


Book Description

In The End of Economic Man, long recognized as a cornerstone work, Peter F. Drucker explains and interprets fascism and Nazism as fundamental revolutions. In some ways, this book anticipated by more than a decade the existentialism that came to dominate the European political mood in the postwar period. Drucker provides a special addition to the massive literature on existentialism and alienation since World War II. The End of Economic Man is a social and political effort to explain the subjective consequences of the social upheavals caused by warfare. Drucker concentrates on one specific historical event: the breakdown of the social and political structure of Europe which culminated in the rise of Nazi totalitarianism to mastery over Europe. He explains the tragedy of Europe as the loss of political faith, resulting from the political alienation of the European masses. The End of Economic Man is a book of great social import. It shows not only what might have helped the older generation avert the catastrophe of Nazism, but also how today's generation can prevent another such catastrophe. This work will be of special interest to political scientists, intellectual historians, and sociologists. The book was singled out for praise on both sides of the Atlantic, and is considered by the author to be his most prescient effort in social theory.




The New Realities


Book Description

Even in the flattest landscape there are passes where the road first climbs to a peak and then descends into a new valley. Most of these passes are simply topography with little or no difference in climate, language, or culture between the valleys on either side. But some passes are different: they are true divides. History too knows such divides. Once these divides have been crossed, the social and political landscape changes; the social and political climate is different, and so is the social and political language. Some time between 1965 and 1973 we passed over such a divide and entered "the next century." Challenging, insightful, and provocative, Peter Drucker's The New Realities anticipates the central issues of a rapidly changing world. When it was initially published, in 1989, some reviewers mistakenly thought The New Realities was a book about the future, or in other words, a series of predictions. But, as indicated in the title, the book discusses realities. Drucker argues that events of the next thirty to forty years, or even further on, had already largely been defined by events of the previous half-century. Thus, Drucker discusses episodes in world history that had not yet happened at the time of the book's initial publication, such as: the archaism of the hope for "salvation by society" in "The End of FDR's America"; the democratization of the Soviet Union in "When the Russian Empire is Gone"; the technology boom of the 1990s in "The Information-Based Organization"; and the evolution of management in "Management as Social Function and Liberal Art." Graced with a new preface by the author that discusses both reactions to the original publication of the book and how important it is for decision-makers to consider the past and present when planning for the future, The New Realities is mandatory reading for understanding politics, government, the economy, information technology, and business in an ever-changing world.




Peter F. Drucker on Nonprofits and the Public Sector


Book Description

The Best of Peter F. Drucker on Non-Profits and the Public Sector Peter F. Drucker's classic and timeless insights on improving effectiveness in the public sector--including government agencies, hospitals, universities, and other nonprofits--are as relevant now as when they were written. In these prescient essays, Drucker explores the merits of proper governance for nonprofits and the public sector by offering advice and guidance on effective business management strategies to help leaders of these organizations better understand, and manage, the complex challenges they face in our volatile world. Public sector leaders will learn how to apply many of Drucker's trusted management practices to nonprofits. In this practical guide, Drucker offers insights on a range of perennial issues: the global economy board governance environmental challenges succession planning and other essential management topics Packed with evergreen advice from the world's most trusted management thinker, Peter F. Drucker on Nonprofits and the Public Sector is regarded as essential reading for all leaders in this sector of the economy.




Managing for Results


Book Description

Managing for Results: Economic Tasks and Risk-taking Decisions is a guidebook for those in management position. The book is comprised of 14 chapters that are organized into three parts. The first part talks about understanding the business; this part covers business realities, revenues, resources, and prospects. Part II discusses the opportunities and needs in economic dimensions of a business. Part III covers the key decision, business strategies, and building up economic performance. The book will be useful to managers, entrepreneurs, and individuals who are exposed to a decision-making situation that has an economic implication.




Peter F. Drucker on the Network Economy


Book Description

Succeeding in the Network Economy Peter F. Drucker has inspired and educated managers and influenced the practice of management for generations. Writing across six decades, Drucker was one of the first business thinkers to understand the new rules as well as the skills required for success in the network economy. In this collection of essays, Drucker offers timeless insights on what it takes to lead a profitable enterprise in a time when networks and information have largely replaced consumable goods. He guides executives on how to recognize when to invent the future instead of being overtaken by it. These essays offer advice on many important business topics, including: Planning and strategizing in uncertain times Understanding how a network economy works Cultivating long-term business intelligence Building strategic alliances Mastering the roles and skills required in a network economy Peter F. Drucker on the Network Economy contains insights that have not only proved to be true over time but remain deeply urgent and relevant today.




Men, Ideas, and Politics


Book Description

The Political Issues Impacting Our global economy have changed drastically over the last few decades, but some things have not changed---the relationship between business and politics remains a potent driver of world events. --




The Practice of Management


Book Description

This classic volume achieves a remarkable width of appeal without sacrificing scientific accuracy or depth of analysis. It is a valuable contribution to the study of business efficiency which should be read by anyone wanting information about the developments and place of management, and it is as relevant today as when it was first written. This is a practical book, written out of many years of experience in working with managements of small, medium and large corporations. It aims to be a management guide, enabling readers to examine their own work and performance, to diagnose their weaknesses and to improve their own effectiveness as well as the results of the enterprise they are responsible for.




Managing in the Next Society


Book Description

"To be able to exploit these changes as opportunities for the enterprise ... executives will have to understand the realities of the Next Society and will have to base their policies and strategies on them. To help them do this, to help them successfully manage in the Next Society, is the purpose of this book." - Peter F. Drucker Managing in the Next Society is a collection of Peter Drucker's most strikingly prescient articles from the past five years. Salient and incisive as ever, Drucker ranges widely over the most critical issues facing business and society today to offer advice, admonition and instruction for proactive executives. Divided into four parts, the book offers seaching analysis of the 'information revolution' and the knowledge society it has created. It goes on to scrutinize the unprecedented demographic, economic and sociological transformations of recent times to present an outline of "the Next Society" - which in turn points to a challenging, provocative and at times shocking view of the future. The rapid shrinkage of young people in the developed world for instance looks set to create a fundamental rift in the composition and scope of the mass market. With the work force being dominated by knowledge technologists, traditional personnel policies and personnel management are quickly becoming obsolescent. So what will take their place? And how will enterprises manage a work force which increasingly consists of people who work for the enterprise without being employees of the enterprise? While rapidly expanding in production volume, manufacturing is rapidly shrinking as a creator of wealth and jobs—to the point of becoming marginal socially but paradoxically thereby becoming all the more potent politically. And globalization means the rapid emergence worldwide of a new and dominant middle class. What does all this mean for managements and businesses? Drucker's work has taken a leading place in some of the most celebrated publications in the world, including the Economist, Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal. This book provides the opportunity to sample the very best of Drucker's new writing in one volume. It is absolutely essential reading for any one who wants to know how today's tranformations will affect tomorrow's economic climate.




The Effective Executive


Book Description

The measure of the executive, Peter Drucker reminds us, is the ability to 'get the right things done'. Usually this involves doing what other people have overlooked, as well as avoiding what is unproductive. He identifies five talents as essential to effectiveness, and these can be learned; in fact, they must be learned just as scales must be mastered by every piano student regardless of his natural gifts. Intelligence, imagination and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that convert these into results. One of the talents is the management of time. Another is choosing what to contribute to the particular organization. A third is knowing where and how to apply your strength to best effect. Fourth is setting up the right priorities. And all of them must be knitted together by effective decision-making. How these can be developed forms the main body of the book. The author ranges widely through the annals of business and government to demonstrate the distinctive skill of the executive. He turns familiar experience upside down to see it in new perspective. The book is full of surprises, with its fresh insights into old and seemingly trite situations.




Managing in Turbulent Times


Book Description

Managing in Turbulent Times tackles the key issues facing managers in the 1990s: how to manage in rapidly changing environments. This seminal and prophetic book laid the foundation for a generation of writers on change management. This book concerns the immediate future of business, society and the economy. The one certainty about the times ahead, says Drucker, is that they will be turbulent times. In turbulent times the first task of management is to make sure of the organizations capacity for survival, to make sure of its structural strength and soundness, its capacity to survive a blow, to adapt to sudden change and to avail itself of new opportunities. The author is concerned with action rather than understanding, with decisions rather than analysis. It aims at being a practical book for the decision maker, whether in the private or the public sector.