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Rating: 
Summary: Great even if dated.
Review: Even dated there is something to be learned from this book. Drucker is one of the few people who not only talks about the future of business but clarifies the present business climate. Even when he is wrong about what will happen, which he will be one of the first to say, he is smart enough to admit it and learn from it. Drucker gives solid practical advice and insight to all aspects of business. And more importantly what should be part of business. I give the book a B+ on the StuPage just because of it being dated.
Rating:
Summary: Team leader
Review: Outsourcing has less to do with economizing than with quality. Information is replacing authority. Most people still have the big company mentality buried in their assumptions. A knowledge economy's greatest pitfall is becoming a mandarin meritocracy. The key to the productivity of knowledge workers is to make them concentrate on real assignments. One should be intolerant of intellectual arrogance. A balance needs to be worked out between specialization and exposure. Every organization has a theory of business. Sometimes reality changes but the theory of business does not change with it. The assumption that the computer industry is hardware driven paralyzed IBM. Assumptions about environment, mission, and core competencies must fit reality. Rapid growth is a sure sign there is a crisis in the business theory. Unexpected success and unexpected failure equally show an inadequate theory of business. Mass retailers had based their strategy on market homogeneity. Whosoever exploits structural trends is almost certain to succeed. The worship of premium pricing always creates a market for the competition. There is a trend toward alliances as a vehicle of business growth. The modern organization has social responsibility. An organization is effective only if it concentrates on one task. Knowledge workers cannot be supervised effectively. In team building there are three kinds of teams. The first is the baseball team with fixed positions. The second is the football team where players play as a team at the behest of a coach. The third is the tennis doubles team where players have primary rather than fixed positions. History books record the squalor of early industry. Nevertheless, the workers were better off working in the factories than they were on the farm or in domestic service. Blue collar workers were manual laborers. The emerging society is one based on knowledge. The central workforce will consist of highly specialized people. The knowledge society is an employee society. The Japanese term for continuous improvement is kaizen. An old Bell Telephone invention is benchmarking. For the most part downsizing has not resulted in the hoped for improvements. The book is a collection of essays and interviews. The middle sags but the material near the beginning and the end of the volume is first rate.
Rating:
Summary: Team leader
Review: Outsourcing has less to do with economizing than with quality. Information is replacing authority. Most people still have the big company mentality buried in their assumptions. A knowledge economy's greatest pitfall is becoming a mandarin meritocracy. The key to the productivity of knowledge workers is to make them concentrate on real assignments. One should be intolerant of intellectual arrogance. A balance needs to be worked out between specialization and exposure. Every organization has a theory of business. Sometimes reality changes but the theory of business does not change with it. The assumption that the computer industry is hardware driven paralyzed IBM. Assumptions about environment, mission, and core competencies must fit reality. Rapid growth is a sure sign there is a crisis in the business theory. Unexpected success and unexpected failure equally show an inadequate theory of business. Mass retailers had based their strategy on market homogeneity. Whosoever exploits structural trends is almost certain to succeed. The worship of premium pricing always creates a market for the competition. There is a trend toward alliances as a vehicle of business growth. The modern organization has social responsibility. An organization is effective only if it concentrates on one task. Knowledge workers cannot be supervised effectively. In team building there are three kinds of teams. The first is the baseball team with fixed positions. The second is the football team where players play as a team at the behest of a coach. The third is the tennis doubles team where players have primary rather than fixed positions. History books record the squalor of early industry. Nevertheless, the workers were better off working in the factories than they were on the farm or in domestic service. Blue collar workers were manual laborers. The emerging society is one based on knowledge. The central workforce will consist of highly specialized people. The knowledge society is an employee society. The Japanese term for continuous improvement is kaizen. An old Bell Telephone invention is benchmarking. For the most part downsizing has not resulted in the hoped for improvements. The book is a collection of essays and interviews. The middle sags but the material near the beginning and the end of the volume is first rate.
Rating: 
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: Peter Drucker's greatest hits. That's the easiest way to describe this book, which compiles essays written by the ultimate management guru from 1991 to 1994. All of theses essays are about change: changes in the economy, society, business and in organizations in general. Drucker's advice on how managers should adjust to these tectonic shifts centers around the rise of the now ubiquitous knowledge worker and the global economy. As always, Drucker's analysis is far enough ahead of the curve that his 90s-era observations and conclusions are still relevant in the 21st century. We from getAbstract recommend this seamlessly organized book as the perfect introduction to one of the most important management thinkers of his generation.
Rating:
Summary: The best scientific book on managing
Review: Peter F. Drucker 1995 book is the expected counter scientific answer for Managers in a Time of great change. To manage complexity properly in all fields we always have had the need of a good theory so that we can make not only predictions but also controling our changing environment. The Drucker`s theory of Business is based on a fundamental schema he also uses in the most original theory of society we have ever heard. Transcending the traditional dualistic paradigm of dividing society into two sectors, the Public sector or Goverment and the Private sector or Business, Drucker propose a threefold schema, which can be very useful among all in, in those countries in which "the social sector" is a political mean to maintain the control of people at any price. In this sense he is completely right when he says that there are not poor countries, but countries bad administrated. The most important thing with Drucker thought is that is consistent, precise and why not scientific. Today when change is a fashion word this book is a great aid for those leaders interested to take their organization into a new stage of mankind.
Rating:
Summary: Drucker's Trumpet of Change: Knowledge
Review: Similiar to Kennedy's (1993) "Preparing for the Twenty-First Century," Drucker's presentation is different. Drucker uses less jargon; does not read as research article; provides perspective on shared topics; and touches on areas not covered by Kennedy. Drucker provides a analysis of four major change issues: management, the information-based organization, the economy, and the society. Drucker could have subsituted the concept "knowledge" for "change" for his theme. His assessments, projections, and questions are crisp. He gives the reader more substance than just raw data, interweaving data within a setting to provide a more familiar, dimensional look at an issue. For those readers looking to understand the current business and social environment, Drucker's exploration will not be disappointing. For those active in business, his writing may confirm what experienced managers are already aware. Drucker's book may make a viable text for college undergraduate and graduate students considering today's economic and social factors, their relationships, and possible outcomes in tomorrow's society.
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