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Management Challenges for the 21st Century
by Peter F. Drucker - A Review
Walter J. Geldart, M. Eng., M. Div. - September, 1999
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section one
Abstract
Peter F. Drucker, in his new book, Management Challenges for the 21st
Century, provides insightful and timely information for individuals and
organizations alike as they work toward common goals in the next one
hundred years. 1
Drucker reviews the seven major assumptions that have been held by experts
in the field of management for most of the 20th century, and shows why they
are now obsolete. He goes on to give eight new assumptions for the 21st
century, ones that are essential for viewing the roles of individuals and
management in both profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Neither individuals nor organizations can be successful if they stick with the
old assumptions, according to Drucker, just as the horse and carriage can no
longer compete with the automobile. If Drucker is right, then this has major
implications for individuals, organizations, and management consultants who
would use process models, personality type theory, and ideas of human
consciousness to improve individual, team, and organizational performance.
Personality type theories such as the MBTI or Enneagram Personality
Types similarly describe typical patterns of consciousness that result from
strongly held preferences in individuals - fixed habitual mind-sets. And
organizations themselves can be described in terms of Type theory. 1b
Commenting from the point of view of psychology and personality theory,
we demonstrate in our review of the six chapter of Drucker's new book how
the analysis of one of this century's leading management thinkers is
consistent with a model of information-sharing that values 'whole type'.
Chapter One - Management's New Paradigm
The Seven Old Assumptions of Management
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section two
'Neither studies nor computer modeling are a substitute for the test of reality,'
according to Drucker. So what he recommends as the right way to introduce
change is the piloting of new or improved systems. Drucker sees change and
continuity as two poles rather than mutually exclusive opposites. In order to
be a change leader it is necessary to have internal and external continuity.
commentary:
People and organizations need to develop the practice of balance in
management. People and organizations may have a preferred, habitual, or
biased way of adapting that are described by type theory. In spite of this, a
Whole Process perspective is needed so that new management assumptions,
strategies, and change leadership practices may be implemented in a more
balanced and effective way.
Chapter 4 - Information Challenges
Drucker describes the new information revolution that is gaining skip to
momentum as follows.
section five
So far, for fifty years, Information Technology has centered on DATA -their
collection, storage, transmission, presentation. It has focused on the T' in
IT'. The new information revolutions focus on the I'. They ask, What is the
MEANING of information and its PURPOSE?' And this is leading rapidly to
redefining the tasks to be done with the help of information and, with it, to
redefining the institutions that do these tasks." 15
It is now necessary to define information, new ideas, and new paradigms.
More data, more technology, and more speed is not needed from IT. Data is
not information until it is organized in meaningful patterns. Drucker gives
some popular methods of organizing management data. 16
1. Key Events on which performance hinges primarily.
2. Probability Theory to identify events outside a normal probability
distribution.
3. Threshold Phenomenon to screen data until is passes a threshold of
significance.
4. Pay attention to unusual events and determine their significance.
5. Direct impartial observations by outsiders is essential.
commentary:
Outside information is needed because misinformation or wrong data may be
inadvertently supplied by an organization's own people in their rush to meet
expectations. A few years ago, before the financial collapse in mainland Asia,
must prefer to work for the organization, over all other opportunities.
commentary:
The "care and feeding" of autonomous individual knowledge-workers will
become more and more important as new management assumptions replace
old ones. These new assumptions will require new process models of human
consciousness. Manual-worker productivity was made possible by Taylor's
four dimensional object-motion-time-task study. We must assume that three
and four dimensional knowledge-task modeling will be needed for similar
breakthroughs in knowledge-worker productivity in the 21st century.
Chapter 6 - Managing Oneself
The first six chapters covered changes in the environment: in
society, economy, politics, technology. The concluding chapter
focuses of the individual. Drucker discusses five demands on
knowledge-workers. 19
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conclusion
9. Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson, The Wisdom of the Enneagram,
Bantam, 1999, 389 pages.
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9a. I suggest that a 'fifth function' needs to be added to Jung's four original
functions. For a description of this, please see John Fudjack's article,
"Geldart's Fifth Function - an ingenious strategy for reconciling the
Enneagram and MBTI, in 'The Enneagram and the MBTI - an Electronic
Journal', at http://tap3x.net/EMBTI/jfifth.html, July 1998.
The intentional object type is represented by the action of a moving function.
Body language is one example of moving function. Here body movement and
expressions convey the intentions on a person's mind. Talking and listening,
writing and reading communicate information by moving functions that
modulate the information carrier.
Talking is represented by moving vocal cords to modulate air with sounds
that have meaning. These transmitted air movements are received by ears that
vibrate to reproduce the original sound. This is the principle of the telephone.
If someone hears the sounds and listens to what they mean in their commonly
held language convention - the moving functions have conveyed the
intentional object type.
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10. Drucker, pages 43-44.
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11. Mortimer Adler, the prominent American philosopher, has written
extensively about the serious logical errors made by omitting the third type of
object (intentional) that can be held in people's minds. (see Mortimer J.
Adler, Adler's Philosophical Dictionary, 125 Key Words for the Philosopher's
Lexicon, Scribner, 1995, pages 39-46.)
The 'intentional' object type is a combination of real and subjective object
types. Real objects exist in the world whether human's are present or not. The
real objects that humans think of is called a real object type. A subjective
object exist within one person. The subjective objects that humans think of is
called a subjective object type. If two people communicate with each other
and are able to share what is on their mind - about real or subjective object
types - then the intentional object type exists in their minds. It is a creation by
word, sign, or symbol. Only humans have libraries and language to
accomplish this.
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12. John Fudjack, "Geldart's Fifth Function - an ingenious strategy for
reconciling the Enneagram and MBTI, in 'The Enneagram and the MBTI - an
Electronic Journal', at http://tap3x.net/EMBTI/jfifth.html, July 1998.
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13. Walter J. Geldart, "Why the 'Enneagram of CONSCIOUSNESS'?", in
'The Enneagram and the MBTI - an Electronic Journal', at
http://tap3x.net/EBMTI/jconsc.html,
July 1998.
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14. Drucker, page 73.
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15. Ibid., page 97.
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16. Ibid., page 127-130.
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17. Ibid., pages 136-137.
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18. Ibid., page 142.
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19. Ibid., page 164.
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20. Ibid., pages 165-168.
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21. Ibid., page 169.
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22. Communication fails when people do not know or understand what is on
another person's mind. If people do not engage in dialog for the purpose of
understanding - then it is very easy for ONLY the 'real' and 'subjective'
objects types to exist. There is no closure or meeting of minds. Knowledge
transfer for autonomous knowledge workers requires dialog to reach
understanding. Adler recommends the Socratic method of inquiry to achieve
dialog.
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