Customer Reviews

The Organization of the Future (The Drucker Foundation)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

'The Organization of the Future' is an outstanding integration of much of the current thinking of leadership, organization, strategy, change, and innovation. Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and Richard Beckhard (editors) have gathered together in this collection remarkable 49 thought thinkers.

Charles Handy suggests in his chapter that "Margaret Wheatley, in 'Leadership and the New Science,' has written of the danger of believing in Newtonian organization in a quantum age. Newton wasn't wrong. He just wasn't right enough to cope with the dilemmas of science now. Similarly, the old way of looking at organizations wasn't wrong; it just does not capture the real essence of what it means to organize today." On the other hand, Peter F.Drucker notes in his introduction, "...now a totaly different approach is emerging, not replacing the older approaches but being superimposed on them: it says that the purpose of organizations is to get results 'outside,' that is, to achieve performance in the market. The organization is, however, more than a machine...It is more than economic, defined by results in the marketplace. The organization is, above all, 'social.' It is people. Its purpose must therefore be to make the strengths of people effective and their weaknesses irrelevant."

In this context, the editors divide this book into six parts. They write in their preface, "throughout the chapters in this book, the need for organizations is unquestioned. The authors provide a variety of forms and operating plans for organizations today and tomorrow; at the same time, each recognizes the indispensable role of organizations to human accomplishment and achievement."

Highly recommended.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE FUTURE is the best compilation of essays that I have seen on different ways to organize businesses and nonprofits to achieve different kinds of results. The book is full of intriguing questions and choices, and lots of good ideas about how to make the desired changes you select. Anyone who manages people should read this book, and refer to it when effectiveness questions arise. The only thing that seemed to be missing from this book was a "clean slate" approach to organizations, by imagining what has never existed before. That would be an intriguing addition for future editions. The Drucker Foundation has done a real service to us all by creating its series (THE LEADER ..., THE ORGANIZATION ..., and THE COMMUNITY OF THE FUTURE). I hope that a future version will appear on THE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES OF THE FUTURE. That would be an invaluble complement to this outstanding series.

Editors Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard present a series of short essays by 39 authors describing the structure of tomorrow's organizations. The essays, which are introduced by Peter Drucker, are organized into six main themes: shaping future organizations, new models for working and organizing, organizing for strategic advantage, working and organizing in a wired world, leading people in future organizations and understanding and improving organizational health. Given this approach and more than three dozen authors, some repetition is inevitable, so we [...] wonder if readers will prefer to dip in and choose articles that appeal to them the most. Generally, the book explicates broad trends in structural thinking, almost like a survey of organizational forecasting by top philosophers, authors and leaders in the field. This is sure to intrigue the executives charged with steering large organizations to and through this complex future.

I believe that this book is the kind of book that any manager of the actual era must to read. This is the right way to change the current paradigms about the management at ending 90's.

I love the format that include many articles from differents authors, is very usefull to contrast any point of view with another.

I recommend it for any student of MBA.

The backgrounds of the forty-six authors provides a look at the problems facing organizational growth from many different views. I enjoy the short and complete chapters.

I am using this book for courses in a degree in leadership. This book is a definite plus! It is a compolation of 28 essays from different scholars and executives and is must read for MBA students and business leaders alike.

I am using this book for an MBA course. It is filled with advice and principles that look to the future. The principles are equally applicable to both organization as well as to an individual, if you view yourself as an organiztion of 1.

Editors Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith and Richard Beckhard present a series of short essays by 39 authors describing the structure of tomorrow's organizations. The essays, which are introduced by Peter Drucker, are organized into six main themes: shaping future organizations, new models for working and organizing, organizing for strategic advantage, working and organizing in a wired world, leading people in future organizations and understanding and improving organizational health. Given this approach and more than three dozen authors, some repetition is inevitable, so we [...] wonder if readers will prefer to dip in and choose articles that appeal to them the most. Generally, the book explicates broad trends in structural thinking, almost like a survey of organizational forecasting by top philosophers, authors and leaders in the field. This is sure to intrigue the executives charged with steering large organizations to and through this complex future.

An excellent resource for all managers tasked with developing their organization's future leaders and retaining top performers at all levels.

These 40 essays offer keen insights and practical suggestions on how to accomplish those tasks.

This book should be within easy reach on every CEO's and HR executive's bookshelf!