Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Business enterprises-and public-service institutions as well-are organs of society..." (more)
Key Phrases: simulated decentralization, nonbusiness service institutions, making work productive, World War, United States, General Motors (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Essential." -- -- Library Journal

"He covers a great deal of ground. His style is crisp, often arresting.... A host of stories and case histories from Sears Roebuck, Marks & Spencer, IBM, Siemens, Mitsubishi, and other modern giants lend color and credibility to the points he makes.... Most wide-ranging and comprehensive." -- The Economist

Product Description

Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices

Management is an organized body of knowledge. "This book," in Peter Drucker's words, "tries to equip the manager with the understanding, the thinking, the knowledge and the skills for today's and also tomorrow's jobs." This management classic has been developed and tested during more than thirty years of teaching management in universities, in executive programs and seminars and through the author's close work with managers as a consultant for large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools. Drucker discusses the tools and techniques of successful management practice that have been proven effective, and he makes them meaningful and easily accessible.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (April 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306152
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306150
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,035 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The original and best work on corporate strategy, August 26, 2006

By	Michael Urlocker "www.TheDisruptionGroup.com" - See all my reviews

This is a heavyweight tome with clear insight. Every manager should read this.

For example, Drucker writes what strategy planning is not:
a box of tricks;
nor modelling;
nor forecasting;
nor masterminding the future.

Methodically, he explains what it is: Analytical thinking & commitment of resources to action.

Drucker is famous for his simple questions which resonated across the corporate world for 50 years, and was especially influential with Jack Welch at GE.

In this book Drucker poses these questions as the framework for creating a business strategy:
*What is our business?
*What will it be?
*What should it be?
...And the killer: *If we were not committed to this today, would we go into it?

Written in '73. Valid today.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW, March 6, 2002

By	Michael W. Hoag (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This is the book on how to make a business WORK! I am president of a small company and immediately took the ideas and practices out of this book and applied them to great success. This is not a quick read, and every item will not pertain to each individual person, but the observations presented explained a huge number of obstacles I was facing. If you are trying to manage any form of modern organization, buy this book and spend the time reading it. It made me a huge Drucker fan.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than worth the price, July 15, 2008

By	Steven D. Mietelski - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had originally rented this book from the library with an intention of zipping through it to obtain a general idea and feel for the concepts presented. I found myself constantly stopping to take notes and unable to finish the entire book during the loan period. After renewing twice and hardly making it a quarter of the way through I decided I would have to purchase the book.

As the General Manager of a small business with no formal training and little prior experience in managing a company this was the best investment I could have ever made. I'd recommend you take notes as you read in order to get the most of this book. Read it a second time a year after you finish it.