Management Theorist: Peter Drucker

Biography of Peter Drucker 

Peter Ferdinand Drucker was born on November 19, 1909, in Vienna, Austria. He was a renowned management consultant and educator, thus often referred to as a father of management. He is associated with modern management and invention of management by objectives and self-control concept (Starbucks, 2013). His significant contribution to education is linked to being brought up in a family of intellectuals, where he often met other intellects to discuss ideas. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a doctor. He worked as a journalist and writer for The Austrian Economist before earning a doctorate in public and international law from The Goethe University in Frankfurt. 

After his Ph.D., Drucker moved from Germany to England where he became a chief economist at a merchant Bank owned by Wall Street brokerage business in London (Starbucks, 2013). This was the beginning of his contribution to management in business. It was also in the same year that he married Doris Schmitz, a friend from the University OF Frankfurt. They later relocated to the United States, and it was while working here that Drucker passionately studied and wrote articles on business management. He also became a tutor at Bennington College and later lectured for twenty-two years at New York University. The university gave him an excellent platform to teach and make known his theory of management. He is also remembered for being a pioneer of the country’s first executive MBA programs at Claremont Graduate University. The program targeted working professionals who had to study part-time. He managed the department until his retirement at the age of 92. He died at the age of 95 in Claremont, California. 

Ducker’s Theory 

Peter Drucker believed in imparting knowledge that is applicable in the workplace. He is regarded as the father of modern management theory. Drucker played an essential role in the development of concepts in business, decision making in management, leadership, personal improvement and effectiveness, productivity, and proper time management (The British Library, 2016). He was among the first people to depict management as a distinct function and responsibility. Management was often confused for “being a boss” until Drucker changed people’s perception. The relationship between managers and employees was often strained and kept too professional, such that managers did not get to hear from their juniors. In an organization, there are various levels of leadership, but the crown of them all is management since they oversee other departmental leaders. According to Drucker, besides being bosses, managers should be leaders. Drucker believed that management is doing the right things, while leadership is doing the essential things right. He adopted a collaborative and flexible approach by allowing innovation. He believed that setting strict rules for employees could not make them productive, but rather ensuring they have intrinsic motivation and passion (Drucker, 2018). To achieve this, he introduced knowledge work, decentralization, Management by Objectives (MBO) and the setting of SMART goals. 

Knowledge Work 

Drucker thought of instilling skills in employees, not a system of daily-programmed activities that they carried out like robots. Knowledge workers interpret and utilize information, so were a major target of this part of his theory. He placed value on knowledge workers since they are creative thinkers, and Drucker believed in creating space for innovations in the workplace (Drucker, 2017). He, therefore, advocated for the creation of more knowledge workers and decreased blue-collar jobs, which has been noticed in the 21 st century. 

Decentralization 

Drucker believed that Power should not be concentrated in the top management in the workplace (Drucker, 2017). Being a boss makes employees feel unwanted and powerless: all they do is take orders. He advocated for decentralization, which involved delegating roles to employees so that they all felt part of the organization's growth. It also builds a team instead of a workforce. Setting departmental goals is, therefore, essential to create a purpose of direction. Assigning tasks is also a way of nurturing innovativeness since new problems would require modern solutions. Decentralizing power also reduces the chances of managers feeling like bosses since they only oversee and confirm work that employees have done. The sharing of responsibility develops the spirit of interdependence in the organization. 

Management by Objectives (MBO) 

The process encourages teamwork at all levels. This type of management believes that every employee has a niche to fill in the workplace. A team member could be very innovative but disorganized. If such a person works with another who is not as innovative, but a good record keeper, their complementation achieves more compared to working as individuals. Sharing of ideas and insights is also encouraged in MBO. The process is in five steps: Reviewing of goals, setting objectives, monitoring progress, evaluating performance, and rewarding employees. These steps are especially important for new managers, as they give them a starting point. 

Setting S.M.A.R.T goals 

Drucker adopted the process from George Doran, which he used to increase efficiency at the workplace through management. This S.M.A.R.T acronym tasks management with ensuring the goals they set for their employees are specific, measurable, achievable, and relevant and time- oriented. The acronym means goals must be purpose-driven and not overridden by passion or be overambitious. 

Drucker first applied his theory at Claremont Graduate University, where he was a manager. The approach was not easy to implement at first, but employees later accepted it. It was a testing ground for his theory, which he later wrote many articles about. In one of his books The Effective Executive, Drucker insists on managers doing the right things, not getting them done by others. In the book, Drucker explores the advantages of managers of being leaders using five talents that the terms essential for better management. Intelligence is not productive is not coupled with imagination and innovation (Drucker, 2018). He insists that this is as important in management as every piano student must learn the scales. These are time management, choosing to benefit the organization, identifying niches that need extra effort, setting priorities right, and effective decision-making. 

In another of his books Management in Turbulent Times, Drucker addressed some of the unforeseen challenges in management. Managers are often blamed for a failed business. Thus, they should be ready to experience turbulence before success. It was during this time that he was also in the initial phases of implementing the management skills he had written about before. Change and uncertainty were weighing him down. Thus, he wrote this book from a personal perspective. When faced with challenges, Drucker insists that the manager must remain in control as a teacher, a model, and an assistant at all levels. Being a manager means the leader has dreams of the organization in heart, so know what each department is supposed to achieve (Drucker, 2016). Management does not mean the manager has to copy what others who are thought to be successful have done. How successful a manager is determined his/her ability to identify the applicability of the skills he/she possesses since the needs and priorities of organizations vary. 

Middle management is, however, becoming a challenge since these managers do not have a distinct group of people they supervise. The middle management is in charge of people in different departments. Therefore, middle managers have to learn to change their management style according to the nature of roles and the employees they are assigned to supervise. Directed by top management, middle managers are expected to synchronize their management to be in line with top management. Top management has the task of maintaining calm even during turbulence. Top management must keep the motivation of employees high, and only inform them of challenges facing the organization only if, the challenges will affect employees directly. 

Application of Duckers’ Theory 

Ducker's theory is common in workplaces to date and is implemented in full or partially. Some organizations opt to adopt part of the theory while others apply it thoroughly. In both situations, it has proven to be one of the most relevant theories that were invented in the 18 th century, but still applicable in the 21 st century. When Drucker was formulating the theory, he had the future in mind. He predicted a decline in blue-collar jobs, which came to pass. He challenged the status quo by articulating business and daily life. According to Drucker, (2017) business is other people’s money, thus, it is just not business. This belief means that the manager has to handle all types of personalities to sell his good or service and change it for money. 

Drucker was keen to insist on employers providing room for innovation since he knew the existing solutions could not handle problems of the future. Most employers want their employees to follow a routine and stick to the stipulated way of doing things, which creates boredom and loss of passion. He encouraged innovation in the workplace to increase employees’ ability to imagine and create. The 21 st century is presenting new challenges each day, which requires modern solutions. 

Managers who delegate roles also have less work, which creates time for them to indulge in activities that only managers can handle. For instance, a perfectionist manager may want to design a new garment for a client. He wants to please the client, thus takes up all the roles from sketching to sewing the garment. He may want to send his employees on errands while he concentrates on the specific garment. He could be experienced in the field, but his employees who have sewed many other garments are in a better position since they have hands-on experience (Drucker, 2017). He might spend long hours in the workshop trying to handle his managerial roles and still sew the cloth. In the end, he experiences burnout and does not deliver on time. If this manager had adopted Drucker’s theory, he would have let his employees get innovative with the new design, and only inspect it to meet client preferences since he knows. He would also have had enough time to carry out his managerial roles without sending employees to run errands, and still beat the deadline. There is a need to balance between being a leader, giving clients the best and hindering skills development among employees. 

A Modification of Drucker’s theory 

Drucker’s original concept was based on the “knowledge worker," where he focused on empowering creative employees such as designers and engineers. The theory of creating room for innovation could be extended to encompass more people in the workplace. In some settings, such as banks or schools, the platform to display creativity from the employees is not always present unless during special events. For instance, a bank manager could be hosting an ambassador to a country in which the bank needs to open a new branch. The manager could request some employees to think of a design for a token of appreciation for the ambassador. It is only in such a case that visual creativity can be noticed from the employees. To extend the “knowledge worker” theory in careers that do not involve art, presenting them with new challenges would serve a similar purpose. 

In such setups, innovation can be nurtured by introducing awards. Not all employees can be engineers or designers, but an accountant can be the best accountant, and a teacher can be the best teacher. Introducing awards such as “teacher of the year” is a motivating factor for employees to give their best in the job. Every career is presented with challenges each day. Thus, employees will be forced to get creative. These awards will also give the employees a sense of direction since they will be required to meet specific expectations to win the award. Employees who meet the criteria will be awarded the prize. Awarding not only motivates employees to develop new ideas but also improves output. 

Drucker also advocated for the delegation of roles or decentralization. Some managers delegate all roles and end up being bosses who only oversee the work of others. The theory invented by Drucker is against managers being bosses. Managers need to understand that it only means delegating duties that others can diligently do so that managers have time to concentrate on activities that are for managers only. The workplace needs to adopt a spirit of internal motivation for success. In the 21 st century, employees are constantly complaining about poor management, being overworked and underpaid (Lucas, 2018). With the establishment of worker unions, employees have more bargaining power to get their salaries increased, often threatening to strike. Managers thus need to keep their employees engaged and set for a price. This way, employees not only contribute to the growth of the organization but also improve their skills. 

Drucker believed in building individual skills, therefore adopting a skill-oriented approach would be a modification of the theory to make it more applicable and relevant in the 21 st century. When Drucker first applied his theory at Claremont Graduate School, he aimed at equipping his juniors with the necessary skills, so that if he quit, they would continue to do the same work. Adopting the same spirit of apprenticeship would prepare employees to be versatile in case they are required to stand in for another employee. The updated theory not only targets “knowledge workers” as Drucker’s theory but has also been made applicable to all employees. 

Conclusion 

Drucker arguably remains the father of modern management. Although he wrote most of his books in the 20 th century, they are extensively applicable in the 21 st century. From his writings and those of others, both middle and top managers apply his theory on management. It is evident that Drucker had a passion for business management, despite being born to a doctor and lawyer, working as a writer, teacher, and later studying law. All these could have influenced him to pursue a different career, but he chose management. He gathered information from all of his experiences to write on management that was more than business, management that encompassed human relations and building of teams. The knowledge workers concept is no longer applied in the creative sciences only, but also other fields. The workplace now allows employees to be more imaginative and find new solutions to both pre-existing and emerging problems. For instance, government offices experience overcrowding, especially when there is an occurrence of national concern, and has always been a problem. Although older solutions have been found, new solutions that utilize the available resources could be better. Employees who feel the need to reduce their workload are likely to invent new methods to ease the traffic. Drucker's theory remains the basis of many management techniques in modern management. 

References 

Drucker, P. (2016). Managing in turbulent times . Routledge. 

Drucker, P. (2017). The age of discontinuity: Guidelines to our changing society . Routledge. 

Drucker, P. (2018). Essential Drucker . Routledge ; 1st edition (March 9, 2018) 

Drucker, P. (2018). The effective executive . Routledge. 

Lucas, S. (2018). Half of your employees think they are underpaid-Here is what to do about it. Talent Management. Retrieved on 12 th July 2019 from https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com/rework/half-your-employees-think-theyre-underpaid%E2%80%94heres-what-you-can-do-about-it 

Starbucks, P. (2013). Peter F. Drucker: The Landmarks of his ideas . Lulu publishers.