Coming soon · Book Profile
Management Tasks Drucker
Management is the specific organ of modern institutions, whose core tasks are achieving the institution's purpose, making work productive and the worker achieving, and managing social impacts—all while balancing present needs with future innovation.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Peter Drucker's seminal work, "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices," elevates management from a mere collection of skills to a vital social function and a discipline in its own right. In a world increasingly defined by large institutions, Drucker argues that performing, responsible management is the only alternative to tyranny. This book moves beyond the internal workings of management to focus on its external tasks: defining the purpose and mission of an enterprise (which is to create a customer), making work productive and the worker achieving, and managing social impacts and responsibilities. It provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the dimensions of management, from strategy and objectives to the organization of work and the development of managers, making it an essential guide for any current or aspiring leader who seeks not just to run an organization, but to make it perform and contribute effectively to society.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- The reader is a manager, executive, or professional in a business or public-service institution. They want to be effective, to lead their organization to high performance, and to make a meaningful contribution to their enterprise and to society.
- The problem
- Managers face complex, conflicting demands to deliver results, manage people, innovate, and handle social issues, but they lack a coherent framework to integrate these tasks and lead effectively. Their organizations are often underperforming, rigid, or struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing world. They feel overwhelmed, frustrated by bureaucracy, and uncertain how to balance short-term pressures with long-term needs. They question their own ability to make a real difference and create a truly performing, achieving organization.
- The plan
- Define the true purpose and mission of your institution by asking 'What is our business?'.
- Translate this mission into specific, balanced objectives across eight key operational areas.
- Make work productive and the worker achieving by giving them responsibility, feedback, and opportunities for continuous learning.
- Structure the organization and top management to align with strategy and facilitate performance, innovation, and self-control.
- The payoff
- The reader becomes an effective executive who leads a performing, achieving, and innovative organization. · Their institution successfully fulfills its mission, contributes to society, and becomes a place where people can find achievement and self-fulfillment. · They gain clarity and confidence, mastering the discipline of management to make rational, purposeful decisions that secure both the present and future of their enterprise.
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Additional reading
- Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock Potential in Yourself and Your Organization · Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey
This is the authors' previous book, which provides a deep dive into the ITC framework that is presented as a key tool in Chapter 6 and used by the fledgling DDOs in Chapter 7.
- In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life · Robert Kegan
This book lays out the foundational theory of adult development and mental complexity that underpins the entire DDO concept, explaining the 'adaptive gap' that DDOs are designed to address.
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success · Carol Dweck
The book explicitly references Dweck's work, contrasting the 'fixed mindset' (prevalent in ordinary organizations) with the 'growth mindset' that is fundamental to a DDO's culture.
- Organizational Culture and Leadership · Edgar H. Schein
Mentioned in the book, Schein's work provides a foundational understanding of organizational culture, which is the primary medium through which DDOs operate.
- The Functions of the Executive · Chester Barnard (1938)
Chapter 10 identifies this book as providing the seminal concept of 'willingness to contribute to the cooperative system,' which forms the theoretical foundation for the modern construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).
- The Psychology of Careers · Donald E. Super (1957)
Chapter 3 cites this as a foundational work that established the concept of career stages, a model that has profoundly influenced career development theory and research for decades.
- Decision-making in the employment interview · E. C. Webster (1964)
Chapter 6 highlights this as the key report from the influential McGill University studies, which revealed the cognitive biases inherent in unstructured interviews and shifted the focus of research toward understanding the interviewer's decision process.
- Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures · Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
Multiple chapters (e.g., 13, 15) refer to this document and the related AERA/APA/NCME 'Standards' as the authoritative professional guidelines that define best practices and core concepts, like the modern unitarian view of validity, for the entire field of personnel selection.
- Managing Human Assets · Beer, M. et al. (1984)
This is a seminal book that introduced the 'Harvard framework' of HRM, emphasizing a multi-stakeholder approach that considers the interests of employees, not just shareholders. It provides a foundational 'soft' HRM perspective.
- Strategic Human Resource Management · Fombrun, C. J., Tichy, N. M. and Devanna, M. A. (1984)
This book introduced the 'Michigan framework,' which advocated for a 'hard' HRM approach focused on tightly matching HR strategy to the business strategy (vertical fit). It is a foundational text for the strategic alignment concept.