Product Description

Following in the successful vein of Managing for the Future (1992) and Managing in a Time of Great Change (1995), the incomparable Peter Drucker is back with fresh thoughts, insights, and knowledge about the ever-changing business society around us and the ever-expanding management roles required of us all-chiefs, executives, managers, and knowledge workers alike.Two main themes are explored in many of the chapters in Managing in the Next Society: the rapidly expanding information shock wave that had its Internet Big Bang as recently as 1995; and the changing shape of our society to come-six major trends that are rapidly transforming our world into what Peter Drucker calls The Next Society.AUTHORBIO: From his first book, The End of Economic Man (1939), to this his most recent, Peter F. Drucker has been hailed in the United States and abroad as the seminal thinker, writer, and lecturer of our time on the twentieth-century business organization in all its for-profit and non-profit guises and forms.The recipient of many awards and honorary degrees, Mr. Drucker since 1971 has been Clarke Professor of Social Sciences at Claremont Graduate School in California as well as a frequent editorial page contributer to The Wall Street Journal.Earlier he taught at Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, and New York University.Mr. Drucker and his wife, Doris, live in Claremont, California.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #285119 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

From Booklist
Touted as the longtime business analyst's last book, this is a compilation of essays culled from previously published material. In these pieces, which are not arranged in chronological order, Drucker covers trends, emerging industries, and management and sociological changes that can adversely affect or expand the bottom line for businesses. Drucker tracks the U.S.' movement away from a manufacturing-based to a service-oriented economy specializing in industries such as technology, health care, and management. Drucker provides insight into the emerging industry of biotechnology and the new profession of knowledge management. What is the growth trend for biotechnology? Stocks for biotechnology are not expected to zoom to overinflated proportions, as dot-com stocks did, and Drucker tells us why. He also takes us back to past events that have shaped our current society, such as the Industrial Revolution and the evolution of the businessman from the gentleman to the technologist. For 60 years, Drucker has written expertly about what he knows best, and his wisdom shines through here. His loyal audience will line up for this one. Eileen Hardy
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"...there is much we can learn, about the past and future, from this collection of [Drucker's] recent writing" -- USA Today

"Readers will emerge from this collection of previously published articles feeling stimulated..." -- Hardy Green, Business Week

"True to form, his often deeply contrarian insights are authoritatively represented, backed up with rich historical precedents and persuasively argued." -- Money Magazine

Review
'His breadth of vision, his internationalism and his sober realism combine to make analysis of the present and prediction about the future gripping'
The Economist

Customer Reviews

More Understanding from Drucker
REVIEW: Drucker tends to write two types of management books. One type is the more practical/"how-to" type of book where he aims directly at improving the effectiveness of managers of all types through their actions. Such books as "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices" (1974), "Innovation & Entrepreneurship" (1985), "Managing for Results" (1964), and "The Effective Executive" (1967) fall into this category (all of which are still highly relevant). The second type, while still practical, primarily aims at imparting a broader level of understanding of politics, economy, and society (and their trends) to help executives make effective longer-term decisions and shape the future of their organizations. His typical approach in these books is to bring an historical perspective (over decades or even centuries) into understanding the current trends of human activity that are shaping the future. Drucker's "The Age of Discontinuity" (1969), "Managing in a Time of Great Change" (1995), and "Management Challenges for the 21st Century" (1999) are examples of this type. "Managing in the Next Society" (2002) falls into the second category.

The book is actually a collection of articles that Drucker has published from 1996-2001. The basic theme is that it is not the "New Economy" that executives (and all leaders) should be trying to understand it's the "Next Society". The chapters generally touch upon the three major trends that he's identified as shaping the Next Society: the decline of the young population, the decline of manufacturing, and the emergence of the information revolution.

As he did with his very first book "End of Economic Man" in relation to WWII, Drucker is again reminding us that we must first look to understanding society if we wish to understand major historical events/transitions. This thought is summed up best by the title of a chapter about understanding Japan - "It's the Society, Stupid". While that chapter is limited to Japan, I interpreted the book as telling us that we need to understand society in order to understand all major world events and trends. This is especially important after 9/11 when there's a temptation to look at issues through only political, militaristic, or economic lenses.

STRENGTHS: Since the book consists of articles previously published in magazines from 1996-2001, the text is generally concise, interesting, and easy to read. I also loved the way Drucker brings history into some of the chapters (e.g. he covers Luther, Machiavelli, Hamilton, the industrial revolution, slaves, knights, and inventions such as the book, the stirrup, and the longbow).

WEAKNESSES: The downside of a book of articles is that there is a lot of repetition of concepts and phrases and the book is less cohesive and focussed than it could be. However, I didn't find this too serious of a problem. Also, there are no graphics or charts (it's not Drucker's style).

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Those executives and leaders (whether in business, politics, or non profits) who are responsible for shaping the future of their organizations.

Not The Best of Drucker but better than most business books
Despite being a huge Drucker Fan I give this book a four star rating. In saying this, the book was interesting and a good learning process but it didn't cause me to experience a paradigm shift. The Global Economy and the Nation State (ch. 14) saved my rating of the book because it was so insightful. I found much of the book to be filler because a lot of the content can be found in other Drucker books and can be found from chapter to chapter in this book. To put it into perspective, at least four chapters are nothing more than edited interviews with the author that were published in magazines and I kept finding facts / quotes repeated again and again.

Managing in the Next Society by Peter Drucker is the latest book by the author. The book is a collection of articles and interviews by Drucker in recent years. More specifically, chapters in this book have originally appeared in The Economist, Red Herring, Business 2.0., Inc. Magazine, New Perspectives, Foreign Affairs magazine, Viewpoint, Leaders to Leader, Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal and in the Harvard Business Review. So, while I wouldn't be surprised if Drucker fans have read one or two of these chapters via magazines I would be surprised if any reader has read most of the content before publication of this book.

The book is segmented into four different sections. They are: The Information Society, Business Opportunities, The Changing World Economy and The Next Society. Each section has approximately 60 - 80 pages of text and the book is easy to read, as most Drucker books are.

If you haven't read anything by the author before don't start here. I would personally recommend new readers of Peter Drucker start with The Essential Drucker as it stands as the authors best work (it is a collection of his best works from over 60 years of writing.) Other Excellent works by the author are Post Capitalist Society, The Age of Discontinuity, The Effective Executive & Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Most of my reviews are in business / economics and I encourage people to read them, whether here on Amazon or at my personal website. If you are interested in economic history book I would encourage everyone to read The Worldly Philosophers by Robert Heilbroner since it is more international in scope and deals with the lives and times of the most famous economists in history. If you are interested in economic development I would encourage you to read Hernando DeSoto's Mystery of Capital but note his lack of focus on corruption in certain countries.

Excellent foresight
Mr. Drucker is probably the most experienced Management Consultant, teacher and Guru who has traveled through business transformations of the twentieth century. In his characteristic style of narration, with exceptional command over facts and the English language, he is once again at his best in this book - a collection of his recent articles on the new economy and the future of Society. Starting from the invention of the steam engine ( James Watt - 1776), the steam boat ( 1807) to the first railroad ( 1829), the first article "Beyond the information Revolution" describes similarities between the Industrial revolution and the Information Revolution. Moore's law is applicable to the computer's processing power today. A similar phenomenon happened to the cost and productivity of textiles in the Industrial age. Since then, the global economies have transformed completely and today we have a knowledge-based society. The decline of Agriculture during the Industrial age is similar to the decline of Manufacturing in the last four decades.

What lies ahead, in terms of demographic, social, economic and business scenarios, during the next three decades makes fascinating reading. If you are in a hurry to find out what is in store, you may visit the last chapter directly. But the journey is more exciting than the destination. Please take the railroad powered by the steam engine and enjoy the lovely trip.