Peter F. Drucker Dies

[HarleyEarl]

‘Father of Management’ Drucker Dies Peter F. Drucker, the teacher, writer and consultant whose classic study of General Motors Corp. helped shape modern management theory, died Friday morning. He was 95. Drucker’s “Concept of the Corporation,” published in 1946, examined the managerial organization of the behemoth automaker to understand the reason for the company’s success. The book laid the groundwork for the study of management as a scientific discipline. Drucker’s contribution to business didn’t end there. He penned over 35 books in which he delved into his skepticism of macroeconomic theory, the impact of technology on the workplace and the responsibilities of managers, among many issues. Drucker’s work had widespread influence on modern organizations. He also consulted for some for world’s top corporations and non-profits on how to best conduct business. From 1971 to 2003, Drucker was a social sciences and management professor at Claremont Graduate University and consulted at the school until the time of his death, which was announced by the school. He previously was a professor of management at the Graduate Business School of New York University from 1950 to 1971. In 2002, Drucker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his life’s work. Claremont Graduate University’s management school was named the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management in his honor. Born Nov. 19, 1909 in Vienna, Drucker received a doctorate from Frankfurt University in 1931. He later moved to London in 1933 to escape Adolf Hitler and to the United States four years later. Drucker’s conducted his two-year analysis of General Motors while he put his academic career on hold. He was then professor at Bennington College in Vermont after a short stint at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. Drucker’s survivors include his wife, Doris, four children and six grandchildren. He was a resident of Claremont. — Rachel Brown

[I hope GMRULES again]

I would be interested in reading his book.

[cmattson]

Drucker was huge on the business ethics side of things; responsiblities of a business to it's workers, etc. I had a business ethics class in college & it was fantastic. It was one of the most enjoyable classes I ever had.