“Wherever rapid economic and social development took place after World War II, it occurred as a result of systematic and purposeful work on developing managers and management.”
World War II and the Marshall Plan put management practices on the map. Nations saw the capacity of management for organizing resources to increase performance and economic growth. Management boomed for about 20 years and then stopped booming as new challenges arose.
A lesson learned is that societies share common management tasks and problems, and require the same skills. The common tasks are vision, mission, objectives, and the organization of resources for results. (17)
Drucker identifies the men and women and organizations that developed management into a discipline before and after World War II. He reveals what nations hoped management would achieve such as Hungary and France’s desire for greater freedom and equality.
The management boom and its continued strength were made possible by the development and acceptance of the idea of entrepreneurship. That man is not completely determined or bound by economic and social forces. He has the ability and the responsibility to act, shape, and develop his environment for human flourishing.
Drucker’s genius comes through as he sifts between sociology, history, and economics helping leaders understand where we are and have come from and what it means for the future.
(Management, chapter 2)