...A C L A S S W I T H D R U C K E R This page intentionally left blank A Class with Drucker The Lost Lessons of the World’s Greatest Management Teacher BY WILLIAM A. COHEN, PhD A M E R I C A N NEW YORK I M A N A G E M E N T I A S S O C I A T I O N I AT L A N TA I I B R U S SE L S I CHICAGO I MEXICO CITY I SAN FRANCISCO D. C. S H A N G H A I T O K Y O T O R O N T O W A S H I N G T O N, Special discounts on bulk quantities of AMACOM books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details, contact Special Sales Department, AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Tel: 212-903-8316. Fax: 212903-8083. E-mail: specialsls@amanet.org Website: www.amacombooks.org/go/specialsales To view all AMACOM titles go to: www.amacombooks.org This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, William A., 1937– A class with Drucker : the lost lessons of the world’s greatest management teacher by William A. Cohen. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-8144-0919-0 1...
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...[pic] | |peter senge and the learning organization | | | |Peter Senge’s vision of a learning organization as a group of people who are | | | | |continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they want to create has been | | | | |deeply influential. We discuss the five disciplines he sees as central to learning | | | | |organizations and some issues and questions concerning the theory and practice of | | | | |learning organizations. | | | | | | | | |contents: introduction | peter senge | the learning organization | systems thinking – the cornerstone of the | | | |learning organization | the core disciplines | leading the learning organization | issues and problems | | | | |conclusion | further reading and references | links | | | |Peter M. Senge (1947- ) was named a ‘Strategist of the Century’ by the Journal of Business...
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...High-Tech High Wire: The Technical Entrepreneur's Guide to Running a Successful Enterprise. McGraw-Hill, 1994. * Baird. M.L. Engineering your Start-up: A Guide for the High-Tech Entrepreneur. Professional Publications, 2003. * Bhide, A. The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses. Oxford University Press, 2003. * Birley, S., and D. Muzyka, eds. Mastering Entrepreneurship. Pitman, 2000. * Boston, Thomas, and Catherine Ross. The Inner City. Transaction Publishers, 1997. * Brown, S.L., and K.M. Eisenhardt. Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos. Harvard Business School Press, 1998. * Bygrave, W.D., and A.L. Zacharakis, eds. The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship. 4th edition. Wiley, 2010. * Cristol, Steven, and Peter Sealey. Simplicity Marketing. Simon and Schuster, 2007. * Drucker, P. Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 2Rev Ed edition. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. * Hopkins, Bruce. A Legal Guide to Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization. 3rd edition. Wiley, 2000. * Jensen, Bill. Simplicity: The New Competitive Advantage in a World of More, Better, Faster. Perseus, 2001. * Kaplan. Jerry. Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure. Replica Books, 2001. * Kotler, Philip, and Alan Andreasen. Strategic Marketing for Nonprofit Organisations. 6th edition. Prentice Hall, 2002. * Lovins, Amory, Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken. Natural Capitalism: The...
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...Organizations and Leadership Extracted from the article "Peter Senge and the Learning Organization" Smith, M. K. (2001) 'Peter Senge and the learning organization', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm Issues and problems When making judgments about Peter Senge's work, and the ideas he promotes, we need to place his contribution in context. His is not meant to be a definitive addition to the 'academic' literature of organizational learning. Peter Senge writes for practicing and aspiring managers and leaders. The concern is to identify how interventions can be made to turn organizations into 'learning organizations'. Much of his, and similar theorists' efforts, have been 'devoted to identifying templates, which real organizations could attempt to emulate' (Easterby-Smith and Araujo 1999: 2). In this field some of the significant contributions have been based around studies of organizational practice, others have 'relied more on theoretical principles, such as systems dynamics or psychological learning theory, from which implications for design and implementation have been derived' (op. cU.). Peter Senge, while making use of individual case studies, tends to the latter orientation. The most appropriate question in respect of this contribution would seem to be whether it fosters praxis - informed, committed action on the part of those it is aimed at? This is an especially pertinent question as Peter Senge looks to promote a more holistic vision of...
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...Who is Peter Senge ? Peter Senge is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Sustainability at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management Peter Senge 2013. He is the author of the management book The Fifth Discipline (1990). Senge Change Management Model Senge’s theoretical framework focuses on delivering organizational change and development through the establishment of a learning organization (Senge 1999). His book, The Fifth Discipline, outlines the five elements of learning that within an organization are all connected. It is a notably different approach to other change management theories as it focuses on the longer-term issues of sustaining and renewing organizational change Cameron and Green 2012. 1. Personal Mastery – Senge (2006 describes Personal Mastery as the undertaking by all within an organization to use all available resources to seek more of what truly matters to them. This requires an organisation to make it safe for people to create visions, where inquiry and commitment to the truth are the norm, and where challenging the status quo is expected Senge 2006. By continually growing an employee’s capacity to create their own future through Personal Mastery, an organisation’s learning will continue Flood 1998. 2. Mental Models – Our mental models are our internally held views on how the world operates based on key assumptions about the outcome Senge 1992. In seeking to establish a new organizational structure, if an organisation’s...
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...What is a Learning Organization? by Moya K. Mason Introduction Learning organizations are not simply the most fashionable or current management trend, they can provide work environments that are open to creative thought, and embrace the concept that solutions to ongoing work-related problems are available inside each and every one of us. All we must do is tap into the knowledge base, which gives us the "ability to think critically and creatively, the ability to communicate ideas and concepts, and the ability to cooperate with other human beings in the process of inquiry and action (Navran Associates Newsletter 1993). A learning organization is one that seeks to create its own future; that assumes learning is an ongoing and creative process for its members; and one that develops, adapts, and transforms itself in response to the needs and aspirations of people, both inside and outside itself ( Navran Associates Newsletter 1993). What learning organizations do is set us free because employees no longer have to be passive players in the equation; they will learn to express ideas and challenge themselves to contribute to an improved work environment by participating in a paradigm shift from the traditional authoritarian workplace philosophy to one where the hierarchy is broken down, and human potential is heralded. Learning organizations foster an environment wherein people can "create the results they truly desire," and where they can learn to learn together...
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...transmitted to a receiver who then decodes the message. After decoding the receiver provides feedback. This process is known a two communications. For the manager two important skills to ensure effective two way communication are listening and asking questions. Listening is how we receive the message during oral communication. If we do not listen well we risk missing the correct message. “When we listen it is important to listen well. Listening is not a passive activity.” (Thorogood Publishing Ltd., 1999) The mark of a good manager is one who sincerely shows interest in what others are telling him. “In the orai/interpersonal area, business professionals rated the listening competency higher than business faculty rated them” (Waner, Karen K.) In that survey of Business professionals rated listening first while business faculty rated listening as second. Listening is important because it ensures the correct receipt of the message, but there other reasons for good listening. Good listening boosts confidence of the subordinates, peers, and supervisors of the manager. When employees feel that they’re being listened to,...
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...Multi-Armed Bandits in Active Learning Mojmir Vinkler 21. 11. 2013 Mojmir Vinkler () Multi-Armed Bandits in Active Learning 21. 11. 2013 1 / 12 Multi-armed bandit problem Originally considered by Allied scientists in World War II, it proved so intractable that, according to Peter Whittle, it was proposed the problem be dropped over Germany so that German scientists could also waste their time on it. Mojmir Vinkler () Multi-Armed Bandits in Active Learning 21. 11. 2013 2 / 12 Multi-armed bandit problem Problem statement Gambler faces m slot machines with hidden probabilities of winning µ1 , . . . , µm . Each turn he must decide which arm to pull. His aim is to maximize sum of rewards T rt or alternatively minimize total regret to t=1 always pulling the most profitable arm T ρ = T max µk − k t=1 rt His strategy is called zero-regret if 1 ρ=0 T →∞ T lim Mojmir Vinkler () Multi-Armed Bandits in Active Learning 21. 11. 2013 3 / 12 Exploration vs Exploitation Exploration = search for more profitable arms X Exploitation = collect reward from the most profitable arm Mojmir Vinkler () Multi-Armed Bandits in Active Learning 21. 11. 2013 4 / 12 Strategies Epsilon-greedy strategy The best lever is selected for a proportion 1 − of the trials, and another lever is randomly selected (with uniform probability) for a proportion . Epsilon-first strategy A pure exploration phase is followed by a pure exploitation...
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...Senge's learning organization theory- THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK peter senge and the learning organization Peter Senge’s vision of a learning organization as a group of people who are continually enhancing their capabilities to create what they want to create has been deeply influential. We discuss the five disciplines he sees as central to learning organizations and some issues and questions concerning the theory and practice of learning organizations. contents: introduction · peter senge · the learning organization · systems thinking – the cornerstone of the learning organization · the core disciplines · leading the learning organization · issues and problems · conclusion · further reading and references · links Peter M. Senge (1947- ) was named a ‘Strategist of the Century’ by the Journal of Business Strategy, one of 24 men and women who have ‘had the greatest impact on the way we conduct business today’ (September/October 1999). While he has studied how firms and organizations develop adaptive capabilities for many years at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), it was Peter Senge’s 1990 book The Fifth Discipline that brought him firmly into the limelight and popularized the concept of the ‘learning organization'. Since its publication, more than a million copies have been sold and in 1997, Harvard Business Review identified it as one of the seminal management books of the past 75 years. On this page we explore Peter Senge’s vision of the learning organization. We will focus...
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...advantage by keeping up with the trends and changes within the environment. In order to remain invested and involved with markets and competition, a level of ongoing development must occur, leading to the introduction of the learning organization as a remedy to change. To adapt to changes, organizational learning is the process in which the learning principles are applied to the learning organization. “Organizational learning is focused on learning in the organization” whereas a learning organization “centers on learning for the organization” (Bratton et al., 2004, p. 83). In brief, organizational learning contributes to the establishment of a learning organization. Among literature discussing the principles of learning organizations, Peter Senge is considered one of the most prominent ‘guru’s’ in the field (Bratton et al., 2004, p. 91). His aim was to evaluate the elements necessary to allow organizations the flexibility and knowledge to survive inevitable changes (Bratton et al., 2004, p. 91). Senge proposed that “creating a strong learning organization would lead to a positive performance for the...
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...learning organization. Discussion concerns systems thinking, shared vision, and team learning. In order to understand systems thinking, one must define it as a group of interacting, interrelated, and interdependent components that form a complex and unified whole. For example, a system can be a department in an organization. Each system has a purpose in a larger system. System thinking allows for communication, putting things into perspective, and seeing things as a whole (Argyris, 1999). Most organizations rely on a shared vision. If not, the organization will surely fail. A shared vision represents the individual vision of each member of the organization. The best example concerning a shared vision is to outdo the competition. Peter Senge...
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...and problem solving. To reap the benefits of the learning concept, organizations must be adaptable and flexible. Senge defines the learning organization as “organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together” (Senge, 2006, p. 3). Personal Mastery Personal mastery is the first principle and is one of the keys to the learning organization. We must be fully committed to the continual learning process. Personal mastery is something that cannot just be practiced occasionally but has to be practiced daily. Personal mastery defined by Peter M. Senge is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience and of seeing reality objectively (Senge, 2006). This principle is a constant and an effort for each person. This requires an individual to stay in a constant never ending learning mode. We should view our life as a “creative work” Senge says. We should strive to be proactive and not reactive. Personal mastery “is not dominance over people or things, but it can be a special...
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...What It Means To Be a Knowledge Worker: Actions, Roles and Productivity Simon K. Caines University of Maryland University College Abstract This paper discusses the concept of the knowledge worker. It seeks to describe the evolution of the knowledge worker from the point at which the term itself was coined by Peter Drucker; who they are and the type of work in which they are engaged. The paper will address the value of knowledge workers to organization, challenges associated with measuring their productivity in the workplace and the future outlook for this class of employees. What this paper does not attempt to provide are answers to many of the vexing questions surrounding knowledge work and the people who perform it. The paper will draw from current and past literature on the subject. What It Means To Be a Knowledge Worker: Actions, Roles and Productivity The Knowledge Worker In 1959 renowned management writer and thinker Peter Drucker coined the term ‘knowledge worker’. Drucker recognized that 20th century American corporate society had begun an evolution from the manual laborers of the industrial economy to one where the bulk of workers used their heads more than their hands (Drucker, 1999). According to Drucker, knowledge workers are “…high level employees who apply theoretical and analytical knowledge, acquired through formal education, to develop new products or services” (Drucker, 1994, p. 63). While the definition has evolved over the years by other...
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...TO BE LOVED OR FEARED AS A LEADER? Leaders in fields ranging from military and politics to business and even education have been posed with the choice of instilling love or fear among their respective followers. Traits like warmth and trustworthiness of a leader instill love among followers and fear of a leader originates mostly from his strength and competence. Although there are numerous other traits in a leader, warmth and strength are the most influential. According to psychology, a major part of other people's perception about a person is determined by these two dimensions of personality (Cuddy, Kohut and Neffinger, 2013, p. 56). The dilemma of the choice between these two is inherently present in the nature of the two extremes i.e. either of the choices will make you fall at the opposing ends of the human emotional spectrum. It is interesting to note that the question of choosing between the two extremes is not a new one . Tracing this conundrum back to the sixteenth century takes us to the writings of Machiavelli. His political philosophy in 'The Prince' acknowledges the best leaders to command both fear and love. Having said that, Machiavelli recognizes the opposite polarity of the two emotions and maintains that since it is difficult to combine both in one person, it is better to be feared as a leader than to be loved (Machiavelli, 2003, p.53). Today, about five hundred years later, the Machiavellian concept of a feared leader is still quite rigorously followed...
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...CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction Literally, the phrase person-to-person simply means one-to-one. This implies that addressing somebody personally on certain issues without the interference of the third party. And the rationale behind such relationship is to gain 100% attention of such individual, not only that such person will have freedom to express himself or herself to the person talking to him/her without any form of suspicion. This writeup is made to x-ray the importance of one-to-one discipleship as stated by our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. This report also focuses on the hinderances to this missing ingredient in christendom today. 1.1 Disciple In Christian usage a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ, an adherent to the Christian tradition. A student, learner or pupil in the school of his/her master (Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers) Someone who believes in ideas of a great teacher especially a religious teacher and tries to follow him. Someone who has an aptitude to acquire knowledge from a mentor (disciplar). Someone that accept the doctrine of his master without any logical reason. The example is that of Jesus Christ and His disciples. Matt. 10:24 says “the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord’’. In other words no man can ever expect to be greater than Christ, for He is the only Lord and Christ (Act 2:36). The word disciple appears in the bible 28 times, while the plural...
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