Drucker sees the period we're living in as one of "PROFOUND TRANSITION -- and the changes are more radical perhaps than even those that ushered in the 'Second Industrial Revolution' of the middle of the 19th century, or the structural changes triggered by the Great Depression and the Second World War". <p>
In the midst of all this change, he contends, there are five social and political certainties that will shape business strategy in the not-too-distant future:
<ul>
<li> the collapsing birthrate in the developed world;
<li> shifts in distribution of disposable income;
<li> a redefinition of corporate performance;
<li> global competitiveness;
<li> and the growing incongruence between economic and political reality.
</ul>
Drucker then looks at requirements for leadership ("One cannot manage change. One can only be ahead of it"), the characteristics of the "new information revolution" (one should focus on the meaning of information, not the technology that collects it), productivity of the knowledge worker (unlike manual workers, knowledge workers must be seen as capital assets, not costs), and finally the responsibilities that knowledge workers must assume in managing themselves and their careers.
Presentation: Measuring KM, measures, targets and rewards
Quotations from Management Challenges for the 21st Century:
The most important, and indeed the truly unique, contribution of management in the 20th century was the fifty-fold increase in the productivity of the MANUAL WORKER in manufacturing. The most important contribution management needs to make in the 21st century is similarly to increase the productivity of KNOWLEDGE WORK and the KNOWLEDGE WORKER.
If you are interested in Knowledge Management, the
Knowledge Café
or the role of conversation in organizational life then you my be interested in this online book I am writing on
Conversational Leadership
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