The first assigned reading for this class is by one of the most famous current writers on management: Peter Drucker. His style is engaging and he usually brings in a bit of history to provide perspective.

Please read Drucker's Management's New Paradigms. In this article, Drucker posits seven assumptions about organizations that he believes are no longer valid.

Select a couple of his assumptions and test his ideas against your own observations and analyses in an organization you're familiar with. Write up your comments (1-2 pages) as the first entries in your Portfolio.

Drucker drops the names of several very well known management theorists of the past, for example, Mary Parker Follett, Henri Fayol, Frederick Taylor, Chester Barnard, Alfred Sloan, Douglas McGregor, Frederick Herzberg. Pick two of them and do a little research and background reading to find out about them. Write a short summary (1-2 paragraphs) in your Portfolio.

Come to class on Sept. 6 prepared to discuss your ideas about management.

Revised 9/1/99
If you have questions, please contact Evelyn Daniel