Peter F. Drucker, the political economist and author, whose view that big business and nonprofit enterprises were the defining innovation of the 20th century led him to pioneering social and management theories, died Friday at his home in Claremont, Calif. He was 95.
His death was announced by Claremont Graduate University.
Drucker thought of himself, first and foremost, as a writer and teacher, though he eventually settled on the term "social ecologist."
He became internationally renowned for urging corporate leaders to agree with subordinates on objectives and goals and then get out of the way of decisions about how to achieve them. He challenged both business and labor leaders to search for ways to give workers more control over their work environment. He also argued that governments should turn many functions over to private enterprise and for organizing in teams to exploit the rise of a technology-savvy class of "knowledge workers."
Drucker staunchly defended the need for businesses to be profitable, but he preached that employees were a resource, not a cost. His constant focus on the human impact of management decisions did not always appeal to executives, but they could not help but notice how it helped him foresee many major trends in business and politics.
Picked by NellyLunatic1980.