Drucker Principles of Management, Courtesy

Drucker

Principles of Management, Courtesy of Peter Drucker

A good manager manages by organizational objectives

One of the most critical, core principles of Peter Drucker's managerial philosophy was the need to manage by objectives. Drucker believed that every member of an organization must be 'on board' with that organization's common mission. As globalization makes organizations increasingly diffuse, management by objectives becomes even more critical. Employees must not feel excluded from the core mission of organization, otherwise they will only pursue their own, personal and self-interested objectives, or worse yet, simply fill space, and not add value to the organization.

A good manager tracks employee performance.

Employee output can be easier to monitor and assess because of innovations in technology, but technology also provides more opportunities for employees to waste time, surfing the web or text-messaging on their personal cell phones. The fact that most employees spend all day on the computer isolates employees more from other individuals in the organization, including supervisory managers. An employee can cloister him or herself in a cubicle. Unless the individual is highly motivated, having clearly defined deadlines and objectives, and the sense that the manager cares about output is required to foster the necessary self-discipline within that employee. This is required for overall organizational success. Frequent meetings and face-to-face encounters may be necessary, even in the most technically connected organization.

3. A good manager knows that an organization is only as good as its people.

On every level, whether an organization is good or service driven, B2B, or a nonprofit working in the service of the public good, quality people are necessary to get the job done. Particularly today, long after Drucker penned his management classics, the lowest-level employees must have some technical expertise. They must also have a commitment to an organization. In a competitive environment, even a poorly trained customer service operator can alienate a customer.

4. A good manager knows that there is not only one way to manage people.

A manager must have an intuitive sense of individual personalities, to know what intrinsically as well as extrinsically motivates his or her subordinates. An intellectual employee may be motivated by the prospect of a creative challenge. An extroverted employee might be motivated by the idea that 'everyone is counting on me.' A competitive employee may be motivated by a high benchmark or by similarly competitive individuals on a work team.

5. A good manager knows that the five functions of management must suit the unique needs of the organization.

Planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling will differ from project to project, department to department, and organization to organization, over the course of his or her career. An advertising campaign may need a more fluid and flexible timeline to allow for creative input on a team to 'gel' as personalities so they can generate just the right slogan. An it project may need a more rigid timeline, to ensure that deadlines are met in time to test the project for possible security flaws. A nonprofit will require different types of motivational leadership than a sales-drive for-profit entity.

6. A good manger leads, a good manger does not just see him or herself as a manager.

Leadership is not simply delegating and supervising. It is about vision, about making people want to follow an order or a principle. If people do not willingly follow a leader, but merely obey the words of a manager because they feel they 'must' for a promotion, or to keep their job, their work will not be optimal, and thus the organization's performance will not be optimal.

7. A good manager is confident enough to make participative decisions.

People are motivated by leadership; they are also motivated by having a sense of making a contribution to an organization through their own unique abilities and efforts. Participative leadership ensures that employees feel they 'own' the company to some degree, and that the decisions they make are 'theirs,' not simply that of a faceless corporate bureaucrat far, far away at corporate headquarters.

8. A good manager learns from as well as teaches subordinates.

On the most mundane level, asking employees for the most efficient way to manage the store during high levels of customer turn-over at a fast-food restaurant can give service workers a sense of pride, and on the highest level, making employees feel included when cutbacks are made by soliciting their input as to how these cutbacks should be instituted can make employees more willing to accept reductions in pay or bonuses, when this is required during economic hard times.