“In all human affairs there are efforts, there are
results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of
the result” ~ James Lane Allen
Management's New Paradigm
CSA 553
Dr. Fran Newman
Erin Cox, Christopher Smith & Kevin B. Hamilton
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Why Assumptions Matter

Old assumptions have become obstacles
 Two sets of assumptions
I. Discipline
a. Management is Business Management
b. There is – or there must be – one right organization
structure
c. There is – or – must be one right way to manage
people
II. Practice
a. Technology
b. Legal
c. Internal
d. Political
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption I:
Management is Business Management
~ Drucker feels that only now are we beginning to reverse the effects of
Assumption I and goes on to point out that “a far smaller proportion
of the working population in every developed country is now
engaged in economic activity, that is ‘business’, than it was a
hundred years ago” (Drucker, 1999, p.8).
New Business Management Paradigm:
To make management productive, both the study and practice of
management is the specific and distinguishing organ of any and all
organizations.
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption II
There is or there must be one right organization
~ Since the inception of organizational structure within a business,
there has been a search for the most proper way to structure
individuals so that maximum efficiency is achieved. Drucker
identifies several reasons why it is impossible to define one ‘right’
organization -- each organization “has distinct strengths, distinct
limitations, and specific applications . . .it is a tool for making
people productive in working together. As such, a given
organization structure fits certain tasks in certain conditions and
at certain times” (Drucker, 1999, p.11).
New Organizational Paradigm:
a. lessen the disparity between rhetoric and practice
b. organizational structure is needed
c. learn to look for, develop and test the organization that fits the task
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption III
The one right way to manage people
~ Drucker looks at the idea that there is only ‘one right way to manage
people’. Drucker proposes that the age of the ‘subordinate’ has passed
and now employees should be referred to as “knowledge workers”. A
knowledge worker “must know more about their job than their boss
does -- or else they are no good at all. In fact, that they know more
about their job than anybody else in the organization” (Drucker, 1999,
p.18). Drucker’s final thought is that “One does not manage people.
The task is to lead people. And the goal is to make productive the
specific strengths and knowledge of each individual” (Drucker, 1999,
p.22). In student affairs, employees need a cause to champion and a
certain degree of autonomy to be experts in their field.
New paradigm to mange people:
a. one does not manage people; the task is to lead people
b. make specific strengths & knowledge of each individual productive
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption IV
Technologies & end-users are fixed & given
~ one research lab produces everything the company or
company’s industry needs
~ technologies crisscross; there is no one technology
~ management can no longer be its own product or service
~ Student affairs should use technologies and creativity within
the organization to meet the needs of customers.
New technology paradigm:
a. neither technology nor end-user is a foundation for management
policy
b. management strategy must start with customer values and
customer decisions
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption V
Management’s scope is legally defined
~ Drucker has observed that management is much more than the
legalese that defines it -- management “has to be operational. It
has to embrace the entire process. It has to be focused on results
and performance across the entire economic chain” (Drucker,
1999, p.34). To provide students with necessary resources,
student affairs must be collaborative and work with other
departments.
New legal paradigm:
a. management is not legal
b. management is operational – embracing, focused on results and
performance
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption VI
Management’s scope is politically defined
~ national boundaries or multinational
~ economic reality and political reality are congruent
~ politics of the institution should not risk jeopardizing
students, faculty, staff and the mission/vision goals of the
department or the institution.
New political paradigm:
a. national boundaries are restraints
b. management has to defined operationally and not politically
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Assumption VII
The inside is Management’s Domain



~ management and entrepreneurship are two different
dimensions
~ management began as a concern for the inside of the
organization
~ must focus on results and performance
New management domain paradigm:
a. existence is for the sake of the institution’s results
b. intended results and organized resources
c. the organ makes the institution
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
Final New Management Paradigm

Management’s concern and management’s responsibility
are everything that affects the performance of the
institution and its results – whether inside or outside,
whether under the institution’s control or totally beyond it.
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century
References
Drucker, P.F. (1999) Management Challenges for the 21st
Century. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Management Challenges for the 21st
Century