Hello rbacal@escape.ca,
In your message, you asked:
>Anyone know the context of Drucker's remarks?
Here is the context for his statement that "'Hierarchy,' and the
unquestioning acceptance of it by everyone in the organization, is the
only hope in a crisis":
"[I]t should have become clear that there is no such thing as the one
right organization. There are only organizations, each of which has
distinct strengths, distinct limitations and specific applications. It has
become clear that organization is not an absolute. 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.
"One hears a great deal today about 'the end of hierarchy.' This is
blatant nonsense. In any institution there has to be a final authority,
that is, a 'boss'--someone who can make the final decisions and who can
expect them to be obeyed. In a situation of common peril--and every
institution is likely to encounter it sooner or later--survival of all
depends on clear command. If the ship goes down, the captain does not call
a meeting, the captain gives an order. And if the ship is to be saved,
everyone must obey the order, must know exactly where to go and what to
do, and to do it without 'participation' or argument. 'Hierarchy,' and the
unquestioning acceptance of it by everyone in the organization, is the
only hope in a crisis. "Other situations within the same institution
require deliberation. Others still require teamwork--and so on." (Drucker
1999, p. 11)
Drucker, Peter (1999). Management Challenges of the 21st Century. New
York: HarperBusiness.
Drucker's statement about hierarchy presented above is made in the context
of his argument that there is no one right organization and that
organizations must have "mixed structures": "Individuals will have to be
able to work at one and the same time in different organization
structures. For one task they will have to work in a team. But for another
task they will have to work--and at the same--in a command and control
structure. The same individual who is a 'boss' within his or her own
organization is a 'partner' in an alliance, a minority participation, a
joint venture and so on. Organizations, in other words, will have to
become part of the executive's toolbox." (Drucker 1999, p. 14)
Regards,
Liane
liane@bluecurl.com
--"Liane Hirabayashi" <liane@bluecurl.com>
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