What Management Is

A Misunderstood Profession

Management guru Peter F. Drucker once observed that business often appears to be “a seemingly mindless game of chance at which any donkey could win provided that he be ruthless.” Those who have made a career of management would contend that there’s a little more to it than that.

Management remains a misunderstood profession, although it is a key driver of the progress of modern society, making it healthier and more productive. Since people rarely view business management in this light, its general reputation continues to decline steadily. In part, this is because onlookers commonly perceive management as the craft of supervising others. In reality, management isn’t primarily about watching others do their work and ensuring that they do it right. The actual business of management is to create value. If customers, stakeholders and the marketplace generally agree that a business has generated good value for the resources it expends, the business is on sound footing. Management’s job is to make sure that happens.

Who defines value? If management’s goal is to increase value, who determines the objectives? Value takes many forms and has many...