The Reflection Paper of <The Essential Drucker>
Lei Xi
BUSA201-01
Professor Eli Berniker
Oct.07.2007
With the development of our society and technology, there are more and more people choose to run business. There are many different kinds of business in the world, and each of them has an important role in our society and economic system. However, how to run a successful business? I think it is always the biggest question for people. Everyone in the business has a different position, and different positions have different effects. As Drucker said, “People will have to place themselves where they can make the greatest contribution.” (Drucker, 2005, p217) Choosing the careers which are suitable for us is necessary and significant in our working life.
In my opinion, during an employer’s working life, improvements and innovations are everywhere, so it seems that it is impossible to have the same job for an employer’s whole working time. “One employer will have to be prepared for more than one job, more than one assignment, more than one career.” Drucker said. (Drucker, 2005, p218) Maybe some people can work as a successful manager, but they properly can not work as a successful doctor. Because every one will have different strengths in different aspects, it is necessary for people to find a suitable job for them. Like Drucker said, “one can only perform with one’s strengths. One can not build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one can not do at all.”(Drucker, 2005, p218)
My father is in charge of a factory in Shanghai for many years. Through our daily talking, I know a lot about the business from my father. I was interested in these things that happened in the factory. I used to visit the place where my father worked at. The first impression to me was that every department was separated clearly. My father introduced me the different departments and careers in the factory. That was the first time that I realized so many details in a business. I was attracted by the situation. Every career there has dissimilar effects and request, so the employers have different specialties in the different aspects. I think that business is a team work, and it needs every member in the team to cooperate with each other. The team work is like a chain, each part should be connected well; otherwise, the chain will broken. Also, being a lead of the team should have leadership and knowledge. I tasted my father’s hardship. He works as a manager of a factory, so he has to know the technology, to realize the productions, and to deal with the interpersonal relation. It is a big challenge for a person who is a manager of a business.
My father is so busy with the social intercourse, so ha always come back home till mid-night. Also, he must work six days per week, and it makes our family can have few time to stay together. “As we all know, time is a unique and irreplaceable recourse, so and effective person therefore knows that to manage his time, he first has to know where it actually goes. However, most people do not know how to deal with the time.”(Drucker, 2005, p226) My father is an example of people who can not use their time effectively. The social intercourse wastes a lot of time, and break the time into small pieces. That is the reason why my father has to work so late everyday. Even though it is busy and toilsome, my father still delights in his work. I am influenced by my father, so I want to get a career in the business field.
Drucker mentioned in his book, “There are a lot of people do not know what to do before they are twenty five years old.”(Drucker2005, P224) so I think it is important to know what are your strengths. “Can I be a decision-maker or as an adviser?” (Drucker, 2005, p222) These are two good questions for people who prepare for working or are already working. As I am young, I still have time to find what my strengths are by using the “feedback analysis” method, which is when ever one makes a key decision, and whenever one does a key action, one writes down what one expects will happen.” (Drucker, 2005, P218) My goal is that I can get a job in the business field. The analysis takes about one year to finish it, and I can also find what the default I have, so I can get rid of them as soon as possible. From the analysis, it will help me to figure out what the strongpoint that I have, so I can choose a right field to perform. There are a variety of roles in the business field, and Business Accounting is one that I am interested in now. As China is a developing country, there are a lot of Foreign Bank are set up in our country. Because I want to be an accountant, working in the bank will be a good choice. Another reason, I am studying in the United States, so I have strength in my spoken English. It is a significant and basic ability of working in a Foreign Bank.
In the several years in the future, I will work hard in the professional knowledge of business. “To act on this knowledge is the key to performance-or rather not to act on the knowledge is to condemn oneself to nonperformance.” Drucker said.(2005,p221) Before I graduate from the university, I need to find the study plan that I am used to. Also, I have to learn how to organize my time; it will be an important strategy in my future working life. I must form a habit to record my time, manage my time, and consolidate my time,(Drucker,2005,p225) ,and I just follow the three steps process in Drucker’s article “Know Your Time”. These habits will help me to success in my work in the future life.
“Now that the technes have become knowledges in the plural, they have to be integrated into knowledge. The technes have to become part of what it means to be an educated person.”(Drucker, 2005, p293) Educated people who do not know the technes, but they only know how to do something from the book. I think they just like an empty body. As we are educated people, we should learn the technes to improve our contribution to our society.
Since I want to work in the Foreign Bank, I have a lot of careers can do. I prefer to be an advisor of investment or financing. I can organize the money to invest in different places, and I can gain the extra money for the customers. I can let the fund to be replete utilized from my collecting money, investments, and incomes.
From the book, “The Essential Drucker”, I learned a lot of experience and useful strategies from Drucker. His fifty years’ working experience makes me think a lot of things that I never considered before. I will try my best to use my strength to contribute our world.
Reference
1. Peter F. Drucker,”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) P217,
2. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p218,
3. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p221,
4. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p222,
5. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p224,
6. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p225,
7. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005), p226,
8. Peter F. Drucker, ”The Essential Drucker”, (HarperCollins,2005) p293