A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL PANEL ■ 191
“What I have in mind as a result is something like the instrumentation
panel in an airplane’s cockpit, coupled <strong>with</strong> the aircraft’s control system as
controlled by the pilot. On the panel, the pilot observes changes in heading,
altitude, fuel consumption, progress toward the destination, and other
inputs. Then he uses the aircraft’s controls to make corrections based on
these observations to continue to his objective. The only difference is that
because of advances in technology, and the Management Control Panel,
we’ll know exactly what to do in every situation.”
I knew that this was probably a fictitious case, or one that was heavily
disguised. With my background in aviation, I could immediately appreciate
the potential of what the company president in <strong>Drucker</strong>’s case was
suggesting. I had seen and even used many such systems. Some were electronic;
others were based on log functions and used in handheld circular or
linear slide rules. The big difference was that none that I had seen integrated
all flying or mission functions. It was left to the human operator to
make the final decisions based on his overall integration of this information.
What was being suggested in this case study was to leave the analysis
entirely to the computers. Company management’s function would be to
implement the results of the computer’s analysis.
If a control panel for running a company like this were available, it
would be of tremendous benefit. It would allow company management to
do a better job in what needed to be done, and this could be accomplished
faster than anyone not having such a system. It would be a quantum leap
forward, and I wondered only why no one had thought of an idea like this
sooner. I looked around the room and could see that the reactions of my
classmates were similarly enthusiastic.
<strong>Drucker</strong>’s Challenge
“This is a homework assignment,” Peter continued. “Please consider two
questions. First, I would like you to consider the input factors affecting
performance, both from <strong>with</strong>in a company, and in its external environment,
that should be considered and how they would be measured.
These are the things that the president of this company said will be
turned over to those qualified to quantify this information and determine
their relationship <strong>with</strong> performance output. You can use your own
company as an example.
“Second, please think through and list the advantages and disadvantages
of the president’s proposal. We will discuss your analysis in class next week.