A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

THE MANAGEMENT CONTROL PANEL ■ 197
machinery. The president in this case proposed to include many factors that
depend entirely on human beings.”
“But what about an airplane autopilot?” someone asked.
“An airplane autopilot works well <strong>with</strong>in strict parameters,” Peter
answered. “However, even for the autopilot, it is a human manager who
stands by the controls of the aircraft. The human manager is capable of
analyzing the variables in any situation and can take actions or react to
external inputs to achieve the intended objective, despite the variables and
the unexpected. This human manager always has the capability of overriding
the autopilot, which is engaged <strong>with</strong>in strict limits. Even <strong>with</strong> current
technology, one cannot expect a system to substitute for the abilities of a
manager or team of managers. Consider the fact that there are so many
human variables involved for a business operating in an environment
which includes competition, the economy, and more, and is also largely
driven by human beings.
“Now the idea of a Management Information Panel is very good,” Peter
said. “Being able to view the spectrum of the internal and external environments,
and even understanding the relationships between them if one
takes certain actions, is not only essential, but extremely valuable.
However, analyzing these variables and thinking you will obtain consistently
repeatable results through exact managerial actions to be taken will
invariably lead to disaster.”
<strong>Drucker</strong> concluded by saying, “The manager is the one who must
take the information provided, including a computer’s analysis, and
make a judgment as to what decisions to take. It has been said that the
human brain is the world’s best computer. This is only partially true,
since a computer can make accurate and precise calculations much
faster. However, human beings have something else which, combined
<strong>with</strong> the human brain, is superior to the use of a computer by itself. This
is the manager’s gut feel and instinct as to what is important and critical
in any situation, what must be considered at all costs, and what can
be safely ignored.”
Practical Proof of <strong>Drucker</strong>’s Insight
Later reflection on <strong>Drucker</strong>’s comments caused me to recall one of the
courses I had completed the previous winter. Computerized simulations
were just becoming popular. The idea was to give students experience in
making real business decisions based on a simulated business situation