Case. Issue 1

Author: Wu Xiaobo, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Centered around the case study of Drucker and General Motors, the echoes of this controversy continued well into the 1980s. In the preface to the 1983 edition of The Concept of the Corporation, Drucker still wrote with a touch of irony: "The executives of General Motors could not accept my fundamental views on management. They claimed to be pioneers in this discipline, so they could not accept the concepts throughout The Concept of the Corporation: management is first and foremost a practice, although it uses many scientific research methods as tools, just like medicine. The controversy between a great company and a great management thinker has become a matter of the past, but for all corporate researchers, it has left us with some insights beyond the focal points of debate: How should we approach the study of enterprises? Is there a balance between mutual respect and academic independence? What kind of mature business spirit and professional mindset should we possess? When we encounter questions, we have already found the direction. It is precisely from these questions that we have founded Cases Today and attempted to follow in Drucker's footsteps.