Business school accreditation agency EFMD, in partnership with The Peter Drucker Society of Europe, has launched "The Global Peter Drucker Challenge", an essay contest for young managers, entrepreneurs and students up to the age of 35.

The authors of the top three essays will be flown to Vienna to participate in the "Global Peter Drucker Forum 2010" on November 19. In addition, up to 40 authors of high quality essays will get free access to the "Global Peter Drucker Forum 2010".

Who was Drucker?

Peter Drucker (1909-2005) is widely recognized as the inventor of modern management. He was a writer, management consultant and self-described “social ecologist". Drucker, who grew up during a time of many upheavals in economics, politics and technology, predicted many of the major developments of the late twentieth century, including privatization and decentralization.

Drucker believed that big businesses and non-profit organizations were the defining innovation of the 20th century. This view was the foundation for his pioneering management and social theories. Management, according to Drucker, helps organizations to plan, to implement, to adjust to changing conditions, to “change with continuity”.

Constant Learning

From 1971 until his death in 2005, Drucker was Professor at Claremont Graduate University. He developed one of the USA’s first executive MBA programs for working professionals there. Drucker liked teaching and learning from his students in equal measure. For him, management was neither an art nor a science. It was a profession.

Learn more about Drucker here.

Why this challenge?

Be part of Drucker’s vision of spreading understanding of management profession. The aim of the challenge is to hear from young people: What are the biggest opportunities for innovation and change in management today? Where are these changes most needed? How can we be successful in managing those changes?

EFMD

The organizer of the challenge, the European Foundation for Management development (EFMD) is Europe's largest network association in the field of management development.

What is expected?
The theme of the competition is: Continuity and Change - Balancing Innovation and Time-Tested Practices". The essay may focus on specific institutional fields such as the public sector, education, corporations and small business. Concrete recommendations for directions to take should be part of the conclusion.

Though it’s not a test on Drucker’s world, familiarity with his ideas is certainly welcome and even more so the ability to apply or re-interpret Drucker's way of thinking in light of contemporary developments.
 
How to participate
Participants must not be older than 35 years. Essays should be between 1,500 words and 3,000 words (which roughly translates into five to ten pages). Essays can be submitted in both English and German, the two languages Peter Drucker wrote his articles and books in.

The deadline for submitting essays is August 15th, 2010.

Submit your essay by e-mailing it to druckerchallenge@gmail.com or by uploading the form on this site.

Learn more about the Challenge and about EFMD here.