The Concept of a Corporation. Is it still relevant?

You should read The Concept of a Corporation. A 1946 business best seller written by Peter Drucker. Drucker became a business guru because of the book. It was written about General Motors. According to legend, GM was not happy with the book.  However, the Japanese were happy.  They used Drucker's suggestions to enter the automotive business and some would say, used Drucker's ideas to leap ahead of American manufacturers. The book was required reading in many graduate business schools in 1970.

The book came to my mind because I noticed today a comment from the current GM CEO, Dan Akerson. He said that he hoped the politicians would agree on an economic package that would prevent America from slip-sliding into a recession. GM sales are up, relatively speaking, but its stock is down 33% from its IPO price in 2010.

I wonder what Drucker would write about GM today. Would he comment on the role dealers have played in the sales channel? Would he agree the unions have been helpful in growing or shrinking GM? Or would he say that the factors that contributed to the success of GM in 1946 were the same factors that contribute to its difficulty in 2012. After all, 66 years has produced a set of circumstances much different than existed in 1946. Drucker suggested that GM should be organized more like the federal government and its relationship with state governments. The suggestion was a reach toward the notion of decentralization,  but it may have come true.

I am going to pull this book from the archives and read it again. I recommend you do too.