For this issue, we turn to Peter F Drucker, the father of management for a basic understanding of management. Specifically, we look at his assertions concerning the functions of a business and the role knowledge players have in these businesses. Clearly, these topics are of interest and importance because executives continually find themselves redefining their businesses in terms of available resources and competition, depending more and more upon knowledge workers. The material is also put into some perspective with regard to our own research findings and recommendations made for today's managers or executives.

Peter F Drucker is known as the `father of management' and even the `grandfather of marketing.' No management thinker was as prolific, profound and widespread as he. The study that he made of General Motors at the invitation of their CEO in the early 40s and the subsequent publication of first The Concept of the Corporation (1946) and then The Practice of Management (1954) is generally associated with the birth of the field of management. During his tenure as a professional and thereafter, he wrote 39 books (15 on management and 13 on society, economics and politics) plus dozens of articles for the Harvard Business Review.

Because Professor Drucker has written extensively and so much has been written about him, it is difficult to say anything new about him or his interpretations of business and management. Nevertheless, we try. In this article, we focus on two aspects—the definition of specific business entities and the role knowledge workers play in these businesses.

HRM Review Magazine, Knowledge-Intensive Firms, Decision Making, Global Executives, Business Entities, Knowledge-Intensive Firms, Project Management.