Peter Drucker and the challenge of tyranny

Purpose – This paper aims to focus the attention of management educators and trainers internationally on the need for cooperation and coordination in developing management skills at the supervisory level. Such action is perceived not only as being highly beneficial in advancing effective management in any type, or size, of organisation, but also as a socially responsible action to offer those in less developed circumstances a positive counter to the perverted appeal of increasingly violent negative elements. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a combination of extensive reading and many years of first‐hand management experience across numerous national and cultural borders. Findings – There is a perceivable and positive benefit in offering opportunities for enhancement in lower level management training to organisations, the social values of communities, but above all to individuals. Practical implications – The practical implications are to highlight the urgent need to promote improved coordination of training in management skills internationally, based on improved analysis of training needs in relation to development aims in deprived societies. Originality/value – The paper is seen as offering an empirically based outline for management educators and trainers to develop widely accepted core principles for the rapid development of lower level management skills, in the context of increasing social need.