The Drucker Society Europe's Richard Straub
Wins Heinz von Foerster Prize

Richard Straub, the president of the Peter Drucker Society Europe, has been awarded the prestigious Heinz von Foerster Prize, which recognizes "outstanding achievements" in the fields of business management and consultancy "on the basis of cybernetic thinking." Cybernetics is a transdisciplinary approach for exploring the structure, constraints and possibilities of regulatory systems, including social systems.
Rick Wartzman, executive director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, noted that among the previous winners of the Heinz von Foerster Prize is Fredmund Malik, one of Europe's leading management thinkers and consultants, who was also influenced by Peter Drucker.
"This is a great honor for Richard and, by extension, for our entire Drucker Society Network - our worldwide association of volunteers who are using Peter Drucker's ideas and ideals to bring about positive change in their local communities," Wartzman said. "In Richard's case, he and his team have successfully conceived and organized the annual Peter Drucker Global Forum-an event that makes clear to all that management is a highly complex and integrated set of activities that must be performed with a humanistic spirit if we are to have a functioning society."
The next Global Peter Drucker Forum will be held in Vienna on Nov. 15 and 16. The German Association for Cybernetics and the Council Business Competence for Europe will present Straub with the Heinz von Foerster Prize in September.
"I am humbled by this distinction," Straub said. "However, I accept it as a recognition of our joint efforts to put the importance of management into focus."