KENNETH HOPPER PAPERS ON MANAGEMENT

The Drucker Institute introduced today a new collection, the Kenneth Hopper Papers on Management, to its archival holdings.

Donated by Kenneth and Claire Hopper, the collection comprises his records from a long career in industrial management and consultancy in the U.K., the U.S., Ireland, Continental Europe and Japan.  A major part of the collection includes original correspondence, manuals, memoirs and other documents related to the Civil Communications Section (CCS) under General MacArthur’s command in Tokyo after World War II.  These papers tell the story of how the Americans shared their industrial management know-how with some very able Japanese, eventually giving rise to the Asian Economic Miracle.

The Hopper Papers have been augmented by material donated by the families of Charles Protzman and Frank Polkinghorn, two of the CCS engineers who went to Tokyo after the war.

“I am delighted that this collection, which I’ve assembled over a lifetime, has found such a good home,” said Ken Hopper. “The lessons that these documents hold are invaluable for management scholars and practitioners around the world.”

Kenneth is co-author with his brother, William Hopper, of The Puritan Gift: Reclaiming the American Dream Amidst Global Financial Chaos, which in 2009 was called “one of the most important business books of the past decade” by the Financial Times. In 2010, the Hoppers were named Writers-in-Residence at the Drucker Institute.

The Kenneth Hopper Papers on Management will accompany the Drucker Institute’s other collections: the Drucker Archives and Connie Martinson Talks Books, on the Claremont Colleges Digital Library website.

“It’s exciting to be expanding our holdings beyond those of Peter Drucker,” said Bridget Lawlor, the archivist at the Drucker Institute. “While Drucker’s papers will always remain the core of our archives, we are actively seeking to bring in other material that will illuminate the fields of management and leadership. The Kenneth Hopper Papers is a wonderful step in that direction.”

Under the direction of the Drucker Institute, the Kenneth Hopper Papers on Management will be digitized and material will be added on an ongoing basis.