--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The corporation is the \"master\", the…" description: "\"The corporation is the \"master\", the employee is the \"servant\". Because the corporation owns the means of production without which the employee could n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png" --- # The corporation is the "master", the employee is the… ![“The corporation is the "master", the employee is the "servant". Because the corporation owns the means of production without which the employee could not make a living, the employee needs the corporation more than vice versa.” quote by Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png) > “The corporation is the "master", the employee is the "servant". Because the corporation owns the means of production without which the employee could not make a living, the employee needs the corporation more than vice versa.” [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corporations own production means, making employees dependent; the power dynamic is asymmetrical. **In simple terms:** Corporations hold power over employees. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance power dynamics. Themes economics labor power management Mood analytical serious Type economic political When to use this quote - union negotiations - policy reform - employee advocacy - business ethics Key Concepts means of production dependency corporate structure Questions to Reflect On - How can employees gain leverage? - What policies protect workers? A Different Perspective Employees also contribute value and can influence corporations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Corporation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporation/) [Corporation Master](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporation-master-1138615/) [Corporation Owns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporation-owns-1138616/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Employee Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee-servant-1138617/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Servant Corporation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant-corporation-1138614/) [Vice versa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-versa/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [The most critical case in a corporation, especially a big one, is when everything goes well, when you have accomplished your objectives. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-most-critical-case-in-a-corporation-especially-a-big-one-is-when/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dean-anderson/i-ve-been-working-with-them-for-a-couple-years-and-a-couple-of/) [Richard Dean Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dean-anderson/) > [For better or for worse, our company (The News Corporation Ltd.) is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/for-better-or-for-worse-our-company-the-news-corporation-ltd-is-a/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [The definition of fascism is The marriage of corporation and state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/the-definition-of-fascism-is-the-marriage-of-corporation-and-state/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [I don't think any business has to give up legal protections in order to simplify. The main consideration is that whatever protection, rights and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-siegel/i-don-t-think-any-business-has-to-give-up-legal-protections-in-order/) [Alan Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-siegel/) > [I used the aspects of being a woman to my advantage, but I worked for myself, not a big corporation, so I was lucky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/i-used-the-aspects-of-being-a-woman-to-my-advantage-but-i-worked-for/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [A record company used to be a very good thing, but they ended up soul-destroyingly trapping people in the accounting department. And you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/a-record-company-used-to-be-a-very-good-thing-but-they-ended-up-soul/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [A corporation has no soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-coke/a-corporation-has-no-soul/) [Edward Coke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-coke/) > [“a big corporation will destroy your life, your hopes and your dreams accidentally, without even noticing, and still won’t give a damn afterwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-thomson/a-big-corporation-will-destroy-your-life-your-hopes-and-your-dreams/) [L.H. Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-thomson/) > [Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience, when it has no soul to be damned, and nobody to be kicked?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/did-you-ever-expect-a-corporation-to-have-a-conscience-when-it-has-no/) [Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/) > [To equate a corporation with a person is a travesty of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/to-equate-a-corporation-with-a-person-is-a-travesty-of-justice/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [The 'Occupy' movement seems to have found a central theme to its 2012 movement around overturning 'the corporation as a person,' and some legislators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-occupy-movement-seems-to-have-found-a-central-theme-to-its-2012/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [The corporation is not an independent "person" with its own rights, needs, and desires that regulators must respect. It is a state created tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-bakan/the-corporation-is-not-an-independent-person-with-its-own-rights/) [Joel Bakan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-bakan/) > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) ## More by Peter Drucker > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/no-executive-has-ever-suffered-because-his-subordinates-were-strong/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Results is all that separates one company from another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/results-is-all-that-separates-one-company-from-another/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. Peter Drucker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/there-is-nothing-so-useless-as-doing-efficiently-that-which-should/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Our society has become an employee society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/our-society-has-become-an-employee-society/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Replace your pursuit of success with the pursuit of contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/replace-your-pursuit-of-success-with-the-pursuit-of-contribution/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Management means, in the last analysis, the substitution of thought for brawn and muscle, of knowledge for folkways and superstition, and of cooperation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/management-means-in-the-last-analysis-the-substitution-of-thought-for/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Don't try to innovate for the future. Innovate for the present!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/don-t-try-to-innovate-for-the-future-innovate-for-the-present/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The critical question is not "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-critical-question-is-not-how-can-i-achieve-but-what-can-i/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [We can say with certainty - or 90% probability - that the new industries that are about to be born will have nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/we-can-say-with-certainty-or-90-probability-that-the-new-industries/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [When it rains manna from heaven, some people put up an umbrella. Others reach for a big spoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/when-it-rains-manna-from-heaven-some-people-put-up-an-umbrella-others/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The enterprise can fulfill its human and social functions only if it prospers as a business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-enterprise-can-fulfill-its-human-and-social-functions-only-if-it/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The computer actually may have aggravated management's degenerative tendency to focus inward on costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-computer-actually-may-have-aggravated-management-s-degenerative/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [Nobody can predict the future; the idea is to have a firm grasp of the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/nobody-can-predict-the-future-the-idea-is-to-have-a-firm-grasp-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [An executive should be a realist; and no one is less realistic than the cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/an-executive-should-be-a-realist-and-no-one-is-less-realistic-than/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) [Explore all 603 Peter Drucker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The corporation is the \"master\", the employee is the \"servant\". Because the corporation owns the means of production without which the employee could not make a living, the employee needs the corporation more than vice versa.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Drucker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employee-is-the-servant-because-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employee-is-the-servant-because-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99e/peter-drucker-393_business_the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employ_1699739.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The corporation is the \"master\", the employee is the \"servant\". Because the corporation owns the means of…” — Peter Drucker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Drucker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The corporation is the \"master\", the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employee-is-the-servant-because-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-corporation-is-the-master-the-employee-is-the-servant-because-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```