Chris Argyris ?

A RetrospectiveAbout Us - Registration/Login Contact Us - Message Board - Glossary - Features - B-School - Legal - Biz-End - Orange-GTM - WAP STOCK MARKETSCOMPANIESSECTORSECONOMYMUTUAL FUNDSONLINE TRADINGINVESTOR POINTS 'This site is a must read for investors ..' Forbes magazine Business School Fri, 06-Sep-2002 14:44:50 IST (GMT+5:30) Chris Argyris ? A Retrospective Jargon Management Student Speak Damagement lessons Cyber Trek General Management Operations Management Financial Management

HR Management Marketing Management Systems Management Entrance Guide Career Guide Placement Guide Case Studies Quiz Entrepreneur MBA About us Disclaimer A Retrospective Chris Argyris For 50 years, Chris Argyris has defined and vigorously advanced theories and strategies for individual and organizational development. He has made a significant contribution to the development of our appreciation of organizational learning, and, almost in passing, deepened our understanding of experiential learning and action research. This insight has provided the underpinnings for theorists and practitioners to foster long-term effectiveness in organizations. Chris Argyris early research explored the impact of formal organizational structures, control systems, and management on individuals (and how they responded and adapted to them). As early as the 1950s, Argyris championed the belief that people can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated.

Chris Argyris, compared bureaucratic / pyramidal values (the organizational counterpart to Theory X assumptions about people) that still dominate most organizations with a more humanistic / democratic value system (the organizational counterpart to Theory Y assumptions about people). Applying his Immaturity-Maturity Theory, he showed how formalized structures, rigid channels of communication, and prescriptive job design often causes organizational ineffectiveness. The fact that bureaucratic / pyramidal values still dominate most organizations, according to Argyris, has produced many of our current organizational problems. He then shifted his focus to organizational change, in particular exploring the behavior of senior executives in organizations in the 1960s. Drawing from his conclusions about the impact of organizational structure on individual behavior, Argyris (with Donald Schn) put forward the Theories of Action showing how individual and organizational learning takes place. They found that there is a split between how individuals wan to think what they want to do (espoused theory) and how they actually behave in real life situations (theories-in-use). Argyris and Schn suggest two responses to this mismatch, and these are can be seen in the notion of single and double-loop learning. Argyris and Schn set up two models that describe features of theories-in-use that either inhibit or enhance double-loop learning. The belief is that all people utilize a common theory-in-use in problematic situations. This they describe as Model I and it can be said to inhibit double-loop learning. Model II is where the governing values associated with theories-in-use enhance double-loop learning. From there he moved onto a particularly fruitful inquiry into the role of the social scientist as both researcher and actor. Argyris helped to define action research as a powerful approach to organizational change. This iterative process of data gathering and diagnosis, involvement of employees, and action planning and evaluation is a principal method in change efforts today. Argyris examined the role of the social scientist as a researcher and interventionist. His unique format and method of case analysis is still relevant in consultant-client interaction as well as other situations involving human interaction. Anshuman Ghosh Student IIM Kozhikode

Message Boards Post a message Quick Search Enter IIL company code Quotes Research News Look up code Subscribe to IIL Newsletters

Drop us a line Drop us your queries & suggestions

5PAISAPREMIUM CONTENT ADVERTISE WITH USFEEDBACKDISCLAIMERPRIVACY POLICYJOBSFAQSSITE MAPHELP Sectors: Auto - FMCG - Pharma - Oil & Gas - Infrastructure - Infotech - Steel Special: Ketan Parekh Saga - Budget - Personal Finance - Money - Orange-GTM Copyright 2002 India Infoline Ltd. All rights reserved.Regd. Off: 24, Nirlon Complex, Off W E Highway, Goregaon(E) Mumbai-400 063. Tel.: +(91 22) 685 0101/0505 Fax: 685 0585