UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE

ARGYRIS THEORY
By Ramesh
INTRODUCTION
CHRIS ARGYRIS
• Founder of Argyris Theory
• Born on July 16, 1923
• Greek Business Theorist
• Professor Emeritus at
Harvard Business School
• Held the position of "Thought Leader"
at Monitor Group.
 ARGYRIS MATURITY THEORY
• Argyris Maturity Theory, presented by Chris Argyris in Personality and
Organization, is one of the many theories that seek to explain the
human nature and behavior.
• According to this theory, a persons’ development is processed along a
continuous break of an immaturity situation to a maturity situation.
• A mature person is characterised for being active, independent, self-
confident and self-controlled. On the contrary, an immature person is
passive, dependant, has lack of confidence and feels need of control
by others.
 ARGYRIS MATURITY THEORY
• Agryis believed that managers who treat people positively, and are
responsible adults, will achieve the highest productivity.
• He thought that common problems of employee avoiding work, lack
of interest,and low morale may be signs of mismatch between
management practice and mature adult personality.
• His solution to the problem is to expand job responsibilities; allow
more task variety and adjust supervisory styles to allow more
participation and promote better human relations.
ARGYRIS IMMATURITY – MATURITY THEORY

IMMATURITY MATURITY
• Passive • Increased Activity
• Dependence • Independence
• Behave in few ways • Behave in many ways
• Shallow interest • Deep, Strong interests
• Short time perspective • Long time perspective
• Lack of Self Control • Control over self
ARGYRIS THEORY - SEVEN CHANGES
• According to Argyris, seven changes should take place in the personality of individuals if
they are to develop into mature people over the years. The seven changes are:

1. Individuals move from a passive state as infants to a state of increasing activity as

adults

2. Individualss develop from a state of dependency upon others as infants to a state

of relative independence as adults

3. Individuals in only few ways as infants, but as adults they are capable of behaving in
many ways
ARGYRIS THEORY - SEVEN CHANGES
4. Individuals have erratic, casual, and shallow interests as infants but
deeper and stringer interests as adults
5. The time perspective of children is very short, involving only the
present, but as they mature, their time perspective increases to
include past and future
6. Individuals as infants are subordinate to everyone, but they move to
equal or superior positions with others as adults
7. As children, individuals lack an awareness of a “self”, but as adults
not only they are aware of, but they are able to control “self”
CONCLUSION