WK 1 DQ 1 Essay

In his article “Towards an epistemology of collective action: management research as a responsive and actionable discipline”, Hatchuel (2005, p. 45) argue that in management research, a different type of epistemology should be used known

5. Management theory must recognize that it is a part of a larger universe of knowledge and theory.

Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice

Ivancevich, J. M., & Duening, T. M. (2006). Management: skills, application, practice, and development. Cincinnati, OH: Atomic Dog Publishing.

The author teaches classes of management and leadership at the Australian National University, and he is also a practicing management consultant with projects encompassing four continents.

Management plays a vital role for small companies, large corporations, and any other business type. They help assist in making sure that a task is completed in the correct manner that benefits the company in many matters to include legal. Most who think about management today, assume they have a lot of responsibility, to include the ability to lead with great leadership skills acquired through schooling and knowledge. Fortunately for these leaders, these management skillsets were not just acquired overnight, they were developed and tested over a long period of time through trial and error before being taught at an accredited institution or published for others to utilize. Therefore, there have been many theories and milestones that have developed through time, which have assisted in shaping management into how it functions today.

Epistemology studies knowledge, it’s boundaries/limits, it’s “spheres” and the tangibility of how much we understand and are aware of our understanding.

The twentieth century has brought in a number of management theories which have helped shaped our view of management in the present business environment. These emerging theories have enabled managers to appreciate new patterns of thinking, new ways of organising and new ways of managing organisations and people. Over the years these different theories have enabled the study

Bergman, R. Coulter, M. Robbins, S., & Stagg, I. (2012). Management 6 (pp. 86-91). New South Wales: Pearson.

There are plenty of ways and practices available to managers, practitioners and educators to carry out their businesses for the persuasion of required goals, this vast array of choice and awareness make them ambitious to decide which one is workable and which one is not and this make them always keep on trying one and other technique, method or/and process and at this point according to Pfeffer and Sutton(2006) evidence rescue them to decide which one is the right one. This essay, focusing on this respect, will be a critical reading and analysis of strengths and weaknesses to Rousseau’s (2006) article on ‘Is there such a thing as “Evidence –Based Management”. This essay will first introduce how if evidence based management helps managers.

“Management is active, not theoretical. It is about changing behaviour and making things happen. It is about developing people, working with them, effort to achieve objective and goals.”(L.Mullins, 2010. P, 425)

managers are forced to contend with the sources and origin of knowledge that workers possess as a means of enhancing companies’ capacities to improve the productivity of the knowledge worker as was done by Taylor during the heyday of manual work. Knowledge work has challenged the society to come to terms with the importance of epistemology in everyday life and to find ways of optimizing it for development. Knowledge management is proposed by Wong and Aspinwall (2004) as a strategy for increasing the productivity of the knowledge worker, but despite this there are still challenges as it relates to those who possess tacit knowledge—the major concern for companies is the loss of productivity advances when the tacit knowledge worker leaves. It has therefore become increasingly important to find out how individuals gain knowledge in the first place, and then attempt to replicate those actions that are engaged in on a daily basis, which optimizes productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness. One cannot solve the epistemological problems of the contemporary workplace without reflecting on earlier conceptions about epistemology as articulated by empiricists, rationalists, pragmatists, and relativists. Empiricism argued that knowledge is derived from human sensual experiences and perceptions (Cooper, 1999, p.

Successful management requires an understanding of the fundamental concepts of effective management techniques and principles. In order to gain such insight, and manage effectively and efficiently, managers must develop an awareness of past management principles, models and theories. From the turn of the 20th Century, the

The nature of Gorta's activities would point to a heavy reliance on the practice based perspective of knowledge. Gorta's 'provision of agricultural training and life skills development'(Gorta, n.d.) through partnership initiatives in knowledge transfer on the field in Sub-saharan Africa(Gorta employee, 2014) appears to reflect the view that knowledge is embedded in practice. Tacit knowledge, in this instance, would seem to be a subjective entity that cannot be separated from explicit knowledge, thereby requiring both physical and cognitive elements in order to be transferred and developed. As such, it highlights the epistemology of practice, which purports that knowledge is formed 'through processes of socialization, observation, and practice'(Hislop, 2005, p.29).

The definition of ‘management’ is controversial and subject to much debate. There have been many contradictory views on what the term ‘management’ means and accordingly how one should correctly manage an organisation. These theories have been put forward by several highly regarded management scholars over time. By taking into account past knowledge and contemporary views on management, we are able to ‘’explore how thinking has changed through time’’. (Brooks, 2006). Moreover, businesses have, and can continue to be able to adapt these theories and put them into practice. Successfully applying correct management practices is especially vital in a global business environment which is becoming very competitive. ‘’Most management theories, even those that do not resonate comfortably with the prevailing mood, have attractive and valid elements to them.’’ (Robinson, 2005). For example, some of these theories can be seen flourishing in fast food chains like McDonalds.