The Implementation Exchange: Science and Affairs

In October 1982, the Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh sponsored a national conference entitled "Producing Useful Knowledge for Organizations." Behavioral scientists from around the nation were invited to present their views concerning rigor versus relevance and t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Interfaces (Providence) 1983-06, Vol.13 (3), p.36-38
Main Authors: Schultz, Randall L, Slevin, Dennis P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Management science
organizational behavior
Pragmatism
professional: OR/MS implementation
Scientific method
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Summary:In October 1982, the Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh sponsored a national conference entitled "Producing Useful Knowledge for Organizations." Behavioral scientists from around the nation were invited to present their views concerning rigor versus relevance and the overall usefulness of organizational research. The interest shown in the conference and the positions taken by the participants clearly indicated to us that a tremendous dilemma exists in the behavioral sciences between rigor and relevance; validity and impact; truth and pragmatism. Such a dilemma also exists in the management sciences. Managers are people of affairs. They conduct business; they engage in transactions with other people; they implement things; they, in one word, do . Scientists are people of knowledge. They are interested in systematizing knowledge through observation, study, experimentation, replication, and the use of all available scientific tools to develop truth.
ISSN:0092-2102
1526-551X
DOI:10.1287/inte.13.3.36