Chris Argyris (July 16, 1923 – November 16, 2013) was an American

business theorist Organizational theory refers to the set of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also attempts to explain how interrelated units of organiz ...

and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

. Argyris, like Richard Beckhard,

Edgar Schein Edgar Henry Schein (born March 5, 1928) is a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has made a notable mark on the field of organizational development in many areas, including career development, group process consultation, an ...

and

Warren Bennis Warren Gamaliel Bennis (March 8, 1925 – July 31, 2014) was an American scholar, organizational consultant and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of the contemporary field of Leadership studies.organization development, and known for seminal work on

learning organization In business management, a learning organization is a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself.Pedler, M., Burgogyne, J. and Boydell, T. 1997. ''The Learning Company: A strategy for sustainable develop ...

Biography

Argyris was born a twin—along with Thomas S. Argyris (1923–2001)—into a family of Greek immigrants to the United States in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat, seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and the second largest city within the New Yo ...

. Argyris (pronounced AHR-JUR-ris) grew up in

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 61,176. The township had the ninth-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.890% in 2020, compared to 2.82 ...

, and Athens, Greece. In World War II he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. After his service he studied psychology at

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in th ...

, where he met

Kurt Lewin Kurt Lewin ( ; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States. During his professional career Lewin applied hi ...

. He obtained his MA in 1947, and joined the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, where he obtained his MSc in Psychology and Economics in 1949. In 1951 received his PhD from Cornell University, with a thesis under the supervision of William F. Whyte on

organizational behavior Organizational behavior (OB) or organisational behaviour is the: "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself".Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. (1995 ...

. In 1951 Argyris started his academic career at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

as part of the

Yale Labor and Management Center The Yale Labor and Management Center was a research center that was part of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in late 1944 or 1945 and existed until 1958 or 1959. Its stated mission was to engage in "the study of the bas ...

where he worked under its director and an early influence,

E. Wight Bakke Edward Wight Bakke (November 13, 1903 – November 23, 1971) was an American sociology and economics professor at Yale University who achieved prominence in the field of industrial relations. He was a Sterling Professor, Yale's highest level of ...

. At Yale he subsequently became appointed Professor of Management science. In 1971 he moved to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

, where he was Professor of Education and Organizational Behavior, until his retirement. Argyris was active as director of the consulting firm Monitor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Argyris received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 2006 and a Doctor of Science award from

in 2011. Argyris died on November 16, 2013, age 90, and is buried at Linwood Cemetery in

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protection of the town's historic resourc ...

Work

Argyris' early research explored the impact of formal organizational structures, control systems and management on individuals and how they responded and adapted to them. This research resulted in the books ''Personality and Organization'' (1957) and ''Integrating the Individual and the Organization'' (1964). He then shifted his focus to organizational change, in particular exploring the behaviour of senior executives in organizations, in ''Interpersonal Competence and Organizational Effectiveness'' (1962) and ''Organization and Innovation'' (1965). From there he moved on to an inquiry into the role of the social scientist as both researcher and actor (''Intervention Theory and Method'' (1970); ''Inner Contradictions of Rigorous Research'' (1980) and ''Action Science'' (1985) – with Robert Putnam and Diana McLain Smith). His fourth major area of research and theorizing – in significant part undertaken with

Donald Schön Donald Alan Schön (September 19, 1930 – September 13, 1997) was an American philosopher and professor in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He developed the concept of reflective practice and contributed to the theo ...

– was in individual and organizational learning and the extent to which human reasoning, not just behavior, can become the basis for diagnosis and action (''Theory in Practice'' (1974); ''Organizational Learning'' (1978); ''Organizational Learning II'' (1996) – all with Donald Schön). He has also developed this thinking in ''Overcoming Organizational Defenses'' (1990) and ''Knowledge for Action'' (1993).

Adult personality

Argyris believed that managers who treat people positively and as responsible adults will achieve productivity. Mature workers want additional responsibilities, variety of tasks, and the ability to participate in decisions. He also came to the conclusion that problems with employees are the result of mature personalities managed using outdated practices.

Action science

Argyris' collaborative work with Robert W. Putnam, (not to be confused with Robert D. Putnam), and Diana McLain Smith advocates an approach to research that focuses on generating knowledge that is useful in solving practical problems. Other key concepts developed by Argyris include ladder of inference,

double-loop learning Double-loop learning entails the modification of goals or decision-making rules in the light of experience. The first loop uses the goals or decision-making rules, the second loop enables their modification, hence "double-loop". Double-loop learni ...

, theory of action/espoused theory/theory-in-use, high advocacy/high inquiry dialogue and actionable knowledge and the study of adult personality. Argyris' concept of Action Science begins with the study of how

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

beings design their actions in difficult situations. Human actions are designed to achieve intended consequences and governed by a set of environment variables. How those governing variables are treated in designing actions are the key differences between single-loop learning and

. When actions are designed to achieve the intended consequences and to suppress conflict about the governing variables, a single-loop learning cycle usually ensues. On the other hand, when actions are taken, not only to achieve the intended consequences, but also to openly inquire about conflict and to possibly transform the governing variables, both single-loop and double-loop learning cycles usually ensue. (Argyris applies single-loop and double-loop learning concepts not only to personal behaviors but also to organizational behaviors in his models.) Model 1 illustrates how single-loop learning affects human actions. Model 2 describes how double-loop learning affects human actions. The following Model 1 and Model 2 tables introduce these ideas (tables are from Argyris, Putnam & Smith, 1985, Action Science, Ch. 3). Other key books conveying Argyris' approach include Argyris & Schon, 1974 and Argyris, 1970, 1980, 1994). Table 1, Model 1: Theory-In-Use: defensive reasoning Table 2, Model 2: Theory-In-Use: productive reasoning File:smycka2eng.png, A graphical interpretation of single-loop learning File:smycka3eng.png, A graphical interpretation of

Selected books

* Argyris, C. 1957. ''Personality and Organization: the Conflict between System and the Individual''. New York: Harper. OCLC 243920 * Argyris, C. 1962. ''Interpersonal Competence and Organizational Effectiveness''. Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey Press. OCLC 254242 * Argyris, C. 1964. ''Integrating the Individual and the Organization''. New York: Wiley. * Argyris, C. 1965. ''Organization and Innovation''. Homewood, Ill.: R.D. Irwin. OCLC 228981 * Argyris, C. 1970. ''Intervention Theory and Method: a Behavioral Science View''. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. * Argyris, C. 1971. ''Management and Organizational Development: the Path from XA to YB.'' New York: McGraw-Hill. * Argyris, C. 1972. ''The Applicability of Organizational Sociology.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * Argyris, C. 1974. ''Behind the Front Page: Organizational Self-Renewal in a Metropolitan Newspaper''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. * Argyris, C., Schön, D.A. 1974. ''Theory in Practice: Increasing Professional Effectiveness''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. * Argyris, C. 1976. ''Increasing Leadership Effectiveness''. New York: Wiley. * Argyris, C. 1978. ''Regulating Business: the Search for an Optimum''. San Francisco: Institute for Contemporary Studies. * Argyris, C., Schön, D.A. 1978. ''Organizational Learning: a Theory of Action Perspective''. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. * Argyris, C. 1980. ''Inner Contradictions of Rigorous Research''. New York: Academic Press. * Argyris, C. 1982. ''Reasoning, Learning, and Action: Individual and Organizational''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. * Argyris, C., Putnam, R., Smith D.M. 1985. ''Action Science: Concepts, Methods, and Skills for Research and Intervention''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. * Argyris, C. 1990. ''Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating Organizational Learning''. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. * Argyris, C. 1993. ''Knowledge for Action: a Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change''. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. * Argyris, C. 1993. ''On Organizational Learning''. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell. * Argyris, C., Schön, D.A. 1996. ''Organizational Learning II: Theory, Method and Practice''. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. * Argyris, C. 1999. ''On Organizational Learning'', 2nd ed. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Business. * Argyris, C. 2000. ''Flawed Advice and the Management Trap: How Managers Can Know When They're Getting Good Advice and When They're Not''. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. * Argyris, C. 2004. ''Reasons and Rationalizations: The Limits to Organizational Knowledge''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ;Publications about Chris Argyris * *

References

External links

Chris Argyris: theories of action, double-loop learning and organizational learning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argyris, Chris 1923 births Harvard Business School faculty American business theorists Educational psychologists 2013 deaths People from Newark, New Jersey American social psychologists Public administration scholars American people of Greek descent American educational psychologists