Recent Developments in the Theory of Learning and the Identity of the Manager

Richard Thorpe, Karel Pavlica and David Holman
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Richard Thorpe: Manchester Metropolitan University
Karel Pavlica: University of Economics, Prague
David Holman: Sheffield University

Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, 1998, vol. 1, issue 2, 91-105

Abstract: One view of the manager is as a ‘practical’ scientist. In contrast to this image, many managers do not see themselves in this light and are uncomfortable with the notion that to be successful they should act in purely a mechanistic ‘scientific’ way. Alternative to this view is to see the manager as a ‘reflective practitioner’, but this is only one of a number of metaphors that might be used. This paper introduces the metaphor of the manager as a ‘practical author’ and puts the way language is used within social contexts centre stage. The paper does not dismiss or undervalue the concept of the reflective practitioner but rather, offers an additional image thought to be useful to managers when considering how they might act. Three examples of how a manager might be developed using these ideas are given. Social constructivist accounts of Managerial Activity. Management Learning and Organisational Development.

Keywords: managerial activity; action learning; group approaches; cognitive maps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M12 M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998
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