Knowledge for Action: A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change

The landmark book Action Science introduced a revolutionary theory of Organizational inquiry that demonstrated ways to solve problems, enhance human development and learning, and promote individual, organizational, and social change. Now, Chris Argyris translates the powerful theoretical approach presented in that work into practical advice for researchers and managers. Knowledge for Action presents a step-by-step description of how to assess an organization's capacity to learn, analyze the data, and design and implement effective interventions that help create a more dynamic and innovative organization. Argyris demonstrates how his proven research methods produce actionable knowledge - knowledge that tests the validity of the research methods themselves when used in day-to-day operations - and calls for a genuine partnership between professionals and researchers both to implement the research properly and to test its results in everyday life. Using a detailed case study of a professio