Archarios: A Dialogue Between Socrates and a Novice Manager on the Relevance of Design to Management Practice and Education

作者：Wastell David^*

来源：Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2014, 13(4): 641-652.

DOI：10.5465/amle.2013.0169

Concerns about relevance to practice have prompted calls for a new approach to management education (and research) based on a reconceptualization of management praxis as design. Since a landmark colloquium convened by Boland and Collopy in 2004, interest in "design thinking" has gained ground in both the academic and practitioner communities. This has led to some notable educational innovations, but overall progress remains desultory, and the danger arises that design thinking may be seen as another management fad. This essay reports an imaginary dialogue between Socrates and a novice manager (Archarios) that reaffirms the continuing relevance of the design perspective in management education and practice. Design science is well-established in the field of information systems (IS), and it is argued that IS research provides a valuable repository of design theory and techniques. The dialogue provides real illustrations, from health and social care in the UK, of "design disasters" which could have been averted had managers adopted a "design attitude" and followed principles of good design methodology in their professional practice.

• 出版日期2014-12-1