ABSTRACT
Evaluating the current relevance of Chris Argyris's paper, "The Individual and Organization: Some Problems of Mutual Adjustment", is best done within the school of thought from which it sprang. Its usefulness may be gauged by considering two opposing value systems: the pyramidal value system and the humanistic value system. In industrial society, organizations are the principal context in which individuals realize their development aims. "The Individual and Organization" has influenced not only academic research, but also management practice and society more broadly. The person-centered approach remains relevant and applicable today, as many companies would benefit from being run in a less hierarchical manner. The deductive nature of his contribution was regarded as a potential limitation even by the author himself, until later revisionists reinforced the theory by combining behavioral and quantitative tools. The cultural relevance of the work is another consideration. Argyris's findings are based on ideal or extreme examples of individuals and organizations.
