ABSTRACT
The relationship between the theory and practice of management on one hand, and the tools of management on the other is usually regarded as a simple, linear one: it is assumed that operational requirements simply dictate the tools selected for management practice. Tools and technologies are consequently regarded as products of management ideas, as passive elements in the development of management practices and of management theories. This chapter argues, contrary to this view, that new tools are occasionally assimilated into existing practices whose use alters the preconceptions of managers, thus acting to change profoundly those practices and theories which caused their adoption. In these instances the relationship between tool and practice may be regarded as reversed, and management practices and theories can be seen to be partly driven by their available tools. At least part of the reason for this is that tools adopted into management to serve a particular function may prove to have unforeseen and far more valuable applications within other areas. These tools and technologies then become active elements in the formulation of management strategies, whose role in the development of management practice should not be ignored or dismissed.
