ABSTRACT
The other cornerstone of this volume, beyond theory, is practical application. Practice, however, in its current state is an ever-changing jumble of techniques which does not possess a coherent internal logic in the same sense as does theory. Some generalizations can be set forth regarding the nature of practice, but much more of what can be said applies to the relationship of practice with theory. Science with its dedication to theory and research has now come to dominate the academic side of organizational behavior, thus providing a legitimacy and status that did not exist before. However, the practical side of the field continues to reside in some prescientific backwater, without recognition, or in many cases without either legitimacy or status. Science does not provide the same type of guidelines for management practice that it does, for instance, for medical practice. Solid research of real practical relevance often is ignored in the jumble of importunings with which a manager is constantly faced. Being based on scientific evidence does not typically cause an approach to stand out in the minds of managers, as it does with physicians. This state of affairs may be justified, but often is not. Hopefully, this book will serve to demonstrate that more often than not the rather low regard many managers have for organizational science is not justified.
