Question

In your company's management development program, there was a heated discussion between

some people who claimed, "Theory is impractical and thus no good," and others who claimed,

"Good theory is the most practical approach to problems." What position would you take and

why?​

Answer 1

The most sensible position is to understand that theory, while not practical in itself, can be immensely helpful when dealing with pratical matters.

This is because theory gives you a sound conceptual foundation that can be used to analyze the practical context, and approach it with the best possible practical solutions.

Without theory, managers have to rely too much on intuition, which can often fail.