Abstract
Herbert Simon is recognized for his contributions to fields such as organization theory, economics, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and psychology, as well as others:1
Organizing a professional school. Is very much like mixing oil with water: it is easy to describe the intended product, less easy to produce it. And the task is not finished when the goal has been achieved. Left to themselves, the oil and water will separate again. So also will the disciplines and the professions. Organizing, in these situations, is not a once-and-for-all activity. It is a continuing administrative responsibility, vital for the sustained success of the enterprise. (Simon, 1967, p. 16)
His paper on the business school as a problem of organizational design (1967) is, although perhaps less well known, a paper that reflects not only his mind as an organization theorist and scholar, but also his awareness of the importance of some of the fundamental issues in the education of professions and in professional schools (such as business schools). As a person, he was well known for his strong mind and his insistence on going against the centripetal forces of scholarly disciplines, even if it might have been easier for him to stay within one (or two) disciplines. As he said in conversation, ‘if you see any discipline dominating you, you join the opposition and fight it for a while’.
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© 2016 Mie Augier and Bhavna Hariharan
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Augier, M., Hariharan, B. (2016). Herbert Simon and Some Unresolved Tensions in Professional Schools. In: Frantz, R., Marsh, L. (eds) Minds, Models and Milieux. Archival Insights into the Evolution of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137442505_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137442505_16
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