The role of ideas in the manager's workplace: theory and practice

Abstract

Ideas contribute to the achievement of high performance, excellence, and competitive advantage in management and organisation. To intervene to facilitate these favourable outcomes, managers need to be aware of how ideas are affected by mindsets they use and what is actually happening to ideas in their workplaces. This paper reports on a pilot survey among managers from diverse organisations. Respondents provide their views about what happens to ideas in their organisations, with comments about the responsiveness of colleagues. It is presumed that how managers engage with ideas in the workplace will reflect the mindsets that they bring from the theory and practice of management. These mindsets are discussed. The study suggests that these mainstream management approaches as applied in our enterprises might not be adequate, and foreshadows the need for their improvement.

Citation

Rothberg, G. (2004), "The role of ideas in the manager's workplace: theory and practice", Management Decision, Vol. 42 No. 9, pp. 1060-1081. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740410550970