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date: 08 March 2021

Abstract and Keywords

Theory and practice are qualitatively different. This article first examines the terminology used in discussions of theory-practice and discovers that the word ‘understanding’ is a major source of trouble. It then reviews eight different ways in which people have tried to reconcile theory and practice. It is then argued that theory and practice can be partly reconciled if living forward is differentiated into ready-to-hand living and unready-to-hand living, a distinction first proposed by Heidegger. If theorists and practitioners alike focus on the interruptions of unready-to-hand, then the theorist is forced to sense more of the world as it is experienced by the practitioner and the practitioner is forced to detach from the flow of events, objectify portions of what normally is a flow, and adopt a mindset toward barriers similar to that of the theorist. Finally, this article concludes with an example of unready-to-hand theorizing.

Keywords: theory, practice, understanding, practitioner, ready-to-hand living, unready-to-hand living

Karl E. Weick

Karl E. Weick is the Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at the University of Michigan. He joined the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 1988 after previous faculty positions at the University of Texas, Cornell University, the University of Minnesota, and Purdue University. He received his PhD from Ohio State University in social and organizational psychology. He is a former editor of the journal, Administrative Science Quarterly (1977–85). Weick's books include The Social Psychology of Organizing and Sensemaking in Organizations (Sage, 1995). Karl Weick's research interests include collective sensemaking under pressure, handoffs and transitions in dynamic events, organizing for resilient performance, and continuous change.

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