Philosophy of Science

In his article about "Bad management theories are destroying good management practices", Sumantra Ghoshal gives a considerable number of examples to explain what he sees as bad management practices that ruin the management world of today. He criticises the way companies have behaved in the past (see Enron, Tyco etc.) and points out different causes such as faulty pedagogy, the false pretence of knowledge and the methodology used to describe existing theories on social sciences but also the narrow environment in which new management models could be constructed. In the year 2010 The Economist published a response to Sumatra's article, suggesting that other ways of conducting experiments in the field of management are being tested, mainly through the use of more discrete factors (such as an individual's DNA structure and hormone panels) and through more practical methods (the twin-studies). In Dr Cosmides and Dr Tooby research they attempt to give "scientific" meaning to management by "applying the rigor of biology" ('The biology of business' p. 1). Scientists have looked at twin-studies for answers regarding the difference between upbringing and pure genetic material. After discovery of deception from one of the fields pioneers, Sir Cyril Burt, the twin-studies have lost part of their popularity. Needless to say that the differences between twins and normal brothers are still an interesting approach and can still yield verisimilar results if preformed correctly. In the two studies elaborated in the article the results suggest that while women have shown to have extrovert traits from birth, males are generally imbedded with extrovert and sensation-seeking through their experiences. The conclusion is thus: "Businesswomen, it seems, are born. But businessmen are made." ('The biology of science' p.3) The latter twin study (performed only on males)