Chris Argyris is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 business theorist, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...

, and a Thought Leader at Monitor Group

Monitor Group

Monitor Group is a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States and with 27 offices in 26 major cities around the world. It provides strategy consultation services to the senior management of organizations and governments...

. He is commonly known for seminal work in the area of "Learning Organizations".

Action Science, Argyris' collaborative work with Robert W. Putnam  (not to be confused with Robert D. Putnam) and Diana McLain Smith, advocates an approach to research that focuses on generating knowledge that is useful in solving practical problems. Other key concepts developed by Argyris include Ladder of Inference, Double-Loop Learning , Theory of Action/Espoused Theory/Theory-in-use, High Advocacy/High Inquiry dialogue and Actionable Knowledge.

Chris Argyris’ early research explored the impact of formal organizational structures, control systems and management on individuals and how they responded and adapted to them.