Managing versus Designing: Newly Discovered Romance or Long-Lost Cousins?

Abstract

Business schools have begun to incorporate design courses into their curricula. Organizational scholars are urged to seek insights from designers. Guided by Simon’s (1977) decision-making framework, we argue that there is at least as much conceptual overlap between management and design, if not more, as there appear to be differences. By clarifying dialectical versus conceptual distinctions between the two schools of thought, our work has the potential to move the field forward by minimizing the risk of discourses being lost in translation, and providing a practical framework for educators searching for ways to incorporate design thinking into the business curricula.