Many questions on this exchange address situations in the workplace. Workplace experience successfully handling tough situations at work qualifies a person as expert. This form of expertise seems constantly at odds with the form of expertise derived from the theorectical constructs taught by consultants and buisness schools who teach formal theory.
Though waving managerial theory around in a workplace is not very smart because it may offend seasoned workers, using theory as a means to rationalize how to handle many workplace issues has merit.
On this exchange, many answers getting up-voted often fit sound managerial theory.
When theory is pointed out, or if a question is asked regarding the managerial theory of tough workplace situations is asked on this exchange, it seems not to go over well and in some cases even offend.
Managerial theory's biggest issue is it dehumanizes people. Dehumanizing anyone is never a good answer.
Dehumanizing is already common by necessity on this site. I felt dehumanized when a question I asked regarding theory was closed. To the person seeking acceptance as an expert, the dehumanizing act may have seemed to come from me when I brought up theory. Theory, in my mind, complements expertise. It does not replace or subordinate it. Not everyone feels as I do so hopefully someone may have a fresh, much different perspective.
If exchange answers were truly one question to one answer then leaving out theory would be an obvious choice. This is not exactly the case on this exchange. People with a similar, but not the exact same, question have much more to gain by understanding a theoretical framework on which the original answer to the question was based. From this framework, this person could derive their own answer.
So the question remains. On this exchange are theoretical frameworks for handling workplace situations best avoided -- as is common in the actual workplace because of its dehumanizing affect -- or are questions and comments involving the theory of handling workplace situations appropriate?