Action and Case Research in
Management and Organizational
Contexts.
1. Scientific social study Versus Interpretivism.
2. Intervention Versus Non-intervention.
Sociology
August Comte (1798 – 1857)
Coined the term sociology or the “science of society”.
He wanted to study society as a scientist studies molecules or
gases. He wanted to discover laws of societal behaviour.
Why did he do this and what else was going on?
(Clue 1859 Darwin’s origin of species originated just after his
death).
Subjective
One entry found for subjective. Main Entry: 1sub·jec·tive
Pronunciation: (")s&b-'jek-tiv
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or constituting a subject : as a obsolete : of, relating to, or
characteristic of one that is a subject especially in lack of freedom of action or in
submissiveness b : being or relating to a grammatical subject; especially : NOMINATIVE
2 : of or relating to the essential being of that which has substance, qualities, attributes,
or relations
3 a : characteristic of or belonging to reality as perceived rather than as independent of
mind : PHENOMENAL -- compare OBJECTIVE 1b b : relating to or being experience or
knowledge as conditioned by personal mental characteristics or states
4 a (1) : peculiar to a particular individual : PERSONAL <subjective judgments> (2) :
modified or affected by personal views, experience, or background <a subjective
account of the incident> b : arising from conditions within the brain or sense organs
and not directly caused by external stimuli <subjective sensations> c : arising out of or
identified by means of one's perception of one's own states and processes <a subjective
symptom of disease> -- compare OBJECTIVE 1c
5 : lacking in reality or substance : ILLUSORY
From Merriam Webster online dictionary
Subjective (continued)
Main Entry: 1ob·jec·tive
Pronunciation: &b-'jek-tiv, äbFunction: adjective
1 a : relating to or existing as an object of
thought without consideration of independent
existence -- used chiefly in medieval
philosophy b : of, relating to, or being an
object , phenomenon, or condition in the
realm of sensible experience independent of
individual thought and perceptible by all
observers : having reality independent of the
mind <objective reality> <our reveries... are
significantly and repeatedly shaped by our
transactions with the objective world -- Marvin
Reznikoff> -- compare SUBJECTIVE 3a c of a
symptom of disease : perceptible to persons
other than the affected individual -- compare
SUBJECTIVE 4c d : involving or deriving from
sense perception or experience with actual
objects , conditions, or phenomena <objective
awareness> <objective data>
2 : relating to, characteristic of, or constituting
the case of words that follow prepositions or
transitive verbs
3 a : expressing or dealing with facts or
conditions as perceived without distortion by
personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations
<objective art> <an objective history of the war>
<an objective judgment> b of a test : limited to
choices of fixed alternatives and reducing
subjective factors to a minimum
synonym see MATERIAL, FAIR
From Merriam Webster online dictionary
The Subjectivist approach
to Social Science
Nominalism
The Objectivist approach
to Social Science
Ontology
Realism
Anti-positivism
Epistemology
Positivism
Voluntarism
Human Nature
Determinism
Ideographic
Methodology
Burrell and Morgan (1979)
Nomothetic
THE SOCIOLOGY OF RADICAL CHANGE
Radical
Humanist
Radical
Structuralist
SUBJECTIVE
OBJECTIVE
Interpretive
Functionalist
THE SOCIOLOGY OF REGULATION
Four paradigms for the analysis of social theory - Burrell and Morgan 1979 Page 22
This suggests that paradigms have:
1. An epistemological/ontological dimension;
2. A political dimension – This immediately
undermines objectivity - Why
Scientific truth
• Most approaches claim to be “scientific” and
have claims to some form of truth;
• Only the post modernists might believe truth
claims are unjustified – Why is this?
Inquiry
Paradigm
Description
Positivism
Natural science approach, realist ontology,
dualist, objectivist epistemology and
experimental /manipulative methods.
Post positivism
Critical realist ontology, Popperian, “falsifiability”
based epistemology, still dualist/objectivist, but
seeing this as an “ideal” impossible in practice.
Critical theory
Historical realist ontology, transactional/subjective
epistemology, dialogical methodology.
Constructivism
Relativist ontology, transactional/subjective
epistemology dialectical and hermeneutical
methodology.
Paradigms (based on Guba and Lincoln, 1994).
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Reproducible, impartial and free from
“bias”;
Lends itself to quantitative study;
Experimental methods possible;
Statistical methods possible;
Dependent and independent variables can
be identified;
Law like statements can be made;
Predictions can be made;
Society can be controlled.
Objectivity is almost impossible to achieve
• As soon as you pick a topic or set a question personal
preference has entered.
• The restricted set of variables studied is also subjective.
• By concentrating on just a few variables reality is seriously
distorted.
• The explanation of quantitative results is open to various
interpretations.
• Human beings are not like gasses or molecules, they have a
will of their own (or do they?).
• Ignores most of what is interesting in human life.
• Ignores meaning.
• Is often associated with political regulation.
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Recognises the intimate relationship between the
researcher and those studied;
Deals with meaning;
Recognises that objectivity is impossible;
Provides rich narratives about human life;
Can still be honest and bias can be accounted for;
Provides deep understanding of human behaviour;
Emphasises the “How” rather than the “What”;
Accept multiple explanations and points of view.
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It can be consciously partial or “take sides”.
Can seek liberation from injustice.
Seeks to bring about change.
It does not want to just study society it wants to
change it.
It can still be conducted with integrity.
It can still apply ethical rules.
It can still have validity, evidence and claim to reveal
a form of “truth”.
In this sense it can still be “scientific”.
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Action research by definition is about
intervention;
Activity theory (which is outside the scope of
this module) is interventionist;
Process consultancy;
Some would argue all research is an
intervention.
• What are the dangers of an
interventionist approach?
• What are the benefits?
• Why would it appeal to a DBA
student?
References
1. Burrell G., and Morgan G., (1979). Sociological Paradigms and
Organisational Analysis, London: Heinemann Educational
Books,.
2. Guba, E.G. and Lincoln Y.S. (1994). Competing Paradigms in
qualitative Research. In Denzin, N.K., and Lincoln, Y.S. (Eds.)
(1994), The Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand
Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications Inc.
3. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary on http://www.mw.com/dictionary.htm
Accessed 07/09/2005.