By working with social constructionsm you also reject cognitivism. Cognitivism claims that a sentence or proposition can be either truth of false. But when working with social constructionism you acknowledge that the truth is relative and is created by language and narratives in social relations. The truth only exists to the extend that all people in a certain relation acknowledge it as being the truth.
In the same way social constructionism also rejects behaviourism that claims that human behavior can be researched scientifically excluding the mind. Behaviourism claims that all human actions are determined by outside forces. According to social constructionism the researcher has to take part in a social relation to understand it.
In other words cognitivism and behaviourism are based in the individual mind while social constructionism is based on a holistic view that emphasizes the relations among people.
Friday, February 17, 2006
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Hofstede and Morgan
What do Geert Hofstede and Gareth Morgan have in common? How are their theories related?
Hofstede's surveys on cultural dimensions are quantitative while Morgan's research methods are qualitative and belong to social constructionism. But I have found that both Hofstede's and Morgan's methods can be used together.
Hofstede says that culture is the collective programming of the mind. Culture is set of values and attributes of a group, and the relation of the individual to the culture, and the individual's acquisition of those values and attributes. By this culture is a cultural construction.
Morgan believes that culture is a process of reality construction that allows people to see and understand particular events, actions and situations in distinctive ways. In his book 'Images of organization' he examines how we construct our realities and thereby our culture.
Source
Morgan, Gareth (1997) "Images of Organization", Sage Publications
Hofstede's surveys on cultural dimensions are quantitative while Morgan's research methods are qualitative and belong to social constructionism. But I have found that both Hofstede's and Morgan's methods can be used together.
Hofstede says that culture is the collective programming of the mind. Culture is set of values and attributes of a group, and the relation of the individual to the culture, and the individual's acquisition of those values and attributes. By this culture is a cultural construction.
Morgan believes that culture is a process of reality construction that allows people to see and understand particular events, actions and situations in distinctive ways. In his book 'Images of organization' he examines how we construct our realities and thereby our culture.
Source
Morgan, Gareth (1997) "Images of Organization", Sage Publications
Friday, February 10, 2006
Taylor and Deming
'Scientific Management' and 'Total Quality Management' don't belong in the future.
Management of the 20th century started with the theories of Friederick Taylor and ended with the theories of Edwards Deming. Taylor was the inventor of 'Scientific Management' and Deming introduced 'Total Quality Management'. Common for both Taylor and Deming is that they both believe in describing and streamlining processes in order to optimize. This calls for time studies and work measurement.
Personally I don't think that 'Scientific Management' or 'Total Quality Management' have any future perspectives. I only see TQM applicable in companies with a high degree of routine work, but to optimize human resources I think it is important to implement other methods of management and leadership to secure continued growth and development.
Sources:
Dalrymple, John F. "From F Winslow Taylor to W Edwards Deming - Over a Century of Progress?", RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, Link to PDF
Management of the 20th century started with the theories of Friederick Taylor and ended with the theories of Edwards Deming. Taylor was the inventor of 'Scientific Management' and Deming introduced 'Total Quality Management'. Common for both Taylor and Deming is that they both believe in describing and streamlining processes in order to optimize. This calls for time studies and work measurement.
Personally I don't think that 'Scientific Management' or 'Total Quality Management' have any future perspectives. I only see TQM applicable in companies with a high degree of routine work, but to optimize human resources I think it is important to implement other methods of management and leadership to secure continued growth and development.
Sources:
Dalrymple, John F. "From F Winslow Taylor to W Edwards Deming - Over a Century of Progress?", RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, Link to PDF
Monday, January 02, 2006
Social construction of reality
Basicly I am writing this as personal notes to Gareth Morgans appendix about social constructionism in his book 'Imaginization' to help me understand the theory I use in my thesis.
Here is a small overview of the contents of the chapter 'The theory behind the practice' with interesting quotes and notes:
1. Some philosophical background
"It has become clear that science, despite all the claims for objectivity, is just producing a form of socially constructed knowledge and that scientific 'truths' are only 'true' under accompanying sets of assumptions."
"... there are no sharp distinctions between subjective and objective worlds and that language and reality are part of an integrated life-world in and through which humans and their realities are coproduced."
2. Imaginization and the social construction of reality
Imaginization is an approach to understand social reality and to change and it belongs to the social-constructionist school.
"... images and ideas people hold of themselves and their world have a fundamental impact on how their realities unfold."
People shape their world and they can do it anew, but often they are trapped by cultural beliefs and social practices that shape their present reality. People have the ability change their view of their world and thereby change reality. The process starts with the individual and when more individuals push in the same direction then individual change becomes social change.
"Imaginization, as an approach to change, seeks to mobilize the potential for understanding and transformation that rests withing each and every one of us."
2.1 The importance of images and metaphors
Social scientists get trapped in their perspectives and assumptions. They create an interesting way of seeing something and eliminate all other ways.
"Metaphor has a formative impact on language, on the construction and embellishment of meaning, and on the development of theory and knowledge of all kinds."
We use metaphors to understand the unfamiliar. I cannot help thinking that God is a metaphor. A small search in Google shows that I'm not the first to think that.
"Scientific knowledge is often seen as searching for, and offering, 'the truth'." But science is just an interesting and useful way of seeing the world.
3. Images of organization
This is the title of Morgan's first book, where he suggest seeing organisations in eight different ways. He points out that none of the metaphors are the right ones, but he encourage us to become our own theorists and to forge our own understandings and interpretations.
A question that I have always asked whenever I was presented with some kind of fact is "But what if...?" A question that have been most annoying to many people. I don't ask the question to annoy anyone, but it seems to me that the fact seems to come true or untrue depending on how I look at it. If I change the perspective, the situation becomes different. In all my life - even as a child - I have been told not to ask those stupid questions. But they always helped me to understand and make sense. Now I am happy to see that there actually are theories that support and encourage my questions and eager to understand.
4. Imaginizations as the art of creative management
5. Images can provide 'mirrors' and 'windows'
6. Imaginization as personal empowerment
Here is a small overview of the contents of the chapter 'The theory behind the practice' with interesting quotes and notes:
1. Some philosophical background
"It has become clear that science, despite all the claims for objectivity, is just producing a form of socially constructed knowledge and that scientific 'truths' are only 'true' under accompanying sets of assumptions."
"... there are no sharp distinctions between subjective and objective worlds and that language and reality are part of an integrated life-world in and through which humans and their realities are coproduced."
2. Imaginization and the social construction of reality
Imaginization is an approach to understand social reality and to change and it belongs to the social-constructionist school.
"... images and ideas people hold of themselves and their world have a fundamental impact on how their realities unfold."
People shape their world and they can do it anew, but often they are trapped by cultural beliefs and social practices that shape their present reality. People have the ability change their view of their world and thereby change reality. The process starts with the individual and when more individuals push in the same direction then individual change becomes social change.
"Imaginization, as an approach to change, seeks to mobilize the potential for understanding and transformation that rests withing each and every one of us."
This basic philosophy can be used in most aspects of life!
2.1 The importance of images and metaphors
Social scientists get trapped in their perspectives and assumptions. They create an interesting way of seeing something and eliminate all other ways.
"Metaphor has a formative impact on language, on the construction and embellishment of meaning, and on the development of theory and knowledge of all kinds."
We use metaphors to understand the unfamiliar. I cannot help thinking that God is a metaphor. A small search in Google shows that I'm not the first to think that.
"Scientific knowledge is often seen as searching for, and offering, 'the truth'." But science is just an interesting and useful way of seeing the world.
3. Images of organization
This is the title of Morgan's first book, where he suggest seeing organisations in eight different ways. He points out that none of the metaphors are the right ones, but he encourage us to become our own theorists and to forge our own understandings and interpretations.
A question that I have always asked whenever I was presented with some kind of fact is "But what if...?" A question that have been most annoying to many people. I don't ask the question to annoy anyone, but it seems to me that the fact seems to come true or untrue depending on how I look at it. If I change the perspective, the situation becomes different. In all my life - even as a child - I have been told not to ask those stupid questions. But they always helped me to understand and make sense. Now I am happy to see that there actually are theories that support and encourage my questions and eager to understand.
4. Imaginizations as the art of creative management
5. Images can provide 'mirrors' and 'windows'
6. Imaginization as personal empowerment
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