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
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