The Paradigm Shift in Organizational Research

Author(s):  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Yawei Wang ◽  
William Colucci ◽  
Zhongxian Wang

The creation and development of theory and methods used in the study of organizations is predominantly carried out grounded in the positivist paradigm – epistemological and methodological assumptions similar to those of the natural sciences. This essay looks at the limitations of that paradigm for the study of human organizations and the benefits of relativist, humanist and post-modern assumptions, theory and methods. Limitations of the predominant paradigm are taken up by analyzing basic assumptions – objectivity, generality, empiricism, and linearity. The benefits of a more inclusive paradigm are reviewed in terms of two topic areas: Organizational learning and decision making, and financial markets and price distortion.

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanli Zhang ◽  
Yawei Wang ◽  
William Colucci ◽  
Zhongxian Wang

The creation and development of theory and methods used in the study of organizations is predominantly carried out grounded in the positivist paradigm – epistemological and methodological assumptions similar to those of the natural sciences. This essay looks at the limitations of that paradigm for the study of human organizations and the benefits of relativist, humanist and post-modern assumptions, theory and methods. Limitations of the predominant paradigm are taken up by analyzing basic assumptions – objectivity, generality, empiricism, and linearity. The benefits of a more inclusive paradigm are reviewed in terms of two topic areas: Organizational learning and decision making, and financial markets and price distortion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
A. C. R. Trevisan ◽  
E. P. Trevisan

In the article we seek to address questions regarding the interest of graduates of a degree course in Natural Sciences and Mathematics in relation to the teaching career in basic education. The course enables its graduates to work in the subjects Science and Mathematics in the final years of elementary school and Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in high school. Our intention is to identify and reflect on the perceptions of these graduates about teaching, highlighting with this inherent aspects to the exercise of this profession in basic education. From the application of questionnaires to graduates of this course, we produced data regarding their performance in basic education, which enabled us to reflect on the national scenario in relation to the exercise of this profession. We could observe that the majority of the students participating in the research are not working in basic education and that the current scenario of devaluation of the teaching career exerts a significant influence in the decision making process of choosing or not the teacher profession for professional performance after graduation.


Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (24) ◽  
pp. 1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza El Guili ◽  
Driss Ferhane

Business growth is considered as one of the main topics of entrepreneurship research. Due to the increased interest on entrepreneurship, new theoretical perspectives have emerged to explain entrepreneurial behavior. One of these emergent theories is effectuation. It is widely known that entrepreneurs and owner-managers count on different decision-making logics during the internationalization of their ventures, including causal and effectual reasoning. Despite that the use of effectual reasoning has been generally linked to the early stages of the creation of a venture; it has recently been introduced to on the internationalization of SMEs research. Introduced by Sarasvathy (2001), effectuation logic is stated to grow in an unstable operating context where it is complicated to predict and in contrast, it is likely to unexpectedly respond to changes in the environment. Furthermore, it represents a typical shift in approaching entrepreneurship. In this theoretical paper, we first aim to highlight the evolution of the concept and the development of the effectuation theory within the literature. Furthermore, we explain the similarities and differences existing between causation and effectuation reasoning. Finally, we use the lens of effectuation to come up with an understanding of the internationalization of SMEs.


2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven H. Sheingold

Decision making in health care has become increasingly reliant on information technology, evidence-based processes, and performance measurement. It is therefore a time at which it is of critical importance to make data and analyses more relevant to decision makers. Those who support Bayesian approaches contend that their analyses provide more relevant information for decision making than do classical or “frequentist” methods, and that a paradigm shift to the former is long overdue. While formal Bayesian analyses may eventually play an important role in decision making, there are several obstacles to overcome if these methods are to gain acceptance in an environment dominated by frequentist approaches. Supporters of Bayesian statistics must find more accommodating approaches to making their case, especially in finding ways to make these methods more transparent and accessible. Moreover, they must better understand the decision-making environment they hope to influence. This paper discusses these issues and provides some suggestions for overcoming some of these barriers to greater acceptance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 558-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora McCarthy ◽  
Karen Neville ◽  
Andrew Pope ◽  
Anthony Gallagher ◽  
Alexander Nussbaumer ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian YL Chan ◽  
Joanne EY Chin ◽  
Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna

Author(s):  
Gloria Cuevas-Rodriguez ◽  
Carmen Cabello-Medina

Using the subjectivist view of entrepreneurship, the focus of this paper centers on understanding how certain individuals have created opportunities in the solar energy industry. An in-depth case study is developed to analyse the subjectivist character of discovery and creativity; the relevance of organizational learning for entrepreneurship; and the role of entrepreneurs’ experiences in shaping a firm’s subjective productive opportunity set. Through this research the relationships between the subjective visions and experiences of entrepreneurs, and perceived opportunities are presented. Besides the diversity of the problems that entrepreneurs encounter during the creation and development of the company, and the range of resources utilized are also discussed.


Biomédica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (Sp. 2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Piovani ◽  
Georgios K. Nikolopoulos ◽  
Stefanos Bonovas

Non-parametric survival analysis has become a very popular statistical method in current medical research. Employing, however, survival methodology when its fundamental assumptions are not fulfilled can severely bias the results. Currently, hundreds of clinical studies are using survival methods to investigate factors potentially associated with the prognosis of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19), and test new preventive and therapeutic strategies. In the pandemic era, it is more critical than ever that decision-making is evidence-based and relies on solid statistical methods. However, this is not always the case. Serious methodologic errors have been identified in recent seminal studies about Covid-19: one reporting outcomes of patients treated with remdesivir, and another one on the epidemiology, clinical course and outcomes of critically-ill patients. High-quality evidence is essential to inform clinicians about optimal Covid-19 therapies, and policymakers about the true effect of preventive measures aiming to tackle the pandemic. Though timely evidence is needed, we should encourage the appropriate application of survival analysis methods and careful peer-review to avoid publishing flawed results, which could affect decision-making. In this paper, we recapitulate the basic assumptions underlying non-parametric survival analysis and frequent errors in its application, and discuss how to handle data of Covid-19.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-42
Author(s):  
Anita Darabos ◽  
Judit Szalai

Abstract Nowadays, concerns related to mankind’s increasing and destructive impact on the environment have influenced and changed the paradigms of product development; this in turn has brought about the appearance of environmental considerations in the creation and design of new products. Numerous industrial sectors have changed their processes of product development and production to meet the ecological requirements. Issues such as the scarcity of natural resources, increasing consumption and increasing pollution also present a number of problems. This article presents a process of comparing new alternatives with a specific methodology of decision-making. It is primarily focused on the use of rare natural materials and resources that are extracted and processed.


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