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Management research
is a very diffuse field. Some have argued that it needs to be able to
clear the double hurdles of rigour and relevance. Some see management
research as a ‘design science’ focusing on the development of
technological rules while others would eschew any notion of the
applicability of research findings to the practice of management. The
variety of frameworks and stances available to underpin the conduct of
management research make the selection of approaches potentially very
difficult for experienced researchers and inexperienced researchers alike.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the issues affecting the
conduct of a research project focusing specifically on the changing nature
of managerial work from the perspective of a researcher who, until now,
has adopted something of a positivistic stance: this researcher is now
trying to develop a greater sense of reflexivity into his research. The
paper first develops a framework in which management research can be
located: it emphasises the different epistemological and ontological
stances that can be taken. The paper then goes on to critique an approach
based on an epistemological and ontological stance redolent of a
positivistic approach this is oriented towards the product of a ‘single
truth’ to discuss the possibility of conducting research using a framework
that accepts the existence of multitudinous intangible, impressionistic,
equally valid truths. The paper focuses on a programme of research into
managerial work and the effect of organisational change on managerial work
that has been in progress since the mid 1990s. The research so far has
been highly empirical, has emphasised the collection and analysis of hard
data and has led to the identification of a number of themes and issues.
However, to reflect recent critiques of the epistemological and
ontological basis of the field of work psychology, it was decided to
develop a research strategy which would lead to the creation of narrative
and text rather than numbers to explore if the issues raised in manager’s
accounts of their lived experienced bore any resemblance to the image
developed from the analysis of data generated through questionnaires.
Keywords:
management research, multi-perspective, incommensurability, quantitative,
qualitative
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