Knowledge that Transforms

Traditional approaches to theory building are not entirely consistent with the assumptions of alternative research paradigms that are now assuming more prominence in organizational study. We argue for a multiparadigm approach to theory building as a means of establishing correspondence between paradigms and theory-construction efforts. Because of the implications of the multiparadigm approach, we also examine ways of bridging across blurred paradigm boundaries. In addition, we explore a metaparadigm perspective that might allow disparate approaches to theory building to be considered together. Such a perspective can produce views of organizational phenomena that not only allow scholars to recognize inherent and irreconcilable theoretical differences, but also can encourage them to adopt a more comprehensive view by accounting for those differences.

The article presents a review of the book ?The Invisible Powers: The Language of Business,? by John J. Clancy.

This article sets forth a theory of the effects that computer-assisted communication and decision-aiding technologies have on organizational design, intelligence, and decision making. Several components of the theory are controversial and in need of critical empirical investigation. The article focuses on those technology-prompted changes in organizational design that affect the quality and timeliness of intelligence and decision making, as contrasted with those that affect the production of goods and services.

Managers of contemporary publicly held organisations typically are not the owners. Rather, a specialisation of responsibilities has evolved whereby managers coordinate activities within the firm and position it appropriately in its competitive environment; the owners of the firm bear financial risk in the hope of retaining the difference between the firm’s productive cash-flows and the outflows of its promised payments (Fama and Jensen 1983a, 1983b). As the firm’s owners would suffer tremendous financial losses if the firm failed, they tend to diversify their holdings across a variety of firms as a hedge against such a possibility. As a result, the individual owner has little interest in conducting, or even closely monitoring, the day-to-day activities in all of the firms in which he or she has a financial interest (Fama 1980). The owners hire boards of directors who, in turn, hire managers to perform these duties.

The article reviews the book ?Management Education and Development: Drift or Thrust Into the 21st Century,? by Larry Cummings.

The article presents the author's views on the economic and political models for unionism in response to an article appearing in a previous issue in which the authors contend that labor may focus on political action as a means to serve the broad interests of union members, thus pressing government to play a substantial role in the redistribution of wealth and regulation of the economy. A discussion is presented about bargains reached between individual unions and employers within a legal, political, and economic environment that is subject to change. Details are presented related to international competition, new technologies, capital movement, and other factors constantly that affect the power of unions and employers.

The article reviews the book ?Management Education & Development: Drift or Thrust Into the 21st Century?? by Lyman Porter and Lawrence McKibbin.

A model is proposed that presents a curvilinear relationship between the feasibility of a task and motivation to perform it, to account for theory, research, and anecdotal evidence consistent with both a positive and negative relationship between the two variables. Feasibility is defined as resources available to perform the task, which are positively related to motivation when scarce and negatively related to motivation when abundant. This is because resource scarcity potentiates lower-order needs satisfied by resources, whereas resource abundance permits the indulgence of higher-order needs, including arousal, achievement, power, and affiliation, the satisfaction of which is maximized by task difficulty, which in turn is reduced by resources. Discussion focuses on perceptual determinants, motivational consequences, and behavioral outcomes of resource munificence, and implications for theory, research, and practice.