Philosophical Orientations and Theory

Theory and Philosophical Orientations
Part 1
An area of interest for a possible research topic that I consider is organizational performance. My topic of research interest is the effect of employee participation on organizational performance. The philosophical orientation that mirrors my worldview is the interpretivist research paradigm. In-depth inquiry is enabled by interpretivist research, which sees knowledge as subjective (Bryman, 2008). In other words, knowledge is not generalizable – it is contextual, situational, or circumstantial. This means that different individuals interpret their world differently. To ensure in-depth inquiry, interpretivist research focuses on a small sample and employs qualitative techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observations. Such techniques enable the researcher to cultivate a closer relationship with the subjects (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2015). A close relationship gives the researcher an opportunity to understand the perspectives, experiences, and worldviews of the subjects with respect to the research phenomenon (Creswell, 2014).
Taking into consideration that this is qualitative research, it is imperative to comprehend the significance of beliefs and theories that informs my work. The philosophical assumption of this particular research study is ontological, which is the nature of reality. That is, this research is in relation to the nature of reality and its characteristics. That is, the researcher espouses the notion of multiple actualities and reports on these manifold realities through the exploration of the multiple forms of evidence from the varying perspectives and experiences of individuals. Furthermore, this will be centered on social constructivism, which takes into account the understanding of the world in which we live and work. In this regard multiple meanings are developed and as a researcher, I will look at and examine the complexity of viewpoints and perspectives. Therefore, taking into consideration the research topic at hand, I will ask broad general open-ended questions, and lay emphasis on the procedures and practices of interaction (Creswell, 2012).
Part 2
Theory can be delineated as an assumption or a system of ideas that are purposed to explain a certain thing such as phenomena, on the basis of general principles independent of that particular thing to be elucidated. In other words, theory can be deemed to be a framework for observation and comprehension, which fashions both what we perceive and the manner in which we perceive it. Theory permits the researcher to make correlations between what is theoretical and what is practical, what is abstract and what is concrete, what is thought and what is observed. Theory plays a significant role in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed research processes. For starters, in quantitative research, theory plays a significant role in providing an elucidation, interpretation or prediction regarding the correlation between variables in a study. Secondly, in qualitative research, theory is applied as a wide-ranging explanation, for instance ethnographies, or also as a theoretic lens to generate questions. Lastly, with respect to mixed research, theory is employed as a framework for informing numerous aspects of decision in qualitative and quantitative methods (Le, 2015).
One of the key theories in public administration that is taken into consideration in this part is Henri Fayol’s administrative theory. Imperatively, Henri Fayol’s administrative theory largely lays emphasis on the individual duties of management at a significantly more granular level. Fayol had the conviction that management has five principle roles. These comprise of forecasting and planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating, and controlling. Forecasting and planning takes into account the act of forestalling and acting accordingly. Secondly, organization is the establishment of the institution’s resource and this encompasses both human and material resources. Third, commanding encompasses maintaining the entity’s actions and practices running. Coordination was the placement and coordination of the group’s determinations. Lastly, control meant that the aforementioned activities were undertaken in keeping with suitable rules and procedures (Lamidi, 2015).
Fayol observed the organization as a whole from the point of view or perspective of the manager. In this regard, he made a determination of key activities in which such industrial activities can be classified. These comprise of technical activities, commercial activities, financial activities, accounting activities, managerial activities and security activities (Amirkhani, 2016). A key question to be considered is what an individual has to have to believe regarding the world and regarding human beings so as for the person to accept or to utilize this theory. In order to utilize this theory, it is imperative for an individual to comprehend that not all persons can become managers. Rather, there is a significant need for skills and qualities to be acquired in order to be able to manage people and resources in an organization.
References
Amirkhani, A. (2016). Impact of Fayols Management Principles on Organizational Creativity. Educational Studies, 1(2), 31-38.
Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. 3rd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lamidi, K. O. (2015). Theories of Public Administration: An Anthology of Essays. International Journal of Politics & Good Governance, 6(6.3), 1-35.
Le, T. (2015). Theory Role in Research Study. Linked In. Retrieved 17 August, 2018 from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/theory-role-research-study-thiensi-le
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students. London: Pearson Education.