M.J. Mulkay traces the development of certain recent versions of functionalism and exchange theory in sociology, with special attention to ''theoretical strategy''. He uses this term to refer to the policies which theorists adopt to ensure that their work contributes to their long range theoretical objectives. Such strategies are important, he believes, because they place limits on the theories with which they are associated. He shows how each of the theorists he studies devised a new strategy to replace the unsuccessful policies of a prior theory in a process of ''strategical dialectic''. Thi
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Existing approaches to the study of social evolution are insufficient for the task of explaining the full range of social evolution from the Neolithic Revolution down to the present day. Some anthropological approaches shed considerable light on the evolution of preindustrial and precapitalist societies but are less capable of explaining the evolution of the modern world. Sociological approaches usually have the opposite result: they shed light on the evolution of the modern world but falter with respect to premodern times. This article presents a comprehensive formal-propositional theoretical approach to social evolution that combines the strengths of anthropological and sociological approaches while minimizing their weaknesses. The theoretical approach offered, referred to as evolutionary materialism, comprises propositions concerned with the directional nature of world history, the substance or content of social evolution, the principal causal factors in social evolution, the adaptational character of social evolution, the interplay of agency and structure in social evolution, the units of social evolution, the pace of social evolution, and methods of studying social evolution. The second half of the article attempts a brief logical and empirical justification of evolutionary materialism.
Retomando la tensión entre la realidad social cotidiana crecientemente atravesada porimagenes-fotografías y unas ciencias sociales que reconocen a "lo visual" como un medio y objeto de indagación, nos interesa aquí sistematizar una estrategia teórico-metodológica basada en la potencialidad de las "experiencias visuales" como modos expresivos de las sensibilidades sociales. Para ello proponemos un breve recorrido a través de algunos aportes en el cruce entre sociología y fotografía. Seguidamente, recuperamos antecedentes teóricos-metodológicos para el estudios de sensibilidades sociales en función de tramar una crítica a la "política de los sentidos" (particularmente de la "política de la mirada") como condición de posibilidad para la estrategia que aquí se plantea. Finalmente, exponemos– a partir de una serie de ejemplos enmarcados en una investigación acerca la conflictividad social protagonizada por artesanos-feriantes de la ciudad de Córdoba- algunas decisiones vinculadas a una estrategia de indagación con fotografías. En la conclusión de este artículo retomamos un vector transversal de las discusiones exploradas a los fines de sintetizar la estrategia de análisis propuesta ; Taking up the tension between daily social reality increasingly crossed by imagephotographs and social sciences that recognize "the visual" as a medium and object of inquiry, we are interested here to systematize a theoretical-methodological strategy based on the potentiality of "Visual experiences"as expressive modes of social sensibilities. Based on this objective, we first propose a brief review through some contributions in the cross between sociology and photography. In a second moment, we recover theoretical-methodological antecedents for the study of social sensitivities in order to establish a critique of the "politics of the senses" (particularly of the "politics of the look") as a condition of possibility for the strategy here Is posed. Finally, we present - from a series of examples framed in an investigation about the social conflict carried out by workers of fairs in the city of Córdoba - a strategy of investigation with photographs. In the conclusion of this article we return to a transversal vector of the discussions explored in order to synthesize the proposed analysis strategy ; Fil: Lisdero, Pedro Matías. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina
Manufacturing strategy has gained increasing attention in recent years. However, the development of theory is inadequate. In addition, there has been insufficient development and validation of operational measures for theoretical constructs derived from a particular conceptualization of strategy. Makes a contribution to theory development of manufacturing strategy by presenting a path analytic model which describes a sequential relationship between uncertainty, risk, manufacturing strategy and performance constructs. The manufacturing strategy constructs include both strategic content and strategic process, in which the content is specified by manufacturing flexibility and the process is specified by four organizational process variables. Using data from three types of industries with 25 manufacturers in each, it was found that both environmental uncertainty and risk taking influenced manufacturing strategy constructs, e.g. the role of the manufacturing function, manufacturing planning activities, environmental interaction and flexibility. A low level of risk taking was facilitative in the formulation of manufacturing strategy constructs. Consequently, the manufacturing strategy constructs influenced business performance.
International relations scholarship begins and ends with assumptions—about human nature; about human interaction; about starting points, relative information, and outcomes. Such assumptions are necessary to further the intellectual coherence and development of scholarly work. However, they restrict the applicability of scholarly research to those situations that parallel the work's underlying assumptions. This work argues the body of international relations scholarship as a whole would benefit from the development of a pre-theory state, absent any assumptions about international relations, from which observers can identify those works of scholarship that are most effective in explaining perceptive states and the strategic decisions taken in light of them. Such a state of thinking acts as a proto-theory of international relations. Proto-theory embraces the full realm of international relations scholarship, other fields, and any other area of human thought that provides insight into the manner in which strategic thinkers perceive themselves, their nations, and their situations. By expressing no initial preference for a particular model of decision-making or theory of international relations, it offers a means of transcending debates regarding the "correctness" of any particular view. Rather, proto-theory allows observers to focus on the explanatory power of any particular concept regarding the context under investigation. This work tests the feasibility of a proto-theoretical approach to international relations by employing it in an examination of the United States' abandonment of its longstanding strategy of containment. It identifies the views prevalent in the United States prior to and at the time of its decision to alter its grand strategy in general and its approach to its competition with the Soviet Union in particular. It then compares the scholarly approaches most relevant to those views to determine if the behavioral indicators identified by them are accurate in their description of subsequent grand strategy.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report the extent and trends of theoretical developments in the empirical quantitative manufacturing strategy (MS) literature published between the years 1966 and 2015 and provide research gaps that can be bridged by the future research.Design/methodology/approachThis content analysis-based literature review analyzes 133 empirical quantitative MS articles published in refereed international journals in the discipline of operations management. These articles are categorized into five article types, namely, reporters, testers, qualifiers, builders, and expanders following the framework of Colquitt and Zapata-Phelan (2007). Analyses are carried out to unearth important trends in theory development in these article types.FindingsTheory development is progressing in empirical quantitative MS literature. However, the trend is shifting from theory testing to theory building. MS discipline has borrowed theories from other disciplines. Expectancy theory and media richness theory are the micro theories while resource-based view, contingency theory, and trade-off theory are the major macro theories used in this domain. The most impactful constructs include environmental technology portfolio, enterprise resource planning, manufacturing proactiveness, and modularity-based manufacturing practices, and the most dominant article types are qualifiers and expanders.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are based on the empirical quantitative articles published in the MS discipline which provides a partial view of theory development in the MS discipline.Practical implicationsThe paper highlights predominant theories, frameworks, and constructs that can be utilized by practitioners to improve their understanding of MS, their ability to predict future scenarios and solve practical problems.Originality/valueNo such study has been conducted to date in the MS discipline, and it is hoped that this study will play a significant role in further developing theory in the MS discipline.
Recent times are witness to the business — environment debate becoming more frequent and also tempered with a greater sense of urgency. The present article begins by examining the business—environment interdependence and reasons for corporate environmentalism. Since environmental challenges can significantly alter the competitive context of organisations, they demand a strategic response from firms. The basic premise of the article is to present an analytical review of existing literature on Corporate Environmental Strategy (CES) in order to understand the range of environmental strategies available to organisations, examine the factors that influence the choice of a firm's green strategies and, advocate the outcomes of a well‐designed CES. Based on the review, the article goes on to suggest a theoretical framework for CES. The framework provides a useful representation of relationships between the dominant paradigm of the firm, factors influencing CES, the CES itself and its outcomes for the organization. It is hoped that the suggested relationships will help set an agenda for empirical research and also help firms in developing a competitive Environmental Strategy.
The article aims to consider the development and adoption process of one of the most crucial conceptual documents – Armenia's National Security Strategy. The Armenian vision of internal and external threats of Armenia's National Security is presented in accordance with the conceptual documents of Armenia. Particularly stressed is the role of the factor of adoption of such type of document as Armenia's National Security Strategy and the role of the very document in the activity of the state authorities.
