Showing papers on "Ideal type published in 1978"
TL;DR: A hybrid organizational "ideal type" (Type Z), which is particularly appropriate for many situations in today's changing American society, is presented in this article, where aspects of the ideal types of American and Japanese forms of organization are compared and related to their socio-cultural roots.
Abstract: Aspects of the “ideal types” of American (Type A) and Japanese (Type I) forms of organization are compared and related to their socio-cultural roots. A hybrid organizational “ideal type” (Type Z), which is particularly appropriate for many situations in today's changing American society, is presented.
245 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define sociology as an undertaking concerned with the rational and systematic study of social life in all its manifestations, which is a statement of methodological principle, that pertains to the reasoning and the procedures of sociologists.
Abstract: In this paper, sociology is viewed as an undertaking concerned with the rational and systematic study of social life in all its manifestations. This is a statement of methodological principle, that is, it pertains to the reasoning and the procedures of sociologists. It should be read neither as an ontological statement, asserting that social conduct is rational, nor as the claim that sociology is a science in the traditional sense. Both questions, here, are kept open. The definition of sociology as a field of rational investigation imposes the de? mand that sociologists proceed under the guidance of theoretical-methodological considerations and devices which allow one to approach a practically inexhausti? ble subject matter with purposive selectivity, that is, to gather 'data' which can be subjected to theoretical interpretation. This methodological demand is coun? terbalanced by a second demand which springs from the definition of sociology as a field of rational investigation. As such, it appears as an open field of inquiry. The tools of such inquiry have to be handled in such a way that they do not in? terfere with the discovery of hitherto unknown phenomena; they must allow for exploration. These two conditions are at variance with one another; yet, both must be satisfied for any kind of sociological approach which claims to be con? cerned with theory and research. If we prefer, with Max Weber and Alfred Schutz, an approach which aims primarily at the understanding of the persons under study, a further complication is introduced in the form of a third demand: the actual research procedures ('techniques') have to allow one to gain such an understanding.
6 citations
01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: Weber's ideal type was at the same time narrower and wider than the pure constructs or ideal types of earlier methodologists as discussed by the authors, and it was subject to the requirement of understanding meant meanings.
Abstract: This chapter discusses ideal types methodologies constructed with understanding of meant meanings. Weber's ideal type was at the same time narrower and wider than the pure constructs or ideal types of earlier methodologists. He had narrowed it down from a construct designed to explain phenomena of every kind, natural and social, to one that was to serve only the explanation of social phenomena. On the other hand, it should serve in generalizing and in historical inquiries. His ideal type, moreover, was subject to the requirement of understanding meant meanings. This manifold diversity may seem confusing, but it need not be inasmuch as everything that has to do with human feeling, thinking, and acting, whether it be treated in a theoretical-abstract or a historical-concrete manner, can be understood in terms of ideal types. Some of these modifications were not fully understood by those who considered themselves heirs to Weber's methodology and proceeded to reinterpret, adapt, and apply it. In the process, most of them managed to reduce its applicability.
4 citations
2 citations
01 Jan 1978
TL;DR: A concept, once formed and formulated, has, so to speak, a life of its own, independent both of the actual thinking processes that went on in the minds of the concept formers and of those that will go on in their users as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses inquiries into concept formation. The epistemological allocation was not acceptable to logicians. They showed that the psychology of concept formation was one thing, but the logic of formed concepts, and especially interrelated concepts, was another. A concept, once formed and formulated, has, so to speak, a life of its own, independent both of the actual thinking processes that went on in the minds of the concept formers and of those that will go on in the minds of the concept users. The logic of conceptualization requires two sets of distinctions, of which the first holds for all empirical sciences, while the second relates to a difference between natural and social sciences. The second difference is based on methodological characteristics separating the sciences of human culture and society from the sciences of nature—inorganic and organic. In many economic problems, the role of expectations is paramount, and the importance of uncertainty is pervasive in economic analysis. General economic theory and special fields within economics deal with mind-related, intention-related, and value-related constructs. Designations such as welfare economics, management science, and game theory point clearly to the fact that the subject matter of these fields of inquiry is essentially concerned with meanings on the part of idealized actors and decision makers.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the Social Work Student: Towards an Ideal Type is described as a "social work student" towards an ideal type, and the ideal type is defined as "the social work student towards a goal".
Abstract: (1978). The Social Work Student: Towards an Ideal Type. Journal of Further and Higher Education: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 72-75.
1 citations