Topic
Ideal type
About: Ideal type is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 400 publications have been published within this topic receiving 8012 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
25 Sep 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the suitability of an ideal-type approach for learning from historical cases such as the Concert of Europe and elaborate the characteristics of ideal-typical concert.
Abstract: Drawing on Max Weber, this chapter outlines the suitability of an ideal-type approach for learning from historical cases such as the Concert of Europe and elaborates the characteristics of an ideal-typical concert. The author uses this ideal type both to think about which aspects of the Concert of Europe are intrinsic to our idea of concerts and also to highlight the degree to which concerts might vary depending on circumstances. The chapter thus offers a theoretical basis for thinking about the nature of concerts and a distinctive way of thinking about the prospects of a 21st Century Concert.
2 citations
TL;DR: The idea of standardizing concepts in sociology is not new, but we have made little progress, despite the early hopes of such theorists as Durkheim and Weber as discussed by the authors, who argued that we do not need standard concepts, social phenomena are too complex and changeful, sociologists are too individualistic and sociological concepts are too context-dependent.
Abstract: The idea of standardizing concepts in sociology is not new, but we have made little progress, despite the early hopes of such theorists as Durkheim and Weber. This article refutes the arguments of some who contend that we do not need standard concepts, we cannot make standard concepts, social phenomena are too complex and changeful, sociologists are too individualistic and sociological concepts are too context-dependent. The author proposes that the American Sociological Association appoint a Committee on Basic Sociological Concepts to investigate and recommend the official adoption of a basic conceptual language in American sociology.
2 citations
TL;DR: The authors locate the origins and dimensions of the US model of human resource management as an ideal type that risks becoming a stylised interpretation eliminating nuance, and propose a new approach to human resource modeling.
Abstract: The perception of Americanisation in the academic arena is shaping the evolution of research on human resource management. This paper seeks to locate the origins and dimensions of the US model of human resource management as an ideal type that risks becoming a stylised interpretation eliminating nuance.
2 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a method for estimating the social welfare function from quite limited empirical evidence is developed, which is applied to an educational case study. But, there was considerable variation in individuals' ideal designs.
Abstract: A social design x evokes a response y from a set of individuals. The value of the design is expressed in terms of a social welfare function which is derived from Arrow’s formulation of social choice. Making certain simplifying assumptions the social welfare function can be expressed in terms of individuals’ ideal designs. A method for estimating the social welfare function from quite limited empirical evidence is developed. The method is applied to an educational case study. There was considerable variation in individuals’ ideal designs. The components of the social welfare were estimated: the welfare ideal, the population sensitivity, the population variation, the deviation from the ideal and the welfare ceiling. Methodological problems are discussed.
2 citations
TL;DR: Weber as discussed by the authors defined power as ''the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance'' and authority as ''a command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given group of persons''.
Abstract: M AX WEBER'S 'ideal type' construct of bureaucracy, depicting structure of bureaucratic system of administration, has been the single most important conceptual framework in the study of administration. This ideal type of bureaucracy was formulated in the context of Weber's discussion of the bases oflegitimate authority. Before delving into the bases of authority, it is necessary to point out how Weber distinguished power from authority. Weber defined power as \"the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance\"1. Authority, on the other hand, is \"the probability that a command with a given specific content will be obeyed by a given group of persons\". 2 Thus, power is a situation where an individual can compel another person to do certain things against his will. Authority is a situation where a person willingly complies with legitimate commands or orders because he considers that a person occupying a superior position has a right to direct him. Weber classified authority on the basis of its claim to legitimacy. His three pure types of authority are based respectively on three bases of legitimacy. They are= traditional authority, charismatic authority, and legalrational authority. Traditional authority rests on \"an established belief in the sanctity of immemorial traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority under them\".3 The legitimacy of the ruler's authority rests in traditional norms. In the pure type of traditional authority, the following features of a bureaucratic administrative staff are absent= (a) clearly defined sphere of competence, subject to impersonal rules; (b) a rational ordering of relations of superiority and inferiority; (c) a regular system of appointment and promotion on the basis of free contract; (d) technical training as a regular requirement, and (e) fixed salaries paid in money.4 Charismatic authority rests on the devotion of the followers to the leader, devotion given because of the leader's 'gift of grace'. No specific proce-
2 citations