This seminar consists of a presentation of the progress made in doctoral research for the first examination.
iag3920 "Epistemology of research into the management of organisations"
The course has three aims:
- to introduce students to the concepts and main currents of the epistemology of human sciences;
- to undertake a critical analysis of the various research programmes on the subject of collective action in economics and sociology;
- to identify an issue of the definition of a scientific objective in the field of management sciences.
Content and teaching methods
1. Content
- A critical inventory of currents of thought in the epistemology of human sciences: notions of theory (positive and normative), paradigm and research programme:
. verificationism and informationism;
. positivism and constructivism;
. the notion of axiomatisation (a critical analysis of the concept of rationality).
- A critical inventory of economics research programmes on the theme of the theory of the firm:
. the neo-classical programme (a basic formulation and an extended version);
. the cognitivist current;
. the institutionalist-evolutionist current.
- A critical inventory of research programmes on sociology of the organisation:
. "classical" currents (models of rationality (bureaucracy), functionalist models, the strategic approach (actor-system), and the culturalist approach);
. recent currents (approaches to agreements, translation and action logics).
2. Methodology
This course is fitted into two weeks, with the assessment at the end of the second week.
An understanding of the concepts will be tested in discussion times structured by a programme of reading preceding each session.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
III. Assessment:
Assessment will focus students' ability to transpose into problematic terms the concepts studied in the theme under consideration, or at least the specific field in which they plan to carry out their research.
Indicative bibliography.