Social Paradigms in Guiding Management, Social Development and Social Research

Social phenomena can be mainly analysed based on objective and subjective perspectives. Philosophical assumptions of ontology, epistemology, axiology and methodology derive from paradigms that guide social sciences. There are two main philosophies -realism/modernism and nominalism/post-modernism-and four paradigms -radical structuralist, functionalist, interpretive and radical humanist paradigms- guiding social sciences. These four paradigms can play active philosophical roles effectively in directing social sciences. Thus, the objective of this book is to integrate the social paradigms into the analysis of management theories, social development theories and social research methodology and to suggest an approach to apply these four paradigms as the analytical tool to interpret management, social development and social research.