Management research: Reply
Management research is the systematic analytical assessment of the problems and concerns facing
an organization with a goal of offering sustainable solutions to the issues. It combines parts of
knowledge and different research features to solve the problems. Managers all over the globe are
continuously collecting and analyzing information to help the managerial functions like strategic
planning. Moreover, a branch of philosophy known as epistemology provides a basic foundation for
formulating and seeking answers for research problems. Different philosophical perspectives also
lead to distinct assessment methods which assist in recognizing certain patterns of behavior. Through
good research problems, managers can envisage the potential the company possesses through
evidence-based decisions (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe and Jackson, 2012).
Management research: Reply
In this post, the student has provided a clear definition of management research and
described understandably how it relates to epistemological standpoint. According to the
student, management research is basically the systematic analytical evaluation of the
concerns as well as problems that face a business organization and is aimed at providing
sustainable solutions to the problems. This is exactly right. To add on what the student has
MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 2
said, management research can also be thought of a systematic inquiry which helps in solving
business problems and contributing to management knowledge (Easterby-Smith, Thorpe &
Jackson 2012). It is worth mentioning that management research is applied research. The
student has also rightly pointed out that epistemology is a branch of philosophy that offers a
basic starting point to formulate and search for answers to research problems.
Essentially, epistemology is concerned with people’s beliefs with regard to how a
person may learn knowledge as regards the world (Harmon & Mayer 1986). It is a central
aspect of philosophy that is focused on the limits, sources as well as nature of knowledge;
(Easterby-Smith, Thorpe & Jackson 2012); this is something which the student has correctly
indicated. Furthermore, epistemology focuses on issues to do with the creation as well as
dissemination of knowledge (Harmon & Mayer 1986); a point which the student has also
correctly mentioned in the post. All in all, management research is of great importance in the
generation of useful knowledge to be used by managers for decision making. Managers
require information that will help them to come up with solutions to particular problems. The
student has described quite a few methods during problem formulation and evaluation of the
problem situation. According to the epistemological standpoint, the interpretivist perspective
and the contextualist approach can be used by managers to formulate problems and assess
situations. This is an assertion which various scholars have suggested, for instance Raut and
Veer (2014).
References
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R & Jackson, P 2012, Management research, 4th ed. London:
SAGE Publications
Harmon, MM., & Mayer, RT 1986, Organization Theory for Public Administration, Boston:
Little, Brown
MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 3
Raut, UR. & Veer, NB 2014, Management Research: To Understand the Role of
Epistemology in Management Research. Journal of Management and Science, 4(1),
pp.64-70.
