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Organisations
Four paradigms for understanding
organisations: Interpretivism / social relativism

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Lecture Aims

• Introduce interpretivism / social relativism and show how it

manifests in organisations
• Illustrate the effects of interpretivism / social relativism
• Discuss the advantages and limitations of interpretivism /
social relativism
• Next steps

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 Order & regulation

Interpretivism /
social relativism

Objectivism Subjectivism

Conflict & radical change

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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 Consultant’s approach: open minded; aim to
A dramatic organisational change obtain consensus on design of Industry Skills
project: Transform ‘Prison Industries’ Centres.
into ‘Industry Skills Centres’

Consultant: conducted focus groups;

What is a prison? Purpose or
workshopped ideas with affected parties;
function of a prison is manifold
facilitated job exchanges; used metaphors to
and contested.
capture ideas and visions; created cross-
functional working group; established
principles (not rules) to guide transformation
Different occupations and
specialists work inside prisons.
Consultant helped people make sense of the
Prison staff: different views on transformation and facilitated consensus.
objectives of Industry Skills Compromises needed, but transformation
Centres; different views on what is possessed legitimacy in the eyes of those
possible and desirable to achieve. affected → viable.

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 Consultant’s approach: open minded; aim to
A dramatic organisational change obtain consensus on design of Industry Skills
Workers’
project: Transform ‘Prison Industries’
knowledge is Centres.
into ‘Industry Skills Centres’
experiential & Multiple
unique knowledge
Consultant: conducted
claims mustfocus groups;
What is a prison? Purpose or be reconciled
workshopped ideas with affected parties;
function of a prison is manifold
facilitated job exchanges; used metaphors to
Knowledge isand contested. To access workers’
tacit
knowledge in all its richness, capture ideas and visions; created cross-
their lived, subjective functional working group; established
Knowledge
To know how to
experiences must be principles (not rules) to guide transformation
about what to
Different occupations and move forward,
understood do is jointly
specialists work inside prisons. those affected
constructed
must be invited
Consultant helped
to share theirpeople make sense of the
There is no “one
Prison staff: different views onbest way”, just transformation
knowledge and
& facilitated consensus.
objectives of Industry Skills different, ever- Compromises
viewsneeded, but transformation
Centres; different views on what is evolving possessed legitimacy in the eyes of those
possible and desirable to achieve.
perceptions of it affected → viable.

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RMIT University
 Consultant’s approach: open minded; aim to
A dramatic organisational change obtain consensus on design of Industry Skills
Workers’
project: Transform ‘Prison Industries’
knowledge is Centres.
into ‘Industry Skills Centres’
experiential & Multiple
unique knowledge
Consultant: conducted
claims mustfocus groups;
What is a prison? Purpose or be reconciled
workshopped ideas with affected parties;
function of a prison is manifold
facilitated job exchanges; used metaphors to
Knowledge isand contested. To access workers’
tacit
knowledge in all its richness, capture ideas and visions; created cross-
their lived, subjective functional working group; established
Knowledge
To know how to
experiences must be principles (not rules) to guide transformation
about what to
Different occupations and move forward,
understood do is jointly
specialists work inside prisons. those affected
constructed
must be invited
Consultant helped
to share theirpeople make sense of the
There is no “one
Prison staff: different views onbest way”, just transformation
knowledge and
& facilitated consensus.
objectives of Industry Skills different, ever- Compromises
viewsneeded, but transformation
Centres; different views on what is evolving possessed legitimacy in the eyes of those
possible and desirable to achieve.
perceptions of it affected → viable.

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 Functionalism Management tools
methods Interpretivism
Observe; measure; model; predict; identify Conduct focus groups & interviews; facilitate
cause & effect relationships; obtain statistical interaction, participation, sense-making &
control understanding; facilitate consensus &
acceptance

Position of analyst: Position of analyst:

expert facilitator

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 Order & regulation
Assumptions about
organisations and ` • People’s experiences are unique and need to be
society understood
• Cooperation is the pathway to organisational unity and
depends on reconciling different views and experience
• Cohesiveness (working together) & functionality
depend on consensus
• Consensus legitimates management decisions and is a
powerful platform for action
• Order is created through informal mechanisms, such
as shared understanding, values, beliefs, and norms
• Management would be wise to focus on the informal
aspects of organisations, such as organisational culture

Conflict & radical change

RMIT University Burrell

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& Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 • The purpose of knowledge is to understand
• Knowledge is variable and dependent on experience and perception (knowledge is relative)
• There is no “one best way”, only different perceptions of this
• Knowledge or “truth” is a matter of perception
• One “truth” can’t be established, but understanding can be reached, and agreement on what to do can be
facilitated
• Facilitating understanding requires inside knowledge of people and organisations, and what shapes their
beliefs, values, and norms
• To understand, one cannot be distanced from what they seek to know; neutrality is impossible

Objectivism Subjectivism

Assumptions
about our
knowledge of
society

RMIT University Burrell

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& Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 Order & regulation

Objectivism Subjectivism

Conflict & radical change

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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 Coordination (order) is created by the
Coordination (order) is imposed fromOrder & regulation
workers themselves through shared
‘outside’ by managerial fiat
understandings, expectations & norms.
Managers facilitate the process.
‘True’ knowledge is indisputable and
scientifically verifiable through objective Everyone has a claim to knowledge. The
measurements and statistical controls ‘truth’ is a matter of perception.

Objectivism Subjectivism

Conflict & radical change

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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 Coordination (order) is created by the
Coordination (order) is imposed fromOrder & regulation
workers themselves through shared
‘outside’ by managerial fiat
understandings, expectations & norms.

What kind of manager /

Managers facilitate the process.
True ‘knowledge’ is indisputable and
scientifically verifiable through objective Everyone has a claim to knowledge. The
‘truth’ is a matter of perception.
consultant / analyst will YOU
measurements and statistical controls

Objectivism Subjectivism
become?

Conflict & radical change

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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
 Consultant’s approach: open minded; aim to
Interpretivism
A dramatic organisational change / social relativism: Summary
obtain consensus on design of Industry Skills
project: Transform ‘Prison Industries’ Centres.
into ‘Industry
Organisations Skills Centres’
are complex, cultural constructions. Management needs to attend to much more
than the visible, explicit rule systems within organisations to achieve goals
Consultant: conducted focus groups;
What is a prison? Purpose or
workshopped ideas with affected parties;
Participation and consensus is the
function of a prison is manifold pathway to organisational harmony, unity of purpose, and
facilitated job exchanges; used metaphors to
and contested. goal achievement
capture ideas and visions; created cross-
Managers should help organisational members to make functional working
sense of group;their
their work, established
professional
identity,Different
organisational life, and principles (not rules) to guide transformation
occupations andshared goals – there is no better form of control than that which
specialists work inside prisons. we build for ourselves
Consultant helped people make sense of the
It is the informal aspects of organisations (culture, norms, values, beliefs, habits) to which
transformation
Prison staff: different views on managers should attend and facilitated consensus.
objectives of Industry Skills Compromises needed, but transformation
Centres; different views on what is possessed legitimacy in the eyes of those
It ispossible
what people believetois achieve.
and desirable affected
true that matters; effective managers seek→toviable.
understand others’
experiences and beliefs; effective managers seek to understand reality through others’ eyes
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Great strength of interpretivism /
social relativism

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast”

(Peter Drucker, Management consultant and academic)

But …

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Limitations of interpretivism / social
relativism
• Offers no critique of the current state of the world, the role that organisations
play in society, and the power structures within organisations and society
• Does not recognise the power dimensions of organisations and the cultures
they create
• Does not take a stand on organisational decisions and activities; everyone’s
interpretation and views are valid
• The process of participation is emphasised – wider benefits or ills of this
process are not the main concern
• Unable to identify manipulated consensus, and vulnerable to agenda-seeking

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Multi-paradigmatic perception: two dimensions,
dimensions four paradigms

Assumptions
Order & regulation Four radically
about society different ways
Functionalism Social relativism
of seeing
organisations
Objectivism Subjectivism

Assumptions
Radical structuralism Neo-humanism about our
knowledge of
society
Conflict & radical change
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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
Multi-paradigmatic perception: two dimensions,
dimensions four paradigms

Assumptions
Order & regulation Four radically
about society different ways
Functionalism Interpretivism /
of seeing
Social relativism organisations
Objectivism Subjectivism

Assumptions
Radical structuralism Radical about our
humanism / knowledge of
Neo-humanism
society
Conflict & radical change
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RMIT University Burrell & Morgan, 1979: Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis
Lecture Aims

• Introduce interpretivism / social relativism and show how it

manifests in organisations 
• Illustrate the effects of interpretivism / social relativism 
• Discuss the advantages and limitations of interpretivism /
social relativism 
• Next steps

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 References
• Burrell, G. & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis: Elements of
the Sociology of Corporate Life. New York, NY, USA: Routledge.
• Hirschheim, R., & Klein, H.K. (1989). Four paradigms of information systems development.
Communications of the ACM. Vol. 32(10): 1199-1216.
• Kanigel, R. (1997). The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency. New
York: Viking.
• Morgan, G. (1997). Images of Organization. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

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