What are some theories offered to explain aspects of your field of business?
The field of business I am engaged in includes accounting and human resources. The aspects of accounting are reflected in the theory of ethics and social responsibility that explain the aspects of accounting related to ethical behavior and corporate culture as an integral part f human resource management. The aspects of human resources include leadership, cooperation, and training which can be explained by theories in the field of human resources related to corporate culture, development of leadership skills, motivation, and other useful theoretical frameworks.
How do propositions and hypotheses differ?
As a rule, propositions and hypotheses appear in the same context of the research paper, a research question, and the area to be investigated. However, there is a slight difference between these two concepts of the research because a hypothesis is an assumption introduced at the beginning of the research process which should be either refuted or supported at the end. As suggested in the study by Kumar (2008), “a hypothesis is tentative generalizations the validity of which remains to be tested” (p. 25) while a descriptive hypothesis is a proposition “that typically state the existence, size, form or distribution of the variable” (Kumar, 2008, p. 26). In this respect, a proposition has a descriptive nature and refers more to the types of variables, and assumes the existence of variables instead of examining the relationship between variables.
How do concepts differ from variables?
The research consists of a great number of different components that should be adequately applied to the stages of the research process to optimize it most effectively. As such, concepts are not the same as variables because they appear at different stages of the research process. For instance, when investigating the concept of job satisfaction, a researcher uses different variables to measure this concept quantitatively and receive the numbers instead of philosophical and rather subjective definitions of the level of job satisfaction. As reported by Hair et al. (2011), “variables provide the numerical scores used to measure concepts in quantitative terms” (p. 211). Moreover, variables can be dependents and independent affecting the interpretation of the concept and the process of measuring it.
What does the statement “There is nothing so practical as a good theory” mean? Do you agree with this statement?
The statement “There is nothing so practical as a good theory” reflects the importance of the theoretical framework for investigation and research. A ‘good’ theory can always be applied in practice while inaccurate data and inconsistent assumptions that did not find adequate support in literature and researches cannot be implemented. For instance, an experiment when written on paper is rather theoretical than practice but its validity can be measured with the help of replication level. If the replication is easily accomplished while basing the experiment on what has been written on the paper, the experiment (or theory, in this case) can be considered valid while irrelevant and inaccurate data makes the replication difficult or even impossible. The same concerns ‘a good theory’ in the statement which applies to practical situations regardless of external factors.
The 17th-century Dutch philosopher Benedict Spinoza said, “If the facts conflict with a theory, the theory must be changed or the facts”. What is the practical meaning of this statement?
Dutch philosopher Benedict Spinoza’s claim “If the facts conflict with a theory, the theory must be changed or the facts” concerns the validity of the information. As the theory can be referred to as a hypothesis used to explain different facts, a specific theory may be inappropriate to explain certain facts. In this respect, a conflict occurs which should be solved by either changing the theory used o explain those facts or using this theory to explain other facts, thus changing the facts. The practical application of this statement is relevant to all areas of business research and management when the same theoretical framework does not apply to the situation and should be changed or when the problem is being solved using the wrong approach. For example, the problem is solved in the process of decision-making when a problem is identified, alternatives are selected, the design is chosen, and the final decision is applied (Ornstein & Lunenburg, 2007, p. 155). So, if the final decision proves to be ineffective, this means that the wrong theory was used to explain the facts and to solve the problem and another theory should be applied.
Compare and contrast “deductive logic” with “inductive logic.” Give an example of both.
Deductive logic is usually referred to as a theory developed in the process of reviewing other studies and knowledge gained from those studies and the knowledge from the current study is added to the information collected (Cargan, 2007, pp. 31-32). An example of deductive logic is the introduction of the new management model designed using the previous models and the current one and application of it into practice about certain changes that should be made in case of difficulties. Inductive logic is the development of a single concept to the general theory. As claimed by Cargan (2007), inductive logic is “reasoning from experience or observation relating to the general construction of the theory: data to the theory” (p. 31). Application of the inductive logic can be seen when some facts are used for the construction of theoretical frameworks and supporting their validity.
Reference List
Cargan, L. (2007). Doing social research. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Hair, J. F. Jr. et al. (2011). Essentials of business research methods (2nd ed.). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Kumar, R. (2008). Research methodology. New Delhi: APH Publishing.
Ornstein, A. C., & Lunenburg, F. C., 2007. Educational administration: concepts and practices. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.