What is Science?

- A way of understanding the natural world.

- Features of science:
- Learning by systematically observing the world (systematic empiricism)
- Examines questions about how the world actually operates (empirical questions)
- Creates public knowledge.

What is theory?

- A system of constructs and propositions that explain a phenomenon or interest, along

with associated assumptions and boundary conditions.
- Constructs: the representation of an idea or concept
- Proposition: a set of proposed relationships
- Assumptions: supposed causes for things that happen in the world
- Boundary conditions: limits to the relationship proposed within the theory.

Testing theories

- The propositions within a theory must be testable (falsifiable)

- A theory is useful for as long as the propositions are supported empirically
- Tests of a theory:
- Conditions for causation
- 1. Correlation between constructs
- 2. Temporal precedence
- 3. Rejection of alternative explanations

Why do we need theory?

- Explains natural or social phenomenon

- Aid in sense-making
- Provide guidance for future research
- Contribute to cumulative knowledge

A theory of yesterday
 A theory of today

Interdisciplinarity

- The combination of academic disciplines into one area of study.

- Benefits:
- Different ways of thinking about the same problem
- Encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration
- Supports the development of critical thinking skills
- Challenges:
- Perspectives can be challenging to resolve
- Who is the ‘expert’?
- Language to communicate between disciplines

Disciplines underlying HRM

Psychology

Organizationa
Sociology
l Behaviour

Industrial
Legal scholarship
relations
Psychology

- The study of human behaviour and mental processes.

- Perspective: understanding the human being provides insight into how we can ensure
the individual is aligned with organizational processes. Psychology provides insights into
predicting, motivating, and improving individual performance.
- Contributions to the study HRM:
- Motivation theories
- Personality theories
- Group processes

Organizational behaviour

- The study of how people interacts with groups with a view toward
business/organizational outcomes.
- Organizational justice theory
- Leadership theories
- Careers
- Relationship at work

Sociology

- The study of human social relationships and institutions’

- Three perspectives
- Functionalism – work and the economy serve several functions for society. The
economy makes society possible by providing the goods and services it needs.
Work gives people an income and also provides them some self-fulfillment and
part of their identity.
- Conflict theory – Control of the economy enables the economic elite to maintain
their position at the top of society and to keep those at the bottom in their
place. Work is often alienating, and the workplace is often a site for sexual
harassment and other problems.
- Symbolic interactionism – This perspective focuses on social interaction in the
workplace, on how employees respond to problems in their workplaces, and on
how they perceive the work they do.

Legal Scholarship

- Concerned with the relationship between employers and their employees.

- Considers voluntary measures, legal regulation, contracts, and the role of court
decisions
- Investigates the ways in which the laws motivate employers
 - Underpinning principles: ethics; human rights; fairness; reasonableness; equal
treatment; consent & freedom.

Industrial relations

- The relations between management and workers often through the lens of labour/trade
unions
- Three broad perspectives:
- Pluralist perspective: The organization is made up of divergent groups with their
own interests and motivations. Conflict is inherent in this model. Conflict is
resolved through collective bargaining.
- Unitarist perspective: All members of the organization share a common
alignment with the organization. Unions are not a necessary.
- Critical perspective: Views organizations through the lens of power.
Management holds economic wealth, and therefore has power over the
employee. Conflict is inevitable.

Peripheral disciplines

Labour
economics

Education

Behavioural
Analytics
economics

Counselling Psychometrics

Example: HRM in the news