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INTRODUCTION
Interorganizational relationships and networks are vital to the work and community lives of most people. They have been studied from a variety of perspectives for the past three decades. In this article, a radical humanist perspective (Burrell & Morgan, 1979) frames a case describing the formation of a county-wide, interorganizational service delivery system for psychiatric emergencies. Critical incidents are used to exemplify the use of dialogue as a method of change and inquiry within this perspective. First, an overview of organization theory paradigms is presented, relevant literature about interorganizational relationships reviewed, and a radical humanist framework for dialogue developed. In conclusion, implications for organization theory and development are discussed.
SOCIAL SCIENCE PARADIGMS
Burrell and Morgan (1979) analyzed the basic assumptions of sociologists along two dimensions, developed from this analysis a metaframework of four paradigms, and discussed how these paradigms have influenced the study of organizations. Along the first dimension, social theorists take either an objectivist or subjectivist approach to social science. Along the second dimension, theorists have different assumptions about the nature of society, emphasizing either stability, integration, and consensus or focusing on radical change, conflict, and coercive power relationships (p. 13). Using these dimensions, Burrell and Morgan outlined four paradigms of social thought, each with its own basic assumptions, philosophical under-pinnings, and intellectual tradition: (1) functionalist sociology (objective-stability), (2) interpretive sociology (subjective-stability), (3) radical humanism (subjective-radical change), and (4) radical structuralism (objective-radical change).
Radical humanism, represented most clearly by critical theorists, especially those of the Frankfurt School, is rooted in the philosophy of Hegel, the early work of Marx, and the insights of Freud (Burrell & Morgan). The fundamental assumptions of critical theory are as follows: (1) people create and thus can change their social world, (2) knowledge of society is value laden and such orientations can be identified in implicit and explicit ideologies, (3) inherent distortions of the social world can be understood through critical reason, (4) theory and practice are inextricably linked, and (5) reason and critique must be reflexive, so those following this approach must be self-reflective about their work (Ngwenyama, 1990; Bradshaw-Camball, 1990).
Burrell and Morgan (1979) stated that few organization theorists work within the radical humanist paradigm. There does exist, however, a radical humanist body of research related...