More than a century and a half ago, the term "sociology" entered scientific practice, although some scholars argue about an earlier application of this concept. Sociology is the "science of society", which is actively used today to regulate management processes. To gain an understanding of the sociology of management, you need to understand its methods.
The mechanisms of social management of large and small groups are studied by management sociology, using many scientific techniques. Scientists divide the methods of sociology into two types: general scientific and specialized. The first group contains induction and deduction, analysis, synthesis and other generally known scientific methods. But the second is worth considering in more detail.
Observation
When using this method, data collection occurs methodically and systematically, events are systematically recorded during direct contact with the object of study. This method is appropriate when studying or forming a new team, to highlight a potential leader or outsider, when forming teams (in particular, when working with a personnel reserve).
Social experiment
Influencing the object with the help of certain factors and indicators, monitoring of changes in readings and actions is carried out. Social experiments in collectives and controlled communities began to be used only in the 21st century, and the first studies of this kind were met with hostility, the voice of the people described them as "experiments on people", while this method itself proved to be excellent. So, one of the methods of the method, which is widely used by enterprise managers, is a banal brainstorming, personnel officers resort to stress interviews, and the heads of specialized departments - to organize unusual tasks.
Biography method
A painstaking study of a person's life using documents and heirlooms, historical facts, including from the lips of the subject, interviews and survey data. This method is used to exclude misrepresentation of facts, embellishment of them by a person. It is little used in management and rather serves as a means of diagnosing the personality and the strength of its role in the team.
Generalization of characteristics
The method is based on collecting opinions and ideas about the subject and his merits and demerits of the people around him. Often this research method becomes the reason for the formation of manipulative tactics of team management.
Paired comparisons
When using this method, a group of subjects is recruited, in which the participants are divided in pairs. The respondents choose the answer or option that is correct in their opinion, after which the dependent variable is compared in pairs. According to sociologists, determining preferences using scales, questionnaires and surveys is more difficult than comparing two objects.
Ideal types method
According to the theory of Weber, the founder of the method, the ideal type is a utopia, something idealized. It was necessary to meet the given typical class ideal. This method does not accept assumptions, checks, it contains conditions for the study of a particular unique.
Focus group
The method invites a limited number of people in the group to identify and describe problems on their own. Often used in large teams. where you need to work out a complex or creative non-standard solution. cannot be the main method of management, and therefore it is considered auxiliary, concomitant, diagnostic.
There is no ideal method for a full-fledged result in sociology; high results can be achieved only by using all methods in combination.
