A categorisation of dialectics in response to project uncertainty
International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
ISSN: 1753-8378
Article publication date: 11 January 2022
Issue publication date: 18 March 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Scholars are increasingly acknowledging the importance of conversations in the management of complex projects. Defining dialectics as “the art of purposeful conversation”, this paper aims to rationalise the somewhat disorganised field of dialectics by developing a categoreal scheme.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors refer to the current state of research into the conversational aspects of complex projects, and examine the historical development of, and philosophical and scholarly commentary on, the dialectical method.
Findings
The categories the authors propose are the Socratic, Conversational, Fichtean and Peircean. They differ in relation to the subject matter of the dialectic; their vulnerability to environmental influences; the degree of structure they require for optimal performance; and the situations in which they might most profitably be applied.
Research limitations/implications
A single categoreal scheme is rarely the last word, and the authors invite other scholars to explore the field in a similar way.
Practical implications
The scheme proposed here is intended to enhance the project manager's approach to conversations, by referring to the specific virtues and limitations of each of the categories.
Social implications
The informed use of dialectics may help to ameliorate the significant damage done to organisations and economies around the world by failed and underperforming projects.
Originality/value
The authors present the first categorisation of the field, with the aim of equipping the practitioner to think about dialectical approaches in a more systematic way.
Keywords
Citation
Buhagiar, M., Pollack, J. and Coyle, S. (2022), "A categorisation of dialectics in response to project uncertainty", International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 350-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMPB-08-2020-0241
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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