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As research and writing on the new paradigm expands into management, the question of whether this research is valid or vacuous becomes more crucial. In this article, a definition of the new paradigm is offered, then its premises and assumptions are carefully analyzed using current philosophy of science. Rather than taking the more common Kuhnian approach, this analysis is based on Taylor's (1992) model of paradigm transitions. The analysis shows that some management research does validly generate a new paradigm. However, much of what is being written under the new paradigm banner does not satisfy criteria that are implied by the notion of a new paradigm. In the conclusion, implications for this assessment are described and a series of questions that can increase the validity and transformative power of new paradigm research in management are offered.

Over the past two decades there has been a shift in the career literature from the view of a career as being a linear progression of job responsibilities within an industry, to that of a 'boundaryless', competency-based exploration that evolves in unexpected ways. This article argues that core constructs from 'new science' (non-linearity, interdependence and emergence) can provide a useful theoretical foundation for understanding the current dynamics of career behavior. The article also discusses implications of these constructs for career development practice and its contexts.

Relationships and interactions should be an important focus of attention in organizational scholarship. In contrast to traditional research approaches that focus on independent, discrete entities, methodologies oriented to relational concerns in organizations allow researchers to study the intersubjective and interdependent nature of organizational life. In addition to providing historical and philosophical bases for a perspective which emphasizes relationality, we review the growing number of methods that capture relational aspects of organizational life. Examples include network analysis, and "complexity" modeling, correspondence analysis and participatory research, case study methods, the learning history approach, psychometrics, and action inquiry. Our goal is to establish a "palette" of methodological choices for the researcher interested in operationalizing a relational perspective within organizational research/practice.