Edinburgh Napier University

  The aim of this theoretical discussion is to provide construct to a research scheme using figurational underpinning, which can then be able to support adaptive management strategies. A common feature of contemporary management issues is the underlying uncertainty regarding both cause (What causal factors account for the problem?) and effect (What will happen if a particular management strategy is employed?). These uncertainties are, in part perhaps, a product of the growing emphasis on necessarily integrative aspects of resource management. Consequently, traditional approaches to scientific inquiry are increasingly found inadequate, particularly with regard to the ability to predict consequences and effects of unplanned outcomes. To begin, the paper will explain elements of structure (Putting the problem into perspective) and the indicators used to overarch current process analysis. In this regards, sociology will outline the conditional viewpoints which form the theoretical framework for study, namely, figurational sociology. The paper establishes the concept of figuration, interdependency ties, power balances, unplanned outcomes and game models (Elias, 1978). These central concepts form the foundational archetype which surrounds the research method and therefore are of particular importance. A unique combination of data collection and analysis can then allow for a clear identification of planned and unplanned outcomes, relate these to process implementation and measurement and associate the outcome with mechanisms of adaptive change. Finally, it will conclude with an overarching philosophy highlighting why the integration of the approach will give meaningful outcomes, wherein the study will seek to identify if improvements in efficiency, supported by a processual figurational approach (POPC) exist.