Qualitative Research in Organisations - Essay Example

?Introduction Qualitative research entails the study of disciplines in their normal setting where the person researching undertakes a systematic inquisition of a phenomena in order understand its meaning interpret it and make sense of the previously unknown or not well understood aspect (Creswell, 1998 :19). Qualitative research considers the holistic aspect of a phenomenon, including its macro and microeconomic aspects in addition to social, political, institutional and technological contexts. The qualitative researcher is mainly concerned with understanding the fundamentals, the process and context of the problem. Therefore, qualitative researchers apply diverse methodologies and techniques in effort to understand and interpret particular elements in a particular area of focus. Some of the methods applied include primary and secondary methods of collecting information, such as interviews, questionnaires, observations, transcriptions, historical sources and recordings. Other methods including conducting experiments, taking field studies among other methods. The information collected undergoes a series of analysis to elucidate themes relevant to the objectives of the research. The wider the methods of collecting information, the greater the possibility of getting more reliable information about a particular phenomenon than using limited methods of obtaining data. This enhances our understanding of particular operations and process in various realms of study (Creswell, 1998:50). This paper provides an in depth justification for qualitative research in organizations. Qualitative research in perspective Currently, the application of qualitative research in organizations has witnessed an upsurge especially in accounting and management disciplines. Although stakeholders are increasingly promoting the importance and application of qualitative research in organizations, Ahrens and Dent (1998) noted that many professionals are not yet acquainted or are ignorant about the development. There are various reasons for this apathy towards qualitative research in organizations. Some of the reasons include lack of appropriate avenues for sensitising the public and business people about the significance of qualitative research to business and the society. In addition, qualitative researchers face challenges while working in a highly positivist academic research environment that is mainly sensitive to criticism and is increasingly inclined to maintenance of status quo. Other challenges that undermine adoption of qualitative research in organizations include lack of adequate expertise to train researchers up to advanced levels in the emerging research methodologies of enhancing better outcomes (Ahrens and Dent, 1998: 18). Moreover, Glesne (1999: 24) argues that qualitative researchers encounter other challenges especially while working at international level. These include difficulties in securing enough finances to meet their research and personal expenditure in addition to the cultural differences that hinder effective data collection from the firms. Various distinctive methodologies of qualitative research characterise the management of organization at different levels in the current global environment. They include the conventional historical research, ethnography, case studies, interviews, autobiographies and narratives, discourse analysis among others (Dey, 2002:38). These are some of the emerging qualitative methods in the current organizational management practices. In spite of the upcoming methods, qualitative research requires the application of different methodologies that would enhance collection of in-depth information about a particular phenomenon. Although there is no perfect combination of qualitative research methods, it is important to note that the existential objective reality about phenomena cannot be obtained, but gathering precise information about it is always the cornerstone of qualitative research. Therefore, for researchers to elucidate incisive realities about numerous realities of research, they apply multiple methods that vary in complexity, depth and thoroughness. Straus and Corbin (1990:27) noted that interviews, observation, participation and analysis form the foundation of these methods. These methods are used to explore a phenomena that has been ignored or neglected and could be applied in the analysis an event that is not well comprehended. Depending on a particular situation, Shank (2002:92) argues that researcher could take up a specific concept that addresses the targeted investigation, to have a procedural understanding of the meanings that form the foundation of a particular practice. In this respect, qualitative research incorporates complex hypothetical approach rich in description, with wide application of analytical methods to extract the meaning or understanding of the study (Shank 2002:96). Criticism to qualitative research In different departmental and managerial levels of organizations, Dey (2002:49) notes that qualitative research continues facing criticism, rejection and ignorance. Some of the major criticism include but not limited to the assumption that it is unscientific, subjective and that is deficient in rigour. Therefore, critics contend that qualitative research cannot produce statistically provable true findings due to some of these shortcomings. However, Dey (2002) argues that these criticisms originate mainly from lack of understanding with the methodological approaches that justify the applied methods. Implying that qualitative analysis is not a rigorous scientific discipline is normally disapproved by the qualitative researchers ability to use, defend and explain the suitability of their applied methodologies and approach in researching a given organisational phenomena (Haynes, 2006:39). Similarly, the argument that qualitative research is unscientific and subjective presumes that events could totally be explained and conceived as absolute realism that exists independently from the observer and is limited to the concrete objects that could be seen, measured or touched (Dickens and Watkins, 1999:63). However, qualitative research is realistic and takes into consideration the intangible interdependence and interrelationships of phenomena with intricate meanings, interpretations and understandings. Therefore, qualitative research takes a multidimensional approach that recognizes that the events do not exist independently of the researchers and other elements. Flick (2002:64) argues that quantitative researchers are trained to assume a neutral stance, independent from their research data and focus. However, qualitative researchers acknowledge that they play an active role in influencing the outcome and the direction of their study by formulating research objectives, hypotheses, and scope of their analysis, design of the questionnaires among other methodological and analytical procedures in a conventional research undertaking. In addition, qualitative researchers influence the outcome of a given study by the prior knowledge, their academic specialization, their level of understanding about the provided background information and the model that they adopt in the undertaking a study. Therefore, by recognizing unavoidable involvement of researcher in a given study, qualitative researcher tactically seeks the direct interaction with other stakeholders, the field of study and data as an important approach of obtaining incisive information that gives meaning to observed practices and behaviours. From these methodologies, qualitative researchers aim at producing universal or generalised findings. These are derived from the wide approach of identifying, infiltrating, understanding and reviewing literature, concepts and relationships in their available contexts (Huberman and Miles 2002:83). In this respect, qualitative research values the in-depth understanding and knowledge of the phenomena. Disparity and similarity of the findings are valued equally and this enables researchers to compare their findings with previous studies, which could add and modify previous understanding and form the basis of future interrogation and study of the particular aspect. Qualitative research is rigorous and it addresses quantitative objectives of producing findings that show validity, triangulation and reliability. Although the less structured qualitative methodologies divert from the rigid structure of rigour defined by the quantitative research, it offers flexibility, innovativeness and valuable insights provided by unconventional methods of collecting information (Glesne 1999:59). The current management in organizations should refrain from emulating the rigid quantitative research methodologies that have been adopted in the natural sciences for long periods, and avoid simplistic criticism of qualitative research. In academia, numerous literatures on quantitative research have been published but qualitative research remains underrepresented especially in postgraduate levels for students undertaking management and accounting disciplines. However, the trend is slowly changing and many institutions of higher learning are gradually acknowledging the importance of qualitative research in their curriculums. Differences between qualitative and quantitative research There are several differences between qualitative research and quantitative research. The focus of quantitative research is the measurement of fundamental interactions between various variables, with an objective of establishing models that could predict the outcomes. In this respect, quantitative research entails measurement and determination of the quantity, frequency amount and the intensity of a given phenomenon. Qualitative researchers concentrates on establishing the processes of social experience and it seeks to comprehend how people experience and deduce meanings from the given process. These findings are deduced from the interactions between the researcher and the subject of investigation in a particular context (Neuman, 2003:47). Quantitative researchers test the derived theories deductively through manipulation and selection of significant variables in which they compare with the expected outcomes. This produces conclusive and valid findings that are either in agreement or not similar with the established laws or facts. However, the objective of qualitative researchers is to study the social world in its normal state as closely as possible by getting into personal contact with the natural context to observe, describe and make valuable interpretations about the events occurring in that particular setting(Neuman, 2003:51-54). This enables the researcher to establish the process of the events in various contexts and deduce the meanings construed by the participants. Therefore, qualitative researcher is mainly concerned with undertaking inquisitive investigation of a particular phenomenon under study but not testing previous hypotheses by other researchers. In this respect, qualitative research does not consider laws of behaviour because of the dynamics that characterize the situation, the researchers’ behaviour and the various interpretations that originate from the given area of study (Neuman, 2003: 57). Parker (2003: 106) argues that the major concern of qualitative researcher in any social context is to study the prevailing culture or subculture in order to permeate both the conscious and subconscious assumptions that inform their behaviour and conduct. According to Parker (2003:117), qualitative researchers assert that the autonomy, certainty, objectivity and neutrality portrayed by quantitative research are unrealistic in any given context. Contemporary research is infused with culture, language, symbols politics, stories, ideology perception and cognition among other social elements ( Ferreira and Merchant 1992: 77). This makes the process of establishing the relationship between reality, which is socially construed, and the researchers attempt to present reality a complicated undertaking. The ability of qualitative research to access the environment, individual and small groups’ perceptions and attitudes toward a phenomenon using direct methods of data collection makes the discipline more convincing than quantitative research. Moreover, qualitative researchers have a more direct engagement with the daily social events than quantitative researchers do, because the latter adopt abstract and indirect approach in the study of a given natural phenomenon (Neuman, 2003: 83). Justification for qualitative research in organizations According to Marvasti (2004:541), the fundamental objectives of qualitative research include providing insight, illumination and enlightenment. Marvasti (2004: 546) considers researchers in the qualitative research discipline as the “discoverers, searchers and reconcilers of meaning, in situation where meaning has never been clearly comprehended”. In the current organizational framework, qualitative research offers an exploration of the peoples’ lived experiences in events and situations that occur naturally. From these analyses, qualitative research provides detailed insights of individual and organisational processes in addition to establishing relationships of events that occur on a continuous period. In this respect, qualitative research extracts comprehension and meaning about why and how things happen in the manner that they occur. According to Adler (1983:36), flexibility to conduct research without rigid constraints provides limitless opportunities of discovering new information and insights. The historical and environmental background of a researcher complemented with personal dedication to undertake reaserch project provides rhetorical vitality to the researcher’s expedition. The flexibility of qualitative research approach to studying a particular phenomenon enhances the researcher’s ability to interact and communicate directly with the filed of study and people involved. This provides an appropriate platform for gaining and processing new information and knowledge. Through communication and recordings using memos, filed notes and other methods of collecting information it is possible for the researcher to include feelings, perceptions and other emotions alongside the data collected for the study. Due to the rigorous nature of qualitative research, researchers immerse and surrender themselves to the cultures under study in order to reflect the actual experience of that particular culture (Marschan and Welch 2004:283). Qualitative researchers engaged in international management encounter a wide range of challenges that limit their ability to conduct research in a multicultural context. Some of the major challenges include the cultural and linguistic problems that greatly limit their ability to collect and translate data in an unfamiliar cultural context (Karra and Philips 2008:319). Although the unfamiliar cultural context is the major methodological problem encountered by foreign researchers in international management research, Karra and Philips 2008 argued that, an increasing number of such researchers encounter a different challenge. Huberman and Miles (2002:73) indentify the problem as not being a “professional stranger” undertaking research in a foreign environment but being “local person”, capable of undertaking research from the local people‘s perspective and publishing the analysis in the international journals. When researchers conducts investigation in culturally similar community, they have the benefit of being familiar with language, culture and social competence of that native society that provide them with higher level of insight than in the case of foreign researchers (Nixon, 1998:51) Many foreign qualitative researchers experience these problems and Adler (1983) argues that being familiar or from the same cultural background as the community in which research carried is out is the remedy to many of these challenges. However, being an insider to a specific culture presents different types of challenges including the management of roles and maintaining healthy distance from the community (Karra and Philips 2008:319). There are various qualitative methodologies with diverse approaches to the study of management in organizations. These methods include but not limited to ethnography, field based case studies, grounded theory, interviews, discourse analysis, and autobiographies among others. According to Marschan and Welch (2004:108), ethnography entails a long-term fieldwork where the researcher undertakes personal observation of a group of people in their natural environment for long and continuous duration. The main objective of ethnographic methodology is to understand the people’s culture and make precise interpretation about their cultural system. In this respect, the methodology is a form of social phenomenology whereby the researcher develops interests and penetrates the particular culture to extract the characteristics of a particular phenomenon under investigation (Marschan and Welch 2004:127). Karra and Philips (2008:358) argued that ethnography method provides a framework for managing and understanding research to international management students undertaking qualitative research in their own cultural background. In addition, ethnography informs the researcher about the significance of prudent management of the intricate dynamics of multicultural research such as issues of role conflicts and management (Karra and Philips 2008:360). Dickens and Watkins(1999:123) note that the importance of ethnography in organisational setting is uncovering and explicating the ways in which people in a specific work environment understand, take responsibility for and execute duties in their daily working activities. Proponents of ethnography argue that the method is a reliable way of obtaining knowledge and information about what organizations do and the reasons informing their actions. Therefore, it is possible to enhance office operations by observing on how employees behave in an organization. In addition, Creswell (1998: 137) argues that ethnography provides opportunities of investigating the intricate social structure of companies. Of equal importance, the method enables organizations in highlighting the complicated aspects not exposed by traditional methods of collecting primary information. Creswell (1998) argues that this application enhances the suitability of its application in international management research. Therefore, the main justification for using ethnography in organisations is to assist in reviewing and enhancement of the available systems and process continuously. Grounded theory is qualitative research methodology widely applied in the health sector. According to Flick (2002:39), the method is widely used in the sector because it provides an applicable method for developing psychosocial processes to elucidate human behaviour and people interaction among themselves. In practice, using grounded grounded theory entails classification of people in distinct classes, depending on their feelings and responses about an issue. In an organizations perspective, it could be applied in establishing the employees, suppliers and customers’ response or attitude toward the enterprise. In this regard, the method is applicable in other sectors especially in attempt to establish an organisation’s identity, business environment in addition to the demands or needs of customers (Straus and Corbin, 1990: 263). These are the main reasons why grounded theory as a component of qualitative research is used in organizations. Narratives and autobiographical stories are significant tools of qualitative research used in organisations. The stories mainly focus on personal experiences, delivered orally or through writing to the targeted audience. The narratives are aimed at assisting people to understand culture, behaviour, and patterns in an organizational setting (Shank, 2002:65-69). In the view of the fact that stories contain personal experience, sometimes they are presented in form of autobiographies. According to Shank (2002), using narratives enables the transfer of knowledge especially among employees in organizations. For example, an employee can share personal experience and knowledge about a situation he or she faced in the past with another to assist the employee solve a similar problem in the place of work. Learmonth (2007) for instance uses narratives to demonstrate the crucial importance of critical management education (CME) in organizations and individuals. Discourse analysis is another important tool for qualitative analysis. This tool is used for analysing spoken or written language. According to Moufahim et al (2007:86) discourse analysis is widely applied in politics because of its effectiveness in retaining people’s attention compared to written documents. In politics discourse analysis is essential in analysing the type of political marketing and showing how political parties communicate to large audience where the particular language use is crucial (Moufahim, M., et al 2007). In organisation setting, discourse analysis is useful in implementation of different or new strategies. While communicating the strategies to the employees it is better for organizations to use discourse, which is subjective where the employees will hear directly rather than through the grapevine that alters the initial message. In qualitative analysis, case studies are applied to gather graphic data through rigorous interrogation and assessment of an event affecting specific organisations (Haynes, 2006:33). Case studies play important roles in organisations by providing valuable information affecting highlighted organizations such as failures, corruption, and application of new technology that enhances its operations among other rare and complex corporate phenomena. For instance, the recent collapse of major American corporations Lehman Brothers and Enron has attracted numerous case studies investigating the reasons that lead to their collapse. These case studies could be used by other organisations to streamline and improve their internal management structures, and corporate governance to minimize the risks of financial bankruptcy. Conducting interviews, especially for recruiting staff is a widely used method of qualitative research. Interviewing candidates enables human resources managers to extract valuable information about the applicant, such as communication skills, personal attributes and gauge their competence or suitability for the applied position. In addition, exit interviews are increasingly administered to employees leaving employment in particular organization for another. The interviews provide the organization with information about why the employees want to leave the organization for another. Information obtained from the outgoing employees could be applied in preventing other employees from leaving the organization for other competing firms (Parker, 2003). Conclusion Qualitative research plays a crucial role in running of organizations. Although critics argue that the method is less reliable because of its subjectivity, many organizations are increasingly applying the method to enhance business operations. There are various reasons for using qualitative research in running of organizations. Qualitative research provides a more realistic impression of various phenomena within and without organizational setting than quantitative research, which presents data in numerical and statistical forms. 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