Grounded Theory in Management - Research Proposal Example

? Stress at Work Carolina Volpato Dr. Michelle Cheasty Methods and Analysis of Qualitative Research 06/19 Reflexivity and Researchers Voice Introduction In qualitative research, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the study findings are valid and trustworthy through IRB approval, or they can describe their research participants and the methods they intend to employ. Consequently, researchers in order to enhance they credibility and reliability of their research they account for reflexivity and researchers’ voice in their studies. Reflexivity In studies involving social science, it is a fact that the researcher may influence the research findings through his mistakes, preconceptions (Gilgun 2010). For instance, the researcher may influence the results of the study by selecting one group of employees or from his favourite profession for the stress at work research, and in so doing will skew the research findings to this group or profession ignoring the other professions who still face stress at work. In order to avoid this bias the research will employ random selection of the employees sample to be interviewed for my stress at work-places research. Voice The researchers’ voice in qualitative researches is evident mostly in the interview questions of the study and he should be wary of biased or skewed results. Therefore, the researcher should always develop his questions in a neutral manner to avoid their voice hampering the research findings and results as well. In my research, I will hire the services of professionals and my friends to review my interview questions for biasness to eliminate any chance of my voice altering research findings. Conclusion Therefore, researchers in order to gain credibility of their research they should be wary of their voice and reflexivity influencing research findings. Hence, the researcher should hire experts to analyse their interview questions and data to avoid bias, and consider using random sample selection of the research participants. Introduction In the contemporary work place, a couple of stressful scenarios present themselves to the employees, a part from the pressure to perform in order to avoid being a victim of downsizing and layoff, there are other sources of stress in the work place like strict bosses, CCTV surveillance and condition of the work environment (Olsen, 2012). In this regard, employees are bound to balance work place demands as well as stresses that originate outside the work place. Today, most of the employees through their unions have considered going to court to fight for the improvement of their working environment, which they claim to be very stressful. According to Ross and Altmaier (2007), there are many bodies that have been formed by the authorities to scale down the stress rendered to the employees at the work place. These are stresses that are brought about by the inattention of the employer to provide a conducive atmosphere for the employees. Similar to any life challenge, stress has become one of the life challenges that need to be contained and controlled; in this case, there are some proposed ways of managing stress at the work place. Employees are advised to consider that they need to take personal responsibility by improving on their emotional and physical well-being. There is also the option of communication skills improvement with co-workers and the management. Finally, one should avoid certain pitfalls by identifying those knee jerk habits and the attitudes aggravate the level of stress (Stranks, 2005). The researcher seeks to understand the percentage of employees in the work place who have a feeling that they are working in a stressful environment and the source of the stress whether from or outside the work place. Qualitative Methodology: Grounded Theory Method In the research to follow, the qualitative tradition used is the grounded theory, whereby the normal research processes is reversed. Instead of the hypothesis being developed before the actual data is collected, inductive and deductive reasoning is used to construe theories for the research (Locke, 2005). The research is more social and psychological oriented, where the results are based in perceptions and opinions rather than measurable quantities. However, there is also the need to verify the perceptions through data analysis, thus, the use of the grounded theory method that encompasses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Furthermore, grounded theory is important in finding and unearthing reasons, causes and knowledge related to stress in the work places, and will be paramount in finding the most amicable solutions that employers can use to mitigate employee stress (Locke,2005). Research Questions In order to understand the research purpose, there are specific research questions that will be considered in understanding the study objective. The following four research questions are pertinent to gaining an in-depth knowledge to this research; 1. What is the experience of the participants in dealing with a stressful environment? 2. How is stress affecting the level of work in the work place? 3. Why the participants consider changing their work place due to the stressful environment at their current job? These research questions are designed to understand how stressful environment affect the performance of the employees in the work place and how it influences contention of the workers with their work environment. The responses obtained from the interviewees in this regard will be analysed following the completion of the data collection. It is construable that the responses received will adequately address the purpose of this research. Data Gathering Methods It is beneficial to use a combination of verbal interviews and written questionnaires in the collection of the data related to this research. The two data collection methods will be used for saving on the time required to interview the proposed number of employees at the different work environments. For the purpose of even spread in relation to data collection, there will be equal sampling in every work place that will be considered based upon the total number of employees (Olsen, 2012). Equal sampling will be based on the total number of employees in the institutions targeted by the research because the number of employees varies with institution; thus to avoid the basis for sampling will be one employee per 10 employees in a given department to avoid sampling bias. The need for equal sampling is because in a small company with a small number of employees, it might be possible to interview a majority of the employees while, on the other hand, in a company with a large number of employees, only a small portion of them can be interviewed (Olsen, 2012). Furthermore, in order to avoid selection biasness the research will cover different working environments so that the data collected is not biased in favour of one type of employment that may have similar tendency in dealing with the employees. Carrying out the research in different working environments will help in the final evaluation of the data in finding and determining if any, the profession or department in the work place that is most prone to stressing the employees. The questionnaire and interviews will contain related questions. For the questionnaires, they will not be given at the time of collecting the responses since they are supposed to be given and collected at the time of the interview. The reason for giving questionnaires on the same day as they are collected is because depositing the questionnaire with the respondent is vulnerable to gathering of data that are not precise. Moreover, there are chances that the employees will debate over the questionnaires and agree on universal responses that would result to collective vies as opposed to their unbiased personal responses (Olsen, 2012). Data coding and Analysis Methods Data analysis and coding are very important in transforming the collected information into that which communicates precise and concise information to the interested parties. The communication obtained from the research directly results in how the data is analysed. Analysis will be consistent with the objectives of the research proposed in the commencement of the research. In this reference, the analysis of the information collected will be done using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS). Consequent to data being collected, there will be demographic classification and coded of the respondent in terms of gender, age, and job group category. Furthermore, the data will be analysed according to the respondents that agree or refutes that their working environment is stressful. In this connection, the departmental responses as categorized by the questionnaire will also be considered in order to evaluate whether stress is skewed to certain department across the work place. The nature of the stress in the work place will also be analysed in order to find out whether it is stress occasioned by human or the setting of the work place. Finally, there will be analyses of whether, those in the stressful environment considers using the legal route to challenge their employers. Quality, Credibility and Ethical Issues This research is proposed to be conducted under very strict measures such adherence to the sampling procedure and maintaining employees confidentiality to ensure that quality, credibility and ethics thereof are adhered to, since viability, reliability preciseness of data collected is an important aspect in this research. The interpretation of data and its subsequent reporting all depend on the data collected, the quality of the data collected will be enhanced by making its collection through verbal responses and instant questionnaire, this controls collision in giving duplicate responses. The use of verbal responses and instant questionnaires also improves on the credibility of the data since this means of data collection eliminates any form of unreliable responses. There are also the ethical concerns such as the compromise of employees relation with their management and the confidentiality of the information shared since these related to this research because it touches on the perception of the employees over their employers. There will be no identification of the respondent with their actual name, identification number at the work place or any other tangible that can be used to connect a response to a particular respondent. The use of pseudonyms by the employees who receive questionnaires will be encouraged in order to protect their identities. The information given by the respondent in this research may be used to compromise their status as employees when the connection can be traced; this is why it is proposed that the responses given and the respondents’ details will be confidential. Conclusion Stress has become a common phenomenon at the work place with most of company employees facing office related stress, either coming from their bosses or emanating from the work environment. However, with proper management from the human resource departments of companies in reducing stress in the work place, there can be efficient working relation characterized with high-level productivity. In this regard, the findings and recommendations of this research will be important in revealing some of the difficulties and problems experienced by employees in the work place leading to stress, consequently, enhancing efficiency and productivity of employees free from stress. This is because the research has been informed by the fact that in the recent past, most companies have recorded a remarkable reduction in efficiency and productivity largely attributed to stress at work, hence the need for this research. References Gilgun, J. F. (2010). Reflexivity and Qualitative Research. Current Issues in Qualitative Research. Vol 1 Issue 2. Locke, K. (2005). Grounded theory in management research.London: Sage Publications. Olsen, W. K. (2012). Data collection: key debates and methods in social research.London: SAGE. Ross, R. R., & Altmaier, E. M. (2007).Intervention in occupational stress: a handbook of counselling for stress at work.London: Sage. Stranks, J. W. (2005). Stress at work: management and prevention. Oxford: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann. Read More