The rapid structured literature review as a research strategy

A diversity of sources of literature encompassed by the management disciplines appears to result in a growing need for a systematic methodology to map the territory of management theory. As such, when scoping out a study, structured literature review (SLR) can be considered as a means by which any critical, central literature might be considered. However, there is little guidance, or evidence, of this being undertaken for the purposes of small scale projects such as undergraduate or masters’ dissertations. This paper reports four case studies of master’s degree students following management programmes of undertaking a structured literature review (SLR) and the issues and problems they had to encounter during their journey. The findings from the case studies suggest that in terms of time to complete and the volume of output required in terms of word count, Tranfield, et al’s approach to SLRs, whilst suited to doctoral level research is not appropriate generally when dealing with undergraduate and masters research projects. Therefore, this paper provides accounts of the experiences of four students who undertook SLR for their undergraduate or master’s degree dissertation. The paper identifies that these students had to deal with a new set of conceptual problems relating to this “unorthodox” approach to a postgraduate research dissertation in coming to terms with new paradigms of enquiry that are not normally taught as part of a traditional research methods course. This was despite gaining a greater depth of insight into the subject area through a more rigorous and structured manner. The paper presents alternative remedies by way of a rapid structured literature review (RSLR) model. This would appear to be more appropriate to the conducting of small scale literature based research projects when used with undergraduate and master’s degree students than SLR identified for other research activities

Silently dancing on the ceiling – Women’s workplace experiences, peri-, menopausal and post menopause in the UK

The nature of female employment means women are more likely to be affected by a changed national default retirement age since women in the UK have retired earlier historically than men but also because the term ‘career’ is potentially a masculine model. The ‘career’ has been a historically male model of working life, derived before women generally entered the workplace. This paper reports a structured literature review undertaken which has sought to examine the work experiences of older women (50 to 65+) in the UK. It identifies possible issues concerning caring demands and their workplace health during the periods of peri-menopause to post menopause in order to raise awareness of the shifting landscape of female employment. It seeks to identify current research within the UK to seek gaps and to make recommendations for future practices in the work plac

Story completion for qualitative research

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High performance working: what are the perceptions as a new form of employer-worker relationship?

Being in a high performance work organisation is associated with higher job satisfaction. Historically, team work and job rotation, as well as supporting human resource practices, appear to have had little impact on increased job satisfaction. As a set of conceptual approaches High Performance Working (HPW) stems from strands of post-Fordist practices. Further, it is a theme that both the UK government and UK professional bodies, for example the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development are investing time in promoting as providing competitive advantage and facilitating the potential to increase productivity both for the nation, and organisations, within the UK. Yet despite these aspirations, and a number of organisations committing to the ideology of the High Performance Working Organisation (HPWO), there remains little consideration of the complexity of employer-worker relationships underpinning the potential or failure of adopting HPW. Whilst the HPW considers 'bundles of practices', which might include strategies for employee relations and HR practices bundles, it lacks details in terms of the underpinning features of employee relations within the wider economy. Moreover, it is the context of performance which remains critical since the value to organisations lies with looking at the chain of links that runs from management intentions through management practices and employee responses to organisational outcomes. This paper explores, through narratives from managers and HR practitioners, the employee relations within the organisation, which impact upon the likelihood of successful introduction of HPW. The experience of change within the employer-worker relationships within the United Kingdom (UK), post 2000 remains a focus. The research data was collected from a wider project, which has incorporated 300 managers and HR practitioner respondents from the UK, who have participated in surveys, focus groups and provided narratives. For the purpose of this paper, the narratives were taken as a follow up from respondents from wider research to provide interpretations. By the consideration of social psychological models, these are contrasted with thinking about the perceptions around the employer-employee participation required for HPW. As such, it argues that the narrative data insights into the interpretation of issues surrounding the organisation aspiring towards HPW, which might not be gained by quantitative methods or large scale survey. Given the complexity of the organisation, in viewing narratives by way of considering the assumptions and problems individual workers construct, it is possible to facilitate views and explanations of the potential impact for and upon the interpretation of HPW. The paper argues that any weaknesses within the portrayal of the experiences of implementing HPW have lain, historically, where research has been undertaken by largely quantitative survey. Further failure to address the opportunities for methodological triangulation to gain deeper insights from the utilisation of research tools has been a feature of HPW research to date. Yet the utilisation of narratives potentially incorporates deeper insights from the worker's perspective than might be gained otherwise

HRD challenges faced in the post-global financial crisis period – insights from the UK

Purpose: The paper aims to report initial empirical research that examines UK employees’ perceptions of the changing nature of work since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) to consider how the financial context may have constrained HRD practice and more sustainable approaches. Design/methodology/approach: Focus group research was facilitated through collective group discussion. Through template analysis of the findings, thematic analysis was undertaken to extend prior research. Themes used by Hassard et al. (2009) in terms of the changing nature of the workplace between 2000 and 2008, were used to provide new data on HRD realities. Findings: Participants reported diminishing personal control over changes within the workplace and a cultural shift towards a harsher work climate. HRD was considered as silenced or absent and associated solely with low cost-based e-learning rather than acting in strategic role supporting sustainable business objectives. Research limitations/implications: Whilst providing only indications from employee perceptions, the research identifies a weakened HRD function. The key contribution of this paper lies with empirical evidence of post-GFC constraints placed upon HRD strategies. It further identifies whether alternative development approaches, mediated by organisational learning capabilities, might emancipate UK HRD. Social implications: This paper engenders a debate around the status of HRD within the UK organisations, further to the global financial crisis (GFC), where HRD might be viewed as at a juncture to argue a need for a shift from a financialised mode for people management towards one of greater people focus. Originality/value: This research provides initial findings of the impact of the economic climate. It considers new approaches which might resolve expiring HRD through more sustainable practices

Total quality management meets human resource management: perceptions of the shift towards high performance working

Purpose: A number of studies and writings have presented ideas about new working practices that might be embraced in the twenty-first century. Moreover, that, employers would seek to gain their commitment by adopting the high working practices of high performance working (HPW) for organisations to become successful through their strategic approach to the human resource (HR). It is against Watson's model that this paper seeks, in order to gain insights, to explore the perceptions of current HR professionals of their organisations post-2000. Design/methodology/approach: A survey design is used for the study to collect data over a four-week period in February 2006 from 100 HR professionals. Using a seven-point Likert scale questionnaire, adapted from Watson's model, the study is conducted in two phases. The first initial pilot study that surveys 30 HR professionals and after modification, this is extended to a further 70 HR professionals as Phase 2. The respondents are primarily drawn from organisations in the South East of England and they are employed in both public and private sector large organisations and SMEs. Findings: The findings show that Watson's model for HPW was inconsistent with the choices selected by the respondents within the survey. Rather than choose descriptors from the model that solely reflect traditional (mechanistic) organisations or high performance organisations (organic), respondents chose descriptors with many combinations to reflect where they perceive their organisation's practices fell, e.g. organic or rigid/bureaucratic. Practical implications: This paper demonstrates a need for an appreciation of the potential gap between employer's aspirations and employee's perceptions of organisational actions. In so noting, it recognises that the psychological contract depends upon the perceptions of both parties. Whilst the high level commitment sought by employers from employees, through HPW, may rely totally upon these very perceptions of employees (employability contract vs psychological contract). If not, perceptions of the “reality” within the organisation may not reflect rhetoric of, or aspiration towards, HPW. As a result, this research adds to the understanding of the dynamics and results from the management of change towards HPW. Therefore, it provides also early indications to further research needed when considering the importance of investigating such dynamics to successful implementation of HPW. Originality/value: Whilst these results are early indications into working practices post-2000, what they suggest is that HR professionals generally perceive a move towards HPW practices being adopted by other organisations, rather than within their own working environment. It appears to be the most compelling feature of the study to date, is that most of the participants do not report their review of the current practices of their company as generally falling towards Watson's HPW model practices

High performance working and wellbeing: sustainability of human resources

The sustainability of human resourcing is dependent upon the wellbeing of the workforce. Human Capital models have largely resulted in short-term capitalistic restructuring and low cost savings within organisations, which are not sustainable within the long term. To achieve competitive advantage, it is accepted that organisations should aspire in the long term to high performance working. High performance working has been defined in terms ‘of the collective use of certain work organisation and human resource practices. Globalisation models have relied upon the management of human resources by locating the lowest cost model for delivery of services. This paper contends from research with HR professionals and managers, however, that the translation of high performance working still relies upon the psychological contract with workers. This work presents that this represents the locating of the lowest cost delivery for services or products represents solely a short-term model, which is not culturally sustainable. The consideration for the wellbeing of the workforce is not only paramount but will facilitate greater innovation and sustainability of competitive advantage, which will outweigh any short-term cost advantages

HRD challenges when faced by disengaged UK workers

Purpose: This paper seeks to consider employees' perceptions of engagement from their lived experiences of UK employees following the global credit crisis, post 2008. It draws from the prior studies of Hassard et al. (2009), which researched work practices in the period preceding the study. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilised focus group discussion, which was analysed by template analysis from an interpretive perspective and adopts narratives to facilitate a critical interpretive paradigm. Findings: There is clear evidence of theories surrounding the positive value of employee engagement, however the findings do not demonstrate that it is necessarily valued by UK management by their responses towards the work environment given post 2008 trading conditions. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study lies with the size of the sample participating. While this reflects the need for further future research to be undertaken, the study also recognises that the findings are determined by the perceptions of employees which may not reflect the intentions of the management within the organisations which they work. Originality/value: There is a dearth of empirical study into the post 2008 period. This research attempts to ground theories of engagement within the post global credit crunch timeframe