A comparison of two qualitative research articles

Airl ine Buyout: Evolutionary Syste ms Design and Problem

Restruc turing in Gr oup
Decision and Negotiation

And

Put ting Evalu ation t o Work for Human Resources Develop ment

Submitted By:
Avais Babar Chishti
BBA VI-II
 Comp ar is on
The first article discusses problem restructuring involving evolution of problem
representation in group decision and negotiation support system. The article provides
a psychographic approach using heuristics control to solve multiple problems,
motivated by labor management negotiations and buyout in the airlines industry. The
article also provides short case studies of three airlines namely: Eastern Airlines, TWA
and UAL.

Methodology
The research methodology is simple: studying the management practices of different
airlines and then reaching a conclusion. Obviously, since there is little empirical
evidence therefore, a lot of writer’s intuition, experience and judgment is used in the
paper. The paper investigates system designs in different organizational settings. It
then finally provides an evaluation of the overall workability of the system and how
multiple problems can be solved by simple heuristic controls, as has been done in the
aforesaid airlines. The methodology is strictly based on secondary data/ case studies.

Rese ar ch Tec hnique

The research technique is simple, select as many practically applicable organizations
to the present issue, as possible and then analyze their management techniques in full
depth. It is evident that the organizations have been studied in depth although the
results given are quite overlapping.

Anal ysis
I think that the article has really made some good points in project management,
especially in the area of contingency plans. The research conducted by the writer,
though, not vastly supported by some concrete form of empirical evidence, and has
still got some logic to it. The writers experience in evident in the article. The
premises, as well as the conclusion, are not formally tested by any empirical findings,
so this research can said to be an untested research hypothesis.

Sh ort comings
First of all, the article lacks the amount of statistical data needed to make a new
hypothesis look good. The techniques that have been put forward by the author have
just been used in a couple of organizations and therefore, one cannot draw any
inference from them. Secondly, the element of writer’s bias is evident, as he has
molded his article in a way to reach his preset conclusion. The article is rather quite
inductive, and a typical example of a qualitative research.
 Co mpari so n

This paper is the recent study conducted by federal agencies on the training
evaluation. The author first highlights the importance of funding in Human
resources. He stresses the validity of capital expenditure in the human development.
He highlights the different dimensions of training and evaluation and how both of
them considerably differ, yet they are taken as a single process. The author develops
an experimental model to investigate the results of training and evaluation in
controlled environments. The author mainly bases his discussion on several pilot
studies, ranging from focus groups to case studies.

Methodology
The main methods adopted in the article are experimental. The author himself
acknowledges that his results are as a result of controlled environment, where he
varies some variable like employee motivation or evaluation communication and
studies its effect of other variable such as performance. Moreover, the writer has used
a focus group of few organizational heads to evaluate the effectiveness of evaluation.
His choice of focus group clearly highlights the inductive methodology followed by
the writer, as he is shaping his arguments to a preset conclusion.

Rese ar ch Tec hnique

First of all, it must be realized that the study has already established its analysis and
the research conducted can be categorized as a causal research. Therefore, the
research technique is primarily focused on the experimental techniques. The writer,
using focus groups and controlled organizational techniques has studied the effects of
one variable on another.

Anal ysis
The research in the article is helpful for managers due to its simple conclusion. The
research paper is definitely a product of writer’s own judgment and experience, and
he has used experimental findings to strengthen his claims. The article has some
limitations in form of lesser sample and unreal settings, yet it has provided some
reasonable and practical findings.

Sh ort comings
This article like the earlier one, fells short of the sufficient empirical evidence.
However, over here it will not cause sufficient variations as the research is causal and
does not require too much statistical data. The study also lacks the practicality of
organizational settings because it is done in a controlled environment.