Research Methods in Anthropology Qualitative and Quantitative Approac

Question: 1. Produce a critical appraisal of relevant literature synthesised into an appropriate conceptual framework? 2. Demonstrate a firm grasp of differences between research philosophies and the justification of that selected and a critically informed research design with the appropriate combination of methods; sample sizes and selection criteria? 3. Demonstrate effective independent study skills in relation to academic writing, presentations and participation in lectures, seminars and tutorials? Answer: Literature Review Drucker (2000) suggests that organisations are like music, not constituted of individual sounds but by how they are synthesized.. The success of the organisation depends partially on how organisations measure employee performance. The performance appraisal is the reflection of actual employee performance in the job they do (Bacal, 2012). Niklos (2005) suggests that the performance appraisal is the outcome of the behaviour of the people. He said that behaviour is individual activity where outcomes of behaviour are the way in which the behaving individual environment is somehow different as a result of his or her behaviour. It is the systematic evaluation of the individual with respect to his or her Performance on the job and his or her potential for development Performance appraisal is an important aspect of human resource management (Camardella, 2003). It is one of the tools are used to evaluate the performance of employees. The goal of performance appraisal is to maintain good performance among employees by motivating them and by implementing appropriate rules, regulations, and reward systems. Outcomes of Effective Performance Appraisal The common outcomes from an effective performance appraisal are that the employees learn about themselves, they also learn how they are doing the work and at the same time they know about the values of the management. According to Stephan and Dorfman (1989) the outcomes of the effective appraisal of the performance leads to the improvements in accuracy of the work that the employees perform, and to establish a relationship between the reward and the performance on the job that the employees do. As it was said by Dobbins, Cardy and Platz Vieno (1990), there were five outcomes that are the affect of good performance appraisal, they are improve in the performance of the work; increase in the employee turnover; there is increase in the motivation of the employees, and they view that there is a link between performance and reward (Driver and Temple, 2012). There were others like Nurse (2005) who viewed that the performance appraisal is linked with giving and receiving of information and w ith the training and development. There are factors like reduction in the stress of the employees and link between the goal of the organization and the current performance of the employees are related with performance appraisal (Egginton, 2010). Detriments to Effectiveness of Performance Appraisal There are certain aspects that harm the effectiveness of the performance appraisal. Apart from the highly goal oriented employees, some employees may be underperformers in the organizations, thus performance appraisals may punish oir threaten to punish the low performers and there are doubts in the minds of some about the after affects of the appraisal (Falcone, 2012). Thus there may be a negative impact on the performance of some. There are cases when employees have disrupted performance due to the policies of the organizations. The use of performance appraisal may discourage performance of employees in teams as well as in collaboration (Fox, et al 2005). There are either poor or good performances in the organizations due to the performance appraisal. It is not seen that the there are average performance. The organization see performance as good or bad. The main aim of performance appraisal is to achieve the short term goals of the organizations , yet simultaneously it may create anguish among some employees . The use of inappropriate methods and/or irrelevant measurement of appraisal, reluctance of the employers to offer feedback are some of the de-motivator factors for employees (Miller and Cardy, 2000). What should be measured in performance appraisal? Skill required Performance is based on certain aspects like skills that are required to do the job, the rewards associated with the performance of the job, motivation that the employees get from the employers and the satisfaction the employees derives from the work. Thus the company needs to first determine the aspect that needs to be measured so that the performance of the employees is improved (Geddes and Gill, 2012). Curtain (1993) said that leadership of employees is necessary for the job. It needs to be seen that good leadership is necessary in improving performance of employees. Leaders need to communicate the necessary things to employees so that they are able to deliver the best to the organization. Motivation The employees need to be motivated so that they are able to deliver the performance that can help them to make an impression to the organization (Gordon and Miller, 2012). As Herzberg () suggests there are certain motivational factors which enhances the performance of the employees and there are hygiene factors that lead to the no motivation for the employees. Satisfaction It needs to be seen that employees derive satisfaction from the job that they perform. If the performances of the employees are well and they are well appraised by the company then the employees are satisfied from the job employee satisfaction rests on more than this. Thus the employees in turn try to perform well so that they are able to derive satisfaction from their jobs (Granfield and Stapczynski, 2014). Thus it can be seen that the employees are indirectly adding to the performance appraisal when they try to derive satisfaction from their jobs. Rewards Employees need to be rewarded appropriately so that they can give their best in work. It acts as a motivator for employees to increase the performance of employees (Park, 2012). Rewards can be monetary benefits like incentives or gifts like packages or vouchers. These are given to enhance performance. The main work of the organization is to see that the employees give their best to the organization so that the organization is able to meet the mission and the vision of the company (Grote, 2002). It was viewed by the public sector (1997) that the organization will have a strong performance culture in the organization. The culture will surround around the individual performance as well as contribution of the employees and the members of the team (Ibrahim Holi Ali, 2012). This will in turn lead to the better service of the teams, best practice in the organizations as well as achievement of the goals of the organizations. There certain elements that needs to be identified like the leadership in the organization, leadership of the individual people as well as in teams, the change in the management and the performance accountability; these forms the basis of the appraisal of the individuals in the organization (Ismail and Mohd Raduan, 2013). Source: created by the researcher. Research methodology Introduction The methodology of research is the way the research is to be conducted by concentrating on the problem that was identified in the first chapter of the report (Bernard, 2011). The appropriate method should be selected keeping in mind the aims as well as the objectives of the organization so that the conclusion can be reached so that it matches the objectives (Jha, 2008). The researcher needs to needs to address the validity of the research so that it is easier for the readers to interpret the results by linking it with the objectives of the research. It needs to be noted that all the components of the methodology of the research are necessary to conduct the research in a right manner so that the factors can be addressed rightly so that we are able to find the perception of the employees against the performance measurement of the organization that is in this case Kholousy Branch-Banque Du-Caire-Egypt (6 and Bellamy, 2012). Method outline According to Ellis and Levy (2009), research method outline is the frame of the methodology of the research so that a systematic structure of the path can be followed so as to drive the research in the right direction (Ketchen and Bergh, 2004). The research was taken for the performance appraisal and the perception of the employees against the measurement of the performance in the bank of Egypt. The performances of the employees are based on the motivation as well as the institutional belonging of the employees. Thus keeping in mind this aspect the researcher has chosen positivism philosophy, descriptive design as well as collection of primary data. In this case both qualitative as well as quantitative research was chosen and non probability sampling was followed by the researcher in selecting the respondents for the research (Khachidze, 2012). Research process It is a systematic way as well as structure by which the research is conducted by the various steps, where all the steps as well as all the components are arranged in a particular series. The research must go from the outer layer and move in and go in the desirable direction and reach the conclusion (Johnson et al. 2007). Thus it is the systematic way in which the research is to be framed and is to be carried out (Kothari, 2004). Research philosophy It is the first layer of the research process, thus it needs to be seen that all the methods of the research are dependent on the philosophy of the research (LEWIS, 2011). The researcher needs to choose the right philosophy so that he is able to assess the parameters that affect the measurement of the performance and the performance appraisal. To assess the performance measurement and the perception of the employees towards it the Kholoussy Branch-Banque Du-Caire-Egypt was chosen. There are three types of research philosophy: Positivism, Interpretivism and Realism. Positivism: Positivism belongs toepistemologywhich can be specified as philosophy of knowing. As philosophy positivism adheres to the view that only factual knowledge gained through observation, including measurement, is trustworthy (Understanding research philosophies and approaches, 2015). Interpretivism: Interpretivism is an epistemology that advocates that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors. This emphasises the difference between conducting research among people rather than objects such as trucks and computers (Understanding research philosophies and approaches, 2015). Realism: Realism is another epistemological position which relates to scientific enquiry. The essence of realism is that what the senses show us as reality is the truth: that objects have an existence independent of the human mind. The theory of realism is that there is a reality quite independent of the mind. In this sense, realism is opposed to idealism, the theory that only the mind and its contents exist (Understanding research philosophies and approaches, 2015). Research approach It is the second layer of the research process. It was seen that inductive as well as deductive research is used in the researches. It was said by Brannen (2009), the inductive research uses data collection as well as observation and analysis are of the data by using the potential theories are used in the inductive research. It can be seen on the other hand that deductive research is based on the selection of the theories, testing of the hypothesis are done. More over there are data analysis as well as implementation of the theories and analysis of the data needs to be done in addition to the confirmation to the theoretical evidences. Research strategy It is the next layer of the research process. It is where the researcher interprets the results of the data analysis which are based on the purpose and the objective of the study. The research tries to throw light on the design of the research that the author undertakes which are appropriate to the study. There are three ways that are used in the research design; they are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory (Cameron, 2009). It can be seen that the exploratory deals with the background of the information of the problem statement that was under taken. It was said by Crouch and Pearce (2012) that the explanatory design helps in finding out the reasons of the problem that was under taken or has arisen. It was seen in case of the descriptive design that the design creates a relationship between the objective that the study and the findings that are obtained (Semakula-Katende, Schmikl and Pelser, 2013). In this case the researcher has taken the initiative to relate the findings of the research to the conclusion of the research (Lancaster, 2012). The researcher needs to keep the relation strong in order to maintain the dedication to all the components of the research study. Data collection process The collection of the data includes the primary and the secondary data collection. In this case the researcher has decided to go for the primary data collection to collect the information. The research is based on the perception of the employees on their job. It was seen that the employees are appraised by the employers. The job is to find how the performance is measured at the Bank (Nicosia and Mayer, 2009). It is to find the employees perception of performance measurements and to find the potential areas to improve the performance measurements. Thus for this reason it is essential to collect the primary data. It needs to be seen that the primary data are collected from the respondents directly. Thus the collection of the data and the information are more valid as well as reliable (Strohmer, 2012). Sampling methods Since the research is based on the primary data collection, it is very important to estimate the sample size in which the research is to be carried out. It includes the selection of the appropriate people for the process of finding the appropriate data that is needed for the study. The relevant data needs to be collected so that the appropriate results can be found out. There are two basic sampling methods that are used, probability sampling and non probability sampling. In this research the data are collected by the process of non probability sampling and in more specific terms the convenient sampling is undertaken (Ellis and Levy, 2009). Convenient sampling is taken in order to reduce the deviation of the responses that are collected from the employees of the bank by using the primary data. Though it needs to be seen that the convenient sampling has certain disadvantages that the sample that is obtained are not the representative of the entire population that is all the branches of the bank does not follow the same appraisal policy for the employees. In this case the descriptive as well as casual research cannot be done. More over the research result are biased and unsatisfactory (Webb and Owen, 2004). Sample size For doing the research the data needs to be gathered from the employees of the bank that is from the Kholousy Branch of Banque Du-Caire-Egypt. In this case the researcher has taken a sample size of 50. It was seen that all the employees did not respond to the questions that were put forward to them. It was seen that 90% of the employees that 45 employees responded to the survey. As the number of the sample is very large since the bank has so many branches and a number of employees, thus for the convenience the researcher has taken the Kholousy Branch-Banque Du-Caire-Egypt. Thus for the collection of the data the researcher has asked the employees and the managers of the branch. Research method The research method that was adopted was taken to be qualitative as well as quantitative. The quantitative researcher was done on the respondents that were there in the bank who were surveyed through the questionnaire. The questionnaire was surveyed so as to gather the information and analyse the situation (Morgan, 2007). Whereas the qualitative research is done so that the employees are benefited and to find the potential areas to improve the performance measurements that is followed in the bank. Thus for finding the information a detailed study was undertaken at the branch of the bank. Thus the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis is done. Triangulation It is the process of using more than one approach in the investigation of the research question that was undertaken, it is done so that the results that are obtained are more accurate and increases the performance of the research. It is often called the multi method research where there mainly quantitative as well as qualitative research approaches are taken. In this case also the researcher has taken the help of the qualitative as well as quantitative research so that the researcher is able to find the appropriate result (Oppermann, 2000). Quantitative research It is done to measure the data and to quantify the data and to generalize the result from the sample of the survey here in this case the employees of the Kholousy Branch of Banque Du-Caire-Egypt. In the quantitative research the incidence are measured and from the opinions the opinions as well as responses that they made. It needs to be seen that the quantitative research is followed by the qualitative research to further investigate the problem areas and to suggest possible solutions to the problem. Qualitative research It is the process where the researcher is able to find the response of the employees of from the behavior of the employees as well as from the perceptions of the employees which the researcher finds out from the observation made by the researcher and asking them certain things which convey the necessary requirements needed for the study. Scaling Scaling is the process by which the researcher is able to assign numbers or ranks or in many cases impart some characteristics of numbers to the properties of the question. For the accuracy of the study it is very essential for the researcher to set a scale against which the responses are measured. There are various scales that are used for the research. In this research the researcher used the likert scale for the research. In the likert scale the researcher provides a set of parameters where the respondent can indicate their preference on the degree of agreement or disagreement against the set of questions (Welman et al., 2005). Ethical consideration There are certain ethical considerations that are to be taken into consideration while conducting the survey. The survey should be in a systematic manner so that it verifies the dependability of the research that is to be undertaken. It needs to be seen that the data that are collected are genuine and it adds value to the research. The questionnaire was prepared in such a manner so that the personal interests of the people or the employees were not harmed. More over it was seen that the respondents were able to respond to the survey by not asking them anything that will debar them from the main or the actual responses to the questions that were asked to them (Scruggs and Mastropieri, 2006). Critical evaluation of the research process It can be seen that the research that the researcher has undertaken will be help in the process of the research and the study that the researcher needs to do to find the accurate results . The choice of the research technique is undertaken in order to get as much accurate result as possible from the responses from the employees of the bank. The quantitative res (Hawkins, 2006)earch will help the researcher to find the degree to which the employees are satisfied with the performance appraisal that the bank follows and are they looked after properly by the bank. With the help of the qualitative research it was found that whether they will like to have a change in the measurement of the performance of the employees from various observations, studying the characteristic of the employees. For the research process it was seen that the researcher has used a likert scale, it was because the researcher will be able to know to how much extent or degree the respondents or the employees agree or disagree to a certain criteria which are measured on a 5-point scale starting from the most disagreed to the most agreed. There are certain disadvantages to this study as detailed information was not possible from the employees and more over all the employees were not responsive thus this will not be able to provide a clear scenario (Cowley and Grocott, 2007). Limitation of the study There are certain limitations that the researcher found while conducting the survey and the interviewing the employees they are as follows: The whole research is based on the primary data which by itself is a limitation, since the secondary data are the historical data that needs to be pursued in order to be pointed in order to adapt to the changes of the organization. The primary data may vary from individual to individual, for this reason a generalized result could not be got. The perception of the employees about how the performance is to be appraised is also a limitation as the employees and it hinders the process as the employees interrupts to the fact that that they are unwilling to respond to the survey. It was seen that some of the employees were true to the respond while there were many who responded in a casual manner. Some of the information was faked and the truth was hided, thus leading to some of the results not being up to the mark. There was limitation in the time to prepare a proper research design and the collection of the data as the needs to be collected quickly as it was not possible to interview the employees continuously for several days. Moreover it needs to be seen that all the individuals are not same and they have different characteristics, thus all the answers were not appropriate for the study. 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