Article Review Example: Occupational Stress in Organizations

Occupational Stress in Organizations and Its Effects on Organizational Performance (Ongori & Agolla, 2008)

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This study deployed simple descriptive statistics in the analysis of the data obtained. This type of analysis forms a basic description of the features of the data in the study by making summaries about the sample and its measures. Descriptive statistics measures the central tendency, dispersion, and the measures of spread such as the variance and standard deviation (Green & Salkind, 2010). A common assumption that is made in this type of statistical analysis is that data is normally distributed. However, this assumption does not apply to the data in this article. There was no statistically significant results as the probability that the results are simply a chance process is more than the threshold of significance. Similarly, the results were not mixed as only a quantitative research methodology was deployed. The volumes of data recorded in the findings prove that the results were only quantitative.

Ongori & Agolla (2008) did not plainly state the research hypothesis: however, it could be inferred from the text. Specifically, it was the hypothesis of the authors that occupational stress arises from factors such as perceived loss of job, lack of safety, and lack of job autonomy, among other factors. This hypothesis was strongly supported with various scholarly articles that have been done on this area.

This study might have been conducted differently with the respondents being asked what they consider occupational stress as opposed to the causes of occupational stress. Additionally, a mixed population of people from different professions could be used. Moreover, the study sample could be increased to significantly represent the study population. A spearman correlation type of statistical analysis would have been ideal, as it would not rely on the assumption of normally distributed data.

Reliability is the rate in which the results released by a tool are consistent and stable. Validity, on the other hand, refers to how well a certain test measures a variable that which it was deployed to measure (Social Research Methods, 2016). The results of this article are valid and reliable as a pilot study was first conducted with a few of the sample members so that the reliability and validity of the instrument could be tested. Additionally, the face validity is high, as measure appears to correctly measure the construct, which is the subject of study. The results can be generalized as the sample was taken from five different organizations. However, to generalize the results to other contexts and populations, there is a need to evaluate the study population that was studied.

Ongori & Agolla (2008) discuss the limitation of their research as well as implications for any further research. Specifically, they state that the sample was not representative enough of the study population. Additionally, the quantitative research methodology that is deployed has its own limitations with regard to external validity. However, another possible limitation would be the small number of the study population that was studied. This would impede any generalization of the results to other contexts and populations apart from the ones studied. Potential further studies that could result from this study include how managers contribute to occupational stress, the most successful interventions to occupational stress, and how occupational stress affects employees output and firm performance.

References

Green, S. B., & Salkind, N. J. (2010). Using SPSS for Windows and Macintosh: Analyzing and understanding data. Prentice Hall Press.

Ongori, H., & Agolla, J. E. (2008). Occupational stress in organizations and its effects on organizational performance. Journal of Management Research, 8(3), 123.

Social Research Methods. (2016). Socialresearchmethods.net. Retrieved 5 September 2016, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/