Literature Review of Management Research

There are few important things which must be considered for the purpose of writing a literature review. The literature review must be in past language and the use of pronouns should be avoided. The language should be passive rather than active. Basically, literature review starts with brief description about the period of study and sample size followed by the type of method used for the analysis. And in the end, results are briefly explained. In order to have an idea about writing a literature review, a sample of literature is given for impact of “job stress on employee’s job satisfaction”.

Al-Aameri (2003) conducted a research to analyze the different sources of job stress for nurses. The author also examined the most and least perceived sources of stress along with the effect of demographic factors on nurse’s perception of these sources. For this purpose, data was collected from four-hundred and twenty-four nurses working in a number of public hospitals in Riyadh city. The data was collected with the help of questionnaire in 2002. Regression was used for the purpose of evaluation. The results showed that there are six possible sources of job stress for nurses in public hospitals which are: interpersonal relationships, managerial role, job itself, homework interface, organizational structure and climate, career and achievement. The results also showed that the effects of demographic factors on nurse’s perception of these sources are little. The author concluded that the most important stressors are: organizational structure and climate, managerial roles, nursing job itself.

Chan, et al. (2000) conducted a research to examine the way social structures influence the stress and coping processes. The wanted to evaluate the experience of work stress among professionals in Singapore. For this purpose authors took a sample of 2570 men and women from six different professions and para-professions from a survey of professionals in Singapore conducted in 1989-1990. The results showed that work-family conflicts and performance pressure are the most stressful aspect of work. The results also concluded that level of work satisfaction has negative association with performance pressure and work-family conflicts. The authors concluded that workers’ experiences in the workplace are influenced not only by individual personality and job nature, but also by structural forces such as development of the economy, social organization of work institutions etc.

Cooper, C et al. (1989) conducted a research to identify sources of job stress associated with high levels of job dissatisfaction. For this purpose a sample of one thousand eight hundred seventeen general practitioners was selected at random by 20 family practitioner committees in England. Data was collected for both dependent (mental health, job satisfaction, alcohol consumption, and smoking) and independent variables (job stress, demographic factors, and personality). Multivariate analysis was used for the purpose of evaluation. The results showed that Women general practitioners showed positive signs of mental wellbeing and were satisfied with the job. On the other hand, male doctors showed significantly higher anxiety scores than the norms, had less job satisfaction, and drank more alcohol than their women counterparts. Similarly, patients’ expectations, constant interruptions at work and home, interference with family life, and practice administration were reported as important job stressors.

A study was conducted by Stevenson A. and Harper S. (2006) to investigate the possible effects of workplace stress in academics on the student learning experience. For this purpose questionnaires were designed and distributed to all academic staff at a Scottish Higher Education Institute. Important areas which were covered in questionnaire were: general attitudes, perceived stress levels, background information, support from colleagues, perceived stressors. Quantitative data was analyzed with the help of cross-tabulations and tests for significance. On other hand, using content analysis was used for the purpose of evaluating quantitative data. The results showed that stress can impact both negatively and positively on the student learning experience. Results also showed that over half of respondents considered themselves to be considerably or extremely stressed. The authors also perceive that stress causes their teaching to be “below par” thus impacting negatively on the student learning experience.

Khoury and Farhad Analoui (2010) conducted a research to identify the primary and crucial stressors that Palestinian employees encounter. For this purpose a multi-stage disproportionate stratified random sampling method was employed. A survey questionnaire was designed and distributed to 400 employees working at different levels in each selected organization. Paired samples t-test was used after transforming and recoding the personality type scale to the same format of the work environment conditions. The results showed that differences in employees’ personality types, and their stress coping styles, are the primary stressors. Results also concluded that the employees in the private sector experience more stress than those in public or NGO sectors. The researcher concluded that prevention strategies are needed to focus on the employees and improve their coping skills against the demanding conditions through initiatives such as employee assistance programs (EAPs).

Linda Lee Larson (2004) conducted a research to examine the sources of job stress for the internal auditors (employees of an organization whose job is to review company operations to determine whether acceptable policies and procedures are followed). Stress Diagnostic Survey was used for the purpose of collecting data. The Data for this study were obtained by mailing a survey questionnaire to a national sample of 1,500 internal auditors who were members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Results showed that rewards, participation, politics, and career development, were serious sources of job stress for the internal auditors. The results also showed that organizational job stressors in the work environment were more a source of stress than the so-called individual job factors. The study also concluded that respondents would like to be paid more and participate more in the decision-making processes relating to their jobs.

Yousef (2002) conducted a research to analyze the mediating role of job satisfaction between role stressors, namely role conflict and role ambiguity as sources of stress. For this purpose a sample of 361 employees in a number of organizations in the United Arab Emirates was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages to present the main characteristics of the sample. Additionally, means, standard deviation and intercorrelations of the main variables of the study were calculated to present the general results of the study. Results showed that both role conflict and role ambiguity directly and negatively influence job satisfaction. It was also found that job satisfaction mediates the influence of role conflict and role ambiguity on various facets of organizational commitment.

Ahsan et al. (2009) conducted a research to evaluate the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. The determinants of job stress which were examined under the study include management role, relationship with others, workload pressure, homework interface, role ambiguity, and performance pressure. Non-probability sampling technique was used and a total of 300 respondents were selected as a sample of the study. The sample consisted of a public university academician from Klang Valley area in Malaysia. Various statistical methods such as cross-sectional analysis, description analysis and regression analysis were employed to compare the data. The results showed there is a significant relationship between four of the constructs tested. The results also showed that there is significant negative relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. The researchers also concluded that motivation is a key factor as well in affecting job stress among employees. Employees who are highly motivated will feel happier and are more willing to work for the organizations.

A research was conducted by Tang and Chen-Hua Chang (2010) to examine how role stress and various performances of individuals are related. The study analyzed how role ambiguity and role conflict (via self-efficacy and job satisfaction) affect employee creativity directly and indirectly. For this purpose a sample two hundred and two employees from 25 Taiwanese manufacturers or service sector was taken. Various statistical measures were used for the purpose of analysis, for example confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of a single first-order model. The results showed that there is not only a direct and negative link between role ambiguity and creativity, but also a direct and positive link between role conflict and creativity.

Mubashir and saima ghazal (2005) conducted a research to identify role of different contributing factors of job stress and to investigate level of stress on those factors among different departments of Wall’s Unilever Pakistan. The study intended to evaluate how job performance is affected by job stress. For this purpose a sample of 65 employees was taken. Correlation analysis was also carried out to examine the relationship between education and performance of the employees. Similarly, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to assess job stress in different departments of the organization. The results showed that workload, co-workers and repetitive work are the major factors causing stress. The results also showed that there is moderate level of stress with no significant difference in different departments. The authors concluded that there is no affect of stress on job performance in the selected organization.

References

Al-Aameri A.S (2003), Source of job stress for nurses in public hospitals, Saudi Medical Journal, 24(11), pp.1183-1187.

Chan, et al. (2000) “Work stress among six professional groups: the Singapore experience”, Social Science Medicine, 50(10), pp.1415-1432.

Cooper, C et al. (1989) Mental Health, Job Satisfaction, and Job Stress Among General Practitioners”, B Medical Journal, 298, pp 366-370.

Stevenson A. and Harper S. (2006) Workplace Stress and the Student Learning Experience, Quality Assurance in Education Vol. 14 (2): 167-178.

Khoury and Farhad Analoui (2010), How Palestinian managers cope with stress, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 282-291.

Linda Lee Larson (2004), Internal auditors and job stress, Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 19 No. 9, pp. 1119-1130.

Yousef (2002), Job satisfaction as a mediator of the relationship between role stressors and organizational commitment A study from an Arabic cultural perspective, Journal of managerial psychology, 17,4, pp 250-266

Ahsan et al. (2009) A Study of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction among University Staff in Malaysia: Empirical Study, European Journal of Social Sciences 8, 1. pp. 121-131.

Tang and Chen-Hua Chang (2010), African Journal of Business Management Vol. 4(6), pp. 869-881, June 2010.

Mubashir and saima ghazal (2005), occupational stress and job performance, Department of Psychology & Applied Psychology, University of the Punjab, Lahore.