A Gap in Literature
Discuss about the Academy of Management Learning and Education.
From the topic of the article, it can be understood that the term evidence based management is comparatively new in the mainstream management (Briner, Denyar & Rousseau, 2009). However, the concept of making use of the research evidence has been continuing from a long time to help in managerial decision- making process. It is an emerging area for making use of the recent and suitable evidence in the process of critical decision making of the managerial process. It can be realized from the topic of the article that the foundation is built in empiricism in the practice of evidence- based management. This is done with the aim of making proper application of scientific method to analyze the practice (Kallet & Kallet, 2014). This article was created with the intention of summarizing in a proper way about the known and unknown factors in the specific practice. Evidence based management uses a number of approaches to help in the decision making process. The scholars play a major role in providing infrastructure necessary for the evidence- based management. The topic of the article also adds to the concept of the effectiveness of using research evidence to make the managerial practices aware of the organizational research. The sources of information are explicitly used in evidence- based research for critical evaluation. As similar to other varieties of new ideas, evidence- based management is also misunderstood and misinterpreted which calls for new teaching and learning developments.
The author has drawn literature from Reay, Berta and Kohn’s article, which stated that there is no research evidence for the usefulness of evidence- based management and the pattern of research question and steps conducted in research agrees to the same (Reay, Berta & Kohn, 2009). Lack of appropriate information in the conclusion part became a gap in this literature. There was a complete loophole in the evidence of this article, ‘what’s the evidence on evidence- based management?’ It can be said that there is evidence present in the evidence management practice but there is no solid fact to prove. Therefore, based upon the article it can be stated that there is a gap in the literature selected for this research purpose. There is not much scope of explaining any new development due to the practice of evidence- based management by practitioners and not scholars (Kepes, Bennett & McDaniel, 2014). Three reasons can be found which shed light on the absence of evidence- based management. One of the reasons is that it uses several approaches, which are hardly labeled. Another reason can be due to the modernity of the term evidence based management. The final reason is that there lies difficulty in practicing evidence- based management without utilizing proper sources of evidence. According to Boaz et al., (2006) considering all the three causes, it is almost impossible that there would be any somewhat formal research for the effectiveness of evidence- based management. This is because the practitioners might not be aware of the process they are carrying out due to its newness.
Secondary Sources of Data
The research was conducted based on the secondary sources of data collected from the previous literature. Even though the term evidence based management is new in the field but there are several conferences held and publications released on this topic (Morrell & Learmonth, 2015). These sources helped the researcher to gather data about the practice of using evidence in critical thinking and decision- making process. Previous article and literature review helped in understanding the actual meaning of the term of evidence- based management and the activities with which it is related. For instance, evidence- based management is the practice carried out by managers and experts, which includes several approaches of decision- making. It enables the individuals of the organization to think before making a decision by using different types of information (Greenhalgh, Howick & Maskrey, 2014). Secondary analysis for the qualitative data used the previous literature on the topic to pursue a research interest on the same topic but different from the original one. There was no scope of using quantitative data, as the information was collection from secondary sources. This particular research work was different from the previous works in terms of research question and the methods adopted for conducting the research (Emanuel, Parrish & Gedde, 2014). The secondary analysis was selected for this research because there were various arguments raised by different authors in different articles. These arguments were effective in extracting valid information from the current research by bridging the gap of the previous works. It is also a more convenient way of conducting research work, as stated by the practitioners.
The secondary analysis of qualitative data highlighted on the findings about the practice of evidence- based management. The research on this particular topic helped in understanding that in evidence- based management different types of information is used depending on the problem of the research (Royse, Thyer & Padgett, 2015). The practitioners use research evidence as one among several sources of information and considered as a form of providing the current management research to the experts. It was found out in this research that evidence- based management is useful in the process itself, as well as the result associated with the decision making of the practitioner. Moreover, the research findings highlighted that evidence management is solely practiced by the management practitioners and not the scholars. It cannot be regarded as an absolute innovative and new way to make decision, rather a modification of the previous practices of critical thinking. According to Seamon et al. (2015), it is not based on a single mean of decision making to carry out a particular research work. It is neither a rigid formula for decision making in all circumstances nor a research evidence guide for the practitioners. The research findings have stressed on the fact that this practice is not effective in being identified and recognized as the best one. Moreover, it cannot be regarded as the specific solution to all the management problems because it is not only related to the field of management (Luthans, Luthans & Luthans, 2015). Therefore, the research findings have uncovered many facts and showed the right path to the researchers about this new term in the management field.
Findings from the Secondary Analysis of Qualitative Data
The implication of the article in the management practices were based on the processes of decision- making, problem- solving and incorporating a distinctive way of critical thinking in the organization. This general approach is implemented on the managerial ground to make the scientific evidence available in the decision- making process (Rousseau, 2006). The practice of evidence management helps in making the correct judgment about experience, specific contexts and ethical issues. All these factors play their part in the management practices of the organization. In case of a general problem inside the organization, the managers will get the benefit of realizing the underlying principles as corrective action steps. However, in case of specific problems, the managers being aware of the effective decision- making and problem- solving can be useful in better gaining of superior decision even under inconsiderable circumstances. The management practice of decision- making is inclusive of four factors, namely, external evidence evaluation, practitioner experience and judgments, circumstances, organizational contexts and values or stakeholders (Nicolini, 2016). To find out about the implication of this particular article in the management practices all the four factors need to be considered in critical thinking process. The findings of the secondary sources have put emphasis on the fact that the implication of evidence on the management practices has been explained in different ways by different authors. This can be the underlying reason behind the term being new and unexplored in the management field.
After reviewing the whole article, it can be stated that the concept of evidence- based management is well- research and well- described throughout the article. The secondary analysis was done based on the qualitative data collected from the respondents. However, a gap was found on the literature that was drawn for the current research work. The gap was clearly identified and used as a scope to work for further research on this topic. There was mention about several approaches in the practice of evidence- based management, which was considered effective in the critical thinking and decision- making process (Dobson & Dobson, 2016). It was explained in the article that any form of decision- making is encouraged by the use of proper evidence, starting from buying a domestic product to decide on the suppliers for the company products. However, the credibility of the article is not built on a strong platform. This is because only secondary sources were used for this particular research and no primary sources. There was a loophole in the validity of information, which was collected from the previous research works. Primary sources and quantitative data are more preferred when it comes to the authenticity of research (Kovner, 2014).
References
Boaz, A., Ashby, D., Denyer, D., Egan, M., Harden, A., Jones, D. R., … & Tranfield, D. (2006). A multitude of syntheses: a comparison of five approaches from diverse policy fields. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 2(4), 479-502.
Briner, R. B., Denyer, D., & Rousseau, D. M. (2009). Evidence-based management: concept cleanup time?. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(4), 19-32.
Dobson, D., & Dobson, K. S. (2016). Evidence-based practice of cognitive-behavioral therapy. Guilford Publications.
Emanuel, M. E., Parrish, R. K., & Gedde, S. J. (2014). Evidence-based management of primary angle closure glaucoma. Current opinion in ophthalmology, 25(2), 89-92.
Greenhalgh, T., Howick, J., & Maskrey, N. (2014). Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?. Bmj, 348, g3725.
Kallet, M., & Kallet, M. (2014). Think Smarter: Critical thinking to improve problem-solving and decision-making skills. John Wiley & Sons.
Kepes, S., Bennett, A. A., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Evidence-based management and the trustworthiness of our cumulative scientific knowledge: Implications for teaching, research, and practice. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13(3), 446-466.
Kovner, A. R. (2014). Evidence?based management: Implications for nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 24(3), 417-424.
Luthans, F., Luthans, B. C., & Luthans, K. W. (2015). Organizational Behavior: An evidencebased approach. IAP.
Morrell, K., & Learmonth, M. (2015). Against evidence-based management, for management learning. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 14(4), 520-533.
Nicolini, D. (2016). Knowing in Organizations: A Practice-Based Approach: A Practice-Based Approach. Routledge.
Reay, T., Berta, W., & Kohn, M. K. (2009). What’s the evidence on evidence-based management?. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 23(4), 5-18.
Rousseau, D. M. (2006). Is there such a thing as “evidence-based management”?. Academy of management review, 31(2), 256-269.
Royse, D., Thyer, B. A., & Padgett, D. K. (2015). Program evaluation: An introduction to an evidence-based approach. Cengage Learning.
Seamon, M. J., Haut, E. R., Van Arendonk, K., Barbosa, R. R., Chiu, W. C., Dente, C. J., … & Magnotti, L. J. (2015). An evidence-based approach to patient selection for emergency department thoracotomy: a practice management guideline from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 79(1), 159-173.