Does Organizational Justice Predict Empowerment?
Abstract
The review covers the article, “Does Organizational Justice Predict Empowerment? Nurses Assess Their Work Environment” by Kuokkanen et al. (2014). The analysis incorporates various sections of a research report to ensure the quality of the empirical evidence. It includes the introduction (the need for the study, research problem, the purpose, assumptions, hypothesis, design, and theoretical framework); literature review (adequacy, organization and synthesis, and critical appraisal); ethical considerations (human rights, legal rights, and informed consent), and sampling (sampling, inclusive and exclusive requirements, and characteristics of randomization)
Does Organizational Justice Predict Empowerment?
Introduction
- What is the need for the study?
The study was necessary considering the need for empowerment among nursing professionals because of significant changes in the sector, such as an increase in the use of technology. Besides, there is a limitation in the number of research reports that indicate the role of organizational justice in achieving employee empowerment in nursing (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The study was essential to establish the organizational variables that affect empowerment, including organizational justice. Besides, it was critical to determine the relationship between the variables from the perspective of nurses who are directly affected by these factors. The study would inform healthcare management to improve employee empowerment and efficiency.
- What is the research problem?
The research problem emanates from the development of technology that drives nurses to improve their efficiency in the delivery of services. Nursing professionals and other employees require empowerment from their managers who are responsible for enhancing their working conditions (Cicolini, Comparcini, & Simonetti, 2014). Organizational justice might play a vital role in the empowerment process, but only a few studies report the association. Consequently, the problem emerges since leaders in healthcare lack adequate evidence to back up the need for organizational justice to potentially improve employees’ empowerment. The gap creates the need to research the association between the variables and the way they can be influenced positively to enhance the empowerment of nursing employees in healthcare organizations.
- What is the purpose of the study clearly and is it simply stated?
The purpose of the study was exploring the way nurses assess their empowerment and the clarification of organizational justice as opposed to other work-related variables. The researchers also examined the main variables (job control, shift work schedule, the potential for developing work, employment sector, employment period, and work tenure) concerning the empowerment of nurses in their organizations (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The researchers achieved the aim through the relevant research design.
- What are the terms and variables relevant to the study?
Empowerment is one of the variables studied in the article, which was measured using the Nurse Empowerment Scale. Organizational justice is the second variable assessed using a questionnaire that was created by Colquitt (2001) and Colquitt and Shaw (2005) (as cited in Kuokkanen et al., 2014). Job control is the third variable in the study, which was assessed using Karasek’s Job Content Questionnaire (Karasek, 1985, as cited in Kuokkanen et al., 2014). Nurses provided information about other variables, including work shift schedule, age, gender, education, employment sector, the period of employment, and work tenure. The terms and variables were defined, measured, and assessed in the study to achieve the objective.
- What are the assumptions?
Assumptions are used in research as aspects of the study that are accepted as true because of the nature of the population. They are made by the researchers or their peers following an analysis of the characteristics of the study or the population. Some researchers include their assumptions in the report. However, the authors of the current study did not include any discussion of assumptions that were made in conducting the survey.
- If appropriate to the design, what are the hypotheses stated?
The study design was appropriate for the study, which assessed the factors, such as organizational justice that affect the level of empowerment among nurses. Hence, being a correlational study, the researchers were justified to use a questionnaire to collect data from the sample of nurses. The instrument tested the hypothesis of whether a strong relationship between employee empowerment and organizational justice exists. A qualitative model was also relevant to the study and would provide evidence from the participants’ point of view (Flick, 2018). The researchers used statistical analysis, including descriptive statistics, to analyze the data and report the findings proving the strong relationship between the variables.
- Is there a theoretical framework to guide its design? What is the framework?
Theoretical frameworks provide the basis for the study and inform the design used to collect data to answer the research question or test the hypothesis. Many studies have a clear theoretical framework identified in the report. The study included a conceptual framework, which is the psychological model of empowerment (Thomas & Velthhouse, 1990, as cited in Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The model formed the basis for the qualitative study and introduced theme-based interviews related to the empowerment variable. The Model of Nurse Empowerment was also used to provide the background of empowerment among nursing professionals.
Literature Review
- Is the review adequate in terms of the range and scope of ideas, opinions, and points of view and relevant to the problem?
The report does not include any section labeled as a literature review. However, it has adequate review and analysis of previous research to inform the introduction and background before discussing the data collection methods (Flick, 2018). The review includes a sufficient range and scope of ideas, including the definition and models of empowerment and organizational justice. Besides, the authors explored various points of views and opinions of other scholars on the topic. The review is relevant to the research problem because it includes research on the two variables, empowerment and organizational justice, indicating gaps in analyzing their relationship. Therefore, the review focused on the research questions that led to the data collection process.
- How is the review organized and synthesized?
The review of the literature was effectively synthesized and organized. The researchers reviewed the past studies using the two main themes covered in the research, empowerment and organizational justice. They started by defining empowerment using the literature and theoretical framework. Then, the authors reviewed the literature on the concept of organizational justice, defining it and explaining its measurement in the existing knowledge (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The review and synthesis led to the identification of gaps in research, such as the lack of adequate evidence to link the two variables. The current study would fill the identified gaps and justify further research.
- What is the critical appraisal of the contribution of each of the major references?
Each of the primary references in the study had an essential contribution to the current research. The researchers only concentrated on the articles that were relevant to the study. For example, they supported the theoretical framework with critical evidence from research, such as Thomas and Velthhouse 1990, as cited in Kuokkanen et al., 2014. Other significant sections of the article were supported by empirical findings from previous research.
- What are the implications for the study?
Besides other factors, such as the participant’s demographics, the study revealed a close relationship between the two main variables, empowerment and organizational justice. Therefore, the results of the study have important implications in healthcare settings to improve the level of empowerment among nurses. From the results, it is evident that one of the most important things to promote empowerment is to increase organizational justice. The outcome has implications on the management, which should change the workplace to improve the variable and increase the perception of empowerment among nurses. Nurse administrators should understand the factors related to organizational justice to change them. All healthcare workplaces should have a conducive environment to empower employees.
Legal and Ethical Issues
- How are human rights of the participants protected?
Since the study involved human subjects for data collection, the researchers needed to understand and protect their human rights. They were required to safeguard participants from the violation of any human right throughout the research process. The right to privacy was observed by ensuring that respondents could not be identified using personal information in the presentation of results (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The researchers deleted all personal details after the input of completed questionnaires into the database and after confirming the accuracy of the data.
- How are legal rights of the participants protected?
Human participants have legal rights that researchers should protect and uphold. The rights include ensuring that all legal procedures and regulations are following throughout the study (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health gave the necessary approval for the study. The consent is usually essential to ensure that the investigation is conducted according to the research guidelines of the involved institution. Besides, the researchers offered information about the rationale for the study and contact information in case the participants had any questions. The information provided legal protection for the subjects because they had legitimate contact with the researchers.
- What are the components of informed consent?
Informed consent was critical in the study to ensure that all participants engaged in the study voluntarily and upon a complete understanding of the research content. Each of the participants in the study offered a written consent to participate (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). Signing the informed consent revealed that the participants had understood the information on the cover letter about the nature and importance of the study. Therefore, they knew what was expected of them concerning the study. Informed consent also relates to the amount of information that should be disclosed to third parties.
Sampling
- How was the sample obtained?
Sampling was critical in the study because it was impossible to engage the entire population of nurses in the data collection process. The article describes the type of sampling method used in research. They used a random sampling approach to access the sample of 5,000 registered nurses. The sample was selected from a population of Finnish nurses (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). The random sample was sufficient for the researchers to collect the necessary data to address the research problem. The method used was also essential to prevent issues of bias for the researchers who collected the data from participants.
- What are the inclusive and exclusive requirements of the sample?
Inclusive and exclusive requirements are necessary for sampling because not all members of a particular research population quality for inclusion in the study. The article does not include an explicit discussion of the inclusion/exclusion criteria. However, only registered nurses were included. Another condition for inclusion was only nurses who completed and returned the questionnaire. Out of the 5,000 included in the original sample, only 2,152 completed and returned the data collection tool (Kuokkanen et al., 2014). No other condition was included in the report.
- What are the characteristics of the randomization?
Randomization involves assigning individuals into the study by chance. The process blinds the researcher to the participants in the study to prevent any form of researcher control over the subjects. The method minimizes differences among participants by distributing them equally with specific characteristics throughout the research process (Kratochwil & Levin, 2014). For example, the study involved the randomization of nurses to prevent any chance of bias in their selection. The method supports the use of probability theory in expressing the possibility of chance as the basis for the differences in the results.
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