In contemporary business environments, managers have the challenge of adopting recommendations made by academic researches and development projects. A gap exists between business practices and academic researches recommendations; business practices focus on solving day-to-day issues facing organizations whereas academic researches deal with issues from a general angle.
An article in the journal of “Academy of management journal” written by Shapiro, Kirkman, and Courtney in 2007 called, “Perceived causes and solutions of the translation problem in management research”, observes that management researches do not address real issues facing businesses, this explains why implementation of their recommendations adds no value to businesses. The journal suggests that when scholars are coming up with their research proposals, they do so without the real business experience of what is happening in the business scenes (Shapiro, Kirkman & Courtney, 2007).
Rynes, Giluk& Brown, 2007 in their article called, “The very separate worlds of academic and practitioner periodicals in human resource management: implications for evidence-based management” published in “Academy of Management Journal suggests that there is a gap between the academic researches and practice. The writers think that what is required in the corporate world and the recommendations offered by researchers do not commensurate. Rosemann and Vessey in the MIS quarterly journal think that research plays an important part when developing technology, they are of the view that development happens when people are willing to case test their innovations and developments through research (Rosemann & Vessey, 2008). This paper compares and contrasts the relationship between business practice and academic research.
Conceptualization of issue(s)
According to Shapiro, Kirkman, and Courtney 2007, research has been rated as one of the best ways through which the world has been able to develop new management styles and moves to strategic management approaches. The issue that is hindering modern form of education is that the topics that students come up with are less relevant to the actual situation on the ground. According to the writers, in past days, academic research recommendations have been major used for the improvement of businesses and operations within organizations. However, these were more possible to those people who had some form of experience with the organization. People who were new and not having any experience in management contributed minimally to the world of management.
Rynes, Giluk& Brown, 2007 are of the view that organizations can only develop and produce high results when its personnel are managed effectively. Academic research addresses some issues and offer recommendations that can be implemented in the entire organization and offer high returns. The main issue that the authors observe is that when academicians are developing and writing some proposals, they fail to connect to the situation on the ground thus leaving the issues addressed as either the obvious ones or sometimes fails to add value to the known literature.
Rosemann and Vessey when discussing issues of information technology with academic research think that academic research adds value to the knowledge areas of information technology however the rate at which changes in technology is being adopted in the country is offering some challenge to the administration of the recommendations given by academic researchers. When a report has been developed, the academicians have the role of getting it to use or even selling it to information and technology firms for implementation but this rarely happens.
The three journals have some correlation and seem to take similar direction; they all upload and acknowledge that there is a need for academic research; however, they have some issues with the rate at which the recommendations given are implemented. The researchers have observed that when academic researches are formulating their research proposals, they seem not to be fully acquainted with the situation on the ground thus they may end up doing an area that had been done to exhaustion thus adding minimal value to the sector (Rynes, Giluk & Brown, 2007).
How do their conceptualizations of the issue(s) lead to their approach (es) to assessing its cause(s)?
The three writers have some common ground that illustrates that there exists a gap between what is on practice and what has been researched. According to Shapiro, Kirkman, and Courtney 2007, there is a fast-developing gap between the management research (management research include marketing research, supplies research among other business management researches) and what happens on the ground. What is on paper in most cases is form the research conducted while the matters and processes that are on the ground differ with the policy documents. The writers’ draws readers’ attention to the blueprint that almost every well-managed company has, in the print, some policies have been developed through an intensive academic research while on the practice they are hardly practiced (Shapiro, Kirkman & Courtney, 2007).
The approach taken by Rynes, Giluk& Brown, 2007 seems to query research integrity that prevails among the practitioners and academic researchers; there is a general belief that academicians have lacked to offer the right support to the business world, they are addressing issues that have been addressed through other means and their relevance in modern business environments are minimal. In the areas of human resources management, the writers feel that there is constant change that keeps coming up, thus when academic researchers are not robust enough, and then they are likely to offer some irrelevant information and researchers (Rynes, Giluk & Brown, 2007).
Rosemann and Vessey are of the view that information systems research is of great importance when people are involved in undertaking sound and quality research, they add value to the business environments and can offer the line through which information technology departments can grow and be reinforced. According to the article, the documentation that is made when developing systems may form some information system research however when successfully implemented, their relevance is to some extent lost (Rosemann & Vessey, 2008).
Based on their various findings, what have we learned about the overall causes?
The main challenge that creates a gap between academic research and the condition on the ground can be attributed to the approach that researchers have taken when choosing the cases they are going to research on. When developing the proposal topics, researchers seem not to be well connected and versed with the situation on the ground; they just get the topic form what they have studied or to the extreme, they use their instincts to come up with a research topic.
From the study, I have noted the role played by research in coming up with solutions of different issues, however, two main things coming out is that research is only relevant when the real issue has been addressed and the right approach has been used to collect the information. When researchers have come up with their well-developed recommendations, companies should not keep them in shelves but should start implementing them from the start. With such an approach, the business environment is likely to improve.
What potential solutions seem most promising if any, and who or what has the authority, responsibility, control, and/or motivation to implement?
Despite the alarming situation, something can be done when all parties involved exercise their power; academic researchers should develop some research integrity and ensure that when they are working on a certain program, they will add value to the existing literature. Governments, companies, and sponsors of researchers should be in the forefront to approve only those topics that can be of additional substance to an area that they are researching on. Research involves huge economic outlays, thus researchers should be ethical enough not to do something that will not add value to the existing literature.
How do you see all of this relating to your doctoral work and future aspirations?
The three journal readings have shaped the future academic and scholarly works’ focus and objectives. I aspire to undertake qualitative and quantitative researches that will address real issues facing the business community and the society in general. Anytime that I embark on a research issue, I will ensure that I produce quality and applicable recommendations to ensure my work adds value to existing knowledge on a certain issue. When handling a certain research topic, I will ensure that the topic has been addressing fully and recommendations on future areas of research will form part of my research recommendations.
References
Rynes, S., Giluk, T., & Brown, K. (2007). The very separate worlds of academic and practitioner periodicals in human resource management: implications for evidence-based management. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 987-1008.
Rosemann, M., & Vessey, I. (2008). Toward improving the relevance of information systems research to practice: The role of applicability checks. MIS Quarterly, 32(1), 1-22.
Shapiro, D. L., Kirkman, B. L., & Courtney, H. G. (2007). Perceived causes and solutions of the translation problem in management research. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 249-266. Retrieved August 17, 2009.