If other employees and management would talk to these employees and determine what could be done to help them, it is quite possible that simple accommodations can be made that will keep everyone happy and help to dissipate the anger that other employees have toward them.
Those that work for others in this country are a natural resource, of sorts, and they all deserve to be treated fairly, and with dignity and respect, when they are on the job. Anger that is directed at these employees, either from management or other employees, accomplishes nothing in the way of productivity and can negatively impact the future of the company. Not all managers realize the significance of this issue, as many see workplace anger and conflict as just part of the equation when people work with one another. It appears, however, that it is not necessary for this to be part of the equation - it can be avoided or greatly lessened, but this must be done correctly.
Studies such as this one will work to show that there are right and wrong ways to lessen this anger and conflict, and that managers should be studying this issue more closely in an effort to ensure that their employees are happy, productive, and safe when they come to work. Even if management thinks that the employees are safe, those same employees must feel safe or nothing has really been accomplished in this regard. Talking to employees and trying to understand their thoughts and feelings about their jobs and the problems that they might be having can go a long way toward making the workplace more open and friendly, and toward diffusing the anger that some employees may either develop on the job or bring with them. Even if the anger comes from something outside of work, it can still lead to strong conflict if it is not handled correctly by management.
It is unfortunate that many managers do not realize the power that they have over others when it comes to helping. The power of a manager is often seen in other areas, but these managers are also able to do a great deal of good for their employees by talking to them, ensuring that they are happy and feel safe, and helping to work out any problems that workers might have in their personal lives or with each other. Managers cannot spend all of their time playing counselor, of course, especially if the employee's problems are generally of a personal nature. However, this does not mean that managers cannot talk to their employees and assure them that they are always available if there is any kind of problem that an employee needs to talk about. This can be true of employees that have anger toward someone else, and also true of employees that feel as though anger is being directed at them for some reason by various other employees.
Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is both broad and narrow, and an explanation of this statement is necessary here. In short, the study is narrow because it looks at the literature that has already been created, and it is broad because it has the potential to affect literally millions of American workers. By looking only at the literature that has already been created by others, the study does not expand its database as strongly as it could. However, the results and conclusions that are drawn from this study and analysis of the works of others could apply to so many other people that there is no real way to determine exactly how many people would be affected by it. Theoretically, it is possible that every employee and manager in the country could be affected in some way by this study, and it is also possible that individuals in other countries could also find worth and interest in what this study has to say.
Limitations of the Study
As with any study, this one does have its limitations. One of those limitations is that there will always be some employees that have anger management issues, despite the best efforts of management, so the information collected and discussed will not actually apply to all of the employees and managers throughout this country and others. In other words, no one thing can save or protect everyone, and these employees that do not respond well to managers that try to help them with their anger will likely...
As a result of this, the study conducted here cannot be generalized to every employee or manager now and in the future because there are some employees for whom anger management training simply does not work, regardless of how well it is done. The same of true of managers, as there will always be some that believe these kinds of problems only happen in other countries and therefore will not feel as though they need to learn about the issue or concern themselves with it.
Another limitation is that this study deals with the work that has already been conducted by others as a database, instead of surveying and interviewing employees and managers, which would create new data. This is a common way of conducting studies, and there is still a great deal of value and merit to a study that is conducted in this way, but it is not the same as getting fresh data to be used for this study only. Not everyone sees this as a drawback or limitation, but there are those that do, and because of this it must be mentioned here as a potential limitation.
They are something that cannot really be avoided, no matter how carefully a study is conducted and analyzed. Some studies have more limitations than others, but recognizing and acknowledging these limitations shows strengths within the study instead of weaknesses and show that the researcher is aware of the problems that may arise from conducting the study in the manner that he or she has chosen to use.
Another limitation is the data and the qualitative vs. quantitative issue. The data is somewhat of a limitation because it is not completely original to the study. If it were created for this specific study it would cease to be an issue, but that is not the case here. However, since the data is not new to this particular study, but has simply been compiled and presented in a different way, it is limited to what others have already done and discovered and thought when dealing with this particular subject and its importance.
This does not mean that the study is not important or valid, or that it will not tell readers anything new about the issue of anger and conflict in the workplace and what it means for both employees and managers alike. It does mean, however, that the information used to create the study has already been seen in other studies before, and therefore the same kinds of studies could easily be done by other researchers if they chose to utilize the same studies for information and literature review and compile the same data.
The qualitative vs. quantitative issue likely plagues every study that has ever been done, regardless of whether it is qualitative or quantitative in nature. This is largely due to the fact that there are always various arguments and differing opinions as to which one method is better for which type of study. Since this study focuses on the qualitative side of things, it does not address statistical figures as much as it would if it were quantitative. Some will see this as a problem, and will want hard and fast data that they can analyze. However, this study does address the thoughts and feelings of employees and managers as well as what others have to say about anger management and conflict in the workplace, what it is, and what should be done about it in the future, which would not be considered to the same degree if the study were quantitative.
The researcher must choose which method is going to be better when deciding what kind of study he or she wishes to conduct, and this particular study will be largely qualitative. There is no right or wrong when choosing which way to conduct a study. The opinion simply must be made as to which choice is better for the kind of study being conducted and the information that is available on the topic. That does not mean that no specific facts or figures will ever be mentioned in the analysis of the data or the review of the literature, but that this type of information will not be what is largely addressed within the confines of…
