The assessment requires that students combine their pathway subject area knowledge across theory and practice with their abilities to problem s
Overview: The assessment requires that students combine their pathway subject area knowledge across theory and practice with their abilities to problem solve, think critically and reflect on what it means to be a practitioner in their chosen pathway area of Management.
Learning Outcomes to be met by the Assignment
• Critically evaluate information to form a reflective understanding of contemporary theories and developments across a range of management practices.
• Propose solutions to a range of complex and/or unpredictable problems that arise from management practice.
• Review and reflect to synthesise current thinking and practice in the field of organisational management.
• Critically evaluate the impact of strategic decisions upon an organisation and its integrated practices.
• Apply one’s own criteria for self- and peer-assessment and consider not only the product outcome, but also the learning process.
• Demonstrate capacity for independent learning and self-directed development.
TASK: The research report executes the action research outlined in the Assessment 1 of this module. The research report executes the action research outlined in the research proposal. The report has two essential components i.e. research report and reflective statement. The aim of the research report is to execute research into current Management practices with a focus on the types of problems and challenges that managers face in their professional environment. This part must conclude with primary and/or secondary evidence-based proposed business solutions and recommendations that address or mitigate the identified problem. The action research report must include a reflective statement to demonstrate and evidence the reflective understanding and self-evaluation of the student focusing on personal transition through action research i.e. at the beginning of the project, mid-way through the project and at the end of the project. This reflective statement should be supported with a digital portfolio of evidence in support of student’s submission. The word count for the report is 6000 words (+/- 10%). This report is work 75%.
Scope: You are on the Management pathway and so your research focus should be on topics from this area. Of course, you can refer to the outside influences of Marketing, Finance, Economics etc, but they shouldn’t be the focus. You need to demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of Management issues.
Independent Learning: This is an assessment that requires independent learning. This means that you are expected to research autonomously and with peers in order to make decisions e.g. it is up to you to research the various available theories and apply appropriate theory. Prior to submitting your work, please ensure that you have self-checked covering the objectives and requirements of this assessment.
Structure, Content and Marking Criteria
Executive Summary
(300 Words)
This summary should accurately and succinctly summarise the contents of the report. It should present essential facts about the research goals, previous research conducted in this area, research methods, key findings and recommendations. (Not included in the word count).
Chapter 1
Introduction
(800 words)
(15 Marks)
Describe what research problem you have identified that you would like to pursue further in this report. If you have chosen a company; provide a background of the company e.g. history, number and distribution of employees and operations, sector, products/services provided, any major management issues etc. A well-formulated research aim, question, aims and objectives needs to be provided. You should also include a brief overview of key Management literature to help illuminate the research question. It should also outline the scope of the research, summarising the nature of the Management issue(s), the rationale behind pursuing such an investigation and any personal motivations.
Chapter 2
Research Approach
(1300 words)
(20 Marks)
Using and revisiting the research approach written in the research proposal, this chapter needs to indicate how you have approached your research question. It should be a reflective analysis of the methods used and their effectiveness. Research plan and timeline (e.g. Gantt Chart etc.) that were included in research proposal can be re-examined and assessed to their validity. This chapter gives you the opportunity to discuss the research that you have designed for your research. It should include the following: A detailed description of the methods used to carry out the research; An explanation for why you think your methods were the most appropriate for your question and circumstances; Discussion of the sample, instruments (design, pre-testing, administration), data collection process, response rates; Explanation of the methods/models/concepts used to analyse the collected data; Description of difficulties associated with gathering and analysis of data and how you overcame these; Description of ethical issues and how you dealt with these; Discussion of any variation in the research design from the original plan; Reflection on the experience of doing fieldwork and research in general capturing the impact of feedback of tutors and peers, iterations, piloting exercises. Research limitations may be highlighted based on reflection on the experience of doing fieldwork and research.
Chapter 3
Findings & Discussion
(2000 words)
(30 Marks)
The purpose of your project report is to communicate the answer to your research question to your audience in as clear a manner as possible. Therefore, you should structure your findings in a clear, logical and easily understood manner. There are many ways of doing this. One of the simplest is to return to the research objectives and let these dictate the order in which you present your findings followed by interpretations or analysis of the data, that is, say what it means, especially in relation to your research question/objectives. This chapter gives you the opportunity to present, analyse and discuss your research findings that you obtained through data collection. Make clear references to your Research Question and any relevant literature and present your objective interpretation of the research findings. Include models to support or refute your research question and to provide a directional ‘answer’ to your research question. You need to use this chapter to present primary and/or secondary data and to sustain your claims by real-world comparison. Secondary data (empirical evidence) include all documents you have collected during your research (includes textual, statistics, visual, electronic documents).
Chapter 4
Reflective Statement
(1200 words)
(15 Marks)
This chapter should contain a reflective statement to demonstrate and evidence the reflective understanding and self-evaluation of the student focusing on personal transition throughout the action research (for instance at the start, mid-way and at the end of the project). It should be supported by a portfolio of evidence on BlackBoard. Examples of this supporting evidence include (but are not limited to) in-class exercises, Iterations, feedback sheets, mind maps, tutor feedback, reflective entries etc.
Chapter 5
Conclusion & Recommendations
(700 words)
(10 Marks)
This chapter should first return to the initially presented research aim, question and objectives and provide an overall response to them as derived from the preceding chapters. It should conclude the report by summarising the study and adding any concluding remarks that highlight thoughts you want to leave the reader with. The recommendations should focus on two types of Recommendations based on your Research Report.
• Specific Management focused key recommendations that would help solve the identified Management issues/challenges (This is your opportunity to showcase your Management skills, critical thinking skills and creative problem-solving skills.)
• You should also identify what new questions emerged from your research investigation to build on this (For instance more or different respondents, different research approaches, refined question/objectives etc.)
References
This part of the report gives you the opportunity to show the reader what research sources were used in your developing this piece of work.
All books, articles, sources of statistical data and web sites used must be listed in the References. Entries in this section should be formatted using the Harvard Referencing system. (Not included in the word count)
Appendices
To qualify for inclusion in the Appendices, material should be referred to somewhere within the body of the dissertation.
Presentation
(5 Marks)
Executive summary, professionalism of report; observation of 6,000-word limit; effective organisation, logical structure, good spelling and grammar and careful proofreading; Effective use of tables, graphs and appendices. Please use font size 12 and the font should be Arial or Times New Roman.
Overall Impression
(5 Marks)
An overall impression mark allows the marker to consider matters such as:
. overall coherence and the way the material is linked together
. the impact of the project as a whole
. unique or innovative features of the students' approach to the issue
. ability to reflect on the research experience.
1
RESEARCH PROPOSAL 15
Research proposal
Student’s Name- Dhruv Gupta
Institutional Affiliation- Regents University London
Professor- Nikos Nitsas
Research proposal
Executive summary
In the recent past, many business organizations across the world are increasingly adopting the employee engagement concept. Engaging employees helps to increase their commitment and increases their contribution towards the success of business organizations. Employees that are constantly engaged in organizational operations are motivated to improve their productivity in business organizations contributing to positive organizational output. Previous research has established a connection between employee engagements and increased organizational output (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). Companies that keep their employees engaged tend to exhibit higher levels of employee satisfaction which generates a positive impact on organizational financial success. The levels of employee engagement in business organizations differ depending on the management practice in business organizations. In some organizations, employees are given an opportunity to contribute to organizational matters by collecting employee opinions. On the other hand, in organizations with minimal employee engagement, employees are given limited opportunities to engage in organizational success.
The primary objective of many business organizations in the modern world is optimization of profits and productivity. The management practice in business organizations aims to achieve two major outcomes together employee work satisfaction and increased revenue and profits. Employee engagement is also referred to as worker engagement. Engaged employees are employees that demonstrate a high level of enthusiasm in their work and also tend to act in the best interest of a company. This proposal will draw from both primary and secondary sources in evaluating the impact of employee engagement on organizational success. the study will deploy a descriptive approach.
Table of Contents 1.Section 1: Introduction 3 1.1 Research problem 4 1.2 Significance of the problem 5 1.3 Research questions and research aim ………….……………..…………..…………..………65 2. Section 2: Real-world comparison 9 2.1 Significance of pay and benefit programs on employee productivity……………………..…..7 2.2 Factors that impact on employee engagement…………………………………………………8 3. Section 3: Research approach 9 3.1 Research method 10 3.2 Data collection 10 3.3 Data analysis 10 3.4 Instruments retesting and design 11 3.5 Anticipated challenges 11 4. References……………………………………………….…………………………………….14
Section 1: Introduction
1.1 Research Problem
Although the primary emphasis of many organizations in the 21st century is profits and revenue optimization, employee engagement play a crucial role in improving productivity in business organizations.
In the recent past, managers in contemporary business organizations aim to achieve a more flexible management practice by emphasizing employee engagement. On one hand, some researchers and scholars associate employee engagement with employees deploying differing degrees of emotional, physical and cognitive aspects in their work performance. Employee engagement in contemporary business organizations is associated with a positive attitude among employees as well as positive behaviour at work (Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017). The other concept that is closely associated with employee engagement is the levels of commitment. Business organizations in the modern world have different policies and management practices that impact employee engagement. In the 21st century, many researchers and scholars consider employee engagement as one of the critical metrics in modern business organizations. The level of employee engagement in business organizations has a direct impact on the rate of organizational growth. Many human resource managers in business organizations hold the belief that employee engagement has much to do with the emotions employees derive from how they are treated at work (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). An employee’s work experience is determined by the levels of employee engagement.
There has been an evolution of the concept of employee engagement in the past few decades. The styles and practices in management are laying emphasis on the significance of high employee engagement, employee empowerment, trust and general organizational commitment.
1.2 Significance of the study
According to reports from Kingston University on employee engagement, employee engagement is multifaceted. According to the findings of the above study, employee engagement encompasses the idea that employees should have a direct contribution to the success and function of business success and enhanced organizational processes. Employee engagement plays a crucial role in creating diverse opportunities for employees to increase connections with their colleagues and the management in their respective organizations. Employee engagement encompasses the creation of an enabling environment where employees derive motivation and a great desire to carry out their work.
Employee engagement enables employees to develop a sense of loyalty and trust which enable employees to stick for a longer duration in business organizations. Engaged employees consider the goals of the organization as their own goals and work with determination to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Schmidt study associated employee engagement with increased level of job satisfaction and commitment (Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017). Previous research also tends to associate employee engagement with talent retention and customer service. Engaged employees have a greater sense of commitment and desire to serve customers with a higher level of passion and determination. Employee engagement helps to overcome monopoly in modern business organizations. Employees are allocated assignments and tasks that meet their expectations and interests. This enables them to devote maximum time at work rather at work which contributes directly to organizational productivity and financial success (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). Managers in the contemporary world evaluate and track employee performance regularly to determine whether employees are satisfied at work. This ensures that business organizations do not consider their organizations as a source of earning money but also a source of their career development and employee training. Employee engagement enables employees to perceive business organizations as an opportunity to learn and upgrade their working skills.
1.3 Research questions
Do employee engagement programs play any role in increasing productivity in business organizations?
What are the employee engagement programs available in 21st century business organizations?
1.4 Research aim
The research project will focus on the role of employee engagement programs in increasing productivity in business organizations.
Section 2: Real-world comparison
This section will draw from previous primary and secondary sources of peer-reviewed articles, textbooks and other published articles on employee engagement. Different authors and scholars have generated different definitions of the concept of employee engagement. The engagement has been defined by Rothbard as psychological presence integrating two main components absorption and attention (Mann & Harter, 2016). On one hand, attention encompasses being engrossed in a role and how an employee focuses on their assigned roles. There are several elements of job engagement as listed by Maslach some these elements include the level of workload on employees, control, rewards programs, employee recognition, social and community support programs and values and fairness in organizations (Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017). According to this research, there is a close connection between employee engagement and employees feeling of control and appropriate as well as a sustainable workload. In some business organizations, employees are subjected to unsustainable workloads which undermine their productivity and contribute to high levels of employee turnover. Employees are more likely to quit business organizations where the level of employee engagement is low. Where the levels of employee engagement are high, employees tend to develop a sense of high satisfaction which in turn triggers high performance (Mann & Harter, 2016). Previous scholars associate employee engagement with the attitude held by employees towards their value and contribution to their organization. In modern management practices, managers aim to attract talent, increase the rate of employee satisfaction and reduce the rate of employee turnover (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). Increasing the levels of employee engagement happens for the benefit of business organizations and employee productivity. Managers in contemporary business organizations should aim to develop and nurture employee engagement which encompasses the development of a two-way relationship between employees and the employer.
2.1 Significance of pay and benefit programs on employee productivity
Some researchers recognize the significance of pays and benefits on employee productivity. Many managers in the modern world have many employee benefits and pay programs that help to build on the levels of employee levels of commitment and reduce the rate of employee turnover (Rothmann, 2016). Many business organizations in the contemporary world aim to match their employee benefits and pay programs with the prevailing market average (Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017). Enhanced levels of engagement are one of the approaches through which employees can give back to their business organizations. the levels of employees engaged in a business organization can be accessed from the reward programs and resources available to employees in business organizations. According to Penna, the business organization in the modern world should adhere to the Hierarchy of engagement that is similar to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. At the bottom line of the hierarchy is employee pay and benefits programs (Chandani et al., 2016). After deriving pay and benefit programs, employees explore opportunities to access career development opportunities. This integrates the elements of the style of leadership and promotion possibilities (Mann & Harter, 2016). Other researchers such as Mone and London consider employee engagement as a phenomenon where employees feel committed, empowered and passionate about their performance at work. The level of employee involvement and commitment has a significant impact on their values and organization (Osborne & Hammound, 2017). Business organizations in the modern world aim to nurture and develop employee engagement which can be used as a tool in measuring the association or the relationship between the organization and the employees.
2.2 Factors that impact on employee engagement
There are several factors that impact employee engagement. These factors tend to run across all business organizations. Selection and employee recruitment have a significant impact on employee engagement. Business organizations have different structures of employee selection and training programs (Chandani et al., 2016). The selection and recruitment process encompasses the identification of potential employees while making appropriate employment offers. Business organizations integrate employee career development programs to enhance employee engagement. Career development programs are another critical factor in employee engagement (Sun & Bunchapattanasakda, 2019). Business organizations and companies with enhanced levels of employees engaged in the modern world have well established and regular career development programs and opportunities that present new opportunities for employees to improve their skills, abilities and competence.
Business managers in the modern world have employee engagement programs that aim to increase employee retention and avoid the high costs of employee turnover. Business organizations incur high costs in replacing employees leaving the organization. The high costs of employee replacement encourage the management in business organizations to have employee engagement programs.
Employee engagement impacts the level of emotional attachment between an employee and business organizations. According to previous research studies, approximately 31% of employees are considered actively engaged in the workplace. These actively engaged employees tend to demonstrate passion and a feeling of emotional and profound connection with the company. Employees who are regularly engaged in their business organizations are highly motivated are more productive.
Section 3: Research Approach
3.1 Research method
The research will deploy the use of questionnaires as well as draw from secondary resources from peer-reviewed articles. The use of questionnaires comprises an appropriate way to obtain data and information from a large population. The questionnaires will be administered by sending emails to study participants. All the participants will have the right to confidentiality and privacy throughout the research process (Stokes, 2017). Before collecting data. All the study participants will be informed on the need to collect data and the progress of the research. Although there are limitations associated with sending questionnaires through emails such as distorted interpretations, where the levels of skills are low, the questionnaires will be administered by a team of enumerators. The use of enumerators will help to simplify the administration of questionnaires by providing interpretations for complex questions of difficult to understand questions. However, enumerators must pay attention that they do not make the data collection process biased through guiding study participants to respond in a specific way. Questionnaires will be administered to employees in business organizations aiming to evaluate their levels of trust and engagement in business organizations (Stokes, 2017). All study participants will be granted the right to take part or refrain from taking part in the study. The questionnaire that will be deployed in the study will contain multiple questions both closed and open-ended questions.
3.2 Data collection
Data collection is considered a critical activity in the study. The techniques deployed in the data collection will ensure that the data collected demonstrates all the qualities of data. The first element of data that will be considered in the study is data precision and accuracy. The data collected in the study must be accurate and precise. The data should be free from errors. Inaccurate data tends to mislead the study findings, results and recommendations. The other element that will be considered in data collection is validity and legitimacy (Stokes, 2017). The data collected must demonstrate validity and legitimacy. The data will be collected after obtaining written or oral consent from the study participants. All the study participants will take part in the study voluntarily. There are no study participants that will be coerced to take part in the study. Coercing study participants to take part in the data collection activity tends to result in the collection of illegitimate data. During the data collection activity in the study, study participants will be protected from some forms of discrimination such as gender, race and ethnicity. The legitimacy of the data collated with be evaluated through assessing study consent. The data collection process must also demonstrate reliability and consistency (Stokes, 2017). The data collected in the study must exhibit consistency and reliability. The data must also be timely and relevant. Although data obtained from secondary sources could be outdated. The data collected from questionnaires must demonstrate timeliness and relevance.
3.3 Data analysis
Data analysis encompasses the analysis of raw data with the primary objective of gaining meaningful insights from data. in this research, regression analysis will be deployed in the study. The regression analysis will help to review the relationship between employee performance and levels of employee engagement. The data analysis procedure will involve determining whether there exists any correlation between levels of employee engagement in business organizations and the levels of employee productivity. After the data analysis procedure, data will be presented in tables and charts to make the data easy to understand and interpret.
3.4 Design, pretesting and administration
The primary data collection tool in the study will be the questionnaire. The questionnaire design will include identification of research aim and goals, the definition of the study participants and development of research questions. The questionnaire will comprise both closed-ended and open-ended questions. On one hand, open-ended questions will help to collect additional details from participants' contributions as well as opinions of the study participants. On the other hand, closed-ended questions will help to collect data on questions that require brief answers such as yes or no questions. The questionnaires will be administered in two main ways; sending questionnaires directly through emails to study participants or administering them physically through the help of enumerators who will administer the questionnaires and provide clarification for unclear questions. Prior to the start of the study, the instrument will be retested for efficiency and ability to collect data on all variables required in the study (Stokes, 2017). Pretests will be administered on a random sample outside the study population. Pretesting the study instrument will help to make adjustments or corrections to the study questions and the entire questionnaire. Pretesting will also help to check the consistency of the study instruments against typos and grammar errors.
3.5 Anticipated difficulties in data analysis and data collection
There are several anticipated problems and difficulties in both data collection and data analysis. During the data collection activity, one of the challenges is refusal to take part in the study. Although study participants will be granted access to information on the need for research and confidentiality of their information, some study participants may drop from the study which will impact the sample size. Although refusal to participate in the study is expected, a high number of refusals will undermine the credibility and undermine study findings and results due to the limitation of the study sample. The other challenge is the inaccuracy of data based on responses from the study participants. Many responses are based on the ability of respondents to remember. The study participants memory capacity will impact the quality of data collected in the study. The other challenge is financial strains. Significantly high costs will be involved in the data collection activity. The high costs could undermine the efficiency of the study. To minimize the refusal cases, the consent will be clear and concise to ensure that all study participants can easily understand and interpret. Confidentiality will be emphasized on the respondent’s confidentiality and privacy.
3.6 Research plan
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Task 1: Research proposal accepted
Task 2: Communication with local representatives
Task 3: Development of research tools and equipment
Task 4: Recruitment of study population
Task 5: Selection of study participants
Task 6: Testing of study tools
Task 7: Enumerator training
Task 8: Pilot studies
Task 9: Validation of study equipment
Task 10: Data collection and data analysis
Task 11: Thesis writing and publishing of the report
References
Chandani, A., Mehta, M., Mall, A., & Khokhar, V. (2016). Employee engagement: A review paper on factors affecting employee engagement. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(15), 1-7.
Eldor, L., & Vigoda-Gadot, E. (2017). The nature of employee engagement: Rethinking the employee–organization relationship. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(3), 526-552.
Mann, A., & Harter, J. (2016). The worldwide employee engagement crisis. Gallup Business Journal, 7, 1-5.
Osborne, S., & Hammoud, M. S. (2017). Effective employee engagement in the workplace. International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, 16(1), 4.
Rothmann, S. (2016). Employee engagement. The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths‐based approaches at work, 317-341.
Stokes, P. (2017). Research methods. Macmillan Education UK.
Sun, L., & Bunchapattanasakda, C. (2019). Employee engagement: A literature review. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 9(1), 63-80.
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