Information Technologies: A Training Apparatus for Travel Industry - Research Proposal Example

POSTGRADUATE MODULAR SCHEME DISSERTATION PROPOSAL FORM P3 July 2007 Type or print clearly. See s at end of document Indicate if this is thefirst, or revised (following referral), proposal: First  Revised  2. Student number: 0812348 3. Student name: FAISAL ASHRAF 4. Contact address and phone number for period of study: 8 BLENHIEM ROAD,LONDON E6 3EQ 07882717278 5. Course: MSC COMPUTING WITH IT MANAGEMENT 6. Staff consulted in the preparation of this proposal: FIONA COLLARD You must sign and date this form to signal your adherence to the Principles in Research Ethics: A Handbook of Principles and Procedures. b Signature: FAISAL ASHRAF Date: 21.09.09 Tick box if any external body’s ethical clearance must be obtained, and give details  Now submit the form to the Dissertation Module Tutor or other named contact. DISSERTATION APPROVAL PANEL DECISION: To be completed by Chair of the panel. Unconditional Acceptance  Conditional Acceptance (attach details)  Referral (attach details)  Dissertation Advisor assigned: Date: Final Dissertation submission date: Specify the Dissertation submission deadline one year plus one ‘round’ from the date of the panel meeting (see PMS Handbook Section 9). Signature of Dissertation Advisor to confirm awareness of the Principles in the University’s document Research Ethics: A Handbook of Principles and Procedures, and their agreement to abide by it: Copies: student, Dissertation module tutor, allocated Dissertation Advisor, Student Records 7. Objectives of the proposed study (including provisional title): Provisional Title: IT, A TRAINING APPARATUS FOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY Research Question: How can training programme in IT for the staff can be beneficial for an organisation and also for the travel industry to acquire competitive advantage in changing market condition. The proposed study would be designed on the basis of those IT training programs which are considered to enhance productivity and efficiency of the organizations in travel industry. The study would discover the strategies which are used to identify the meaningful use of IT programs considered as a source to strengthen the position of the firm, build rapport and provide competitive advantage through workforce trained in IT who are working in different sectors in the organisation. Research Objective I would review and critically evaluate the existing IT programmes which are being adopted by travel industry management to train their employees in IT so that the latter can efficiently use IT in the day to day official activities. Although the previous researches on this subject provide a lot of information but they needs some extra flavour of the changed economic condition to be added with. By considering the findings of the earlier researches, the following objective are designed to achieve through this study 1. To understand how IT training given to different staff members changes the mode of the business. 2. To evaluate how best IT programs can support in the present changing business environment. 8. The Context(s): The current economic recession has upset almost all businesses of the world. Many financial institutions have collapsed, firms are closing their production plants and employees are being redundant every now and then. Soaring oil prices in the first half of 2008 led to increased cost of airlines. Travel Industry had no choice except to pass on this increased cost to consumers in the form of higher ticket prices. Even though oil prices have been dropped tremendously but airlines still forecast losses in multi-million dollars. At the same time, as an effect of the global economic downturn job losses disrupted travel business at a large scale. In this scenario, firms have started formulating emergent strategies to sustain and retain (Skipper, 2009). Staff training is also a part of this strategy to have efficient and competent staff to lend a hand at difficult time (Global Aviation Association, 2002). The main aim of the training in IT field is to enhance the employee’s IT knowledge so that they can upgrade them selves and can actively participate for achieving organizational goal. Such training will assist employees to perform more comfortably in the computer based platform (Global Aviation Association 2002). Nowadays organizations significantly invest in training of their staff with the objective: 1. To have proficient staff to bring maximum business for the organization 2. To increase efficiency and profitability of the organization 3. To improve quality of service 4. To increase staff retention and motivation 5. To make the employees more comfortable in working IT based environment The précised idea of training is recognized as a qualitative difference in different organizations which influences the organizational policies. Training in IT in highly beneficial for any organisation as with changing market condition, organisations have to implement IT as an platform to integrate all its functional activities. If the employees are well accustomed with IT tools with which they have to work, then no doubt, performance of the organisation will improve many fold. Investment in IT training seems as an long term investment for the organisations. The IT training refers that the employees will be trained to carry out their day to day work more efficiently and with better knowledge in the field of IT. There are two main approaches which identify training needs: Systematic Training Approach It helps to Specify objectives Design activities Implement activities Evaluate activities Integrated Training Approach This approach integrates different departmental activities of the organization and highlights the key inter-dependencies. Such a design best suits the ‘Travel Industry’ where each unit works as a separate entity but principally cannot function without collaborative support. In the present world, IT plays a fundamental role as it interlinked with all departments together by maintaining a data base. So the employee should be well acquainted to work in an IT based environment and an integrated IT training approach will be highly beneficial for the organization as well as for the employees. Staff Training as Collective Learning Staff training in other words is a process of ‘collective learning’ to cope with the change and gain ‘core competencies’ for the organization. Information technology has now accelerated e-learning process within the organizations to develop the ‘intellectual capital’ (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997). Organizations vary in size, strategies, need and pattern of work. The structured process of training is designed in the mutual interest of employees and employer to get benefits of learning at work (Rainbird, 2000). IT training for Staff The staff who uses IT is always more productive; technology oriented and can deal problems effectively to prevent the serious impacts on daily business operations. They are able to discover source solution, highlight the consequences of inefficiencies, signify disrupted business operations and identify missing deadlines. The whole training procedure depends on IT, and works as a tool for the growth and development of the business. It involves IT features and functions which primarily ensure high demand of skills and determine to identify competencies to improve the proficiency of the staff. As an overall effect, IT benefits the organizations and their staff in five different ways: Increases Quality Accelerates Speed Enhances Flexibility Reduces administrative burden Improves Services The organisation should be careful while planning different IT training for their employees, because as per the job responsibility and requirement, one has to be trained in the IT field. In the travel industry information gathering and analysis is of great importance. With changing economical condition and market condition, demand fluctuates a lot, hence a better coordination should exist between all the department in an organisation so that respective changes can be implemented as soon as possible. To bring such high degree coordination and integration in business model companies started implementing different IT packages. And this shift from traditional working platform to an IT based platform requires the staff to be well acquainted with general IT tools so the organisation can function smoothly. 9. Research design (including methods) or critical approach: Research Design My main focus would be on the objectives mentioned in section 7 which would work as a basic theme to design the arrangement of the chapters. Their sub-topics would precede the discussion to come to the conclusion. The required data would be collected from a Travel Agency ‘Air International’ which has offices in the UK and Pakistan. The said organization has agreed to give access of the data for my dissertation. Data Collection Methods Different methods will be used to collect data to have in-depth knowledge of IT Training for the staff. In order to make the research viable, I would explain primary and secondary data collected through different sources and the methods applied (grounded theories) to justify the need of those specific approaches. The investigation process to get accurate information through surveys, interviews and questionnaires distinguishes the research strategies and their objectives. The following figure shows my proposed plan for methodologies and data collection techniques. Qualitative Research Method Interviews The research would require categorization and interpretation; therefore qualitative methods are also appropriate for this study. I have made request for interviews with different people working in two different offices of the ‘Air International’ (the management people who are at different managerial posts). Interviews enable to acquire in-depth data, so interviews would be conducted via telephone or during personal meetings. In order to cover all topics in the interviews, questions related to the research will be prepared in advance. During interview, information will be collected to understand the factors which influence management to take decision regarding IT training program for the staff. The aim of interview is to understand that how the organisation got benefited by providing training in IT field to their staff. Quantitative Research Method Questionnaires Surveys I also aim to use Quantitative Methods to analyse and interpret different theories for the research because the process of investigation needs some specific ways to get accurate information. For this purpose I will conduct surveys and self-administered questionnaires which are highly structured activities that will help in collecting different opinions, beliefs, and background of the staff. The quantitative research method would help me to reduce large scale of data by generating simple statistics. Questionnaire will be segregated into main section; the initial part will contain closed ended questions like: Do they feel there was a requirement for IT training? Will the training be helpful for the staff in long term? Has the training program proved beneficial for the staff members? Has such training boosted the confidence level of trainees? Has the investment made by organization in training program a chance to prove itself profitable in long term? These are few of the questions which will be part of the closed ended questionnaire, the actual questionnaire will have enough number of questions to cover the entire topic and to collect enough information. The second part of questionnaire will have open ended question like: What inspired the management to adopt such IT training for their staff members? What does the staff member think regarding such training program? What were the factors which the management should take into account while designing an IT training program for their staff? What should be the ideal structure of an IT training program? And few more questions will be added to collect information regarding what the management and staff members think regarding such IT training, this will also help to identify how successfully the previous training programs in achieving the desire result were. These questionnaires will be distributed to the working staff who has already participated in the previous IT training, also those staff members who did not have the chance to attain IT training last time. This will help me to collect the reaction of members of both the group, and what they feel regarding IT training. In the integrated training program, training modules are designed as per the nature of work performed by the respective staffs, as the IT skill required by the managerial person will be not the same what the counter staff or cleaning staff requires. All the employees in the organization do need IT knowledge, hence all of them will be asked to participate actively in the survey. Sampling: Sampling means that questionnaires and interviews would not be applied on the whole staff but a few workers will be taken as a sample from the whole proportion (Donald Waters, 2001).After collecting data through questionnaires and interviews, sampling techniques help to validate and eliminate extraneous parts of the data particularly from interviews. Overall collected data is studied and analysed through effective sampling to be added in the research in a simple and comprehensive style to ensure its reliability. 10. Ethical issues: While undertaking the dissertation, I aim to follow ethical approach towards research which clearly instructs that the investigation, methods adopted and the results should completely be transparent to make the research reliable. The research would also identify the advantages and disadvantages of the training programmes of gathering knowledge in IT field. The purpose of the exploratory approach in this project is to condense extensive and varied raw text data into a brief summary format to establish clear links between the objectives and findings. The research is usually based on the writer’s interest and data availability to make the subject interesting. Therefore collected data and information should be reliable hence not to spoil the name of any organization. I also feel myself liable not to misuse the acquired data, avoid copying the data of previous researches and reasonably use references of the researches already done on this topic to prove my research distinctive. I will maintain confidentiality throughout the whole process by giving references in anonymous form. This will enhance the confidence level within participant of survey and interview. I am highly obliged that the company gave me an opportunity to conduct interview and survey of their employee and they are also giving an access to the confidential information, so it is my responsibility that none of the commercially sensitive information gets mishandled. My work will not reveal any information that will hinder company’s reputation and goodwill in market. 11. Special resources required: The usual methods of primary data are collection from the selected Travel organization, I would go through the reports of their special training session including result analysis. The company’s journals on staff performance, surveys on staff opinion and achieved desired results would be a great source for me as collection of primary data. Where secondary data is concerned, academic articles, books, online journals, companies’ websites and different survey reports available in Gloucestershire University library would be utilized for my research work. 12. Timetable of main stages of the study: September 4th Week Literature Review Search October 1st Week Literature Review Search October 2nd Week Preliminary Literature Review October 3rd Week Completion of Literature Review October 4th Week Preparation of Questionnaires October 4th Week Approval of Questionnaires from the Course Leader October 4th Week Questionnaires to selected Organizations November 1st Week Interviews with Managers/ Team Leaders/ Trainers November 1st Week Market Survey to know utility of IT as Staff Training November 2nd Week Chase Questionnaires November 2nd Week Writing up chapter on ‘Methodologies’ November 3rd Week Result Analysis and Sampling November 4th Week Chapter writing on ‘Findings’ December 1st Week Chapter writing on ‘Introduction’ December 2nd Week To sum up the dissertation, writing on ‘Discussion, Recommendation & Conclusion December 2nd Week Feed back from the Course Leader on complete dissertation December 3rd Week Amendments December 3rd Week Turnitin Report December 3rd Week Submission of the Final Dissertation Research question : Growing need of IT training in the changing market scenario Bibliography Anon, New Systems and Machines for Premier (2007) MWP, July 2007, Vol. 151 Issue 4, p89-89, 1/4p Edvinsson, L., & Malone, M. S. (1997) Intellectual Capital, London: Piatkus Howells, Jan (2004) 10 WAYS TO... guarantee the perfect roll-out IT Training, October 2004, p20-21, 2p Lloyd, Tom (2004) Taylor Woodrow staff learn on-site, IT Training, p7-7, 1/3p Rainbird, H. (2000) Training in the workplace and workplace learning: In H. Rainbird (ed.), Training in the workplace, pp. 1-17, Basingstoke: Palgrave – now Palgrave Macmillan. Global Aviation Association (July 2002) The Economics of Travel distribution in Internet Driven Environment, Travel Distribution. Skipper, D. A. Organizational Design during Financial Crisis. Journal of Strategic leadership. NOTES a. Student Records will be updated with this information. Note that we will continue to use your University email address and you should check your account regularly. b. The University document Research Ethics: A Handbook of Principles and Procedures can be found via the University’s Postgraduate internet pages. c. Summary of proposed study should indicate the topic to be covered, and the study objectives or intended outcomes. Indicate here if your Dissertation is likely to include confidential material (eg commercially-sensitive information), so that a procedure for dealing with it can be agreed. d. This section should summarise the context(s) to your study. You should clarify the academic context by indicating some of the principal themes, issues or problems identified by current or previous scholarship/research/practice. Include a short bibliography. You may also indicate any relevant social, professional and institutional/organizational contexts relating to the study. Your analysis of this context should make it clear why you consider the study to be worthwhile. e. This section should describe how you plan to approach your topic and indicate briefly why you think this approach is appropriate. Any fieldwork elements should be described here. If the proposed study raises any health and safety issues you should identify them here, and attach securely to the form a statement signed by yourself declaring how these have been addressed. f. Highlight any ethical issues raised by your study. If required, attach further information on how these have been addressed. Indicate on front page whether you need to seek ethical clearance from any external body. g. Indicate here the location and availability of any resources, such as library or archive material or data sets, beyond those which are readily available in the University. Equipment to be used, and its availability, must be listed. h. Take into account any seasonal constraints, for instance the school year for school-based projects, or natural constraints for work in the field. Read More