The Successful Integration of iPads and Smartphones into the Workplace - Research Proposal Example

?The Successful Integration of iPads and Smartphones into the Workplace, When iPads Is the Only Computer Your Employees Need or Want Table of Contents Problem Statement 3 Literature Review 4 Objectives of the Research 6 Research Procedure (Methods) 8 Population and Sample Size 10 Research Design 11 12 Instrumentation and Data Collection 13 Planned Method of Analysis 14 Time Schedule 16 Resources Needed 16 Personnel 18 Budget 18 Needed Assurances/Clearances 19 References 21 23 Problem Statement Technology has gained a significant stance in the workplace of the 21st century. Intense inclusion of information technology in the workplace of organization has certainly created a strong impact on the organizational culture by influencing the demand for skilled labor force (Bresnahan & Et. Al., 2000). A recent survey depicts that the inclusion of iPads in the non-Blackberry organizations has increased by 28% in few years which was followed by an increase in the use of smartphones as business tools. There may be two possible reasons for the inclusion of iPads and smartphones in the workplace, i.e. the demand of the business growth in the digital era, or the demand of employees working in the highly competitive business world at present (Gruman, 2011). Literature Review Technology gadgets such as iPads, Smartphones, Tablets and others have gained a remarkable significance in the daily life of human society in this 21st century. Undoubtedly, the features rendered by these gadgets are the major reasons to enhance its public usage and demand in the current scenario. One of the major advantages provided by the gadgets is their ability to connect people all around the world with a single touch and thus boost the aspect of international communication. Other features served by these gadgets include video calling, online gaming and chatting, and various internet services (Abdnour, 2011). It is in this context that these technology gadgets are emerging to be the most favorites of younger generation. Pierson (2010) stated that “The upstart college and career multitasker, age 18–27, is redefining connectivity at work and home”. Subsequently, Apple (one of the major iPad producers in the international market) sold almost 3 million pieces of iPads all around the world within a few months from its introduction to the market. Another major producer of tablets, Forrester also had to revise its prediction of future sales increasing the total sales to 13 million units. Experts have further contributed that almost 59 million iPads are expected to be sold in the US only, by the end of 2015 (Schadler & Et. Al., 2010). The inclusion of smartphones in the workplace was contemplated long before the inclusion of iPads and tablets. In comparison to the introduction strategies of smartphones, tablets and other technology gadgets are being introduced to the market in a different manner. For instance, the tablets are witnessed to be favored more than the laptops by employees, as tablets have almost every feature of laptops and other features in addition. For example, a tablet is also considered to replace clipboards in terms of its wide ranging features and effective applicability (Schadler & Et. Al., 2010). In this regard, Schadler & Et. Al. (2010) state that “Tablets and other smart mobile devices are brought in by eager employees and are opening doors to many new business scenarios, often in places where no computer works today”. Therefore, it can be stated that the demand for these technological gadgets in the workplace is highly influenced by the eagerness of Gen Y employees in the current scenario. However, there are various other reasons that have been identified by the experts to have a significant influence on the involvement of iPads, Smartphones and tablets in the workplace. As stated by Grove & Et. Al. (2010), iPads are considered to be highly useful for the companies to improve the aspects of ‘visibility and usability’ of the company data in order to serve their customers with higher efficiency. On the similar context, companies related to the publishing and entertainment sector are tending to signify these gadgets as a means of delivering their products and services to the customers. Thus, the inclusion of these gadgets are termed to be quite vital in redefining the efficiency of organizations in serving their customers that in turn enhances its profitability as well as competency in the global scenario (Grove & Et. Al., 2010). This in turn shall certainly motivate the companies to consider the use of iPads, Smartphones and tablets in the workplace from a marketing perspective. Along with the employees’ eagerness, the want or need of the leaders also have a significant influence on the inclusion of iPads and other similar technology gadgets in the workplace. According to recent research surveys, top leaders in the global business environment tend to focus on the creativity of the employees, their integrity and ability of thinking globally. It is in this context that the inclusion of technology in the workplace enhances these abilities and skills of the employees and thus provides the organization with a competitive advantage. Moreover, technology is termed to be quite beneficial in dealing with a widely diversified work culture (Gall & Epstein, 2011). These factors can also be identified to contribute to the overall involvement of iPads, Smartphones and other technology gadgets in the workplace of the current era. Objectives of the Research The aim of the research is to identify the possible reasons that influence companies in the current phenomenon to involve technology in terms of iPads, Smartphones, and tablets in the workplace with due consideration to the aspect of employees’ preferences. Hereby, the objective of the research shall be to analyze the significance of preferences of employees towards technology gadgets such as iPads and smartphones over laptops and other existing computer hardware. In this regard, the discussion of the research shall be based on the research philosophy that employers are essentially forced by the preferences of employees regarding the inclusion of these technology gadgets in the workplace. The main intention of the employers in this context is to enhance the productivity of employees through employee satisfaction. The above study depicts those technology gadgets namely, iPads, smartphones, and tablet devices to be strongly preferred by Gen Y employees or next generation employees (Schadler & Et. Al., 2010). Therefore, prime focus shall be provided to the next generation employee preferences and productivity with the given virtues of technological development in terms of the inclusion of iPads, smartphones, and tablet gadgets. To be precise, the objectives of the research shall be to identify the significant of employee preferences in steering the inclusion of technological gadgets in the workplace and other motivational factors that strongly influence the employers to adopt strategies concentrated on the inclusion of these devices. The research questions to be answered in this context are, • Do employees prefer technology gadgets such as iPads, Tablets and Smartphone more than other devices, e.g. laptops? • To which extent do the preferences of employees contribute to the inclusion of these devices in the workplace? Research Procedure (Methods) Research is termed to be the formal way of gathering information regarding a particular phenomenon and relates to “advancing the frontiers of knowledge”. The procedures used to obtain the findings can be systematic and unsystematic as well. The systematic manner of obtaining research findings is defined as the research method. In other words, research methods are the techniques used to direct a research process towards the attainment of the ultimate research objective(s) (Walliman, 2010). There are various types of research methods applied to research studies in the current day phenomenon. These are descriptive-qualitative, descriptive-quantitative, correlation, quasi-experimental, experimental, and meta analysis research methods. Each of these research methods is termed to be effective on the basis of research objectives and questions (SERVE Centre, 2008). The research questions determined in this case indicates the significance of employees’ preferences towards the technology gadgets such as iPads, Smartphones and tablet devices that in turn influence the employers to intensify the use of these gadgets in the workplace. It is worth mentioning that descriptive-quantitative research tends to quantify the responses and the significance of those responses of employees or other subjects involved in the research problem in order to gain an in-depth knowledge regarding the issue (SERVE Centre, 2008). Considering the objective of the research it can be stated that descriptive-quantitative research method shall be appropriate in this case. The research method to be followed in this context shall be focused on the collection of sufficient data from reliable sources. The obtained data shall further be analyzed adhering to the research design determined in the study. The prime objective of the developed research procedure shall be to assist in attaining the determined research objective in a systematic manner. To be precise, the research procedure shall be as follows. Step 1: Identification of reliable sources for data collection (populations and sample size of the respondents) Step 2: Development of the research design (quantitative research design) Step 3: Development of a data collection process (through observation, interview, or survey) Step 4: Development of the data analysis process (through the implication of statistical methods) Step 5: Summarize the results of the research study and the research findings Step 6: Development of the answers for the research questions Population and Sample Size Sampling is defined as the technique to select a few respondents to provide a rational and pragmatic answer to the research questions belonging to a specific population. In this case the population demonstrates all the companies implementing sophisticated technological gadgets such as iPads, Smartphones and tablet devices in the workplace as preferred by the employees over laptops and other available digital devices. Thus, the sample size will define only a specific number of respondents from this population to answer the research questions determined in this study. Few advantages of implying the sampling technique in the research is that it reduces the amount of effort as well as resources required to conduct the research when focusing on the entire population. Moreover, it also reduces the total time required for the completion of the research in a cost effective manner. The implementation of sampling also enhances the affectivity of a research findings and conclusion developing these aspects to be concise and comprehensive (Kumar, 2010). There are various methods to identify the sample size for a research study. From a general point of view, sampling is broadly classified in two categories, i.e. random sampling and non-random sampling (Anderson & Et. Al., 2008). In this case a simple random sampling shall be implemented. In a simple random sampling, the respondents are selected randomly from the given population based on a set of characteristics. In this case, the sample sizes to be selected shall be the employees preferring the use of iPads, Smartphones and Tablet devices over other available options. Research Design It has been mentioned previously that the research method to be followed in this study shall be a descriptive-quantitative research procedure. With this concern, the study in this case shall be based on a quantitative research design. In a quantitative research design, the prime consideration is provided on the aspect of post-positivist knowledge claims such as intense use of observations as well as measurements in order to quantify the relationship between the variable identified on the research problem. The other characteristic of a quantitative research is the strategies of investigation in terms of experiments and/or surveys. The data collections and analysis procedures also emphasize on the statistical tools with the purpose to yield quantified answers for the determined research questions (Creswell, 2003). The research design in this case shall be instigated through a literature review with the purpose to obtain fundamental knowledge regarding the identified research topic. Adhering to the characteristics of a quantitative research, the literature review to be conducted in this study shall be focused on a deductive approach. A deductively constructed literature review shall also assist the investigation to advance towards the research questions and hypotheses. The research questions determined in this context intend to identify that whether employees prefer technology gadgets such as iPads, Tablets and Smartphone more than other devices, e.g. laptops and to which extent do the preferences of employees contribute to the inclusion of these devices in the workplace? The research question can be answered effectively with the implication of a quantitative research design. The answer to the first question determined in this study concentrated on the preferences of employees in using iPads, Smartphones and Tablet devices over laptops and other available digital gadgets. Relevant data regarding to derive a rational answer to the question can be collected from the employees of various companies that are tending to intensify the use of these gadgets in the workplace for organizational purpose. The data shall be collected through survey or interview method through structured or unstructured questionnaires from the samples selected for the study. Notably, the data collected should be quantified as statistical data that shall further support the data analysis through the implication of statistical analytical tools. The findings obtained from this study will answer the first question of the research, i.e. do employees prefer technology gadgets such as iPads, Tablets and Smartphone more than other devices, e.g. laptops. It shall further assist in collecting relevant data regarding the second question, i.e. to which extent do the preferences of employees contribute to the inclusion of these devices in the workplace. Hereby, the data shall be collected from the employers of the companies using iPads, Smartphones and Tablet devices signifying the reasons for such technological development. The data shall be collected through interviews or observational process. The collected data should be later analyzed with the implication of statistical tools in order to answer the research question with empirical evidences. Instrumentation and Data Collection There shall be two data collection processes implemented in this research study concentrated on the answers of each research questions determined for the accomplishment of the determined research objectives. In the data collection process of obtaining sufficient data concentrated on the first question, shall be an interview or a survey method. Due to the reason that conducting an interview method shall be quite challenging in this case and shall also require extra effort in terms of time and cost as well as resources that in turn is likely to hamper the efficiency of the obtained data, a survey method shall be considered. The survey can be organized through mail or telephone or even through self-administered questionnaires. In this case, structured questionnaires shall be used for the survey that shall be distributed through mail. Although the survey method through mail is considered to be cost expensive to a large extent, it provides with the advantages of wide coverage. In this context, this technique of conducting a survey shall be highly effective as it tends to reflect the inclusion of technology in the living standards of the respondents which also play a significant role in defining their preferences for such digital gadgets. On the similar context, self-administered questionnaires shall be used in collecting relevant data with the purpose of obtaining a rational answer to the second question of the research. It is due to the reason that self-directed questionnaires shall contribute to the obtainment of sufficient data regarding the employers’ perception in intensifying the use of iPads, Smartphones and Tablet devices in the workplace. It shall also assist in identifying the possible reason that influences the decisions of these employers regarding the inclusion of these technological devices. It is worth mentioning that self-administered questionnaire survey shall require certain formal approvals in terms of ethical issues. Planned Method of Analysis Considering the fact that quantitative research approach defines the research process to be systematic and pre-planned it can be stated that the study also requires a planned method to analyze the research findings. Adhering to the principles of quantitative research, statistical tools shall be implemented with the purpose of analyzing the research findings and obtaining a rational answer to the research questions. Notably, two different methods shall be used to quantify the data obtained with an intention to answer the first question and the second question. To be mentioned, the first question of the research tends to quantify the preferences of employees in using iPads, smartphones and tablets in the workplace over other available gadgets such as laptops. In this regard, the scaling method shall be applied that shall be beneficial in identifying the preferences of the respondents. It shall further provide with an advantage to compare the preferences of respondents in favor of the updated and sophisticated technological gadgets over the other relatively old-fashioned computer hardware in their workplace. The obtained data shall further be analyzed through the implication of charts and graphs so as to identify the preferences of the majority of respondents in favor or against the use of these gadgets. The other method to be used for identifying the significance of the role played by employees’ preferences in influencing the decision-making of the employers shall be stated as the correlation analysis. A correlation analysis is termed to be highly beneficial in identifying the relationship between two identified factors. In this case the factors can be summarized as the preferences of employees and the decision-making of the employers to involve iPads, smartphones and tablets in the workplace. The data collected in this regard shall be quantified through the implication of the ranking system according to the Likert scaling method. Through the implication of ranking methods, the significance of employees’ perceptions over other identified reasons such as increase in sales and employee productivity shall be efficiently observed. The data obtained from process shall be further analyzed through the implication of Spearman’s rank correlation. The findings of the research obtained from the analysis of the two questions shall be again summarized to provide a rational answer of the research questions and thus accomplish the ultimate objective of the research. Time Schedule The total time period to be engaged in the completion of this research process is 6 months. This time period shall be divided into various smaller time frames in order to develop a well-structured plan for the research. Therefore, the time schedule planned for the completion of the research process is as follows. Problem Identification 10 to 15 days Preliminary research on the identified issue 20 to 30 days Preparation of research questions and hypotheses 7 to 10 days Developing the research method 15 to 20 days Identifying the population and sample size 10 to 15 days Determining the research design to be focused on 10 to 15 days Obtaining clearances needed to conduct the research process 7 to 10 days Collection of sufficient amount of relevant data 25 to 30 days Data analysis 20 to 30 days Summarizing the findings of the research 10 to 15 days Checking and re-checking of the research 7 to 10 days Resources Needed With the purpose of completing the research study in this case certain resources shall be required. For instance, in order to conduct a preliminary research with an aim to identify the research problem that shall later be used to frame the research objectives and questions, significant amount of quantitative data or secondary sources shall be required. In this case, the secondary data sources can be identified as researches conducted by other authors and peer reviewed articles and journals related to the identified research issue. These can be collected with the assistance of internet services. Furthermore, books shall also be required to provide an in-depth understanding of the current business environment and the preferences of the employees as well as employers in the current phenomenon with due consideration to the aspect of technological advancement. Empirical evidences can also be termed as beneficial resources in this study which can be obtained from the questionnaire survey method as has been described previously. Other than these, monetary costs shall also be identified as major resources in supporting the completion of the research process. Intense use of internet services to conduct mail survey and to collect secondary data online shall require a certain monetary amount. Moreover, documentation of questionnaires and collection of sufficient empirical data through self-administered questionnaires shall further give rise to costs. Personnel The personnel involved in this research process relates to the department of healthcare and emergency medical services. To be specific, the personnel shall be identified as the paramedics who are termed to be the professionals responsible for providing emergency ambulance and medical services to the needful patients around the city. Furthermore, emergency medical technicians and emergency room nurses shall also be involved as personnel in this research study. Budget Budget is referred as the estimation of possible costs and resources that are likely to be used for the achievement of a specified goal as well as the determined objective(s). Thus, the budgetary planning is also stated to serve the process developed for the achievement of the determined goal. In this case the costs shall be caused by various attributes. For example, the intense use of internet in the process shall give rise to costs. Furthermore, the distribution of questionnaires through mail or internet will also increase the cost of internet use in this study. Simultaneously, in the self-administered questionnaire survey procedure a tape recorder or similar kind of devices should be required. Other than these variables the cost for conducting this research shall be raised by the printing charges likely to be incurred during the final submission of the research paper. Taking into account all these variables, it can be stated that the research shall cost approximately $70 to $80 and thus a budget of the same amount should be available for the completion of the research. It is worth mentioning that there can be a few hidden cost variables in the execution of the research process that can in turn raise the expenses incurred in the study. With this concern, a certain amount should be reserved to support the process in order to face such costs. Needed Assurances/Clearances Ethical issues have emerged to be one of the major concerns of researchers in the current day context. Proper consideration to the ethical issues in the completion of a research provides with an extra advantage to the study by enhancing its efficiency and thus possesses a considerable significance in a research study (Media Wiley, 2002). With this concern, the research study in this case shall require assurances or clearances to instigate the research process. The assurances or clearances shall be obtained from the authorities concerned with the research study. The providers of clearances and assurances to the research can relate to the population of the respondents or the authority who is liable to supervise the research that is to be conducted. Furthermore, the authority to which the research study is to be submitted can also be referred to as the provider of assurance and clearance in this context. Conclusively, it is worth mentioning that assurances and clearances should be considered with significance in the execution of the research procedure. It shall be highly beneficial to obtain a clearance or assurance before instigating the data collection process with the purpose of enhancing the efficiency of the research findings. References Abdnour, E., (2011). The Mobile Revolution. Power-Source Article. Retrieved Online on July 04, 2011 from http://www.stratospherenetworks.com/pdf/Powersource-Article.pdf Anderson, D. R. & Et. Al., (2008). Statistics for business and economics. Cengage Learning. Bresnahan, T. F. & Et. Al., (2000). Information Technology, Workplace Organization, and the Demand for Skilled Labor: Firm-level Evidence. Quarterly Journal of Economics. Creswell, J. W., (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, And Mixed Method Approaches. SAGE. Gall, C. & Epstein, L., (2011). Leveraging Complexity in an Interconnected World. The Magazine Of Workplace Research, Insight, And Trends. Grove, P. & Et. Al., (2010). iPad for the Enterprise: Is the Time Right? CSC World. Gruman, G., (2011). Survey: Corporate iPad Adoption Jumps -- Driven By Businesses Themselves. Infoworld. Retrieved Online on July 04, 2011 from http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/survey-corporate-ipad-adoption-jumps-driven-businesses-themselves-205 Kumar, R., (2010). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. SAGE Publications Ltd. Media Wiley, (2002). Ethical Considerations in Research. Excerpt, pp. 45-61. Pierson, D. A., (2010). The Digital Divide: Preparing the Workplace for Gen Y. Central Penn Business Journal. Schadler, T. & Et. Al., (2010). How iPads enter The Workforce an Empowered Report: Tablets Open Doors to New Mobile Scenarios. Forrester Research. SERVE Center, (2008). Types of Research Methods. University of North Carolina. Walliman, N., (2010). Research Methods: The Basics. Taylor & Francis. Read More