A Reflection of the Process of Researching a Business Problem - Research Paper Example

? Reflection Report on the Case Study Based Research Project Introduction The recent past has indicated a rise in research and development in the field of business mainly aimed at identifying the various problems affecting businesses and seeking for viable solutions to the identified problems which will not only enable companies to remain operational, but also to maximize revenue while minimizing costs (Robert, 2013: 2153-2162). For purposes of this reflection report, we will be analyzing CUPE Ltd which is a management training provider whose mission is to add more value than cost in its quest to improving their client’s projects and is based on the South of England and has a ten year reputation in in offering training and consultancy services. The business problem being analyzed in this case study is the decline in the number of people who are undertaking Project Management training courses in the recent years. It is important that CUPE Ltd address this trend if they want to continue to grow and become successful. The purpose of this reflection report will be to provide a reflection of the process of researching a business problem. Additionally, this study will be aimed at critically demonstrating our knowledge and understanding level of the various processes involved in research and analysis while at the same time evaluating our own performance in the area of researching a business problem. This problem will be also addressing on how we chose the research and analysis methods that were used in the investigation of the business problem while at the same time addressing the strengths and the limitations of our research and the processes we adopted. Additionally, the report will critically address the various changes we would like to make in our approach to researching and analyzing the business problem given another chance to work on the project. However, the main focus of this report will be focusing on the various challenges that we faced and the various changes we might change in our approach in future. Investing the Reasons for the Decline in the Number of People Undertaking Project Management Training Amongst the various reasons suggested in the report for the decline in the number of people undertaking Project Management Training include the decline in the number of project management jobs, the increased emphasis on prospective employees having experience as opposed to training, the increased number of competitors in the market, the presence of new innovative ways of delivering training including the growth in popularity of online training and the availability of various new and innovative ways marketing the courses. How the research and analysis methods used to investigate the business problem were chosen In business research, it must be understood that the questions asked at all times need to be not only valid, but also fair and must also directly relate to our need for information. What this generally implies is that it is important to have very clear objective purpose while conducting business research right from organizing for the research, through conducting the actual research to the end where there is report writing (Martyn, 2013: 142-149). Additionally, we understood of the importance of collecting information in a fair and systematic manner and the analysis of the data not only with great care, but also in a systematic way. It is the rigour of the analysis that determines the validity of the research results (Pia, 2013). While choosing the research question, we first started by first broadly discussing areas in management which were of particular interest to us and which most of the group members thought were practical and needed to be further studies into. We consequently did a literature review on various case studies to do with management before settling on CUPE Ltd which was not only practical, but also was related to the interests of all the members of the group. To refine the topic to investigating the decline in the number of people undertaking Project Management training courses, the group considered many factors (Robert, 2013: 2153-2162). This included the need to not only narrow down to one topic of study, but also to narrow to a study topic that was both interesting and which we had adequate time to thoroughly study. Additionally, it was wise to get a topic that getting access to the practitioners was easily possible and which there was a direct connection with the given organization of study and with well documented source of information (Martyn, 2013: 142-149). Getting such a topic not only makes the business research easy to carry out, but also enables easy access to validated information resources that are necessary for success completion of the research project. Another important aspect was the identification of the various relevant theories or domains of knowledge revolving around the question both for reading and background understanding. Having relevant theories and or domain of knowledge has proved to be very essential in validating and proving arguments that have basis of proof and makes the research more trustworthy. We must however admit that writing and re-writing our working title while having to thoroughly checking the implications of each word we used and ensuring that the assumptions we made really meant what we wrote. We however overcome this by having other people who helped us check the assumptions we made and helping us out in ensuring that the topic and the case study under discussion was clear (Ahmet, and Attila, 2010: 306-314). Additionally, we must admit that published literature and having discussions with others played an important role in helping us firmly narrow down to the topic which we felt was worthwhile exploring. Another challenge was in the identification of the various possible outcomes that the research topic would bring out implored both from the theoretical aspect and the practical aspect. Many are times we realized lack of clarity which further enabled us to refine our topics to make them become clearer. Additionally, Identifying specific kinds of literature and judging the relative merit of whatever literature we found for the research study proved to be an uphill task. The problem of having access to primary literature sources which proved to be least inaccessible more especially unpublished literature on the company, private correspondence between the company and its clients and also proceedings from various strategic meetings was quite evident (Peter, and Malcolm, 1996: 233-245). This proved to be a challenge that needs to be given more consideration in future. The data analysis for the study was conducted through the quantitative research methods. For data collection during the study, we used questionnaires. Designing questionnaires is not an easy task, but a task requiring skills to accomplish (Sebahattin, Adem, 2012). The questions provided in questionnaires need to be practical questions requiring best answers that are best analyzed in the context of the specific research questions that are related to the actual populations answering the questions. The fact that we always had to keep checking back our research focus while at the same time ensuring that the questions presented in the questionnaires were necessary and relevant to the study. Finding the maximum number of ways for answering the questions also proved to quite tedious. However, it proved helpful as this was important in showing up various problems with wording which was identified by others who were not member’s o the group (Martyn, 2013: 142-149). The use of secondary sources also proved to be helpful during the research. This was information not collected with the purpose and objectives for this research (Zhilin, etl., 2006). This was information including collections from other researches, information collected from the normal operations of the entity which includes the organizations documents like the financial statements and other information published internally like the sales figures. The strengths and limitations of the research and the adopted Processes Strengths of the research and the adopted process The study had numerous strengths and limitations. Amongst the strengths included the fact that this study presented us with the opportunity to analyze the problem solely for its original purpose. This would in the future form a background for further research on the study. Another strength of the research and the adopted process is the fact that not only is the method cost-free, but is also easily available and therefore quick to find. The fact that the use of questionnaires will not make it possible for future correspondence makes it impossible for us to overload the respondents with subsequent research questionnaires and subsequently cannot affect the responses of the respondents. The research and the adopted process are capable of allowing for both longitudinal and cross-cultural studies (Robert, 2013: 2153-2162). Additionally, this adopted process is capable of facilitating meta-analysis which has a tendency of producing fresh insight on the topic which makes it easy students to be able to see the big picture patterns. Limitations of the Research and adopted Process The research and the adopted process have a tendency of having various constraints hence resulting into inconsistencies and or elements of the research not being compatible. Additionally, there arises the cost or access constraint especially when it comes for searching for corporate data when searched either from the said companies or even from agencies (Ge, 2013: 678-686). There have also been tendencies of the research and the adopted methods presenting means of measuring its validity since there may be either inclusions or exclusion which could affect the use of this data. Changes that would be made to the approach to researching and analyzing the business problem if done again Having undergone this study, it has come out clearly that having a proper understanding helps not only in being specific about the research one has to undertake, but also ensures that the research comes from a source that is valid and that the data collection and analysis was properly and appropriately done. It is true that indeed many surveys are conducted each and every day all over the world we realize that business research is indeed quite different from the other researches. Given another opportunity to analyze the business problem again, various changes will be made to the approach to researching and analyzing the business problem in question. First, there will be avoidance narrowly focusing in the business issues as we realize there is greater need to understand various aspects regarding different employees of the organization like customers, staff and other business aspects like economies and partnerships and the effects they have on business operations and the variations different products and services have over time and the means through which they can be efficiently provided (Martyn, 2013: 142-149). Another helpful aspect that would need to be done differently hence facilitating understanding the relevant theories which will facilitate the interpretation of the facts found out during the study. This is because most of the business researches including the study that was undertaken aim at achieving practical outcome which must be understood within a given context. Having the correct theoretical context will be quite helpful in analyzing various situations more critically and effectively which will further be of help in either challenging or moving a given theory forward. The last aspect of the business research that would be done differently is the process of the formulation of the research topic. To enhance more clarity, the title will have to be finalized only after there is clear process and outcome and not at the first stage of conducting the business research. The first stage in future research would serve the purpose of just providing a tentative idea that needs to be tested out. Additionally, it would be helpful in providing direction about what has to be read and from where information needs to be looked. Reference List Robert L. H (2013) III Using mixed methods designs in the Journal of Business Research, 1990 2010, Journal of Business Research, 66 (11), 2153-2162. Martyn, D (2013) The role of research proposals in business and management education, the International Journal of Management Education, 11(3), 142-149. Sebahattin, Y, Adem, K (2012) Defining Methods and Criteria for Measuring Business Performance: A Comparative Research Between the Literature in Turkey and Foreign, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 58 (12)1091-1102. Ge, Z (2013) Statistical power in international business research: Study levels and data types, International Business Review, 22 (4) 678-686. Zhilin, Y, Xuehua, W, Chenting, S (2006) A review of research methodologies in International business, International Business Review, 15, (6) 601-617. Peter, J and Malcolm, C (1996) Theory and method in international business research International Business Review 5, (3), 233-245. Ahmet, H. K and Attila, Y (2010) The use of meta-analysis in international business research: Its Current status and suggestions for better practice, International Business Review 19, (3), 306-314. Pia, P (2013) The crossover-dialog approach: The importance of multiple methods for International business, Journal of Business Research, 66, (3), 288-297. Read More