Effective Time Management at Etisalat - Research Proposal Example

EMPLOYEES/MANAGERS EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT AT ETISALAT Time management is often considered a basic factor that contributes to success of any business. Empirical as well as qualitative research studies should however be used when making such a generalized comment. In this understanding, this study intends to analyze qualitatively the contribution of effective time management within Etisalat Company, which is seen to be very successful. Purpose This study intends to survey a successful trading company, which would be instrumental in evaluating the contribution of good time management on the success of any business. However, it is worth noting success of any business as influenced by management of time should take into consideration time management by employees as well as by the management. This research study nevertheless intends to concentrate on the effects of good time management by the employees as would be attributed to the success of the company. Research question: what factors contribute to employees managing their time better (more efficiently) and achieving success? This research will add to the existing literatures on the subject and as such will be very instrumental in academic spheres for subsequent researches on the subject. Besides, management of organizations (not only Etisalat Corporation) will find these findings very useful in improving organizational efficiency through improved time management by employees. Therefore, academic researchers as well as management teams will find reading this report very useful in their lines of interest. Context This research is intended to be conducted within the Etisalat Company in the UAE with the managers as well as other employees being the target respondents. The company has its headquarters based in the UAE and its most operations are based there. This is the main reason why this study is based in the region, as it will have access to many of the organization’s employees as well as the management team. Background Research  The company has been named among most successful companies in the region and across the globe in the recent years, which brings it to the light of this investigative study. Success in any given business venture is attributed to many factors among which are good time management. The Global Research Investment Update has ranked the company (Etisalat) among the outstanding companies within the region as well as acrossthe globe in the industry of telecommunication and internet according to a 2013 research report (Global Research Investment Update, 2013). With a notable increase in the population within UAE in the recent years, the company faced a challenge of meeting the telecommunications needs of the people. This implied that effective ways of serving the populations were inevitable (Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., 1998-2014). Besides other major factors that are considered to have positively boosted the performance of the organization over years have been the effective programs to empower employees, not just for the present occupations but also for future leadership in the organization (Etisalat CSR & Sustainability Report, 2012). Moreover, the company has adopted business partnerships with such other firms as the Ericsson in product improvement, which has also positively contributed to its success (ericsson.com, 2014). It has also adopted the most effective strategy in developing customer specific products, which increases customer loyalty (Etisalat annual report, 2012). Its success has shaped UAE for years after its formation and its success has influenced the leadership role taken by UAE in the region on telecommunication and such technology (Etisalat, 2014; Hadouk, nd). It is however to be noted that the operations of the company within various regions faces varying challenges especially with dominant telecommunication providers there (Global Research Investment Update, 2011). This study is interested in studying the contribution of the employees as well as managers to the overall performance of the organization by good time management. This is because, as it is reasoned, good time management is prerequisite to the success of any organization. The study will therefore single out time management as a factor to be associated with the outstanding performance of the company in UAE. Research Methods  Research methods refer to various tools that are used for data collection as well as the various methods that are applied for analysis of the collected data. It is through the methods that are adopted that deductions from analyzed data are made and this presents the findings. This is a qualitative study, which is intended to take deductive design through analysis of primary data collected through surveys and questionnaires. Survey method This is an empirical primary data collection tool that has been in use in research studied (The Pennsylvania State University, 2006). In this case, the adoption of the tool is necessitated by the nature of the research as being qualitative. The primary empirical data collected is to be analyzed through deductions. It is preferred in this study because it is efficient in that it can be administered through mailing or through direct correspondence by the researcher. This study will therefore identify appropriate respondents comprising some managers as well as some employees. Questionnaires As a tool of data collection, a questionnaire presents a set of well structured questions on particular subject and then administered to a particular sample of respondents who answers the questions individually or under guidance of the researcher(s) (Evaluation Research Team, 2008). Its choice in this study is on the economic nature of the tool as well as the standardization of data collected from all despondences. The study therefore adopts pure qualitative descriptive study design in the analysis of these factors/barriers to communication between the universities under analysis (Shuttleworth, 2008). However, the collection of qualitative data faces some critical challenges, which include biasness on the individual researcher’s attitudes as well as the topic of study. This research will take into perspective ethical requirement by seeking permission from the ethical review committee from the school as well designing the questionnaires allowing the respondents to participate deliberately. Sample survey questions a. How long do employees work (in terms of daily hours) for the organization? b. How many employees are there in total for the organization in your branch? c. To what level does the management of time while at work left to the discretion of an employee? d. How would you rate time management practices in the organization: i. Very effective ( ) ii. Effective ( ) iii. Fairly effective ( ) iv. Not effective at all ( ) e. What are the main motivators to employees’ good time management practices in the organization? f. Are there sanctions that are imposed on poor time management by employees and managers within the organization? g. How does production vary in your department when time is effectively managed and while otherwise? h. How do you link good time management and the company’s success? i. In a scale of between 1 and 10, rate the general management of time within the organization where 1 represents perfect management while 10 represents absolute poor time management. j. What particular aspect s of management of time needs to be improved within the organization? Time frame This study will be designed to run for a whole year due to the logistics involved in preparing for and the actual data collection, data analysis and the possibility of a data recollection exercise and the time limit due to seasonal variation factors. The study will therefore run all through this year with the first three months being used in designing and trying the questionnaires and survey tools to be used. The summer holiday will be used for the actual data collection exercise as well as verification of the data. The August holiday will be used for analysis of the data while presentation and conclusions to the study findings will be done in December 2014. The distribution of the time will favor both the company operations as well as the student school schedules. Limitations This study, just as is the case with many other research studies faces some specific limitations, which include time constraints, research design as well as constraints in gathering personal data. The constraints of time result from the limited time that is available to be shared between preparation for and the actual collection of data, and matching school as well as companies schedules which all have direct influence in effectiveness of the qualitative study. The research adopts a qualitative design, whereby this design has the constraints of making quantitative deductions even with the empirical data analysis. The generalization of the study’s findings to apply to all such trading organizations would be erroneous due to specificity of the company in analysis. Personal data gathering is also a challenge envisioned in this study because; some information may be too sensitive for a company to reveal. The data collected may suffer biasness as the authenticity of the data is compromised. This is therefore another challenge as the failure to get absolute facts in the data collected has the potential of adversely affecting the results obtained and as such, the overall purpose is compromised. Presenting your research  With the main audience being the academic practitioners, the process of analytical presentation would require to adopt a very effective way in order to communicate effectively. This study aims at presenting the analytical qualitative research findings through graphs and charts. The graphs and charts will illustrate the time spent in particular processes as against gains realized in order to have a visual representation of the effectiveness of good time management on the success of the organization over time. References ‘Etisalat CSR & Sustainability Report’, (2012). Etisalat CSR & Sustainability Report 2012. Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://static.globalreporting.org/report-pdfs/2013/35475e30a557b07b518a87544727f3ee.pdf> Etisalat, (2014). Company Profile. Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://www.etisalat.ae/en/aboutus/etisalatcorporation/corporation/profile/company-profile.jsp> Etisalat annual report, (2012). 2012 Annual report. Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://www.etisalat.com/en/system/docs/reports/Etisalat-2012-En.pdf> ericsson.com, (2014). Etisalat Egypt and Ericsson celebrate successful deployment of customized charging and billing services. Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://www.ericsson.com/news/130926-etisalat-egypt-and-ericsson-celebrate-successful-deployment-of-customized-charging-and-billing-services_244129227_c> Evaluation Research Team, (2008). Data Collection Methods for Program Evaluation: Questionnaires. Evaluation Briefs, 14. Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief14.pdf> Global Research Investment Update, (2011). Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat). Retrieved on Jan 6, 2013 from: < http://content.argaam.com.s3-external-3.amazonaws.com/14707691-ae51-4359-a8dd-8ceb7f715751.pdf> Global Research Investment Update, (2013). Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat). Retrieved from: < http://content.argaam.com.s3-external-3.amazonaws.com/e5c62b7c-0d71-458a-824e-6d9ee8b4132f.pdf> Hadouk Y., (nd). Etisalat. Retrieved from: < http://sdi.abudhabi.ae/Sites/SDI/Content/AR/PDF/stakeholder-etisalat,property=pdf,bereich=sdi,sprache=ar,rwb=true.pdf> Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., (1998-2014). Etisalat builds a flagship network. Retrieved from: < http://www.huawei.com/ilink/ca-en/success-story/HW_047268?ABCG=&Product=&Operator=&Geo=&ABCG_index=&Product_index=&Operator_index=&Geo_index=&StartRow=1> The Pennsylvania State University, (2006). Using Surveys for Data Collection in Continuous Improvement Innovation Insights, 14. Retrieved from: < http://www.psu.edu/president/pia/innovation/insights014.pdf> Shuttleworth M., (2008). Qualitative research design is a research method used extensively by scientists and researchers studying human behavior and habits. Retrieved from: < http://explorable.com/qualitative-research-design> Read More