How Effectively do UEL Undergraduates Plan Their Future - Case Study Example

?How effectively are UEL undergraduates planning their future lives and careers? Contents Introduction: 3 2.Research Methodology: 3 2 Methods Used: 3 2.2 Sample: 4 2.3 Limitations: 5 3.Main Findings: 6 4.Main Discussion: 12 5.Conclusion: 14 6.Reference: 15 1. Introduction: University of East London commonly known as UEL is an excellent place for some of the finest minds among the globe. UEL was established on 1892 at that time only science, engineering and art were the selective courses it offered. At that time the name of the college was West Ham Technical Institute but very soon during 1930s and 40s demand for technical education raises so as another two colleges came with same offering and behind an umbrella called UEL. As per my research topic I chose that how efficiently UEL undergraduates are planning their future lives and choosing their career. This is a small scale research project where I have chose two different data collection methods they are questionnaire and interview among from three different data collection methods the last one is observation approach. This research is very important for the undergraduate students of UEL as well as the organization which ready to come to the campus to recruit these students and for faculties also. For students that they can evaluate themselves and start thinking straight for their future, teachers can have a clear prospective and view about their students thought process and it will be easy for them to help students accordingly. For industry recruiters that they can evaluate and find right mind for the right kind of profession in their respective organisation. 2. Research Methodology: 2.1 Methods Used: For this research I used both the pillars of marketing research they are primary and secondary research approach. For primary research best way to complete that is survey method. For data collection approach as I said earlier that among the three different approaches (Questionnaire, Observation and interview), I choose two of them like Questionnaire and Interview methods. For students I chose questionnaire data collection method as they have enough time and patience to do that. But for industry experts and human resource management of various industries as they do not have that much time to evaluate each question and they are professionals so I chose to take interview data collection approach. One to one personal interview is a costly and time consuming one but this interview is best suitable for the qualitative answers from the professionals. As it is a small research so while on data analysis I have to take the help of secondary research as well. Quantitative questions are close ended type in nature here the response from the respondents will be premeditative and there will be no chance of uncertainty. So compiling of these data will easier as the results are predetermined in nature. But for qualitative responses, response will be explorative and descriptive in nature. Primary research can be descriptive, explorative, causal or very casual in nature. Descriptive research will be at that time when the researcher is doing a research on a broader topic which base is situated among several topics but for explorative research the topic need to be out of the box kind of and very few or no previous research is done on that topic. Here researchers need to look forward to innovative responses and need to explore various approaches. For causal research, researcher will research on cause and effect of a given problem or research project. 2.2 Sample: The most appropriate sampling method is simple random sampling technique. For the students of UEL close ended, quantitative, questionnaire method is the best suitable sample technique and for industry experts and human resource department of various organisations qualitative, open ended, interview method is best suitable. As two type of research methods are taken for two different target groups, so questionnaire also will be split up into two different modules. For questionnaire research method the close ended quantitative questions will be served among the twenty undergraduate students of UEL. And for interview research method open ended qualitative questions will be asked to the three human resource manager of different organization which has a very good knowledge about UEL culture and its students. Here I have made five close ended questions for the students of UEL and three open ended questions for the human resource managers. Reason behind choosing two different groups of people for this research is to make the responses diverse in nature. The groups involve in this research are under graduate students of UEL and human resource departments of different organization. 2.3 Limitations: There are several limitations for this research methods like- As it is a small research so the sampling size for the research is respectively very few. Only twenty UEL undergraduate students are taken under consideration and involve them into the research. Also only three different human resource managers of different organisations are involved in the research. To keep the research small questionnaire been prepared also very brief and limited. Only five questions for UEL undergraduate students and only three for different human resource managers from different industry sector. Again time duration is also very short. So it is impossible to cover every under graduate students response at that time duration. So I had to limit my questionnaire as well as sample size. As it is a small research budget allocation for the research process was also very short and limited. So I had to cut my expanses over making and distribute questionnaire among the UEL undergraduate students and for managing interviewees or appointments with the human resource managers of various organisations. Because of internet problem there were several issues regarding the research process. Mailing the questionnaire among the students was faced an initial set back. Also getting responses over internet was a problem. Because of hectic schedule of human resource manager of various MNCs it was very hard to get an appointment with them. For close ended questionnaire research method limitations are that responses will be predetermined and bounded. Responder cannot able to give their free choices and open minded answer. They always have to choose an answer which researcher been bound to them. For open ended qualitative research approach as the answers are not premeditative so it is very difficult to compile those data. Sometimes answer get so diverted from the topic that it is really hard for the researcher to relate it to the topic. 3. Main Findings: As per the data I got from the students of UEL from the responses of the questionnaire of quantitative types are as follows- Q. 1. What appeals to you the most? a> great salary, b> job satisfaction, c>flexible working hours, d>high career growth, e> provision for training and development Among the twenty UEL post graduate students two selected that great salary attracts them more than anything towards a career path. Ten students said job satisfaction is the most prior thing for a career path. Only one student cared about flexible working hours. Five students were serious about high career growth. And wherever they find it they will move towards it. Surprisingly only two students took the path as a provision for training and development. So it is clear that Most of the undergraduate students want job satisfaction more than anything. Q.2. What do you think is essential for a better career opportunity? a> Qualification, b> Experience, C>both, D> Adaptability to change Out of twenty students, two students think only qualification can take them towards a better career opportunity. Three students think only experience can take them there. Ten students think they need both qualification as well as experience to reach a good future. But five students think adaptability to change can help them to reach wherever they want. So we can see that most of the students feel they need qualification as well as experience to reach a better future. 3. How did the UEL 3rd Under Graduate Conference held on 9th Nov.2013 help you in developing your potential and skills? (UEL Under Graduate Conference, 2013) a> improve skill and confidence, b> gaining recognition, c> industry exposure, d> improving communication skills, e> reasoning abilities Out of twenty students five think that conferences like November 9th of 2013 will improve their skill and confidence in bigger life. Four of them think it will bring the recognition what they deserve and want very much. Another Four under graduate thinks it will expose them to the industry and it is good for their future. Five students among the respondents think it will only improve their communication skills. And two of the total responder thinks these conferences will increase their reasoning abilities. Q.4. Do you think it is better to work for someone else rather than running your own business? a>Yes b> No Out of twenty students eleven think working for others is better than running own business. But Nine think running own business is better than working others. 5. Apart from studies which other fields help you in shaping your future life and career? a> Dancing & singing B> creative writing C> Sports D> Acting E> fine arts As per the question of their extra curriculum three students think dancing and singing as a career is a good opportunity. Two students think creative writing is helping them more than any other curriculum. But ten out of twenty think sports is very good opportunity when it’s come to extra curriculum in UEL. Three students said acting as a professional make them more interesting than anything. But only two students like fine arts as an extra curriculum that was surprising. So the biggest group of students like sports except study in UEL is helping them shaping their future. Data I got from the industry experts by taking their interviewees in qualitative data collection method are as follows:- Q.1. Which factor do you consider essential for recruiting an efficient employee? Two of them want persons with good interpersonal skills and high ability to accustom with new environment. One said they want a hard working employee with eminent knowledge about the market condition with exceptional convincing power and healthy attitude. Q.2. What is the current market scenario regarding the availability of suitable candidates? One human resource manager from IT sector said students are getting more aware of the market than their previous generation. Other human resource manager from steel industry said current students are more freckle minded than before. They only care about themselves. Whenever they see a better package they jump to that organization irrespective of seeing that what is the job profile or future of that job. Other Human resource manager was also agreeing with that about students are not any more loyal to their respective organizations. But that thing brings more competition among the industries regarding retaining the best candidate in the industry. Q.3. What makes the UEL students different from the students of other universities? Human resource manager from IT industry said world class curriculum of UEL makes their students different from other university students. Other human resource manager from mining industry said best of the class research facility is making UEL students different from others. Steel industry’s human resource manager said kind of global exposure UEL provides to its students and the platforms it provide that makes its students very much prepared for the market and a smart worker in any industry. 4. Main Discussion: As per the data I have from this research method most students like job satisfaction over huge salary, flexibility in office timings or dress codes, high career growth and provision for training and development. Though students giving importance to the career growth and provision for training and development in a great manner. But they all want to make their hobby or interest as their profession. I am agreeing with most of the students that both qualification and experience are necessary for a better career opportunity. Adaptability to change is also has a huge role over a student’s career growth. Conference like UEL 3rd Under Graduate Conference which held on November 9th in 2013 will definitely develop student’s public speaking skills and they will gain confidence from this kind of exposure. Not only students can develop their skill out of it but also they as well as UEL can get the spot light of the media if their performance are good and it will attract more industries towards UEL for recruiting. According to those eleven students out of twenty respondents, running own business is too risky and their too much initial investment involved. For start-ups they need some experience before expose to the market. So according to them, after five to ten years of working experience they may start something of their own. But it is not a good idea as a fresher. On the other hand nine think they do not want to work under someone. They said it is not a good idea to give away their knowledge and ideas for others sake. And if somebody cannot start something by their own as a fresher they will never start it in their life. They were not scared of risk or anything. But it is clear bigger number of students want to join other’s organization over starting their own business. Except study and research UEL has excellent reputation in Music and Acting, sports, fine arts, drama etc. Several UEL graduates made their names in Olympic like Gemma Gibbons, politician- Hilary Armstrong, Edison James, actor- Sonam Kapoor, Musician- Kwasi Danquah, athlete- Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun etc. As per the data I have from three big MNC’s human resource departments of different sectors like IT Company, Mining Company, Steel Manufacturing Organisation, they all have very good impression upon the UEL. They said when they look for a potential employee they look for a person who has better adaptability in different situations. A hard worker is good for an organisation but a smart worker is best for an organisation’s future. As the competition is growing everyday and globalisation make no place in the world is unnoticed or unreachable. Quality education is reaching far corner of the world. That is the reason candidates from underdeveloped countries of Africa or developing countries of South America and Asia are competing with the developed countries of Europe and North America. Better competition making students more expose to the market and these students are more aware of the work than their previous generation. They are more efficient, more knowledgeable and ready to change as per the situation. As UEL as a prestigious college and it has a long standing reputation of generating quality students, they are generous about UEL under graduates. The curriculum of UEL is like a standard in its class, research facilities provide by UEL is world class and very few universities provide that kind of facilities in United Kingdom. UEL exposes their students towards global events and international matters periodically. That makes UEL candidates special over other university students. 5. Conclusion: As per my research it is quite clear that students in UEL live a very healthy and spontaneous life. UEL not only provides quality education but also it gives well amount of extra curriculum to its students that they can explore their interests in various domain. As per the institute their students also ambitious and belief in work over luck. Also UEL have very prominent picture among the industry recruiters mind because of its long standing past and prosperous future. 6. Reference: UEL Under Graduate Conference, 2013. Development In An Unequal World: Is there a Path to Global equality? [Online] Available at < http://www.uel-undergraduate-conference.co.uk/about-the-conference.php> [Accessed on 26th Nov. 2013] Read More