Developing High Quality Human Resource - Dissertation Example

?METHODOLOGY Introduction Creswell (2007) describes the methodology as the framework that is concerned with a certain set of paradigmatic propositions that can be used in a research study. The first part of this chapter contains a description of the research design and rationale, whereby the researcher explains the research techniques that will be used for this study and the reasons for using such techniques and not others. The population and sample selection will be discussed in the subsequent section, after which the development of a model that will be used to evaluate quality of the HR function in construction projects will be discussed. At a later stage, the chapter will discuss the measurement instruments used in the study, analysis of data, ethical considerations and finally a chapter summary will close the chapter. Research design and rationale This study will consist of two phases. The first phase will deal with the study of literature while the second one will tackle qualitative and quantitative analysis. The literature study will entail analysis of current trends in a HR revolution in Vietnam and the world at large. In addition, the literature will be studied with the aim of examining and establishing an ideal evaluation technique for evaluation of HR function involved in PT projects. The basic aim of this study is to design and implement a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the quality of HR function in state owned EPC companies in Vietnam. The quantitative and qualitative research methodologies will be used to expediently differentiate contrasting research strategies, which will essentially depend on the nature of the research question or the problem being examined. As Gay (1996) explicates, quantitative and qualitative techniques presents corresponding aspects of the scientific study method, whereby the quantitative approaches are concerned with testing of hypothesis (primary deduction) while qualitative approaches are concerned with generating of hypothesis (primary induction). The complementary use of qualitative and quantitative methodologies has gained popularity as they are used in formulating wide innovations in science and social research. This provides a better array of perspectives and insights and allows substantiation of the results by different methods of triangulation, which boosts the general validity of findings and improves the usefulness of the study. Nevertheless, the investigation of accurately complementary techniques presents significant challenges too. These take account of additional human and financial-based additional costs, the need for respect for different epistemological positions and methodologies as well as teamwork. Population and sample The population has been defined by Hussey and Hussey (1997) as “any precisely defined set of people or collection of items which is under study” (p. 55). On the other hand, a sample is a subset of the population under consideration and it entails some specific members chosen from that population (Sekaran, 2000). Study sample The researcher will use purposive sampling for the qualitative study and simple random sampling for the quantitative part. Simple sampling will be selected for the quantitative part because no complexity is involved in the selection process. A purposeful sampling (also called judgmental sampling) is based on the fact the researcher is capable of selecting the participants who are effectively suited to meet the purpose of the study. This method of sampling will ensure that an extensive and thorough assessment is conducted and hence the researcher will be able to obtain a better understanding of the issues of quality in respect to the HR function in construction projects. In the selection of purposive sampling, it is conceived that sampling for proportionality is not of the essence; furthermore, purposive sampling is ideal for reaching the targeted sample in a quick manner (Neuman, 2003). The importance of choosing the right candidates for the study has been affirmed by Creswell (2007), who recommended that a researcher should apply one of the different sampling methods that are available, which includes purposeful sampling, critical case sampling and criterion-based sampling among many others. A suitable sampling strategy should help the researcher get eligible candidates who can help collect the most reliable data for the study. Creswell (2007) adds that the eligible candidates should be prepared to frankly and openly share information with the researcher. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will ensure that the environment selected for the interview is comfortable and should allow the participants to feel free to share information to make the interview process easier. The populations in question will have different groups of participants, who will take part in the opinion survey. A total of 100 engineering employees will be targeted for the quantitative study. These employees will be chosen from state owned EPC with different business unit structures to ensure that many aspects of the population are covered as much as possible. In order to facilitate collection of data from HR professionals, project managers and engineering employees, focus groups will be conducted in a customized manner. The participants of the focus groups will be selected through a purposive sampling technique which is considered to be more convenient for this study (Terre Blanche and Durham, 1999). Different involved parties will be sent an invitation to take part in the focus group whereby the objective of the study will be explained comprehensively. Fifteen employees will be selected to participate in the survey, whereby ten will be selected in the three groupings. Female representation will be 40% and the rest will be males. To be included in the study, any participant must have over one and a half years of experience within the field of construction. To supplement focus groups, interviews will be conducted to collect data from project executives of the respective companies. A population of 15 project executives will be selected to participate in these interviews. Developing a model of evaluating Quality of the HR function This section will be concerned with the methods that will be used in the development of the opinion survey as well as the tailored model for evaluation of the quality of the HR function. Essentially, to ensure that the final evaluation is effective, a program evaluation method will be applied. The program evaluation technique will require certain steps to be followed including identification of the stakeholders, identification of stakeholder needs, data analysis and detailed discussion of a tailor-made model. In the identification of the key stakeholders, the aim of the researcher is to ensure that the right stakeholders are invited to participate in the study. Identification, orientation and motivation of the stakeholders has been emphasized by Terre Blanche and Durham (1999), who has stated that this is an important aspect of the study and it should be done right from the beginning of the evaluation process. Identification of the stakeholders will be done in accordance with the recommendations of Ulrich (1997), which involves following of a process of configuration within the fundamental roles of the HR. Examples of HR roles that the stakeholders can be aligned with include administrative experts, strategic partner, change agents and employee champions. The information needs with respect to every stakeholder will direct the identification process. The qualitative research interview The qualitative research interview will be conducted in order to identify the expectations and needs of the stakeholders, where for this study it will entail the expectations and needs of the project executives. The information that will be collected from this interview will be used for three purposes including evaluation and development of a questionnaire, enhancing the tailor-made model by enriching it with the specific expectations of the stakeholders and to validate the elements of the theoretical model. Kvale (1983) has provided that a qualitative research interview can be used to collect information that explains more about the real-life situation of the of the respondents, which in this case stands for needs and expectations, with regards to the inference of the meaning of the descriptive phenomena, which in this case stands for the effective quality of the HR function. The purpose of the qualitative research interview is to collect information regarding the likes and dislikes of the respondents, the knowledge of the respondents, the thoughts and attitudes of the respondents as well as their experience (Bless and Higson, 1995). The basic structure of a qualitative research interview, as described by Kvale (1983), entails dealing with real-life issues derived from the respondents’ experiences, capturing and interpreting what is said and how it is said, a focus on the respondent’s qualitative aspects, descriptive focus whereby the respondent’s description of their experiences is very important and the overall focus on particular themes in the real-life situation. To curd bias during the interviewing process, there are certain conditions, which must be satisfied. First, the interviewees must combine forces with the interviewer and share their experiences without coercion or resistance. In addition, sharing of information must be done confidentially and the role of both the researcher and the interviewee must be clarified before commencement of the interview (Moustakas, 1994). Secondly, the interviewees should state their expectations before the interview and their observations after the interview. They should desist from giving answers that will satisfy the interviewer or what they think could be the best answer. Third, interviewees must keep in mind what they feel and think and should make sure they communicate it because it is very important for achieving the objectives of the study. Most importantly, the interviewers should ensure that they create an ideal environment for the respondents to air their views comfortably, openly and honestly (Moustakas, 1994). According to Creswell (2007), there are a variety of forms that interviews designs can be developed in order to obtain rich and thick data. These forms, according to Gall, Gall, and Borg (2003) include a standardized open-ended interview, general interview guide approach, and informal conversational interviews. The informal conversational interview is designed to rely “… entirely on the spontaneous generation of questions in a natural interaction, typically one that occurs as part of ongoing participant observation fieldwork” (Gall, Gall, and Borg, 2003, p. 239). In other words, the researcher engages the interviewee with questions with the aim of getting information that relates to their topic, though these questions are spontaneously asked without having a prearranged set of structure. This form of the interview provides for flexibility, however, it is an unreliable or unstable form of the interview because the way questions are asked is not consistent, which makes data coding extremely difficult (Creswell, 2007). Unlike the informal conversational interview, the general interview guide method is more structured, but it still retains a bit of flexibility in its construction (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2003). The researcher determines the way the questions will be structured. Therefore, lack of consistency is a potential limitation with this approach considering that the way questions are framed is not standardized. The third approach, which is highly structured, is the standardized open-ended interview. The questions are framed identically and in a manner that allows the respondents to give open-ended responses (Gall, Gall and Borg, 2003). This open-ended approach allows the respondents to give answers the way they wish, which also allows the researcher to ask inquisitive questions, which enhances follow-up. This approach is the most common form of interviewing because its open-ended design allows respondents to give detailed responses, hence speaking volumes of their experiences and perspectives. For the purpose of this study, and due to the importance of getting detailed and unbiased information from the respondents, the researcher will rely on the standardized open-ended interview. The idea of allowing the respondents to respond their opinions and experiences in as much detail as they wish to complicate coding of data since it is extremely difficult for the researcher to identify common themes from the open-ended questions. Conducting the interviews According to Creswell (2007), the researcher should make proper preparation of the interview, including constructing effective research questions. Preparation of the interview is the most important process of the interview because it can make or break the entire process or it can either improve or worsen the challenging situations that emerge following implementation of the research. According to McNamara (2009), the preparation phase is very critical since it helps ensure an explicit focus as to the way the interviews will be conducted with the aim of providing an optimum usefulness to the anticipated research study. In this respect, Chenail (2009) gives recommendation on a variety of interview exercises that researchers can apply before they conduct interviews to address potential biases and improve their instrumentality. As part of the interview preparation, the researcher will conduct a pilot test, to help decide if there exist any obstacles, limitations, flaws or any other weaknesses that may face the interview design. In case any of these issues are detected, the researcher will make appropriate corrections before the study is implemented (Kvale, 1983). More importantly, the researcher will select participants with similar characteristics and interests to those that will take part in the final study to ensure that the tests are relevant and useful. In addition to detecting the above discussed issues, the pilot test will help the researcher with crucial insight needed in improvement of research questions. McNamara (2009) makes use of eight rules during the preparation phase of an interview, which includes the following components: (1) select an interview environment with little interruption; (2) put in plain words the purpose of the interview; (3) deal with requisites of confidentiality; (4) elucidate the design of the interview; (5) specify the duration that the interview typically lasts; (6) explain to interviewees how they can get in touch with the interviewer in future if a need arises; (7) ask the interviewees if they have any questions before the interview session is started; and (8) the researcher should not rely on their memory to remember the responses – everything should be recorded. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will work hard to incorporate most of the insights provided here by different authors. Each of the project executives will be engaged in the interview for about 1 hour. The researcher will conduct a total of 15 interviews. Each interview will have a startling question, which should communicate the views of the interviewees in the form of a question. Each interview will begin by making an appointment before the interview day, in which case the purpose of the interview will be explained. When the interview commences, important issues such as confidentiality, the role of interviewee and interviewer as well as ethical principles will be discussed. Also, the permission to allow recording of the voices will be sought at this stage. When the stage is set to go, the interviewer will ask the opening question, which will be followed by several undefined questions that will bring into line the theoretical model for the effective quality of HR functions, and subsequently the interview will be closed. In order to enhance reliability and validity during the interview, only one interviewer will be responsible for all the interviews and the features of leading questions will be given a lot of weight (Kvale, 1983). The idea of taking into account these two factors is the reasoning that if different interviewers take part in the processes, the reliability of the data may be reduced because they will have a diverse understanding towards the themes being studied. Furthermore, the interviewer may influence the interviewees to focus on particular themes and not particular implications of those themes. In order to avoid asking for specific responses or meanings during the interviews with the project executives, specific themes will be tested, but open-ended questions will be used as well. Focus groups Focus groups are meant to collect data from the engineering employees and line managers. According to Berg (1998), focus-group interviews are discussions that can be guided or unguided tackling the relevant subject of the researcher and the group. The general rationale for a focus group, according to Stewart and Shamdasani (1988), is to arouse a detailed examination of a particular theme. The focus group is particularly ideal for helping to swiftly discover qualitative resemblances and differences among the study groups. Some of the advantages of using focus groups include a quick collection of data; less cost is incurred compared to other methods such as interviews; interaction with respondents hence enhancing follow-up questions and probing of responses; synergistic effect which results from the fact that participants can build upon each other’s response; and greater flexibility for focus groups involve coverage of a range of themes, in different settings and involving different people. For the purpose of this research, focus group will be used to extract the participants’ feelings, attitudes, reactions and experiences in a manner that is not possible with the ordinary interview. This includes one-on-one interviewing and observations of the participants with respect to issues of HR quality in their construction projects. Apparently, feelings, beliefs and attitudes are to some extent not dependent on a group or a social setting, however, they are greatly evident in social gathering, which is highly manifested in focus groups. Focus groups draw upon an array of emotional processes and opinions within group settings, while on the other hand, individual interviews draw upon individual beliefs, attitudes and feelings. While an individual interview is easily controlled, focus groups are quite complicated because they are highly influenced by the participants. However, when contrasted with observation, a focus group is better because it allows the researcher to get access to more detailed information within a shorter duration of time. Furthermore, observational methods wait for things to happen as opposed to focus groups whereby the researcher tracks the proceedings with an interview guide. This means that focus groups are organized and not natural events. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will find much usefulness from the focus group because the participants the day-to -day use of language and culture in their organizations, as well as help the researcher examine the extent of consensus in regards to different issues that affect quality of HR in construction projects (Morgan, 1980). Before the researcher embarks on the focus groups, he will make sure that the research question is well-structured (Stewart and Shamdasani, 1998). In addition, the researcher will pay attention to elements such as suitability for the group to the research question; confidentiality and comfort of the group members; the keenness of the facilitator in organizing the process, listening and preparedness; clearness and verifiability of the data; and directing of the group without introducing personal views to enhance validity of data. All these are good qualities, which according to Berg (1998) lead to success and quality of the focus groups. Furthermore, since the validity of focus groups, according to Stewart and Shamdasani (1998), is very critical, these aspects are very important and the researcher will ensure that most of them are sufficiently put into consideration. Conducting of the focus group Participlan methodology, which is a standardized way of brainstorming in order to build a positive environment that is ideal for unbiased sharing of views and discussing constructively, will be used to collect data from the participants. Participlan enhances involvement and positive interaction because it gives the participants an opportunity to participate in discussions without judgment as well as through its visual mapping instruments. For the purpose of this study, participlan will be a suitable method because the researcher will be addressing explosive and potentially sensitive issues that affect quality of HR, as well as stimulating the team members to engage in creative thinking. This method will also be aimed at enhancing idea generation as well as fast addressing of issues by drawing upon the attention and involvement of all the contributors, without paying any special attention to any particular contributor in spite of their influence or seniority. This method will involve all those who will be selected to contribute to the group, both in discussion and idea generation hence ensuring that all work collectively to group topics in a manner that will contribute towards an outcome. Demonstration sheets will be prepared purposefully to capture the opinions that will originate from the groups. This technique will enable the respondents to channel their thoughts through visual arousal. Nevertheless, it will be important to assure the participants that the information they share with the researcher will not be shared with any third-party and that it will only be used for the purpose of the research. Measuring instruments An opinion survey will be designed in the form of a questionnaire and which shall be used as a measuring instrument. Berg (1998) provides that use of questionnaires to perform surveys is one of the most common methods of collecting data, which is used to measure important issues that affect management and human resources including beliefs, attitudes, behavior, characteristics, opinions, and expectations among many others. As such, the use of a questionnaire will be suitable for measuring different issues that affect HR quality in construction projects, for the purpose of the current study. Some of the advantages that have inspired the researcher to select questionnaire over other data collection tools include the following: (1) It is less expensive because it requires less financial and human resources; (2) Its use can ensure reach of many respondents; (3) The respondents get opportunity to think about how to answer the questions; (4) Since there is no face-to-face interaction, the respondents who would like to hide their identity will be encouraged to participate; and (5) The data is pre-coded and hence its analysis is quite easy (Berg,1998). The tailor-made evaluation model will be the basis upon which the questionnaire will be designed, in which the evaluation criteria and the key evaluation questions will be included. The evaluation questions will be defined clearly so that the evaluation methods can be effective (Davidson, 2005). Identifying the evaluation criteria According to Davidson (2005), an evaluation criterion is the basis upon which a verdict is made in respect to the value, impact and efficiency of plans. To the goodness of a certain plan, the attributes of such a plan are evaluated. According to Creswell (2005), cost, outcome and process are the three fundamental dimensions upon which verdict of plans can be made. If the process is used as a criterion, then the plan’s efficiency of the performance is usually the center of attention. On the other hand, the outcome criterion pays attention to the significance of the impact resulting from the plan. However, cost as a criterion focuses on comparative effectiveness, for example, how costly the plan is when weighed against other options (Davidson, 2005). In this study, the researcher will use process to measure the quality of the HR function in the performance of services, while the outcomes will measure the extent to which the quality of the HR function is ideal for the attainment of its goals. Finally, the criterion of competence will be used to measure the extent to which HR professionals are competent to deliver the goals of their organizations. Analysis of the data obtained from the survey The moment the researcher completes collecting the data from the opinion survey, he will start by capturing it in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This data will then be analyzed using the IBM SPSS 11.0 package. The data will be described using descriptive statistics as well as frequency tables. According to Hussey and Hussey (1997), descriptive statistics are ideal for reviewing and displaying of quantitative data, hence producing relationships and patterns that can be explained, something that is not possible with raw data. In order to check data errors and consistency, the researcher will produce frequency tables for the questions posed in the questionnaire. In addition, the researcher will work out the means, sample sizes, standard deviations and any other statistical measures that will help derive more meaning from the questions. The mean of a sample, according to Sekaran (2000), is used to describe the central tendency of data, which presents a general arrangement of data, which is achieved without needlessly deluging the researcher with all the observations made in the data set. On the other hand, the standard deviation of a sample is an indicator of the variability of the spread of distribution in the data. The researcher will also be charged with the task of analyzing the internal reliability of the questionnaire, which will be done by determining the Cronbach alpha coefficient, which is the average of the reliability of coefficients that would be formed if all potential split-half investigations are conducted. In a nutshell, the opinions of different groups will be weighed with the opinions of the HR professionals for each evaluation question. To determine whether the means of different samples differ significantly, the researchers will perform t-tests, which will help to compare the results of HR professionals and those of the stakeholder groupings (Nunez, 2002). On the other hand, on the analysis of qualitative data, which will be collected through the questionnaire, a similar method used to analyze data collected from focus groups and interviews will be used. A bottom-up approach will be used to stimulate themes in which case the data will be organized in accordance with the questions from the questionnaire. As such, the themes will be analyzed in the context of goals, process and competence evaluation criteria. Finally, the researcher will integrate the quantitative and qualitative data in order to derive an in-depth meaning from the results. Ethical considerations According to Weber (1949), ethical behavior and considerations are very important in the field of research. As such, researchers should desist from undertaking any research that requires competence that they do not adequately possess, since doing so may result to abuse of the subject’s goodwill, impair the subject, dent the reputation of the research entity, or result to a waste of time and resources. Furthermore, the researcher should avoid using other people’s data and ideas without appropriate permission and acknowledgement. It is also important for the researcher to avoid situations or actions that may lead to falsification of the study results because such actions are not ethical. Informed Consent and Confidentiality To ensure informed participation, Creswell (2005) pointed out that it is essential to seek informed consent from the participants as well as guarantee their confidentiality. In this view, the researcher will ensure that a clear informed and voluntary agreement is made by the participants (Ellis and Earley, 2006). The kind of informed consent, which will be used in this study, will have to meet specific requirements including a statement that the study is about research, specification of any experimental procedures, a description of the procedures that will be involved, an explanation of the purpose of the research, and details of the expected period of participants’ involvement. Most importantly, no participant will be coerced to take part in the study. All participants will be informed that they are free to withdraw from the participation anytime they want without any consequences. Before signing the consent form, the participant will also be given a chance to analyze its content so their choice to participate or not to participate can be fully informed (Miles and Huberman, 1994). The participants will be guaranteed that all the information that they will reveal in the course of the study will remain strictly confidential and a statement of confidentiality will, therefore, be attached in the consent form. Also, to ensure confidentiality of the participants, their names will not be used in the study. To ensure that the contributor’s identity is not revealed, the researcher will use pseudonyms, codes and interview scripts. Only the researcher will be privy to the pseudonyms that will be used to code the participants’ names. The integrity of the research will be achieved through confidentiality. According to Cone and Foster (2003), it is very important to uphold confidentiality of the information collected during a research study. Before the participants take part in the study, they will be required to sign a form called ‘Declaration of Confidentiality’, which will form part of the informed consent. Internal and External Validity Validity, according to Trochim (2006), is a research plan that has measurements that can result to valid results. Therefore, validity is important in assessing the accuracy and credibility of the data used in a certain study, which is also critical in ensuring that the results of a research are not biased. According to Trochim (2006), validity in not found in designs, measures and samples, but a valid conclusion and inference can be derived from these parameters. To improve validity in this study, the researcher will uphold accuracy and credibility of information by selecting well-designed instruments. There are two types of validity, which according to Garson (2008) includes internal and external validity. The biases that are likely to affect the results of this study are the major threats to internal validity. Examples of such biases include subjectivity, researcher's biases, inflexible knowledge related to the theoretical framework and blind spots (Creswell, 2005). The research will be charged with the responsibility of reducing these biases in order to ensure validity of the study. According to Trochim (2006), external validity is related to the extent to which the results of the study can be generalized in other conditions. A triangulation technique will be used to validate the results of the interviews. This will involve application of a number of data validation techniques such as backing up of the evidence from different individuals, using overlapping perspective and pieces of evidence, and authenticating information using several forms of evidence. According to Creswell (2005), triangulation is important in qualitative research because it enhances themes and descriptions, which is important in strengthening validity and accuracy of data - this in turn guarantees credible results Summary This chapter paid more attention to study design and rationale, a description of the study’s population and sample, issues of internal and external validity, ethical considerations, measurement instruments, and the methods of data analysis. Stakeholder groupings from different settings made up the population while the evaluation study was the target of total population. Ideally, the researcher has described different methods that will be used in different circumstances, drawing upon supportive literature, and most importantly explaining the reasons why certain methods are selected for the purpose of this study. References Berg, B., 1998. Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 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