Implementation in Strategic Financial Performance - Saudi Financial Institutions - Literature review Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Report: Balance Scorecard (BSC) Implementation in Strategic Financial Performance: an empirical study of Saudi Financial Institutions. Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2011 Report: Balance Scorecard (BSC) Implementation in Strategic Financial Performance: an empirical study of Saudi Financial Institutions. Research Methods Selection and Justification Introduction Introduction According to Gall et al (2003) there are three research paradigms; critical science, inter-pretivism and positivism (scientific, quantitative approach). Positivism or quantitative is an approach that holds that a given behavior can be explained by the means of objective facts. The design and instrumentation convince by illustrating the manner in which bias and error are gotten rid of. Hopkins (2002) suggests that the critical approach or critical science critiques, explores and seeks to facilitate the empowerment of the social world. Critical science enables a group of people to be able to comprehend the manner in which a society functions. It also enables people to develop methods by which the unsatisfactory aspects are able to be modified. Qualitative approach or interpretivism is a means to achieve insights through the discovery of meanings or by the improvement of our understanding of a whole entity. It explores the richness, complexity and depth of a given phenomena. Qualitative research can be broadly defined as any form of research that produces findings that is not arrived at by the means of statistical procedures or quantification means (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). Although there is acceptance of interpretivism within human movement sciences the dominant paradigm is positivism. While qualitative and quantitative methods are different; the results from the methodologies are able to be complementary. Hopkins (2002) notes that the kinds of quantitative research designs available in the market are: descriptive or cross sectional and experimental. Cross sectional research method is mostly utilized due to the difficulties associated with experiments. It is also utilized as a result of the practical problems associated with experiments. Body Quantitative research methods. Discuss and explain the relevance or otherwise of the quantitative research methods introduced in the subject to your proposed thesis. Discussion, Relevance of Quantitative Methods According to Busha & Stephen (1980), quantitative research methods are about the quantification of relationships that exist between variables. Variables refer to things like performance, weight, treatment and time. Variables are measured on subject samples for instance humans, cells or animals. The relationships between variables are expressed by the use of statistic effects for instance relative frequencies, differences between means and correlations. This report focuses on the discussion of quantitative and qualitative methods. Hopkins, (2002) suggests that designs that make use of quantitative research methods are; experimental and descriptive or cross sectional. In a descriptive study there is no attempt to change conditions or behavior as things are measured just as they are. Cross sectional or descriptive researches designs include; cross-sectional, case series, cohort, case-control and case. On the other hand in an experimental study, measurements are taken then some kind of intervention is taken then measurements are taken again so as to see what took place. Experimental research designs include; with a control group and without a control group (crossover and time series). Cross sectional or descriptive design According to Olsen (2004) cross sectional or descriptive or correlational or ex post facto designs are outlined so as to gain more information that pertains to a given characteristic that exists in a particular field. A cross sectional study maybe utilized in the development of a theory that identifies problems that exist in the current practice and thus justify current practice, facilitate the making of judgments or aid in the identification of what others are doing in the same situations. There exists no variable manipulation and also no attempt in causality establishment. Causality cannot be determined due to the lack of independent variable manipulation. Its basic purpose is in the determination of the relationship that exists between various variables. The name ex facto was coined since it literally refers to “from after the fact.” It is referred to as cross sectional since the information that pertain to Y and X is collected to aid in the answering of research questions that are of interest. They are also called observational since objects are viewed without any form of intervention. Olsen (2004), notes that the use of the cross sectional research design requires the use of data collection instruments such as questionnaires and pedometers. Pedometers measure the walked distances or scales that measure weights. However, most of the cross sectional studies make use of questionnaires. Olsen (2004) defines a questionnaire as a means of information collection that engages a special form of conversation. The conversation could take place in a number of forms for instance; face to face, through mail and via the telephone. The researcher is vested with the responsibility to ask questions that are relevant to her or his study. The questions may however be embarrassing or even personal. The respondent is however vested with the responsibility to answer the questions upon consent to take part in the study. The design of questionnaires is critical for getting reliable information (Olsen, 2004). Questionnaire design refers to instructions or directions, the format, its appearance and the actual questions. Questionnaires have been available for the longest time and as such are to remain in the research field for a long time to come. The questions are designed for a number of reasons for instance to elicit facts or to measure attitudes. Examples of questionnaires that measure attitudes are; Do you feel that the local hospital services are adequate for the town? To what degree do you prefer federal care funding for elderly citizens? Examples of questions that elicit facts are; In what year and month did you first have a mammogram? What are the numbers of times that you visited a physician? According to Olsen, (2004) the following are three guidelines followed in questionnaire writing and construction; The questions should be easily understood by the individuals who are in the population that is being studied. The vocabulary used should have appropriate difficulty with a simple sentence structure. The questions should recognize the fickle nature of memory in humans. Specific questions will assist the respondent by the provision of better memory cues. Memory limitations should be put in mind during the respondents ‘answer interpretations. The questions should not provide opportunities for respondents to feel embarrassed or threatened. In cases in which respondents are threatened then their responses will be subject to bias of a social nature. The degree of which the interviewer may not be aware which can in turn compromise conclusions that are derived from questionnaire data. According to Busha & Stephens (1980) the data collected from the questionnaire is interpreted and analyzed to give proper feedback from a given sample of population. Sampling entails a number of procedures. The sample size may be determined through confidence intervals, statistical significance or “on the fly.” Statistical significance is the most frequently utilized sample size determination procedure. According to O’Brien (n.d) the sample size made use of most is large enough so as to be able to detect the smallest relationship between the variables. Surety implies an 80% detection time. To detect means the ability to be able to get a statistically significant effect. This implies that the recorded value has a numerically smaller effect than that observed. Smallest worthwhile effect implies the smallest possible effect that would create a difference in the phenomenon being studied. In the event that there are few subjects in the study then a statistically significant effect is obtained and most people deem the findings as publishable. In the event that the effect is far from being significant, that is with a miniature sample size, it is regarded as unpublishable. O’Brien (n.d) suggests that confidence Intervals is a method that is mostly accessible and as such aid in the interpretation and estimation of outcomes. This method is geared towards obtaining a sample size that has an acceptable precision. Precision is mostly in reference to 95% of confidence interval for a given true value. Acceptable implies that it would be of no consequence in the event that the true value is as big as the upper limit or as low as the lower limit. The use of confidence intervals is advantageous in the justification of the sample size choice in that the sample size is almost half of what is required in the event that statistical significance is used. O’Brien (n.d) suggests that “On the Fly” is a method in which the study is started with the use of a very small sample size. The subjects of the sample size is then increased until an appropriate confidence limit is obtained that is appropriate for the required magnitude. “On the Fly” sampling method works since an acceptable confidence width level is dependent on the observed magnitude effect. In the event that the observed effect is near zero, the used confidence interval is needed to be narrow so as to exclude the eventuality that the population value may be substantially negative or positive. In the event that the observed effect is large then, the utilized confidence interval could be larger since the true effect value is still big at the confidence interval’s either end. According to Olsen (2004) the simplest form of descriptive study is case. A case study only reports data on a single subject for instance the study of a given dysfunctional institution or an outstanding athlete. Cross sectional studies that entail the study of a number of cases are termed case series. In cohort studies, there are some variables which are assayed at the beginning of a given study (e.g dietary habits). After a given time interval the outcomes are then determined (e.g prevalence of heart disease). In cross-sectional studies there are variables of interest in various samples of subjects which are assayed at once and therefore the relationships between them determined. Case-control studies are designed to compare cases (subjects who have a given attribute for instance a disability or injury) with certain controls (subjects who do not have given attributes); the exposure is compared to something that may be suspected to cause the cases, for instance high intensity volumes of training or the quantity of alcoholic drinks taken up per day. This form of study is also referred to as retrospective due to the fact that they focus on past conditions which might have resulted into subjects becoming cases and not controls. Experimental Studies They are also referred to as repeated-measures studies, interventions or longitudinal studies. They are called interventions since more than observation is done on the subjects (Cantrell, n.d). The simplest experimental study is a time series of various measurements that are taken on a number of subjects before and at the end of a given treatment. A single subject design is a special case of time series in which the measurements are taken over and over again (for instance 10 times). The measurements are angled to be taken before and after the given interventions on a single or a number of subjects. Cantrell (n.d) suggests that time series are susceptible to a key problem: in that any seen change may be as a result of something apart from the treatment. For instance, a given number of subjects might fair well on a second test as a result of a weather change and diet could also affect the performance of the test. The crossover design is a particular solution means to the aforementioned problem. In normal circumstances the subjects in question are put through two treatments. The first treatment is real treatment and the other reference or control treatment. Half the subjects are recipients of the real treatment first and the other half is recipients of control first. After a given time period, sufficient time is allowed for the treatment’s effect to be washed out and as such the treatment is crossed over. An appropriate analysis is made use of to subtract any retesting effects that may occur or in the event that something happens between the respective tests. Multiple crossover designs that involve a number of treatments may be possible. In the event that the treatment effect is not able to be washed out by the use of measurements then a control group maybe utilized (Cantrell, n.d). In the aforementioned designs, the subjects in question are measured and only a given number of them (an experimental group) will be eligible to receive treatment. The subjects in question are measured again, the experimental group change are then compared with that of the control group. According to Gall et al (2003) In the event that the subjects are able to be assigned random treatments or experimental groups, the design is referred to as randomized controlled trial. Random assignment reduces the chance the groups in question are not a normal occurrence in the population. If the subjects happen to be masked or blind to at treatments identity, the design is thought to be single-blind and controlled. The reference treatment or control in such a study is referred to as a placebo: a name used by physicians to refer to inactive pills or to given treatments to patients. Placebos are usually given in guise of various effective treatments. The blinding of subjects removes the placebo effect since people tend to react differently in the event that they are of the opinion that the treatment is different in some way. In the event that the study is double blinded then the experimenter is not aware of which of the treatment they receive until their measurements are taken. Blinding the experimenter is also imperative so as to ensure that he does not treat subjects from one group different than those in other groups. In the best possible studies the data are analyzed blind so as to ensure the prevention or unconscious or conscious fudging that is accompanied with prejudiced interpretation. Lack of cooperation or ethical considerations by the subjects is known to prevent the performance of experiments. For instance, a randomized trial of physical activity effects that lay a toll on heart disease may still not have been conducted since it is unrealistic and unethical to randomize a number of people to 10 years of sloth or exercise. However, there have been a number of short term studies that affect physical activity on risk factors for example blood pressure (Gall et al, 2003). Qualitative research methods. Discuss and explain the relevance or otherwise of the qualitative research methods introduced in the subject to your proposed thesis. Discussion, Relevance of Qualitative Research Methods According to Le Compte & Preissle (1992), qualitative methods show phenomenological paradigm assumptions which depict that there exists multiple realities which are defined socially. The multiple realities of a given phenomena also differ across place and time. Qualitative or interpretivism advocates for the analysis of the whole so as to comprehend a given phenomena. It is as such critical of quantitative research method since positivism seeks to collate and analyze data from a number of parts of a given phenomena and as such the method could leave out vital aspects of a given understanding as a whole. Le Compte & Preissle (1992) suggest that the qualitative research methods that exist include; case study, ethnography, grounded theory, historical and phenomenology. Case study makes an attempt to dissect a given phenomena through the in-depth studying of a single case for instance of the phenomena. The case in question can be a person, a group, an individual or a given institution. Grounded theory is made up inductively from corpus data that is needed by a given participant-observer. Phenomenology describes experience structures as they come up to consciousness, without any given recourse to theory, assumptions or deductions from various disciplines. Ethnography lays emphasis on sociology of meaning via close field observation of given socio-cultural phenomena. It is typical for the ethnographer to focus on a given community. Historical is the objective evaluation and systematic collection of data that is related to previous occurrences so as to evaluate hypotheses that concern causes, trends or effects of these events which may aid in the explanation of present events so as to anticipate future events. According to McCotter (2001) qualitative research has the following data collection and analysis techniques; interactive interviewing, observation and written descriptions by given participants. During interactive interviewing people are asked to describe their experiences of a particular phenomenon verbally. In the written descriptions method; people are requested to write the descriptions of experiences with phenomenon. Observation entails the descriptive observations of non-verbal and verbal behavior. Analysis is thought to start when data is collected and used in the guidance of decision making that is further related to data collection. Miles & Huberman (1994) suggest that qualitative studies are the tools utilized in the understanding and description of the human experience world. Since humanness is kept throughout the process of research, the escape of subjective experiences is largely impossible even for seasoned researchers. Researchers also make use of their respective intuition during the research process. The human experience world needs a wide commitment of dedication and time so as to be able to process it. Qualitative method is advantageous since it is thorough, complete with descriptions and explorations of a given situation or phenomenon. Research Design Effect According to Botoroff (n.d) the type of design chosen for a study has a vital impact on a given sample size. Descriptive studies require hundreds of subjects so as to ensure statistical significance or obtain acceptable confidence intervals. Experiments generally require a lot less, usually one tenth of the overall number this is because it is easy to view the changes that exist within the subjects which is more than the differences that exist between subject groups. Crossovers require even less than one quarter of the required number of an equivalent trial of a given control group this is because each and every subject achieves experimental treatment.   Effect of reliability and validity According to Meyer (n.d) the precision by which things are measured are a key impact on the size of the sample: the worse the measurements, the greater the number of subjects needed for the signal to be lifted out of the errors that might exist in the measurement. Precision is put across in the form of reliability and validity. Validity shows how well a given variable is able to measure the phenomenon it is believed to. Validity is key in descriptive studies: that is in the event that the validity of key variables is poor than a larger number of subjects will be needed to conduct the experiment. Reliability reflects on how reproducible the taken measures are when retested. It therefore impacts experimental studies: that is in the event that measures are reliable then fewer subjects are needed to facilitate a small measurement change. For instance, a controlled trial that constitutes 20 subjects in every group or that of a 10 subject crossover trial may be enough to characterize small effects, in the event that the measures are highly reliable. Busha & Charles (1992) suggest that In the event that researchers do not have enough resources or time to get samples of optimum size then pilot studies are made use of. A pilot study is therefore performed to develop, adapt or check the technique’s feasibility that enables it to determine the measures reliability and also to calculate the projected size of the final sample. The pilot study is formulated such as to have similar techniques and procedures as that of a larger study. In the event of experimental designs, pilot studies might suffice; which means that conducting a larger study may not be necessary. This is due to the fact that pilot studies aid in the setting of upper and lower limits. A statistician is also able to collate the pilot study findings to that of meta analysis which gets s confidence interval from the effect of several studies (Babbie, 1973). What to measure According to McCotter (2001) In any given study subjects’ characteristics and the dependent and independent variables that define a research question are measured. In the event of experiments; mechanism variables are also measured which aid in the explanation of the manner in which a treatment works. Characteristics of subjects Sufficient information must be reported with regard to subjects so as to identify a population group from which an analysis may be made from. For human subjects, for instance age, sex, weight, socioeconomic status, ethnic origin and height are common, and are as such dependent on a study’s focus (McCotter, 2002). Independent and dependent variables McCotter (2002) suggests that a researcher usually has an idea of the question they need answered. The question defines the key variables to be measured. For instance, if a researcher is interested in the enhancing of sprint performance then the outcome variable or dependent variable is automatically a given sprint measure. The researcher is vested with the responsibility of measuring the variable with high precision. The next thing in the research is the identification of the things that affect a particular dependent variable. The aforementioned effects on the dependent variable are referred to as independent variables: sex, training and treatment in a given experimental study. Olsen (2004) notes that for a cross sectional study that has a wide focus for instance a “fishing expedition”, the key interest is the estimation of every factor that affects a dependent variable. This allows for the inclusion of very many independent variables that is permitted by resources. In the event of the use of a large sample size while conducting a cross sectional study requires the inclusion of independent variables which does not affect precision. Select the quantitative and/or qualitative research methods you believe will be most useful in researching your thesis topic and justify your selection. Selection and Justification of an Appropriate Research Method for Thesis Busha & Charles (1980) suggest that during subject selection and the design of experimental protocols, researchers usually strive to eliminate the variations in the subject’s behaviors and characteristics. Researchers aim to obtain greater precision in the estimation of treatment effects. However, the problem with the aforementioned approach is that its effect is generalized only to particular subjects who have a narrow range of behaviors and characteristics in a given sample. Depending of the study’s nature, the researcher may have to make a balance between applicability and precision. A quantitative approach will be utilized in the thesis and the research design that will be utilized will be cross sectional study design. A quantitative approach is chosen since it holds that a given behavior can be explained by the means of objective facts (Hopkins, 2002). On the other hand the thesis Balance Scorecard (BSC) Implementation in Strategic Financial Performance: an empirical study of Saudi Financial Institutions is geared towards determining how the use of BSC promotes financial strategic performance. The study mainly zeros in on the Balance Scorecard’s four aspects of; internal operating processes, customer, financial, growth and learning. A quantitative approach is also chosen since it is a primarily deductive process as it is used to test constructs, pre-specified concepts and hypotheses that make up a given theory (Hopkins, 2002). In the thesis the pre-specified concept is Balanced Scorecard and the hypotheses that are being tested are; No statistically significant impact for the application of performance measures in the financial perspective; to promote financial Strategic performance in financial institutions that operate in Saudi Arabia. No statistically significant impact for the application of performance measures at the customer perspective; to promote financial strategic performance in financial institutions that operate in Saudi Arabia. There no statistically significant impact for the application of performance measures in the internal processes’ perspective; to promote financial strategic performance in financial institutions that operate in Saudia Arabia. There are no statistically significant impact for the application of performance measures in the perspective of learning and growth; to promote financial strategic performance in financial institutions that operate in Saudi Arabia. The study design to be made use of in the thesis is cross sectional study design. Since it strives to collect facts from a sample population so as to answer questions and confirm hypotheses (Olsen, 2004). This study makes use of either the whole population or a subset of it. Data is collected from the selected group to help answer a series of questions. In the thesis the population in question will be a subset (58) of Saudi Arabian financial institutions. The design and instrumentation convince by illustrating the manner in which bias and error are gotten rid of. Conclusion Conclusion Cross sectional research will be made use of in this study. It is a quantitative method this is due to the fact that it examines information from various cases at a given point in time (Neumann, 2006, pp.26).A quantitative method is best suited for this study since the method is geared to find and put across theories that will aid the explanation of the relationship of variables. The research method that is to be used will be survey and interviews. The survey will use self completion questionnaires to collect quantitative data. The gathered data will then be analyzed. The process will be inclusive of the general identification of the population (Olsen, 2004) used in the survey via financial institutions that are located in Saudi Arabia. The firms in the survey will be 58 firms. It will also include the design of the survey instrument (questionnaire) hand in hand with the instrument’s validation. After the validation, the instrument will be presented to the supervisor so as to be approved before the instrument is administered. Finally the researcher will be able to make statistical analysis with the aid of a statistician. After the collection of results, a preliminary analysis of the data from the survey and then focus group discussions are as such conducted. The supervisor will be able to validate the preliminary analysis. The researcher will then follow them by a detailed analysis of the given results. References Babbie, E.R. (1973). Survey Research Methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub. Co. Bogdan, R.F. & Biklen, S. (1992). Eight common questions about qualitative research. In qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (pp. 39-48). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Botoroff, J. (n.d). Workshop on Qualitative Research. Retrieved October 20th 2011 from http://www.research.vhhsc.ca/i/presentations/QualitativeResearch Busha, C.H & Stephen, P.H (1980). Research Methods in Librarianship Techniques and Interpretation. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Inc. Cantrell, D.C. (n.d). Alternative Paradigms in Environmental Education Research: The Interpretive Perspective. Retrieved October 22nd 2011 from http://www.edu.uleth.ca/ciccte/naceer.pgs/pubpro.pgs/alternate/pubfiles/08.Cantrell.fin.htm Gall, M.D., Borg, W. & Gall, J.P. (2003). Educational Research; An introduction. (7th edition).White Plains, New York: Longman. (pp. 434-539). Guba, E.G. & Lincoln,Y.S. (1994). Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research. In.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 105-117). Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage. Hopkins, G.W. (2002). Quantitative Research Design. 4(1). Meyer, J.F (n.d). “Early Steps in Research,” Research Methods Tutorial. Retrieved October 24th 2011 from http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/sociology/early.html McCotter, S.S. (2001). The Journey of a beginning researcher. The Qualitative Report, 6 (2). Retrieved October 23th from http://www.nova.edu/sss/QR/QR6-2/mccotter.html Miles & Huberman (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis. Pp. 40 Neumann, W.L. (2006). Social Research Methods Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson Education, USA. Le Compte, Millroy & Preissle (Ed.) (1992). The handbook of qualitative research in education. O’Brien, K. (n.d). Research Paradigms. Latrobe University. Retrieved 24th October 2011 from http://ironbark.bendigo.latrobe.edu.au/~obrien/parad/index.htm Olsen, C. (2004). Cross-Sectional Study Design and Data Analysis. 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