Ways by Which the HCT as a Premium College Would Improve Their Quality and Service Delivery - Research Paper Example

METHODOLOGY METHODOLOGY The primary aim and objective of the study was to device means and ways by which the HCT as a premium College would improve their quality and service delivery. In principle, their aim and primary objective was to seek and explore avenues through which the HCT as a learning institution to adapt to the changing trends and aspects in the higher learning situation and circumstance. It is important to note and mention that HCT has in the recent past acquired ISO certification and accreditation status which usually given to an institution or a body of which has an unparalleled level of excellence and quality. In the conventional knowledge, wisdom and sense, the methodology in a research comes after the literature review, data collection, analysis and compilation of the report respectively. Therefore, it would be safe and proper to assert that the part of methodology would follow in quick succession the outlined sections above herein (Ferlie, Fitzgerald, Wood & Hawkins, 2005). Intuitively, this paper and exposition would posit the means of selecting the research population, the sample to be used, and the most appropriate tools to be used in data collection. It would also focus on the research design that was pursued and used to arrive at the inferences and the findings of the whole study. The mode of research design used in the study Given the nature and aspect of the research question and notion, it collapses under the exploratory case and matter of consideration. Exploratory matter or research also focuses on two main and broad categories of quantitative and qualitative research. Qualitative research at the very minimum deals with the welfare and quality of life and how it would be affected under the different and various circumstances. This is to say that it seeks and explores measures through which the HCT as college would model the mission and vision statement of the college to appel to a larger perspective and audience (Heckman, 2000). It is needless to say and mention that the mission and vision statements of companies or the HCT as college serve as the first impression images that link the public to it. Similarly, the qualitative aspects and notions would be touch on the ways through which the HCT as an institution would ease and smoothen the means and ways of the students to communicate with the tutors and vice versa. Tentatively, the quantitative aspects and lines of reasoning touch on the numerical in terms of the numbers that would be impacted accordingly. It is to imply that the number of people who would enroll to the HCT college either as an increase in the activities of the Human resource management. Similarly, it may also mean and refer to the number of successful graduates who would finish and complete their courses and become effective citizens and useful members of the society. On the other hand, the quantitative aspect would also cover the numerical of the people who would have failed or dropped out of the college due to one reason or the next (Clarysse, Wright, Lockett, Van de Velde & Vohora, 2005). In this line of thought and respect, the quantitative part would cover the real and actual number of people who are qualified and skilled to join the HCT (Arthur, 1994). It is worth to note that talent and skill would be attracted to join HCT and in turn drive the growth agenda. All these numeric considerations would be done and covered at this point in time. Consideration for the population to be used for research work The term population in the simplest and most basic sense refers to the whole body of research participants whose opinion, view and input would be used to draw inferences and conclusion for the research work and study (Lengnick & Lengnick, 1988). The population would include all people, from the senior management of HCT College, the students, the ordinary or junior employees, the government officials to give the policy framework and position of the government relative to institutions of higher learning. Another branch of people who cannot escape attention and consideration would be the general public who form the body of prospective customers and the recipients of the skills of the graduands from HCT (Krumholz, Peterson, Ayanian, Chin, DeBusk, Goldman & Weintraub, 2005). Subsequently, this research process and study as a whole is concerned with the means and ways of helping HCT increase its status in student-teacher relations as well as increase the outlook and appeal of the college to the general society. In principle, the senior management of the HCT college, the workers and staff of human resource department, the student population, government officials and the general public. Expressly, it would be critical and key to settle on a workable group pf the population to answer and respond to the research questions that we would raise. A workable group from the whole population for in research work is called a sample. In principle, a sample refers to a part of the whole population spectrum to be used for the research process since the whole population may be tedious and time consuming to work with. Thus, it would be proper to settle on the most effective and appropriate sampling technique, which would be random (Huselid, Jackson & Schuler, 1997). Random sampling technique encompasses the fact that each and every person within the population would have an equal and fair chance of being selected or being considered for the study. It is critical to note and mention that the number of people who would form the whole population for the research would be close to five hundred. However, only two hundred people would be considered as viable sample to be used for the research. In retrospect, a random sample is good because it reduces any chance of bias such that the researcher may settle on people who would fit his or her line of hypothesis soon as to confirm the research as true. However, random sampling cannot be done out of the blues and each of the strategic population squares would be considered independently. This is to say that the people in the senior management of HCT say they are fifty, then their names would be classified according to gender. Afterwards, five people would be taken from the list of names which would be made from the senior management based on equal gender parity so as to ensure inclusivity of all people. Similarly, the same thing would be extended and used to arrive at the sample (Pettigrew, 1990). In practice, a list of junior staff would be made based on gender then ruffling is done to make the chances equal for all the research participants to be equal. Thus, students would be selected, general audience and the working staff of HCT in the human resource management based on the random sampling technique. Methods of data collection The inferences and findings made in a research are only as god as the mode of data collection that was used to retrieve the information. If the methods used to collect data are erroneous it goes without mentioning that the findings and inferences recorded would also be erroneous. Additionally, the type of research would inform the ways and avenues of collecting such data and information (Costanza, 1992). Given the fact that this is an exploratory research which encompasses both quantitative and qualitative techniques, it means that a cross or a mix of both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection would be used. Accordingly it would be critical and important to consider the both types of research and their appropriate means and ways of collecting such data. Quantitative research The primary aim and end in this type is to arrive at numerical in entirety and totality. However, in research work, it would call for obtaining the responses and unedited opinion of the research respondents such as the staff of HCT in the human resource management and department. Academically, quantitative research is deductive in nature meaning that the research flows and collapses on the inference and deduction that would be made. There are however common and ordinary methods that are usually used in this respect and line of thought. They include the questionnaires and surveys which were already constructed to be used for the collection of data. A questionnaire in it’s refers to a set of prepared questions which would be answered by the research respondents. Questionnaires are statistically alive, reliable and give more accurate findings or inferences. For instance, the staff of HCT would easily mention that after improving their mission, and vision statement, the number of enrollment in the college increased or improved by a certain percentage. Thus, the statics would be in numerical form such that the numbers would be obtained in form of statistics. This also implies that the statistic obtained would be specific in terms of numbers obtained and they would also be objective and reliable to an extent. Conventionally, questionnaires were administered on a personal scale and level where the researcher physically met the respondent. However the advent of technology aided an introduction of telephone and mailed questionnaires. It means that a researcher and a respondent may engage in the precincts of the research without being physically close or being in different geographic locations. In the same respect and line of thought, the survey questions could also be done on a physical one to one basis. However, the changes, advancements and modifications in the field of technology have occasioned a change in the mode and manner of administering surveys which could be done online through web enable applications and software. Comparatively, it is safe to mention that quantitative approach and perspective in research work bear more statistical bearing over the qualitative perspective. This is so because figures and facts would be used to contextualize or justify the phenomenon of interest within the research work. Questionnaires and survey have specific and certain benefits and advantages in a research work. To begin with, they are easy to administer and the inferences or the findings found would be easy to examine and analyze. Secondly, they do not make the research respondents to be apprehensive or gauge the line of the flow of the research process. This is so because a person would answer and respond to the questions within a relaxed mental space and spectrum without the feeling of being jinxed about the prospects or any changes of the research process. In the same line of thought and reasoning, there are no instances or aspects of leading where the respondent would be led to give any particular answer which may be desirable to the researcher. Equally important is that the research respondent would have a free time and space to answer the questionnaires without any extra interference or pressure from any quarter. Conventionally, the positivists opine that quantitative research or data by extension is beneficial to the formation of new theories. It is important to note and mention that there are irreducible minimums that ought to be considered in the creation and formulation of questionnaires and survey questions to be considered or to be administered to the research respondents. The questionnaires must have an explicitly stated objective with the clear numbers in the questionnaires. Also, it is proper to develop and formulate the questions clearly in a chronological manner from the least to the question that gives the most information. Later on, it would be imperative to test run the questionnaire to gauge its effectiveness and usefulness. Qualitative research From definition this calls for an examination and analysis on how the quality of life of people would be affected either in the positive or negative light. A researcher would then have the disposition and impetus to sense the level and quality of life of people and how it would be affected in the natural situations if a stimuli or a variable is introduced to a research spectrum. In the case of HCT college and the human resource department and any change that may occur due to better human resource improvements. For instance, the manner in which the students engage the tutors in research process would be improved if the tutors tone down on their strictness and line their objectivity with the vision and mission statement of objectivity. Thus, it is imperative to note and record that observation would be used as a method of collecting the data and information that would be used to make inferences and deductions (Leventhal & Gunn, 2000). In the realms and cycles of research, it is proper that the ethnographer or the observing researcher remains objective and maintains and unwavering skewness of bias in his or her judgments. Thus, all the aspects and things that he or he would observe ought to be recorded and entered as they appear without ever modifying them, adding or removing anything from them out rightly. Tentatively, the benefits of observation as method of data collection is that it is reliable and accurate since the method of collecting the information would be directly linked by the researcher. It goes without saying or mentioning that a researcher would be the very same person who would be doing the observation thus the findings that would be arrived at would have the benefit of being verified and relied upon by the researcher. Secondly, there is no middle hand or editors who may exaggerate or edit the observed features and phenomenon according to their own likeness. In this case and instance, the observer would gauge the improvement in the relationship between the tutor and the students due to a change in the human resource aspects. This could be noted and gauged by the level of ease and engagement or how the students and the tutors relate and discuss concepts in class. For instance, if the students are receptive about the ideas and the personality of the teacher by extension is easily observable and would be a mark of improvement in welfare as would have been occasioned by better standards in human resource aspects. Secondly, it would be proper to note the kind of service that the customers and the general public gets when they visit the HCT College (Ichniowski & Shaw, 2003). Observable features would include amount of time that the customer gets served in, the level of satisfaction, the facial expressions and whether or not the customers register complaints or grumble after being served by the HCT College as a whole. Another method of qualitative data collection that cannot escape attention is the use of interview. In principle, an interview refers to a question and answer question between a researcher and a research participant where the participant would respond to the questions that would be put across to them by the interviewer or researcher. Interview would be done to obtain classified and privilege information such as from the executive management of the HCT, given the fact that the questionnaires would not be exhaustive to cover all the aspects of such privileged information. For instance, the primary objective and end aim in terms of the vision for HCT College as a firm or a company would not be clearly articulated by junior staff in the human resource department. However, the senior management would be best placed to answer and expound on such issues in a comprehensive manner and approach (Bryman & Bell, 2011). Similarly, there is the provision of face to face interview, telephoned interviews and mailed interviews. In the traditional and classical sense, it encompassed the aspect and notion where the researcher would visit in person the research participant and get answers from them. In the recent past, the changes and advent in the field of information technology has motivated and inspired improvement thus there is the possibility of having we based interviews such as through emails or skype (Ostrom, 1998). The irreducible minimum in this line of respect is that the questions and objectives of the interview would be the same regardless of the medium used to conduct the interview. Conclusion In the above essay, I have articulated and discussed the methodological considerations that would be pursued by the research process so as to arrive at proper inferences and deductions. This would also touch and address itself with the reliability, reduction in bias and the validity of the whole research process (Beal, Weiss, Barros & MacDermid, 2005). It goes without saying that the inferences of the research process would rely on the aptness of the methods of data collection as tools for the research process. In practice, the research sought to expound on the approaches and perspectives that the human resource department of the HCT College as an institution would explore to increase enrollment rate, improve welfare of the students and ways of increasing excellence for the student graduands. In all aspects and fairness, it is my reasoned opinion and line of thought that the questionnaires and surveys that I developed for collecting the data was correct and relevant. Thus, the inferences that would be deducted and made would have passed the test of relevance in terms of validity. References Arthur, J. B. (1994). 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