Effects of Profit-Sharing on Employees in the Corporate Environment in the United Kingdom - Research Proposal Example

Effects of Profit-Sharing on Employees in the Corporate Environment in the United Kingdom Table of contents Contents Methodology 2 Introduction 2 Research question 3 Research method 3 Research design 4 Role of the researcher 6 Population and research participants 6 Instrumentation 7 Validity and reliability of data collection instruments 7 Sampling 8 Procedure 8 Data analysis 9 Pilot study 9 Ethical considerations 10 Summary 10 Reference list 11 Methodology Introduction This study aims at investigating the motivational role of profit sharing among organization’s employees. It focuses on effects of profit sharing among different employee-population segments, with the aim of establishing cross sectional data, for a reliable approach to understanding possible effects of profit sharing on employees’ attitude towards the employees’ output in their respective organizations. The study considers three categories of organizations: organizations that have undergone transition into profit sharing, within the last three years, organizations that have practiced profit sharing for over five years, and organizations that have not practiced profit sharing in their lifetimes. Results from the study could inform managers and management students on a possible human resource management strategy and improve the economy through increasing level of production, a macro economic impact. The literature review section explores existing knowledge on profit sharing, its use in organizations, and its significance. Online search for existing literature, profit sharing, trends in profit sharing, benefits of profit sharing, and attitudes towards profit sharing are used in recruiting literature for review. The research seeks to investigate the motivational role of profit sharing among employees in organization and this extends to perception by organization that profit is a motivator and that influences organizations decision to implement profit sharing plans as well as degree of shared profits. Maslow’s hierarchy of need’s theory informs the study. According to the theory, human needs are unlimited, organized in classes, and satisfied in the order of classes. An individual seeks to satisfy needs at the lowest class and once all are satisfied, focus is made on needs at the next class. Profit sharing identifies a higher level of needs, which could be associated with affiliation or self-esteem needs, and this paper seeks to understand its significance, over consistent motivational factors to lower classes of needs (Koontz 2010, p. 289). A mixed research method is proposed with phenomenology and survey as research designs. The research methodology section explains and justifies proposed methods, designs, data collection approach, and procedure, research sample and sampling, ethical issues, and proposed data analysis. Research question The research sought to investigate the motivational role of profit sharing among employees in organization and this extends to perception by organization that profit is a motivator and that influences organizations decision to implement profit sharing plans as well as degree of shared profits. The following were the research questions for the study. Does a relationship exist between rate of shared profit per employee and employees’ productivity in a subsequent financial period? What is the perception of effects of profit sharing on employees’ attitude towards work and their organizations? What is the trend in application of profit sharing plans in organizations? Research method A mixed research method was used in the study. Quantitative design was used to collect and analyze quantitative data on usage of profit sharing in organizations and effects of the usage, together with trend in usage by organizations. Qualitative research method was used to investigate perceptions on effects of profit sharing, with the aim of ensuring consistency and credibility of developed data. Implementing a mixed research methods also allows for triangulation and therefore offers different data sets for establishing reliability. In addition, quantitative and qualitative research methods have different scopes that triangulation combines for development a comprehensive knowledge base. Quantitative methods, for example, are effective investigating relationships between variables while quantitative methods helps in developing deeper meaning on investigated variables. a mixed approach combines these and the inclusiveness informed the method selection (Offredy and Vickers 2013, p. 32). Research design The study applied survey design for the quantitative aspect. This is a non-experimental design in which existing data is collected from their natural form. It therefore lacks elements of treatment and control groups, because of absence of treatment effects. In addition, there is no randomization of research participants into groups and advantages of the design informed its selection. Survey design, for example, allows for use of large sample sizes because involved activities in data collection are limited. The ability to use large samples also facilitates generalization of findings from a survey design because application of large sample sizes increases reliability of a study. Consequently, derived data from the study and associated conclusion can be inferred to the study’s population. Another advantage of the survey design is ability to replicate a study with ease because of involved simple research methods and such a replication, especially in a single study, establishes validity. Cost of implementing an empirical study is a limitation to many studies and this identifies cost effectiveness of survey design as one of its greatest advantage. This benefit also makes it easy to use a large sample size or to replicate a study because of affordability. May and Holmes (2012, p. 73) also identifies provision for anonymity of research participants as another advantage of survey design and this ensures elements of morality of a study. The design also makes it possible to investigate many variables and its properties such as simplicity and cost effectiveness explain this. Even though the design has some challenges, these are either inevitable in any research design, manageable, or relatively less effective than they are in other research designs. Some of the challenges are “possibility of non-response,” “complexity of data-collecting instruments,” possible high cost of implementation and lack of validity from factors such as bias from research participants (2012, p. 73). The qualitative aspects of the study will however be implemented through phenomenology, a qualitative research design. In phenomenology design, focus is made on experiences of research participants and from which data is collected and is analyzed. Suitability of the research design to the scope of the study and its advantages informed its selection. The study, for example, sought to investigate, in part, perception on effects of profit sharing on employees’ attitudes and this can best be derived from experiences of employees and other stakeholders such as human resource managers and human resource consultants. One of the advantages of phenomenology is its ability to promote an in-depth understanding of people’s experiences and this would meet the qualitative objective of the study, which was to develop deep understanding of perception on profit sharing and its possible effects. The design also facilitates data collection to ensure adequate description of the subject of interest, profit sharing and its effects. Another advantage of the design is its ability to convey credibility of a study to an audience because the audience is able to relate to the phenomenon of interest (May and Holmes 2012, p. 76). There are however many challenges that face the design but the method’s objectives undermine these. The key challenge to the design is possible misrepresentation of data, due to bias or forgetfulness and this undermines ability to generalize findings. This is however not significant to the study because the qualitative aspect aims at understanding profit sharing and its effects and not on relationships for inrefencing and this means that reliability is not an important factor (p. 76). The design also applies a small sample size but this is not a threat to the study because the qualitative scope does not aim at generalization (Offredy and Vickers 2013, p. 103). Possible harm to research participants, due to sensitive information that could relate to negative experiences among the participants, is another possible challenge (May and Holmes 2012, p. 76) but measures such as ethical approval and pilot testing will ensure that the design’s implementation offers no threat to psychological harm of research participants. Role of the researcher The researcher assumes all the roles in the study. The role began with preliminary search on contemporary issues in business for topic identification. Once the topic was identified, a timeline was developed for activities into the research. Search on existing literature for literature review, literature review, and documentation of review findings then followed and were all done by the researcher. Development of research methodology then followed. Other roles that remain for the researcher are development of data collection instruments, sampling, data collection, data analysis, and publication of the study and its findings. Population and research participants Employees in the United Kingdom’s corporate sector form the study’s population. This is however limited to employees of legal majority age because these are considered to have decision making capacity that identifies ability to developed rational perceptions on profit sharing and rational response to profit sharing. Research participants will be a sample of employees from six organizations that have their headquarters in London city. from each organization, a random sample of employees will be obtained from lists of employees from the organizations’ human resource departments. A sample, based on power analysis, will be obtained from each of the organizations for the quantitative study. Each of the respondent would be asked for willingness to participate in the qualitative study and a random sample of 37 employees will be selected for the study. Additional five branch human resource managers and five human resource consultants would be recruited through convenience sampling. Online survey questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data while focus groups will be used to collect data for the qualitative study. Instrumentation Online questionnaires will be the primary data collection instrument and will consist of closed and open-ended questions for exploring effects of profit sharing on employees’ attitude and output in an organization. Cost effective of online questionnaire, since only one copy needs to be produced at a low cost and be used for all research participants, is the major reason into the instrument’s selection. Research participants also have the convenience of completing the instrument at their free time and this is likely to promote response. The researcher will however be the data collection instrument for the qualitative design’s focus group discussion. Validity and reliability of data collection instruments Self-made questionnaires will be used and a pilot study used to investigate the instrument’s validity and reliability. Measures will then be taken, based on observation from the pilot study, to manage validity and reliability challenges identified in the developed instrument. The instrument and its usage is however free from researcher bias, through manipulation of research participants, and this establishes a level of validity and reliability. Sampling Different sampling approaches will be used for the study. Stratified random sampling, a probability sampling, will be the first sampling method and will be used to sample employees. The strategy organizes the sample space in categories, with presumed homogeneous properties, and uses random approach to identify participants from each group. Its main advantage is generation of a representative sample for reliability. The random approach also eliminates possible sampling bias towards reliability. Organization’s identify will be the strata for the sampling. Power analysis will be used to determine the sample size that will then be divided by six, the number of proposed organizations for implementing the study. Random sampling, another probability sampling, will be used in identifying organizations to be used in the study and in identifying employees who will participate in focus group discussions. Convenience sampling, a non-probability sampling approach, will however be used to sample human resource managers and human resource specialists. Relative scarcity of the target group and the qualitative scope of the study aspect that does not regard reliability justify the choice (Offredy and Vickers 2013, p. 136- 138). Procedure Proposed research methodology will be presented to the college’s ethics review board for ethical approval. Selection of organizations, whose employees will be used to implement the study, will follow this, and approval will be sought from the organizations’ top management. once approval is obtained, power analysis will be used to identify the sample size and this apportioned to each organization. a random sample will then be drawn from each organization and employees contacted by mail and asked for their willingness to participate. the scope of the study, together with possible implications, will be explained to the employees and their consent into participation sought. A final sample will then be drawn from the respondents and each will be notified of date on which online questionnaires will be delivered to them and dates on which they are expected to return the questionnaires. A two-week period will be offered for completing the questionnaires. The questionnaires will also include a request for participation in a focus group study. Once the questionnaires are mailed back, another random sample of 37 employees will be selected and invited for a focus group in conference room in London and on a specified data on which data will be collected during the discussion. Voice recorder will be used to capture the discussion and to allow for proper analysis afterwards. After the focus group, a convenience sample of human resource managers, from the sampled organizations, and human resource consultants who are located in London, will be invited to a focus group discussion that will be recorded and data analysed later. Data analysis Quantitative data, collected from the online questionnaires, will be decoded into ordinal and ratio scale and statistical data analysis tools, SPPS and Excel, used to analyze the data. Researcher’s rationale will however analyze qualitative data from the focus group discussions. Pilot study An organization will be identified at random and 13 employees used in a pilot study that will aim at testing validity and reliability of the developed questionnaires, ability to meet ethical expectations, and feasibility of the study. The pilot study will be replicated three times and different organizations, from the one used in the pilot study, will be used in the final study. Ethical considerations Even though the study does not involve test on human being, it could expose research participants, especially employees, to negative experiences that could elicit negative emotional reaction. The pilot study will however be used to identify possible threats and corrective measures undertaken. In addition to ensuring that research participants will be free from harm, the study will ensure anonymity and informed consent (Collins 2010, p. 83). Summary A mixed research method is proposed for the study with survey design for the quantitative aspect and phenomenology design for the qualitative aspect. Advantages of the designs and the research method, and their suitability to the scope of the study informed their selection. The researcher assumes the sole responsibility of development of research scope and methodology and implementation of the study. Self-developed online questionnaire is the proposed data collection instrument and its validity and reliability will be tested before application. The study will also be tested for ethical compliance besides ethical approval and consent from all involved parties. In addition, statistical tools will be used for quantitative data analysis. The study will therefore be reliable, valid, and ethical. Reference list Collins, H 2010, Creative research: The theory and practice of research for the creative industries, AVA Publishing, London. Koontz, H 2010, Essentials of management, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi. May, A and Holmes, S 2012, Introduction to nursing research: Developing research awareness, CRC Press, Boca Raton. Offredy, M and Vickers, P 2013, Developing a healthcare research proposal: An interactive student guide, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Read More