EUB020L007A Management Research Methods Assignment Help
A. Summative assessment
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Your coursework assignment is designed for you to demonstrate your knowledge of management research methods and to prepare you for writing your research proposal to meet the requirements of the dissertation module. You are required to write a report of 3,500 words on a topic of your choice as explained below.
Step 1: Select a topic of interest or business problem relevant to your degree specialism or pathway, i.e. if you are on the generic International Management degree, your topic will have an International Management theme. If you are taking a pathway within that degree, you will focus on a topic related to the pathway (marketing, finance, or HRM). The MBA would focus on topics relevant to strategic or operations management within an international business context.Choose one of these topicsthat motivates you and that you are likely to pursue for your dissertation (you may change your mind later, but it will be to your advantage if you stick to it, so choose carefully). This will require some preliminary research into that specific area.
Step 2: For your chosen topic identify the body or bodies of knowledge that you consider relevant and find at least four or five academic journals that publish literature in this field. You should use key words or terms to search for the most relevant articles in these journals on your topic and identify the key authors by comparing the cited references across these papers. You should start to build up a bibliography of relevant literature, which you will analyse to ascertain the research questions or problems addressed, theories drawn upon or developed and the range of research methods used.
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1. Introduction
Human resource is the most important aspect of a business organisation as they are responsible for maintaining a balance in the workforce of the company. Besides, the HRM ensures the organisation has talented as well as skilled employees that help the company in effectively achieving its goals and targets. As per Schuler et al. (2011), with the increasing concept of globalisation, the significance of international human resource management is increasing to achieve the targets of international business firms. With the help of IHRM, the organisations can easily move their operational activities in different countries and manage their employees to attain a smooth operational activity. However, with the increasing demand for IHRM the challenges and issues experienced by the HRM department are also increasing. This report will evaluate the issues that are encountered by the HRM to maintain workforce requirements on an international level.
One of the research papers used in this study by Bordia and Bordia, (2015), highlights that changes in the culture of different countries expose the HRM department of the business organisation to experience the issues of communication and employee attitude. The different pieces of literature that have been evaluated in the different chapters of this study will highlight many key factors such as culture, economy, politics, population, community and others that are responsible for increasing the challenges of recruitment and retention of employees for the HRM team on a global level. I have developed this study to analyse the global issues and challenges that are experienced by the HRM team of an international business organisation operating in different parts of the world.
2 Literature Map
According to Sparrow (2012), the concept of international human resource management has become vital with the advent in liberalisation and globalisation. The increasing demand for technological development and innovation in business is transforming the world and the significance of human resource to maintain quality culture is essential.
As per the literature Map discussed below, it can be analysed that there are many methodologies that are used in different academic journals. The research conducted by Francina (2018), highlights the trends and challenges experienced by global human resource management. This paper reveals the theoretical frameworks of the global human resource management and evaluates about the trends as well as challenges such as cultural diversity, communication, retaining talents, managing change of international as well as the multinational companies.
Meyer and Xin (2018), in their research, focus on the various challenges that are encountered by the Emerging Economy Multinational Enterprises in aligning their resource practices with strategic ambitions. The paper reveals that the lack of internationally experienced talent is one of the major barriers to strategy implementation. The case study of the Chinese company has been considered, and the authors propose human resource management perspectives and integrate strategic management in order to advance theories.
The next literature investigates the practices of Japanese subsidiaries and affiliates in Mongolia regarding the transfer of their HRM practices to the local staff members and the issues and challenges they encounter while conveying the Japanese management system. The study helps in understanding that the economic condition, land lock position and cultural differences make it quite hard for the employees to adopt Japanese management style and HRM practices in Mongolia. However, certain Japanese Human resource practices such as job rotation, intensive training, welfare program and bonuses were well adapted and helped in boosting employee performance (Munkhtsetseg, 2015).
The research conducting by Hjartardóttir and Lundeborg (2017), evaluates regarding the practices of managing a global workforce with the increasing concept of globalisation. The senior managers of the multinational organisation often experience the challenges of getting the right people in order to perform the right task, maximise employee's effectiveness in the global workforce and the staffing of the global workforce. There are several strategies proposed such as geocentric staffing strategies and geocentric global mindset strategy that was aimed at resolving the identified challenges of the HR department.
This paper is focused on enhancing the issue of talent management that is experienced by the leaders of global business organizations, and the primary research of this paper is focused on multinational enterprises. A theoretical rationale based on the difference between the SME and large firms in their human resource and talent management practices has been provided. The author has proposed a framework that provides information about the talents in SME. These papers have significant information ad is vital as it helps in understanding the issues of talent retention that the HRM are experiencing on a global level (Krishnan and Scullion, 2017).
The paper by Stone et al. (2015), illustrates the significant impact of information technology on human resource practices and processes. This article reviews the present impact of technology on the different HR processes and discusses the limitations as well as advantages of using these systems in organisations. In addition, the author has offered future direction for the practice of using technology in order to facilitate HR processes.
Bondarouk et al. (2016), has focused their study on the various factors in relation to workplace bullying. It is evident that workplace bullying is increasing and with the growing concept of globalisation and cross-cultural workforce, the issues are increasing enormously. It is important the HR managers should take an initiative of controlling bullying in order to retain potential employees. The study reveals that climate for conflict management (CCM) might be related to less bullying and increased work engagement. This study was conducted with the help of surveying employees of transport organisation. The study evaluates that organisational practices can reduce bullying and effective how the employees respond when subjected to issues of bullying.
This particular article by Kadiresan et al. (2015), explores the importance of quality management aspect of the human resource team. The issue of employee turnover is an area of concern for the HRM, and due to increase turnover, the outcome and productivity of the business are adversely affected. To overcome this issue, the researcher has focused the study on the impact of performance appraisal programs and the HRM practices of training and development on the employees. The findings of the study help in understanding that the training and development program and the appraisal systems were interlinked with the turnover rates of the employees a d the issue can be improved with the help of appropriate programs.
In this article, the author Othman and Suleiman (2013), explores the probable cause of poor attitude of the workforce. It is one of the most significant challenges experienced by the HRM team, poor attitude of the employees affect their performance, and the outcome of the company is highly affected.
3. Research questions, theories and methods
As per Hjartardótti and Lundeborg (2017), the management experience issues of getting the right candidate at the right place and due to this issue the outcome of the firm is affected; therefore, it is important the HRM department should modify their practices in order to be more efficient and contribute towards talent management of the company.
The table provided below illustrates the 12 journals that have been selected in order to research the different methods, theories and models used by the researchers in order to provide information about the research topic.
Author's name and year Research Questions
Francina, 2018 The different challenges and trends experienced by global HRM
Sparrow, 2012 The effect of globalisation on HRM practices
Meyer and Xin, 2018 The HRM practices in order to manage talent from emerging economies
Schuler et al., 2011 The challenges of HRM in global talent management
Munkhtsetseg, 2015 The effectiveness of Japanese HRM practices in Magnolia
Hjartardóttir and Lundeborg, 2017 Role of culture in HRM practices
Bordia, S. and Bordia, 2015
Issues of communication experienced by International HRM
Bondarouk et al., 2016 Issues of international human resource management
Krishnan and Scullion, 2017 Challenges of talent management of global HRM
Stone et al., 2015 The role of technology in international human resource management practices
Othman and Suleiman, 2013 Issues of poor employee attitude experienced by HRM
Kadiresan et al. (2015) Issues of increasing employee turnover rates and the initiatives of the HRM department
In order to conduct appropriate research in any academic subject area, it is essential to have an alternative for research methods. This helps in understanding the qualities they could have been missed if the research was conducted with the assistance of a single model or theory. Similarly, the journals as mentioned earlier have been considered in order to analyse the challenges and experienced that are faced by the HRM of international business.
Ðordevic (2016), in his research, developed a framework in order to analyse the international human resource management. The main purpose of this framework is to analyse the challenges associated with managing a global workforce and develop strategies in order to overcome the challenges and understand the outcome of geocentric strategies.
Various models were used in order to explain the challenges experienced by the HRM and help in developing probable solutions to the recognised challenges. Most of the researches used for the study were based on primary data that were collected with the help of genuine and reliable sources. It can be observed that the 12 journals are based on either the quantitative or qualitative data analysis method.
Different models and theories were applied in order to gather appropriate data. As this project is based on global HRM, so different countries and their regional places were considered in order to collect and compare data for the study.
4 Comprehensive Critique of two methodologies in the review literature
4.1 Article 1
Hjartardóttir, F.H. and Lundeborg, L., 2017. Managing a Global Workforce: International Human Resource Management as a Strategic Tool.
4.1.1 How was the Research method applied
The secondary research method was used in order to collect data for the study. Researchers often use a literature review method in order to gather academic research as a background in order to formulate knowledge gaps for future research. For this article, a systematic literature review method was selected as a method in order to investigate the research questions. The primary advantage of using a systemic literature review method is that the systematic review documents all the search strategy so that the learner can access its completeness and rigour. In addition, this article also conducted a pilot study that is a type of research method in order to allow the researcher to test the feasibility of their work. It is generally conducted in small-scale with the help of carefully selected participants. For the present research, senior human resource managers were selected as participants. The pilot test allows the researcher to understand what needs to be narrowed, expanded or adjusted for the future success. The results of the pilot test can occur at as a warning sign indicating the changes that must be done for the future research on conducting a full-scale version.
4.1.2 Contribution of the method to theory and research
The data collected in this study helped in providing vital information regarding the primary issues that were being experienced by the HRJ on an international level. It is evident that the HRM department is responsible for maintaining the workforce balance and ensuring the smooth operations of the business. However, if the HRM department fails to maintain its responsibility or experiences barriers the outcome of the firm is significantly affected. Some of the most prominent issues highlighted in this study were
• Deployment: easily attaining the right skills as they are required in the organisation irrespective of their geographical location
• Dissemination of innovation and knowledge: spreading the state of art knowledge and practices within the organisation irrespective of where they are originated
• Developing and identifying talent on a global level: recognising which candidate has the ability to perform effectively within a global organisation and assist in developing the abilities
Some of the external challenges that were identified in this study included labour union, intergovernmental organisations, social preferences and lack of legal framework. The findings of the study are aimed at equipping the managers with information so that they are well prepared while expanding in new markets. In order to overcome the identified issues, the use of strategic management is advised as it allows the organisation in gaining competitive edges. The literature review highlighted different strategies such as geocentric staffing strategy and geocentric global mindset strategy. It was observed that by the application of geocentric strategies MNS gained the best strategic positions that helped them in dealing with the challenges and complications introduced by globalisation within their business environment. This statement helps in serving as a foundational statement for the framework that was generated in order to test the pilot study. The outcome of the pilot study revealed that the framework was of practical relevance and there were a number of areas that required research.
4.1.3 What gaps the method may leave
The research has strategically highlighted the different challenges that are being experienced by HR in the context of globalisation. During the literature review section of this research, it was analysed that there was a gap in the strategies that were applied to the managing of the global workforce. The gap majorly concerned the fact that the majority of the literature studies either the SHRM used in MNCS today or the IHRM challenges but information regarding how the application of IHRM strategies can maintain the challenge of managing a global workforce were not discussed in a detailed or adequate manner. As the primary study is focused on understanding the issues of IHRM, it is essential that information regarding the solutions with the help of IHRM strategies should be discussed n order to make the research more meaningful for the reader. Another significant gap identified in this research study was that in order to test the pilot study 3 senior HR managers from Scandinavia were considered; therefore, the accuracy of the test on a global level cannot be stated as the test was not carried out with other MNC in other geographical regions. If the test was also conducted with HR of other regions, then a comparison in the results could have assisted in highlighting the results in a more accurate and definite manner.
4.2 Article 2
Kadiresan, V., Selamat, M.H., Selladurai, S., Ramendran, C.S. and Mohamed, R.K.M.H., 2015. Performance appraisal and training and development of human resource management practices (HRM) on organisational commitment and turnover intention. Asian Social Science, 11(24), p.162.
4.2.1 How was the Research method applied?
The study conducted by Kadiresan et al. (2015) focuses on one of the most significant issues that are experienced by the majority of HR and is an area of major concern. With the advent in globalisation and the increase in technology, the employee turnover rates are increasing significantly. The study emphasis on the fact that HRM practices such as training and development and employee engagement play a significant role in maintains the turnover rate of the firm. A hypothesis for the study was developed which was tested with the help of a self-administrated questionnaire. The questionnaire collected opinions from the participants of organisations located in Klan Valley in Malaysia. The researcher made use of non-probability sampling technique in order to select the employees from business firms in order to conduct appraisal and training and development systems. Convenience sampling techniques were applied where the participants were selected due to their convenient accessibility to the researcher. Participants were required to respond to the questionnaire with the help of a 5 point Likert scale.
In order to maintain the reliability of the questions the researcher measured all the constructs and adopted them from the past studies and the peer review that were considered reliable and were more than 0.80. Around 150 questionnaires were distributed among the employees in Malaysia, and around 75 questionnaires were returned that helped in analysing a 50% response rate. The respondents were ensured anonymity and confidentiality.
4.2.2 Contribution of the method to Theory and Research
The primary objective of this study was to find the interrelationship between the different HRM practices such as training and development, performance appraisal, organisational commitment and its impact on the employee turnover rate. The findings suggest that HRM practices help in improving employee performance and enhance the outcome of the study in a positive manner. However, it is analysed that well design HRM practice can be a beneficial method in order to gain the commitment of the employees and helps in positively affecting their behaviour and attitude. The evidence from the study supports that there is a significant relationship between the different HRM practices and organisational commitment and the turnover intentions of the employees. HRM practices are vital and assist the firm in gaining competitive advantages in the market. The appraisals and training development process help in boosting and motivating the employees to perform better. This allows the employees to feel more valuable and useful for the firm and they are dedicated and loyal towards the organisation. Therefore, they tend to remain associated with the organisation for a longer period of time, and the turnover rate can be effectively reduced.
4.2.3 What gaps the method may leave
Some significant gap recognised in this research paper was that the literature review conducted with the help of peer review article, however, there is a wide scope of more appropriate journals and articles left that can be explored in order to enhance the quality of the study in a more positive and meaningful manner. Furthermore, this research was not conducted on across a wide scale, it was evident that a number of organisations were selected, but they were limited to Klang Valley. Therefore, it was difficult in order to determine the distinct factors associated with the HRM practices that may have a significant effect on employee perception towards the equity of the various performance appraisal schemes. If the researcher has conducted a survey with the help of the internet and tried to reach out to participants from various countries the results would have been more detailed and accurate.
5 Conclusion and scope of my research topic
It can be concluded that the HRM department of international business firms plays a significant role in marinating the needs and requirements of their employees, which in turn helps in improving the performance of the employees. Workforce management is important, as the productivity of the entire business firm is highly dependent on the performance and dedication of the employees. In this, research 12 Peer-reviewed journals were evaluated in order to discuss the issues and challenges that are being experienced by the HRM team on a global level. There are a number of issues that are being faced by the HRM due to the increasing concept of globalisation. Some of the most common issues include external factors such as governmental issues, legal framework, local environment and more. The internal factors include an attitude of the employees, cultural diversity among the employees, language barriers, technological issue and more.
In the first article, the researcher made effective use of secondary research methods and conducted a literature review in order to highlight the primary issues that were encountered by the HRM of international business organisations. It was noted that the HRM experienced the issue of retaining global talent, recruiting the right skill at the right place. The researcher has effectively suggested a number of ways that can help in improving HRM practices so that they are able to overcome their issues that were identified. It is essential for the HR team to overcome the issues in order to ensure smooth operational activity of the company.
Similarly, in the second article, the primary issue of increasing employee turnover rate was discussed in a detailed manner. The advancement in technology and growth of the small business firm is increasing the issue of employee turnover. In order to explore the problem the researcher conducted a survey with the help of employees of different organisations across the Klan valley in order to understand the relation between the appraisal program and the employee turnover rates. It was evident that improved HRM practice and appraisals programs can help in retaining employees within the firm in an effective manner.
There were certain gaps identified in the two articles that limited the outcome of the research. In addition, other research papers used for this study also helps in enhancing the impact of other significant factors such as technology on the ways HR managers practice their methods and maintain their employees. The papers helped in highlighting the challenges of the global HRM department. This study is significant as it helps in understanding the challenges and the HRM can develop strategies to overcome the issue and formulate a strong employee base.
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