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Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Sample Answer
SECTION 2: QUALITY INDICATORS
Contents
2.1 Purpose Statement 3
2.2 Role of the researcher 3
2.3 Participants. 7
2.4 Research Method. 9
2.5 Research design. 12
2.6 Population and Sampling. 15
2.7 Ethical research. 17
2.8 Data collection instruments. 19
2.9 Data collection technique. 20
- 10 Data organization techniques. 23
2.11 Data analysis. 23
2.12 Reliability and validity. 25
2.13 Transition and summary. 26
Appendices. 31
Appendix A.. 31
Appendix 2. 32
Case Study on Strategies Human Resource Managers can use to Improve Company’s Profitability
Section 2: Quality Indicators
The purpose of this qualitative single case study is to explore strategies that HR leaders in medium-sized organizations in Bangkok, Thailand can use to increase employee productivity. The specific population for the study includes 15 HR professionals in CP All Public Company Limited in Bangkok, Thailand who have successfully implemented human resource management (HRM) strategies to increase employee productivity in their organization. HR professionals who adopt SHRM are able to manage the remuneration of employees by ensuring workers are paid wages of 300 Baht or more, which motivates them to improve their work productivity. The potential impact for social change is lower unemployment rate. When HR professionals in mid-sized organizations in Thailand adopt appropriate HR strategies, employees would likely be more satisfied with their jobs. Consequently, satisfied employees may work for the organization for a longer period, lowering employee turnover rates in these organizations. Reduced turnover leads to reduced unemployment rates in the country, which is good for society in general. This is important considering that a high rate of unemployment may have negative effects on society.
Data collection
According to Simon (2012), in qualitative research, the researcher is identified as a tool for data collection. It means that he acts as the intermediary for collected data. Compared to quantitative research where the researcher gathers data by checking records, use of questionnaires, or machinery, the researcher is the mediator and as such, he is required to be familiar with the human instruments. It is crucial for the researcher to establish personal characteristics such as biases, expectations, research assumptions, and skills that qualify him to carry out the research. Additionally, a personal journal should be carried where personal reflection and insights concerning the research are written down. The researchers should also determine if their role is emic or etic. An etic role is such the researcher participates fully in the process whereas in an epic role the researcher is mostly an objective observer. Simon (2012) further noted that an excellent qualitative researcher asks questions, listens to the respondent, thinks, and asks more investigative questions to get in-depth aspects of the research question. Moreover, the researcher applies ideas and theories from multiple subjects to analyze the problem.
In this study, the research will seek answers to the research problem namely: what strategies can human resource managers use to improve company’s profitability? The answers will be sought through the use of semi-structured interviews. The researcher will design the interviews, conduct the interviews, transcribe, analyze, and report the findings of the research problem.
Relationship with participants, area, the topic
The researcher is quite familiar with the topic after conducting comprehensive research on the topic by reading books and related articles. However, the researcher is not familiar with the area of the participants.
Ethical role
There are numerous ethical codes, policies, and principles that researchers are mandated to apply by researchers through the constructivist and positivist models (May and Janne 2013). Some of the ethical principles applicable in this research are integrity, confidentiality, honesty, objectivity, and non-discrimination by the provision of consent forms. It is paramount for researchers to learn different approaches to assessing, interpreting, and application of various research policies and make ethical judgments depending on the situation or the interviewee (Rensik 2015). To deal with ethical issues, researchers should understand the research problem; determine the information that is essential for the research, alternatives, and ethical codes applicable in various research situations. The reasons for upholding ethics when conducting research are; ethics support the purpose of the research including getting truthful information and avoiding errors, and; research involves the integration of different individuals and institutions and as such, ethics promote collaboration by ensuring there are fairness and mutual respect. Moreover, ethics ensure the researcher is accountable to the public, increase support for the research, and support moral and social values.
Belmont Report provides ethical protocols that should be applied by researchers such as justice, respect for individuals, and a sense of welfare or responsibility to research participants. While carrying out this research, the researcher will see to it that participant’s confidentiality and independence is upheld, and they will be free to make decisions. Moreover, beneficence will be maintained by ensuring that no harm is done to the participants, and benefits will be derived by minimizing any instance of acting against their wishes. By doing so, the researcher confirms to Belmont Report protocol (Department of Health and Human Services 2016).
Qualitative studies: Avoiding biasness
The research will depend on information offered by participants through the interviews. Bias will, therefore, be a subject of concern since it’s possible for participants or the researcher to consciously or unconsciously tilt the information they give (Allen 2014). Though it’s important to consider and respect the opinions and views of people towards the research questions, it is important to note that some may have personal motivations to change their views. In qualitative research, bias may be in form of, moderator biases such that the researcher affects the quality of offered information through facial expressions, body language, or dress code; sample biases where the respondents do not represent the population under study, and thirdly, biased questions that direct the respondents on how to answer the questions. These types of bases can be avoided by clarifying the respondent’s answers, providing neutral questions, and interviewing respondents that represent the population under study (Allen 2014). The research will also mitigate biases by not leading the participants to the research answers, following-up the answers by asking similar questions, having prior information about the characteristics of the population under research, and back up the answers with other qualitative researchers and records similar to the study.
The rationale for an interview protocol on Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
The interview protocol will comprise the training aspects of the interview such as how the respondents will be chosen, note taking, and debriefing, and the objectives of the study. A consent form will be signed by each respondent to assure confidentiality and truthfulness of the offered information, and an interview script will detail the procedure of asking the questions. Moreover, the protocol identifies the amount of time required in each interview and for this study; the limit will be 25-30 minutes. For the effectiveness of the interview process, an interview protocol should be used. Semi-structured interviews that outline the themes to be covered during the research will be used. An interview guide will not specify exact questions that will be asked so as to allow the respondents enough time to give long and comprehensive answers. The interviews will either be recorded or taken on video depending on the individual requirements of individual respondents. The interviews will be supplemented through the use of notes to avoid missing out critical aspects of the problem under study.
2.3 Participants
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Eligibility criteria
In each research protocol, there are guidelines depicting who can or cannot participate in answering the research question. The guidelines are referred to eligibility criteria and contain the features that should be by all the respondents. The characteristics to be used in this study include age, gender, experience, and position. The respondents should possess a particular set of characteristics to be eligible for the interview. By selecting participants with similar features, the outcome of the research is usually regarding what is under research without undue influence from other related or unrelated factors (Robert, Stacy, and Katherine 2014). As such, eligibility criteria are important since it assists researchers to obtain accurate and reliable data. Moreover, the criterion is helpful in determining individuals that may be adversely affected by the research and thus eliminating them from the interview.
For this particular research, the eligible participants will be more than 18 years, are currently employed at CPA All Public Company in Bangkok, and must have served under the capacity of human resources managers for more than one year. The respondents should have accredited skills and knowledge in strategic human resources management and should also be familiar with the topic under study. The total number of respondents will be 15 and the interviews will be conducted through the use of semi-structured qualitative interviews.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Accessibility strategies
One of the most daunting tasks for any researchers applying qualitative methodology is accessibility to the research respondents. Accessibility includes getting access to the organization under study and making sure that the respondents involved during the interviews are informative (Shenton and Hayten 2014). Moreover, the participants must befit the eligibility criteria. Other tasks involve informing the participants about the research problem and expectations of the researcher in a timely manner, getting consent from the researchers and replying to their concerns, getting a suitable sample for the research topic, and keeping in touch with the respondents until the research is successfully completed. The researcher will, therefore, have to use strategies to ensure timely access to the participants, and assurance of cooperation to avoid limitations that would lead to the inappropriate covering of the scope of the study. In this research, the strategies to be applied are contacting the firm’s authorities to get an endorsement so as to gain entry into the organization and getting direct contact with the gatekeeper and ensure that honest information is provided to gain trust. Additionally, the researcher will demonstrate his capability and experience to enable getting entrance into the firm’s professional arena, and maintaining constant communication with the managers and being receptive to their opinions and suggestions on how to conduct the interviews.
Strategies for maintaining a working relationship with the participants
It is of great importance for the researcher to maintain a working relationship with the participants if the research is to be of high quality. For a start, the researcher should identify participants that are eligible to the research question under study. When the respondents fit the eligibility criteria, it is possible to come up with research questions are familiar. Cooperation from participants can be harnessed by come up with a policy that assures of a prolonged relationship, try to blend with the participants and the organization’s values, provide incentives in situations that it’s applicable, and openly acknowledge the importance of the participant’s opinions (Shenton and Haytor 2014). Approval of the research from the participants is crucial since it implies they trust the researcher. Officially, the researcher will offer consent forms to assure the respondents that the information they provide will be confidential and anonymous. By signing the consent forms, the researcher will confirm that they are not under pressure and they are willing to participate. Moreover, the researcher will maintain constant communication with the respondents before and during the research process, and even after the research for those interested in the findings. Communication will ensure that there is no conflict in time and place of conducting the interview and will ensure that the participants are comfortable with the conditions. Integrity and trust are core elements as they lead to the provision of credible and honest answers from the respondents.
2.4 Research Method
This research will be conducted through the application of qualitative research method. According to FHI (2011), qualitative research is a scientific investigative procedure that tries to answer a specific question (strategies that HRM can use to improve a firm’s productivity), apply definite pre-determined procedures to answer the question, gather evidence, provide findings that were not present before, and offer findings that can be applied beyond the study. Moreover, qualitative research aims at comprehending on a particular research problem based on the perception of the people involved. For instance, in this study, by conducting interviews with the human resources managers of CP All Public Limited in Bangkok, the research problem will be understood through the lens of the firm’s managers. Qualitative research is also applicable when researchers want to obtain information that is culturally oriented so as to understand the values, views, and behavior of the involved people. The managers understand the background of the organization and it’s through their opinions about the value of the firm and the behaviors of employees and other stakeholders that they can adequately explain how the firm can improve its productivity.
The advantage of qualitative research is that it’s able to offer composite textual explanations of how individuals experience towards a certain research problem. The technique gives a clue about the human side of an issue by providing opinions, views, and connections between people. Another pro is its ability to establish intangible elements including social, economic, ethnicity, and cultural status whose responsibility in the research may not be directly available. Economic status and cultural background are some of the issues that affect productivity and managers will be able to express their views concerning the strategies they deem necessary to improve productivity. These characteristics differentiate qualitative research from other scientific methods. Generally, the most applicable qualitative research methods are interviews, focus groups, and observations. The three methods are appropriate for specific studies. Observations are usually used when studying naturally occurring situations, interviews are appropriate when personal views and perceptions regarding the research topic are concerned, and focus groups apply when multiple issues about a certain population are being analyzed (FHI 2011).
In contrast, quantitative techniques are objective and emphatic and collect statistical or mathematical data through the use of questionnaires, polls, and surveys, or the researcher manipulates existing data through computational systems such as SPSS with the purpose of getting explanations regarding certain phenomena. Quantitative research is therefore conducted to access the relationship between variables in a population. Some of the differences between qualitative and quantitative research are: qualitative research tends to explore situations while quantitative research tends to confirm the hypothesis of a phenomenon, analytical goals in qualitative research are to give a description of variations while quantitative quantifies variations; qualitative is open-ended, flexible, and uses textual format to obtain data. On the other hand, the quantitative technique is close-ended, its design is constant from the beginning to the end of the research, and data is obtained numerically (Yin 2014).
The major distinction that makes qualitative methods the most suitable for this study is flexibility. Quantitative techniques are generally inflexible in nature. For instance, when using questionnaires or surveys in conducting research, the researcher asks the same questions to respondents and in the same manner (Blockbank, Ulrich, and Beatty 2013). Response types that the respondents have the choice of choosing from are fixed. The methods are advantageous since it facilitates easier comparison across the respondents and the study areas. Nonetheless, the researcher would be required to have a definite comprehension of the questions that need to be asked to allow the respondents to give a variety of fixed responses. For example, the researcher in this study would have to write down specific questions that each HR manager will answer by choosing an option from the provided list.
Qualitative methods are usually flexible since they enable the researcher to interact with the participant such that questions are open-ended making it possible to ask different questions to the participants (Gherardi and Perrota 2014). Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer in their own words. Moreover, the relationship between the researcher and the respondent is less official in qualitative research compared to quantitative methodology. Respondents can, therefore, give detailed and elaborative responses. As such, researchers respond to the answers immediately and are able to tailor the next questions depending on the information offered by the participants.
However, the flexibility of the methods used in qualitative and quantitative studies varies implying that flexibility does not measure the quality and comprehensiveness of a research method. In this case, flexibility equates the type of comprehension of the research problem being studied. The research seeks to understand the strategies that human resources managers can use to improve productivity in the firm. As such, applying the qualitative method in form of questionnaires is the most flexible method since it allows the researchers to interact with participants and access their views regarding the topic based on their environment (Blau et al. 2013). Strategies for profit improvement may be generalized but firms have different organizational and cultural backgrounds and as such, interviewing the firm’s personnel makes it possible to understand the problem and get conclusive answers based on their opinions and the position of the firm.
2.5 Research design for Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
The study will apply case study in form of semi-structured interviews. The strength of the case study is the ability to comprehend a complex problem or situation by adding strength and experience to aspects of the topic that the researcher is already familiar with. Case studies tend to emphasize attainment of comprehensive contextual assessment of limited problems and situations, plus their relationships. Case studies have been widely used by researchers across a range of disciplines. The case study is used to research modern real-life circumstances and offer a guideline for applying the opinions derived from the research. Scholar Yin (2014) defined case study method as an “empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are applied (p. 23).
Those opposed to case studies argue that studying a small sample does not offer grounds for determining credibility and generalization of the findings. Additionally, other critics accentuate that the intense exposure of the researcher to the participant or the object under study creates grounds for biases (Gerardi and Perrota 2014).
Single case study design is the most suitable for the research since it’s the most cost-effective yet provides the opportunity of getting detailed data for the research problem. More so, the study will be conducted on a single company hence it will not require the inclusion of diverse research objects and participants. By focusing on a single firm, the researcher will be able to relate with the organizational environment and views of the participants in a comprehensive manner leading to substantive findings. +
A case study over other research designs and Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
Experimental design first tests treat and then programs an opinion to establish whether there is a difference. The design incorporates control and a test group with the participants being randomly selected for two groups. One group is tested while the other one is not treated and the difference is the result of the research. The method is most suitable for clinical experiments, involves diverse sample group and it’s costly (Bryman 2012; Yin 2014). As such, it’s not suitable for this research since only one firm is needed for the study.
Phenomenology is suitable when studying human experiences and it enables the researcher to understand the reason for a certain experience (Bryman 2012). As such, it’s not applicable to the research since it’s aimed at identifying things that can be done to improve profitability in an organization not why they are not profitable.
Correlational research establishes the relationship between events or variables by conduction a correlational analysis (Walker 2012). The researcher intends to find out the degree in which things are related. The design was not suited for this particular research since its objective not to establish relationships but to answer the questions ‘what and how’.
A single case study is the most appropriate since it enables the researcher to identify a specific population for study, get detailed feedback from the participants, and identify with the respondent’s environment for better comprehension of the research topic.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Data saturation
According to Walker (2012) saturation is an element applied to facilitate the collection of quality and adequate data for the success of the study. Though most applicable in grounded designs, saturation is ensured by offering evidence of the research claims through the use of transcripts and video recordings. Moreover, the researcher will ensure that all viable questions are asked during the interviews and allow the respondents to exhaust their opinions concerning specific questions. Each participant will have adequate time for the interview, and all managers in line with strategic human resources management will be included so that no information missed.
2.6 Population and Sampling for Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
The sample size will comprise 15 employees from the firm under study; CP All Public Company in Bangkok. The participants will represent the total population of human resource managers in public institutions and other related firms. The employees will be required to be positioned as human resource managers and I’ve known about strategic human resource management (SHRM). The research will be conducted through semi-structured interviews to give room for more exploratory opinions. According to Becker and Huselid (2014), human resources managers are in a strategic position within an organization to formulate approaches and programs that can improve employee’s productivity and motivation. By understanding SHRM, it’s possible for the managers to devise strategies that can improve productivity in the firm. As such, it is crucial for the participants to be aware of SHRM and be employed in the firm under study so that the research topic can be exhaustively covered.
Though valid data is essential to have credible research findings, it’s not possible to collect data from every member of the community under study. As such, a given sample is selected in qualitative research to represent the whole population (FHI 2012). The objectives of the research and the features of individuals under study act as determinants of eligibility criteria. Researchers have identified three common methods that are used to sample population which include quota sampling, purposive, and snowball sampling (May 2011). In this research, the sampling method that will be used is purposive sampling.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Sampling method
Purposive sampling assembles respondents into pre-determined criteria that are relevant to the research topic (Yin 2014). The researcher will, therefore, choose 15 strategic human resources managers in CP All Company Limited. The sample size that is chosen will be fixed before carrying out the research. The researcher will use 15 respondents so as to save on time and cost, and since they are in a position to fulfill the objective of the research. Moreover, the sampling method was used since data review and assessment will be done together with data collection. Unlike snowball sampling in which the researcher gets referred to participants by people he gets in contact with, purposive sampling enables the researcher to preselect participants before commencing the research thus there is surety of the people who are participating in the research and when. On the other hand, though a part of purposive sampling, quota sampling subgroups the population sample into distinct characteristics. Since the research is aimed at identifying the strategies that human resources managers can apply to increase a firm’s productivity, the sample does not have to be sub-grouped into male or female categories since human resources managers represent the entire profession irrespective of their gender, culture, or age.
Selection of participants on Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
For a selection of respondents, only human resource managers from a particular firm will be chosen. The managers must have served in their respective posts for more than a year and be knowledgeable on the aspects of strategic human resource management. Moreover, the respondents must be above 18 years, and consciously willing to participate in the interview process. CP All is a big company with different departments and branches, and as such, the researcher will ensure that each respondent is comfortable during the interview by selecting a place that is devoid of distraction.
Data saturation
Theoretically, saturation of data is arrived at when the researcher gets to a point such that the collection of more data does not yield different results (FHI 2012). The researcher will, therefore, establish the point where similar responses and opinions are given for particular questions since it implies saturation point has been reached. By getting to saturation point, it means that the collected data is valid and the collected sample size was a correct representation of the research topic. Since 15 human resource management professionals will already have been contacted prior to the study, the researcher will have to interview all of them for conclusive data collection. When all the participants give similar opinions to most of the research questions, the researcher will be confident of the analysis since saturation would have been reached.
2.7 Ethical research Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
This section provides a summary of ethical issues related to qualitative research. Ethics in research focuses on the relationship between the researcher and the participants, and professional ethics are other relevant issues including plagiarism, data fabrication, intellectual property, and mentor associations. The welfare of the participants should be of great priority to the researcher. The Belmont Report articulates the three crucial ethical principles of qualitative research to be respected for persons, beneficence, and justice.
Informed consent process on Strategies to Improve Company Profitability
The researcher aims to maintain respondent’s confidentiality by the provision of an informed consent form. According to Robert et al. (2014), informed consent is a method used to ensure that that the respondents understand the notion of being participants in research and can consciously make the decision of whether to participate or not. Respect for persons during research is assured through the use of informed consent. The informed consent form has to go through the ethics committee for approval, is legally binding, and has to be signed by the participant, researcher, and possibly a witness. Informed consent doesn’t necessarily have to be obtained by signing a form, but the researcher and the participant must mutually agree on the terms and conditions of the research to avoid conflict. As such, it is critical for the researcher to obtain informed consent from the involved stakeholders before commencing research to facilitate the acquisition of credible data (Yin 2012). Informed consent may be written or oral and will be obtained by first explaining to the participants the nature of the research and getting approval from the gatekeepers.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Participation
Participants will have the freedom of withdrawing from the research without giving any explanations. The researcher will inform the participants of their rights during the process including the ability to refrain from participating at any stage of the process with respect to the objectives of the research or any reason they deem reasonable. The terms of the research and the questions will be explained in simple language for better comprehension and to avoid misinterpretation.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Incentives
To compensate and appreciate the respondents for taking part in the research, incentives will be offered. Time is crucial for human resource managers and by taking part in the research, they forgo some of their duties and it’s important for the researcher to compensate. The incentives may be in form of gift cards or cash incentives depending on the requirement of the participant and cost of participating. However, incentives will be optional since some participants find it offensive to be ‘paid’ for participating.
Measures to assure ethical protection of participants
Since qualitative research is conversational, the researcher will keep boundaries between what the participants say and what they are told. Usually, after receiving a lot of information from respondents, it is human to try and give as much. However, the researcher will protect the participant’s information by not sharing it with anyone and it will be maintained in a safe place for approximately five years as a way of protecting the confidentiality of participants.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Approval from IRB
The rights of individuals involved in qualitative research are protected by the Institutional Review Board. The committee of ethical experts reviews, monitors, and approves research studies that incorporate people and as such, the researcher will conduct the research under the guidance of the IRB policies. The consent to proceed with the semi-structured interviews will be obtained from the university and the researcher will be in a position to analyze and publish research findings. The names of the participants will not be included in the final report to safeguard their privacy.
2.8 Data collection instruments
This section describes the process of collecting data during the research process. Interviews and use of research materials and books will be used to get conclusive results.
Data collection instruments
As stated in Appendix (B), data will be collected through the use of semi-structured interviews. The researcher will formulate a set of questions that will be uniformly asked to each of the respondents. The questions will be arranged in a list starting with the most important and general questions. The list of questions will serve as the interview guide (Raheim 2016). The participants will be allowed to answer the questions exhaustively after which the researcher goes to the next question. However, since the guide is semi-structured, depending on how the participants answer the questions, the researcher may ask questions that may not necessarily be in the guide or skip others. The participant will highly determine how the questions flow but uniformity will be observed to ease the data analysis process. The questions will however not be specific so that the respondents give views and opinions depending on how they understand the questions. In cases where the respondent gives irrelevant answers, the interviewer will just tick them off.
Data validity
Valid research is that which utilizes all the necessary methods and procedures that ensure the study is conducted in quality and exploratory manner. According to Borg (2013), validity is defined as that which is credible, true, and reliable. The validity of research is determined by assessing whether the same results can be found if another researcher carried out the study in a similar process. The validity of the research will be made possible by carrying out test interviews. As such, the researcher will conduct an interview with a colleague or one of the participants and use all the tools that are supposed to be applied such as tape recorders and consent forms within the stipulated time frame. Through the test interview, the researcher will assess the reliability of the pre-set procedures to improve during the actual research. After the research, recordings will be transcribed and reviewed during the analysis process.
2.9 Data collection technique
For this research, semi-structured interviews will be used such the questions will be a mix of open-ended and closed-ended. The interview guide will direct the interviewer throughout the interview process so that all the participants are given equal response time, and ability to answer questions in a certain order. Semi-structured interviews allow the interviewer to get a comprehensive opinion on a certain topic by asking open-ended questions.
Advantages of semi-structured interviews are:
- The researcher has adequate time to prepare and list the questions in an orderly and flowing manner thus making it possible to exhaust the aspects of the research questions.
- By preparing in advance, the interviewer gains enough confidence that makes him appear competent during the interviewing process which in essence increases trust between him and the participant.
- Interviews enable two-way communication between the interviewer and the interviewee and as such, both parties can ask questions for clarification making the collected data more valid.
- Open-ended questions allow the participants to give views in their own terms and understanding without feeling pressurized to answer in a certain manner. By openly expressing one’s view, the researcher is able to capture different dimensions of the question from the various respondents and get conclusive answers.
Disadvantages
- Interviews are time-consuming, they are costly, and require the researcher to undergo various procedures to commence on the study. For instance, the researcher has to get a permit from the firm and participants under study and get ethic permits to confirm that the information obtained will be confidential.
- Validity and credibility of the research are only possible if the researcher involves many respondents so as to get different opinions for comparison purposes (Huberman and Miles 2011).
- Greater preparation measures have to be taken to ensure that the questions answer the research questions while at the same time not leading participants to a certain answer.
Pilot study
A pilot study is to be conducted after getting approval from IRB. The pilot study is usually a mini-research that is conducted before the final and research to determine the effectiveness of the stated procedures and research methods (Raheim 2016). The study takes place after the researcher clarifies on the research topic, objectives, and research instruments. A number of semi-structured questions will be designed and the interview conducted with human research professionals who are not based in the firm under study. The interviews will be recorded and notes will also be taken in the process. Afterward, the recordings will be transcribed and the researcher will then go through the transcripts to identify any gaps for improvement of the actual research interviews. A pilot study is essential since it gives the researcher an idea of the outcome of the final research and may identify processes and tools that may not be appropriate for exhaustive research.
For each interview, each participant will be checked to improve the reliability and credibility of the research. Checking will be carried out before the interview, during the interview, or after the interview. The researcher will also make clarifying the views provided by the interviewers to ensure that it’s correct. The researcher will be analyzing the responses as the interview continues and the respondents will be asked to confirm whether they agree with the identified ideas or make proposals of the most credible themes or points that have been established from the interview.
2. 10 Data organization techniques
For qualitative research, data is supposed to be analyzed continuously as the research process is being carried out (Tremblay et al. 2011). As such, the researcher will be stored and back up in various places. First, data will be stored in information systems and reflective journals and research logs will also be saved to facilitate the analysis processes. All the information including the interview recordings, research templates and articles, consent forms, and member check-ups will be organized in a chronological manner for easier retrieval. An information system is credible since it allows the storage of large quantities of data that will be derived from the research process (Stake 2010). For easier data analysis and coding, the researcher aims to transcribe the recorded interviews. The information system will be backed up and protected through the use of password encrypted systems. The notes will be labeled and stored in a filing system that will also be locked up to avoid unauthorized access. It is of the essence for the researcher to redact all information obtained from the participants to enhance confidentiality. The process ensures that the collected data will be after five years. The researcher will also ensure that data collected from the participants will be destroyed after five years as required by IRB.
2.11 Data analysis
For analysis, the researcher will apply triangulation model which tends to apply different formats to interpret data. The model is essential since it facilitates the provision of credible data after cross-checking from various sources. Moreover, it will identify consistency among the various sources as well as determine factors that influence the results. Another advantage of the method is that it increases understating of the research topic. Coding technique will be applied to analyze the data and find common themes. Common themes are the recurring ideas that arise during the analysis and are therefore used to create a domain (Huberman and Miles 2011). The researcher has to understand the data before it’s categorized. The data is not only categorized, but the researcher obtains implicit and explicit information about the raw data after which it’s encoded for interpretation. Interpretation is done by assessing relationships between different themes, recurrence of the ideas, and frequencies. Thematic analysis is the most viable since it enables the researcher to interpret complex data sets.
Concentration and identification with the data are crucial so that the researcher is able to coherently and credibly analyze the data (Stake 2010). Since qualitative studies are cyclical, a collection of data and analysis will be conducted concurrently. Immediately after data collection commences, the analysis starts taking place. The general views derived from previous interviews will be poised to the current interviews to gain specific comprehension for better analysis. Questions that have similar opinions will be grouped though it would generally take time.
The research question is strategies that human resource managers can use to improve a firm’s profitability. After transcribing the interviews, the researcher then accesses the contributions of the interviewees to find common ground and determine whether the results are credible. It is therefore important that during the interviews the researcher emphasizes the questions and seeks clarification to ascertain he gets correct views. Atlasti software will be applied to analyze the data which will be organized using low frequency and it will be compared to the current literature for cohesive results.
2.12 Reliability and validity
In qualitative research, reliability entails the quality of the instruments used for the study. Reliable data should be consistent and have the ability to generate similar results if the process is repeated. To preserve the integrity of collected information, it is of the essence for the researcher to maintain honesty and trust with the respondent. The ability of the data to confirm, be transferred and get credible and dependable results intensifies trustworthiness in the research process.
Strategies to Improve Company Profitability Dependability
Prior to conducting the study, the researcher will ensure dependability of the information through member checking and validating the research questions through the pivot research.
Credibility
The researcher gets credible responses when the design of the research process and the interview questions are clearly understood by the respondents as expected. Credibility can be harnessed by the researcher avoiding any instance of being biased, applying prior experience to conduct the research, and through triangulation. The researcher will ensure the credibility of this research by triangulating of data and member checking.
Transferability
The essence of any research is to allow for transferability of research findings in similar or related contexts (Borg 2013). The researcher will, therefore, ensure that detailed information about the research is provided and also offer comprehensive findings that can be used by future researchers or firms that may apply the findings to improve profitability in their organizations.
Confirmability
Confirming the research findings will be ensured by utilizing saturation strategies. The researcher will apply an audio track that will be used to identify when similar opinions regarding the issue are recurrent such that further research would not provide differing opinions. Fifteen respondents are enough to saturate the information and confirm that it’s objective and can be analyzed. Member checking, the establishment of instances of research biasness, and triangulation will still serve to validate the data and confirm that it’s correct.
2.13 Transition and summary
The qualitative research, single case study sought to assess the strategies that human resource managers can use to improve the profitability of their firms. Specifically, the research the research will be conducted in CP All Public Company. Fifteen human resource managers will form the sample size and semi-structured interviews will be used to get opinions on the research subject. Confidentially and ethicality of the research will be assured by signing the consent forms and clarifying the research problem to the participants so that they consciously decide to participate. Access to the organization will be done through getting contacts with the gatekeepers and other stakeholders that are mandated to handle researchers. Participants will be free to withdraw from the research without pressure or having to give reasons. Sampling will be done through the purposive and the participants will be given detailed information regarding the research problem. Selection criteria will involve identifying human resource managers are knowledgeable about the strategic human resource management, who have worked in the aforementioned company for more than a year, and understand the cultural and structural environment of the firm. The sample size will be enough to get to a saturation point since 15 employees represent most of the population under study will be assured of privacy and freedom while carrying out the research. The researcher will store data in information systems and ensure there is back up in form of transcripts and recordings. An analysis will be rigorously conducted through the use of Atlasti. The researcher will ensure the research is credible, dependable, and objective. Public and private firms are can benefit from the results that will be obtained in the research as it intends to get strategies that can be uniformly applied by human resource managers in different sectors to increase profitability in their firms.
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Appendix A
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