Reflective Report
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DESIGNING PRIMARY RESEARCH
MBA600 Week 9
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WEEK 8 FOCUSES ON TWO LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Undertake independent research to solve complex business problems.
Other learning objectives
Discuss and translate theory, skills and knowledge into effective management practice.
Acquire advanced knowledge and apply it in real workplace contexts to improve performance and competitive advantage.
Critically assess a diverse range of theories accumulated throughout the Masters’ qualification and the connections that exist between each one.
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QUICK REVIEW OF KEY
CONCEPTS What we learned in Week 8
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WHERE RESEARCH FITS IN
THE STRATEGY PLANNING PROCESS
Validating the decisions and assumptions made during the Strategy Planning Process
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DESIGN THINKING
AND DATA ANALYSIS
PLANNING
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 8
Design thinking
‘The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.’ – Michael Porter, Harvard Business School
Data Analysis planning
How strategy problems can be verified with statistical techniques
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POSITIVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Quintessential strategy problem
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 8
Shop till you drop
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STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
TECHNIQUES
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 8
QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES
Content analysis
Categorising verbal or behavioral data
Narrative analysis
Categorising stories and experiences of each research participant in the resource sample
Discourse analysis
Categorising the natural language discussions (verbal and written)
Framework analysis
Coding, mapping and charting non- numerical data for quantitative analysis
Grounded theory
Evaluating a single case to develop a new theory or contribute to existing theory
QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES
Descriptive analysis
Survey research (interviews, questionnaires, polls) to understand how much or how generalizable is an event or behavior
Comparative analysis
Correlational research tests for the relationships between variables (groups of people or events)
Quasi-experimental analysis
‘Laboratory’ analysis designed to measure a cause-effect relationship between variables
Empirical (experimental) analysis
Statistical testing of hypotheses to determine if a statement or problem is true or untrue
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WHAT WE WILL LEARN THIS
WEEK
8 CONSIDERATIONS FOR A RESEARCH DESIGN PROPOSAL
Relevance to the ‘real world’
Financial advisers in Australia are currently researching what variables motivate ethical and unethical conduct in professional relationships with clients
Media and political advisers are polling views and voters for awareness and importance of issues in the community
Businesses continually seek to improve variables that motivate loyalty; trustworthiness; intentions to purchase; job satisfactions and intentions to leave; and goodwill
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RESEARCH DESIGN
Step 1 in writing a research design proposal
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1 Identify the research problem
2 Determine research purpose
3 Develop theoretical framework
4 Develop research questions /
hypotheses
6 Identify research scope
limitations
5 Define terms
7 Decide methodology
8 Determine expected outcome
RESEARCH DESIGN
PROPOSAL CONTENTS
COLLIS, J. & HUSSEY, R. 2013. Business Research: A Practical Guide for
Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, Palgrave Macmillan, Chapter
10% wordcount
30% wordcount
40% wordcount
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A research problem is a statement about a concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question (e.g. the SWOT conditions)
Checklist to determine if the research is feasible
Does the research answer the strategy problem, how to earn superior profitability with a capability or resource?
Is the project researchable given the constraints of time, resources, available data?
Is management or the client committed to sustaining the research effort, despite setbacks?
Does the research outcome meet standards of professional ethics?
Does the research project further your career goals?
1 Identify the research problem
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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2 Determine research purpose
A compelling purpose or reason convinces investors/executives how the research should create future capability, thus solving a strategy problem
Suggestion – state your research purpose in a user story template
As a [persona, customer segment, function or capability], I want to [why it solves the strategy problem, why it contributes to profitability growth], so that {how it sustains the competitive strategy]
The type of research is suggested by its goals, for example
identify or describe a concept, perhaps using descriptive statistics*
explain or predict a situation, perhaps using several qualitative and/or quantitative methods*
define a solution to a situation, perhaps using grounded theory* (* see Week 8)
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
A)
B)
C)
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WORKSHOP TIME
Determine the research purpose
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WHY IS YOUR RESEARCH
COMPELLING FOR STRATEGY?
WORKSHOP
In groups or individually, write a research purpose that succinctly convinces executives to invest in your project for your selected company (15 minutes)
You could use the user story template
As a [persona, customer segment, function or capability], I want to [why it solves the strategy problem, why it contributes to profitability growth], so that {how it sustains the competitive strategy]
A)
B)
C)
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3 Develop theoretical framework
A good theory explains ideally why an event occurs or a person behaves
Theory alleviates ‘fishing for explanations’ (see Week 8) when interpreting primary and secondary data
Your choice of theory should align with your unit of analysis
External environment, such as markets, competitors, events
Internal environment, such as culture/teamwork, routines, products/services
Individuals, such as customers, employees, suppliers
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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4 Develop research questions /
hypotheses
Present the implications (side issues) of your strategy problem that could be measured with available data
Use mind maps, fishbone diagrams (aka cause-effect diagrams), customer journey maps, etc.
Suggested number of questions for a feasible research project
1 or 2 overarching ‘big’ questions
5 to 7 sub-questions
How long?
Steps one to four should take up 10% of the research design proposal
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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5 Define terms
Ambiguity is a key cause of failure in research, business analysis, and projects
For example:
Customers is vague
women between 25-25 years is clearer
Products is vague
products with X features or sold at X price is clearer
Behaviour is vague
intention to purchase is clearer
Event is vague
crisis management in a location or time period is clearer
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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6 Identify research scope
limitations
Set stakeholder expectations of areas included and excluded from your research scope
Justify your inclusions and exclusions, usually due to constraints of time, data availability and/or resources
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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7 Decide methodology
Refer to your Data Analysis Plan discussed in Week 8
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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8 Determine expected outcome
Summarise with concise and precise definition of how the research purpose is compelling for strategy; and how the research will contribute to superior profitability of your employer or client
Chapter 4, Collis and Hussey (2013)
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WORKSHOP TIME
Reflect on the practical value of theories learned in MBA subjects
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REFLECT ON THE VALUE OF THEORIES
WORKSHOP
Assessment 3 – Reflective Essay is due in Week 13
A key marking criterion is to ‘include discussion of learnings from both a theoretical and practical perspective’
In groups or individually, discuss the full range of theories learned during the MBA (15 minutes)
Individually, reflect how at least 3 theories are practically relevant for explaining competitive advantage in your selected company (45 minutes)
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S e e k h e l p w h e n yo u n e e d i t !
Thank you