research methods

Course name: Research methods II Professor: Mr Marc Ribot

Student name: Riccardo Begnini Program: Bachelor of Business Administration

Date of submission: 21/03 Year: 2022

Assignment/ Case (e.g. name or/and assignment’s number):

Academic Year 2022

Semester: 4

DECLARATION BY STUDENT I hereby undersign that the work submitted is my own effort. I certify that all material in this Dissertation, which is not my own work, has been identified and acknowledged. No materials are included for which a degree has been previously conferred upon me. Signed (Student): _____________________________

Dissertation Proposal Form

Section A: Student details

Name: Email: Program (DBA; MBA, BBA): Specialization:

Section B: Proposal Type below each topic

I. Proposed Dissertation Title: The title (tentative) should be precise to allow the reader to comprehend the subject matter of the work.

How Human resources helps companies remain competitive in the global market.

II. Research Question or Hypothesis: State clearly what your research interest is. Define your research question/hypothesis and the main objectives of your research (100 words).

Each organization wishes to have an edge over its competitors so as to sustain as well as gain competitive advantage. It can be gained using factors such as production capabilities, research laboratories, financial resources, distribution channels as well as economies of scale. organizations need to continually invest in employee’s knowledge, skills, motivation, recruitment, selection training, development, compensation, retention and aim at enhancing and implementing better HR practices. Therefore if a firm majors more on employees, it might have competent as well as committed workforce, more contented employees are higher will be the performance and through this the firm has a chance to develop a competitive edge. There are few organizations that can effectively evolve HR practices for an effective competitive advantage. Therefore, an organization that has the ability to follow appropriate practices in an appropriate way, the firm has a high possibility of having committed employees who are skilled enough to maintain the firm’s performance in a constant competitive environment. Therefore a firm has to evolve to a sustained competitive advantage since it may take long for competitors to reproduce at the same level of commitment as well as trust in the workers. Nevertheless, there should be a connection between the organization’s competitive strategy and the firm’s HR practices. Therefore an organization should keenly watch its human capital advantage and human process advantage. This is because competent and committed workers with proper operations are more contented therefore leading to minimized efficiency as well as success, reduced labor turnover as well as appropriate customer service and satisfaction. However, there are a limited number of studies that are associated with how the human resource personnel can be used to enhance the performance of the firm. therefore it is unclear on the contribution of the HR in enhancing the state of a firm. Thus there is a major need to study as well as research this issue in a highly competitive business environment.

III. Review of Literature/Background: Make a synthesis of the contributions made in your research field by accredited scholars. Describe how your intended research will complement and expand on the current literature, and what contributions you intend to make to the existing knowledge (500 words).

In regard to my research topic, there are various concepts that are related to it. First is the importance of human resource management. HRM is essential in an organization since it is

This form must be approved for a candidate to register for the dissertation. It is the student’s responsibility to find a Faculty Promoter with whom to complete this form. It is also incumbent upon the student to make sure that all academic and administrative criteria have been met. The form must be completed, signed by the respective parties, and submitted to the Dissertation Coordinator for approval. Please type on this form. Handwritten forms will not be accepted.

related with the job structure in an organization (Pahuja and Dalal, 2012). HR is required to create a conducive environment that the employees are comfortable with. They are programmers that can enhance communication systems between the employees as well as managers, commitment and productivity. Competitive global market is another essential concept for this study. According to Yazdanifard, Baruani, and Mohseni (2012), global competition refers to the services as well products offered by competing firms which serve international clients. These are issues which are faced in competing all over the world and to be effective, firms have to pay attention to cultural differences (Yonezawa, and Shimmi, 2017).

The role behavior theory is among the theories that are associated with this study. They aim at explaining as well as predicting the behavior of people as well as teams in firms, which update the managers for decision making and the procedures they take on management and the expected impacts (Schepers, and Van der Borgh, 2020). Some of the main ideas major on the need to enhance the working context which include the resources to trigger new behavior in workers for them to deal with new needs. It involves the use of rewards to maintain a positive work environment as well as punishments to manage negative behavior (Hewett, et al., 2018).

Based on Bailey, et al., (2018), currently, due to the way the business environment has changed, there are various ways the HR function tends to add value to a firm. For many years, it has added value mainly through conducting administrative roles. The HR majors on developing systems as well as practices to maintain a firm’s resources. HR can contribute to a discussion on business issues and brings an HR perspective to the discussions (El-Dirani, Hussein, and Hejase, 2019). Business management puts the HR function as a valued added part of a firm so that it can improve business performance through appropriately managing the most essential capital of the majority of the firms, and their employees. HR plays a major role that involves assisting the firm to establish its strategies. It brings out the firm’s abilities, talent analytics as well as the labor market. This allows the firm to operate in ways that assist it to perform appropriately in regard to finances, social and environment (Meyer and Leitner, 2018).

Competitive advantage relies on employee’s attitudes, skills as well as competencies, satisfaction as well as commitment. This study will bring out how organizations attain sustainable competitive advantage through developing resources that ass value which cannot be replicated by the competitors (Shamout, et al., 2022). This is mainly through hiring as well as establishing a skilled workforce as well as synergising their effort in the resource pool of the organization. The compensation and reward system are the reinforcement to the workers and therefore employees tend to be more committed, motivated as well as contented in all levels (Neykova, Prokopenko, and Shcherbachenko, 2015). Therefore this study will inform the management on the role that the human resource have in regard to enhancing the success of the firm in maintaining a competitive advantage of the firm in a global setting.

IV. Research Methodology: Clearly indicate the methods and techniques which you are planning to use to gather information and investigate the identified problem.

V. Selected Bibliography: Please indicate a representative list of the main bibliographical sources you intend to utilize for your dissertation (no more than 20). Please provide full citations.

Bailey, C., Mankin, D., Kelliher, C. and Garavan, T., 2018. Strategic human resource management. Oxford University Press. El-Dirani, A., Hussein, M.M. and Hejase, H.J., 2019. The role of human resources in change management: An exploratory study in Lebanon. The Journal of Middle East and North Africa Sciences, 5(6), pp.1-13. Hewett, R., Shantz, A., Mundy, J. and Alfes, K., 2018. Attribution theories in human resource management research: A review and research agenda. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(1), pp.87-126. Meyer, M. and Leitner, J., 2018. Slack and innovation: The role of human resources in nonprofits. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 29(2), pp.181-201. Neykova, R.M., Prokopenko, O.V. and Shcherbachenko, V.O., 2015. Competitive dimensions of human resources. Economic Processes Management, (1). Pahuja, S. and Dalal, R.C., 2012. Achieving competitive advantage through HR practices: A case

study. Journal of Strategic Human Resource Management, 1(2), p.35. Shamout, M., Elayan, M., Rawashdeh, A., Kurdi, B. and Alshurideh, M., 2022. E-HRM practices and sustainable competitive advantage from HR practitioner’s perspective: A mediated moderation analysis. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 6(1), pp.165-178. Schepers, J.J. and Van der Borgh, M., 2020. A meta-analysis of frontline employees’ role behavior and the moderating effects of national culture. Journal of Service Research, 23(3), pp.255-280. Yazdanifard, R., Baruani, B.M. and Mohseni, S., 2012. Review of Electronic Data Interchange in Business to Business E-Commerce in a Competitive Global Market. RNIS: Research Notes in Information and Service Sciences, 9(1), pp.48-53. Yonezawa, A. and Shimmi, Y., 2017. Japan’s challenge in fostering global human resources: Policy debates and practices. In Globalization and Japanese “Exceptionalism” in Education (pp. 43-60). Routledge.

VI. Research and Writing Timeline: Indicate your expected research timetable: starting date, research time, data analysis time, writing time, editing time, date of first draft submission, expected defense time. You may use a Gantt chart.

VII. Ethics: How does your research relate to the ethical aspects of your subject matter? Section C: Submission Registration Promoter: Proposed Dissertation Defense Cohort (Choose One) ☐ January 2022 ☐ May 2022 ☐ June 2022 ☐September 2022 ☐ January 2023 ☐ May 2023 ☐ June 2023 ☐September 2023

Note: Dissertation Defense must be completed within the three main cohorts, following coursework completion, for which registration is open. (May and June count as a single Cohort for this purpose). Example: students completing in June or July 2021 may register to defend in January 2022 and must defend by September 2022.

Student Signature Date

Section D: Approval

Role Name Signature Date Promoter

Dissertation Coordinator

Academic Department

The grade for the entire dissertation project is a composite grade allocated by the defense panel and takes three areas into consideration:

• Form (20%): the structural organization of the Dissertation document (grammar and vocabulary; writing and reporting; technology; style)

• Content (60%): the academic accuracy and value of the project (executive summary; research question & objectives; background; main body; conclusions)

• Defense (20%): the manner and methods used (visuals; content; questions & answers)