Submission

Ten Strategic Points

Comments or Feedback

Broad Topic Area

“The Monetary Value of Professional Certifications to Corporations”

A professional certification is becoming more valuable in today’s workplace because employers value a standardized set of skills and qualifications to perform the job – especially in the fields of IT, corporate business, and healthcare.

In a competitive job market, certifications offer heightened career advancement opportunities for workers. In fact, conservative research shows that employees who hold certifications are more confident and knowledgeable, reach job proficiency quicker, are more reliable and perform at a higher level than those without.

For continuing education employers, this is an opportunity to meet the demands of their business needs, and employees who want the highest level of knowledge in their industry. When a company offers employee certification preparation it assists employee’s with advancement of their careers; but is also is a revenue generator for the organization, and the employee.

Lit Review

A. Background of the problem/gap:

i. “The majority of information technology (IT) employment literature, as discussed previously, is focused on academic degrees and certification. Little, if any, has looked at the big picture of relative employer valuation of academic degrees, certifications, and work experience. To address this gap, this research focuses on the employer’s relative valuation of academic degrees, certifications, and work experience; this research has failed to acknowledge the curriculum that employers are most (50%) interested in: experience” (Wierschem & Mediavilla, 2018)

ii. Umit, Esra, Kultigin & Serhat (2012) identified there has been limited empirical work to examine the relationship between the elements of career motivation and key employee behavior such as employment and turnover intentions, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and work performance.

b. Theoretical Foundations (models and theories to be foundation for study);

While professional certifications are not a requirement in the corporate setting, they provide an extra credit to those who have them. Candidates put in long hours of study, to achieve the highest level of professional standards. Professional certifications can open many doors throughout an individual’s career, especially when one is searching for the next challenge. Recruiters and hiring managers tend to look at the Certifications section of a resume before anything else. Employers desire candidates with up-to-date knowledge, and professional certifications that displays to them a person’s mastery of a particular technology or practice.

c. Review of literature topics with key theme for each one;

i. Cognitive Development: Empirical research shows that a relationship exists between professional certification development, employer monetary-value, and employee success in areas such as information technology, corporate business, and healthcare.

d. Summary

i. Obtaining professional certifications leads to improved career development and employee performance.

ii. Gap in terms of additional research needed to examine these findings.

Problem Statement

It is not known how corporate leaders value the use of professional certifications as a perceived profitability to their organization

Research Questions

R1. Do corporate leaders value the use of professional certifications as a perceived profitability to their organization?

R2. The knowledge and information will be based on conceptual framework.

Sample

· Business professionals and Corporate Leaders located in Northern United States – Executive Management Professionals, Corporate CEO’s

· Interviews of a minimum of 10 to 12 participants or until data saturation is met.

· Surveys

Describe Phenomena (qualitative)

· Understanding if corporate leaders value the use of professional certifications as a perceived profitability to their organization.

Methodology & Design

· Qualitative

· Descriptive - Interviews/Focus Groups/Social Media Outputs/Archival Documentation Analysis

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this qualitative study is to determine if corporate leaders value the use of professional certifications as a perceived profitability to their Northern United States organization

Data Collection Approach

Voice interview data will be recorded using an Echo Livescribe pen. Handwritten data will be transcribed using MyScribe. The voice files will be transcribed by a transcription company, which will convert the information into word format.

Data Analysis Approach

Data will be organized and prepared for analysis using MAXQDA, Member Checking, and compiled and summarized identifying common themes to address the research questions, and descriptive statistics will summarize the data.

Theory

· Workplace Certification – Choice Making – Decision-making of executive leadership

· Organizational Profitability