doctoral statement

The  Doctoral  Business   Problem  Statement

Overview

• The  Problem  Statement • Common  Issues  With  Problem  Statements • Scholarly  Model  for  a  Business  Problem  Statement – Hook – Anchor – General  Business  Problem – Specific  Business  Problem

• Qualitative  and  Quantitative  Examples • Problem  Statement  Checklist

The  Problem  Statement

• Component  within  the  introductory  section  of  the   Doctoral  Study

• Paragraph  containing  no  more  than  150  words   depicting  the  business  problem  or  issue

• Defines  the  need  for  the  study

• Business-­focused  problem  or  issue  

Common  Issues  With  Problem  Statements • No  clear  identification  of  the  research  problem

• Often  confused  with  research  question(s)

• Contain  more  than  150  words

• No  data-­driven  source  (i.e.,  the  Hook)

• Lack  a  business  focus o Inclined  toward  a  social  issue  or  issue  more   appropriate  for  a  different  discipline

Scholarly  Model  for  a  Business  Problem   Statement • Four-­Element  Model - Hook  (Peer-­Reviewed  Citation)           - Anchor  (Peer-­Reviewed  Citation) - General  Business  Problem - Specific  Business  Problem

• Presented  in  Temporal  Order • No  more  than  150  words!

The  Hook

• Entices  the  reader  to  read  further • Stimulates  the  reader • Supported  by  a  peer-­reviewed  citation - Current - From  a  business-­related  journal  or  source

• Example – Losing  highly  skilled  technical  employees  disrupts   organizational  functioning,  service  delivery,  and   administration  (citation).  

• Secures  the  importance  of  the  hook.

• Provides  a  quantitative  value,  e.g.,  a   statistic,  dollar  value,  index,  ratio,  etc.,  to   magnify  the  problem

• Example – From  a  financial  perspective,  employee  turnover  can   cost  employers  between  90  and  200  %  of  annual  pay   (citation).

The  Anchor

General  Business  Problem

• A  brief  statement  that  reintroduces  the   broad  scope  of  the  problem.  No  citation  is   required.

• Example – The  general  business  problem  is  that  high  employee   turnover  negatively  impacts  profitability.

Specific  Business  Problem

• A  brief  statement  that  narrows  the  focus  and   leads  to  the  specific  purpose  of  the  study

• Example  (Quantitative) – The  specific  business  problem  is  some  information   technology  small  business  owners  do  not  know  the   relationship  between  employee  perceptions  of  their   organizational   leaders’  (a)  idealized  attributes,  (b)   idealized  behaviors,  (c)  intellectual  stimulation,  (d)   inspirational  motivation,  (e)  individualized   consideration,  and  employee  turnover  intention.

Quantitative  Business  Problem  Statement

Losing  highly  skilled  technical  employees  disrupts  organizational   functioning,  service  delivery,  and  administration  (citation).                           From  a  financial  perspective,  employee  turnover  can  cost  employers   between  90  and  200  %  of  annual  pay  (citation).

The  general  business  problem  is  employee  intent  to  leave   is  a  major  antecedent  of  actual  employee  turnover.

The  specific  business  problem  is  some  information   technology  (IT)  small  business  owners  do  not  know  the  relationship   between  employee  perceptions  of  organizational  leaders’  (a)   idealized  attributes,  (b)  idealized  behaviors,  (c)  intellectual   stimulation,  (d)  inspirational  motivation,  (e)  individualized   consideration,  and  employee  turnover  intention.  

Anchor

Hook

General  Business  Problem

Specific    Business  Problem

Qualitative  Business  Problem  Statement

Losing  highly  skilled  technical  employees  disrupts  organizational     functioning,  service  delivery,  and  administration  (citation).                           From  a  financial  perspective,  employee  turnover  can  cost  employers   between  90  and  200  %  of  annual  pay  (citation).

The  general  business  problem  is  employee  intent  to  leave   is  a  major  antecedent  of  actual  employee  turnover.

The  specific  business  problem  is  some  information   technology  (IT)  small  business  owners  lack  strategies  for  minimizing   voluntary  employee  turnover.  

Anchor

Hook

General  Business  Problem

Specific    Business  Problem

Problem  Statement  Checklist