600 DB Post: People to Respond to
Person#1: Alexis Jennings
What is the management-research question hierarchy for Akron
Children’s Hospital?
Martiskova (2020) suggests six measures for resolving the management
conundrum. These six steps include management decision, research
question, investigative question, measurement question, management
query, and management problem. The management conundrum in this case
study is how to boost bed occupancy by attracting more consumers. The
management issue that was raised in this case study was how to stand out
from the competition in a cutthroat market and how to reach neighboring
counties. How to stand out from the competition and how to emphasize how
essential their devotion to children was are two of the research topics that
are made up of management questions. What qualities ought to be
highlighted to encourage parents to bring their sick kids to Akron Children's
Hospital is the subject under investigation. How many patients are happy
with the care they received? is the measuring question. The management
choice of what should be said in the brand promise is based on the
observational data.
What are the advantages/disadvantages of an observation study
for this research?
Observing what the youngsters go through and having the capacity to
document what they see happening are two of the major benefits of utilizing
an observation study. Researchers were able to learn that every event
revolves on letting kids be kids thanks to the children's willingness to let
researchers watch what they go through. When creating the brand promise,
this was crucial. The most precise data collecting is made possible by letting
researchers record what they observe. This makes it possible for researchers
to come to an accurate conclusion by reflecting back on what they saw after
it has already occurred. Bokyo (2013) asserts that compared to most other
studies, an observational study has a larger risk of bias. The patient's lack of
privacy and time commitment are a couple of the additional drawbacks
associated with using an observation study. The seclusion that is typically
expected while a patient is in the hospital is not available when researchers
are keeping an eye on their experience. To offer the most reliable data, the
patients must feel at ease with the researcher watching them during their
stay. It's crucial to pay close attention to every detail of the patient's
experience in order to observe it accurately. The process can take a lot of
time to ensure that every detail is taken into consideration.
What does the brand promise recommendation reveal about what
researchers experienced and concluded from their study?
The brand promise may have a beneficial or negative impact on the
company's bottom line, according to The Wall Street Journal (2017). The idea
behind Akron Children's Hospital's brand recognition proposal is that all of
the facility's resources are put to good use in assisting young patients in
realizing their full potential. The brand promise accurately described the
researchers' observations from their point of view. The researchers observed
the patient's experience and noted that everything, from the food to the
delivery of the diagnosis, is geared toward preserving children's ability to
remain children. The researchers' conclusion is a condensed version of what
they saw because they only used their personal experiences as the basis for
it. In light of this, the researchers also came to the conclusion that brand
recognition is a good idea.
If you were designing such an observation study, what would you
direct researchers to record/look for/listen for?
Gilmartin-Thomas et al. (2018) claim that an observational study can give
the business descriptive data and information at a lower cost. I would make
sure to instruct researchers to capture the interaction between the patient
and the doctor if I were to plan an observation study. By doing this, the
researchers would be able to hear every form of conversation the doctor had
with the patient. Making a parent feel at ease about bringing their child to a
particular hospital depends heavily on the doctor and patient's ability to
communicate effectively. If I were to create an observation study, I'd make
sure to instruct researchers to seek for elements around the hospital that
help patients feel more at home and like the kids they are. A play area for
those who can play, and tasty food are some of the things that would make
the patients feel at home and like children. Children being allowed to be
children improves the environment for the patients and uplifts their spirits.
If I were to plan an observation study, I'd make sure to instruct researchers
to pay attention to the patients' responses to particular items. Given that the
patient is a child, they are more likely to be able to describe their likes and
dislikes in detail. This aids the hospital in identifying both its strengths and
areas for improvement in order to better serve its patients.
What ethical issues would surface in hospital studies in general
and this study in particular?
Resnik (2020) claims that behavior that makes a distinction between
acceptable and bad behavior is the conventional definition of ethics. It is
crucial for researchers to act ethically when conducting research. Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you, according to Luke 6:31 of the
NIV Bible (New International Version, 2011). This verse serves as a powerful
illustration of what ethics entails and how researchers ought to treat study
participants. Avoiding any ethical controversies is crucial while working with
hospitals and patients' care. Patient confidentiality and informed consent are
two potential ethical difficulties that could arise in hospital studies in general.
It is crucial that, unless absolutely necessary, the study do not take into
account the patient's medical circumstances. Prior to starting the study,
obtaining informed permission is crucial. Numerous problems could result
from the research if informed consent were not obtained. Privacy and
informed consent are two major ethical concerns that may come up with this
case study in particular. If the researchers are not careful about what
information they choose to share with presenting the results, privacy might
become a problem. It is crucial for the researchers to keep the patient's
condition apart from their findings because this case study does not need
them to use information on medical issues. It's crucial to obtain consent for
each and every part of the investigation. Ethical concerns can be avoided by
making sure the parents of the patients are informed about the research
being done and how their child's experience will be used.
References
Boyko, E. (2013). Observational Research Opportunities and
Limitations. Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications, 12 (6), 642-648.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2013.07.007 Links to an external site.
Gilmartin-Thomas, J. F. M., Liew, D., & Hopper, I. (2018). Observational
studies and their utility for practice. Australian Prescriber, 41 (3), 82-85.
https://doi.org/10.18773/austprescr.2018.017 Links to an external site.
Martiskova, J. (2020, November 5). Management research question: How to
develop research question.
https://www.dissertation-help.co.uk/management-research-question/ Links to
an external site.
New International Version. (2011).
BibleGateway.com. www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-
Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist Links to an external site.
Resnik, D. B. (2020, December 23). What Is Ethics in Research & Why Is It
Important? - by David B. Resnik, J.D., Ph.D. National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences.
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm Lin
ks to an external site.
Wall Street Journal. (2017, August 17). Delivering on the Brand Promise. The
Wall Street Journal. https://deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/2017/04/03/delivering-on-
the-brand-promise/ Links to an external site.
Response
Hi Alexis,
This week, reading your message was very interesting. It was well-structured, well-
presented, and easy to read. Many thanks. It was interesting to read about the Akron Children's
Hospital Study. I found it interesting to discover how the hospital has gone above and beyond to
ensure adequate medical care and how far they are prepared to go to ensure the comfort of its
patients and families. Despite drawbacks, an observational study was a crucial part of the Akron
Children's Hospital Research.
I believe an observational study would be helpful for this research. It allowed the hospital
to gather first-hand information, as you mentioned. The fact that researchers are gathering data
specifically for their study's objectives is a benefit of using primary data. Essentially, the
questions the researchers pose are designed to extract the data they need for their study (Moser,
2015). To fully analyze the relationships between the hospital, young patients, and their parents
in this study, the hospital needed to gather information first-hand.
I concur with your many strategies to suggest research topics to scholars. Studying the
children's general comfort with the medical personnel, particularly in various settings, would, in
my opinion, be the study's most significant component. For instance, how do the kids and the
doctor communicate while the nurses are present? Without the doctor there, how do the kids
interact with the nurses? I think there are a lot of really crucial situations that need to be tested
and well-understood. The hospital's top priority is unquestionably the children, after all. "Obtain
knowledge, get insight; do not forget my words or turn from them," Proverbs 4:5 instructs.
(Bible, 2001 English Standard Version)
I think the study's ethical implications are fairly limited. The biggest ones, as you said,
would be the concern for anonymity and secrecy. A participant's capacity to avoid possible costs,
such as psychological ones like shame or suffering, social ones like job loss or damage to one's
reputation, and legal or criminal culpability, is aided by maintaining privacy and secrecy.
Particularly in social and behavioral research, a violation of confidentiality or an invasion of
privacy is sometimes the biggest danger to participants (Bharadwaj, 2017).
References:
Bharadwaj, S. (2017). Privacy and Confidentiality. UCI Health Epic, 21(11).
English Standard Version Bible. (2001).
Crossway Bibles. Moser, C. (2015). Primary and Secondary Data. At Work, 70(82).
Person#2: Jennifer Roberts
Discussion 3: Akron’s Children Hospital Part A
1. What is the management-research question hierarchy for Akron
Children’s Hospital?
As outlined in the class textbook, the management-research question
hierarchy involves the following steps: management dilemma, management
question, research question(s), investigative questions, measurement
questions, and management decision (Schindler, p. 41, 2022). In the
scenario provided, although Akron Children's Hospital is the largest and most
innovative children's hospital in the region, it has been overshadowed by
other children's hospitals in the area. Akron Children's Hospital management
has been left asking what can be done to alleviate this overshadowing. This
dilemma led to research questions that involved determining what
communications strategy could set the hospital apart and deliver the
message of its commitment to children and the high quality of care the
hospital provides. The investigative questions would involve two areas:
better understanding the process parents undertake to determine where
they take their children for care and determining a plan to expand its market
beyond Summit County into surrounding counties. Upon deciding what
direction the research would go, Akron Children's identified measurement
questions for Marcus Thomas. These questions led Marcus Thomas to
observe parents' decision-making process for choosing a hospital and obtain
information regarding the hospital's reputation in the market. With the
results of the observations made by Marcus Thomas, management decided
an observation study was the right first course of action to solve the
dilemma.
2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of an observation study
for this research?
Utilizing an observation study for this research project offers numerous
advantages. For example, observation studies provide vital information and
data on the effectiveness of a variable, and they offer safety, which clinical
trials may need to ensure. Observation studies are also usually less
expensive compared to other types of studies, such as clinical trials
(Gilmartin-Thomas et al., 2018). These studies also help collect information
that may not be able to be collected in other ways because of the issue's
sensitivity or ethical implications (González-Duarte et al., 2019). However,
while performing observation studies for this research is valuable, using this
method can cause researchers more difficulty determining confounding data
or bias compared to randomized controlled trials (Gilmartin-Thomas et al.,
2018). Performing observational studies in the hospital setting also involves
ethical issues that must be thoroughly vetted to ensure no wrongdoing
during the study (González-Duarte et al., 2019).
3. What does the brand promise recommendation reveal about what
researchers experienced and concluded from their study?
The brand promise included the areas of competence that Akron
Children's provides while emphasizing the children. This promise revealed
that the research team acknowledged that Akron Children's main focus
revolves around the well-being of the children in every aspect of the hospital.
As the scenario lists, the staff, facility, and food are completely centered on
the children. This promise also reveals that the research team determined
that the public did not recognize these characteristics of Akron Children's.
This lack of recognition may be why other regional hospitals overshadow the
hospital. Voicing this promise ensures parents know what to expect from
Akron Children's when deciding which hospital to take their child to. As the
scenario discussed, the team determined that parents are generally driven
by emotion when deciding which hospital to use. The promise Marcus
Thomas created helps convey the strengths of Akron Children's while
focusing on what a parent is most likely to be emotionally concerned about
and how focused a hospital is on their child's well-being. Akron Children's is
fulfilling what Galatians 6:2 instructs us: to help bear each other's burdens so
each Christian can fulfill Christ's law (English Standard Version, 2022).
Humans were not created to bear the world's burdens, including parenthood,
alone.
4. If you were designing such an observation study, what would you
direct researchers to record/look for/listen for?
This study involved observing physical and emotional responses during
conversations between doctors, children, parents, and other hospital staff.
The team also observed the overall philosophy and how it is demonstrated in
every aspect of the hospital. An additional item that would be useful to
observe is the confidence parents and children display in their nurses and
doctors regarding the issues at hand (Aiken et al., 2017). Observing
confidence or a lack of confidence in the care provided could offer insightful
information regarding why parents should continue using Akron Children's in
the future or use another hospital instead. The research team could also
consider how well the hospital met the child and parents' expectations and
how satisfied or dissatisfied they were based on these expectations
(Chalasani et al., 2022). These observations could also provide an
understanding of how successful Akron Hospital is in treating the needs of its
patients.
5. What ethical issues would surface in hospital studies in general
and this study in particular?
Performing observational studies in a hospital setting offer numerous
areas of ethical concern. For example, acquiring informed consent from
specific individuals may prove difficult because of the potential state in
which a child or parent might be. Obtaining consent may also be problematic
if the patient is a minor or if the research team cannot reach the patient or
parent once discharged from the hospital. Other areas that could be of
concern include a potential breach of confidentiality of patients or a violation
of the principle of autonomy (González-Duarte, 2019). There is also the
potential to exploit people who were observed during the study. An
observational study in a children's hospital should be submitted and
approved by a research ethics committee before the study begins to ensure
these issues do not arise (Bhatia & Mohammed, 2021).
References
Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Ball, J., Bruyneel, L., Rafferty, A. M., & Griffiths, P.
(2017). Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Care and Nurses in England: An
Observational Study. BMJ Open, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-
2017-019189
Bhatia, P., & Mohammed, S. (2021). Observational Study Design: Extending
the Standard. Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology, 37(3), 317.
https://doi.org/10.4103/joacp.joacp_453_21
Chalasani, S. H., Gurudatt, C. L., & Ramesh, M. (2022). Patient Satisfaction,
Outcomes and Experience Measures in Patients Receiving General
Anaesthesia: A Prospective Questionnaire Based Observational Study.
Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 66(3), 224.
https://doi.org/10.4103/ija.ija_945_21
English Standard Version Bible. (2022). English Standard Version Bible
Online. https://www.esv.org/Galatians+6/ (Original work published 2001)
Gilmartin-Thomas, J. F. M., Liew, D., & Hopper, I. (2018). Observational
Studies and Their Utility for Practice. Australian Prescriber, 41(3), 82–85.
https://doi.org/10.18773/austprescr.2018.017 González-Duarte, A., Kaufer-
Horwitz, M., Zambrano, E., Durand-Carbajal, M., Alberú-Gómez, J., Galindo-
Fraga, A., Armenta-Espinosa, A., Loria, A., Rull-Gabayet, M., Medina-Franco,
H., Sierra-Salazar, M., Hinojosa, C. A., Oseguera-Moguel, J., Aguayo-González,
Á., Domínguez-Sánchez, P., Hernández-Jiménez, S., & Aguilar-Salinas, C. A.
(2019). The role of Research Ethics Committees in Observational Studies:
Epidemiological Registries, Case Reports, Interviews, and Retrospective
Studies. Revista De Investigacion Clinica, 71(3).
https://doi.org/10.24875/ric.18002580
Schindler, P. A. (Ed.) (2022). Business Research Methods. (14th ed., p. 41).
McGraw-Hill Education.
Response
Hi Jennifer,
First, I really enjoyed your presentation. A management issue was used as the starting
point for a step-by-step explanation of the hierarchy of management-research topics. You could
see how it eventually descended to measurement questions. Since this was done effectively, it is
clear what the management would need to consider if they wanted to guarantee that they had a
competitive advantage over Cleveland Clinic and Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, which
appeared to be the favored option in the market. They would have to choose the primary criterion
for decision-making before they could proceed. The essential criteria for making a decision are
those that an alternative must satisfy to be chosen as the best one out of the ones that are
accessible. It's important to remember that in the case of Akron, up until this point, they lacked a
unique selling proposition that would have set them apart from the rest of their rivals. As a result,
it's crucial to develop and adhere to the primary selection criteria.
The easiest way to define the observational research technique is as "a research approach
in which the researcher encounters his or her sample population through a passive stance"
(Qaddo. M 2019). Another significant point of view and one to consider was the claim that
having a third party there may have impacted how the physicians and other staff members
responded to or handled their patients. They might also decide to get in touch with the parents of
former patients who had previously picked their institution to get both neutral and uninfluenced
data. They would be able to identify a legitimate issue area that they may need to address as well
as parental advice and start implementing remedial action by conducting a satisfaction survey
with the parents of previous patients.
However, I don't believe that the usage of that specific passage from the Bible that you
cited was pertinent to the situation or particularly well related to the general point you were
attempting to make. As Christians, we hold that children are a gift from God (Psalm 127:3).
Because of this, even though the hospital is attempting to position itself as the "first choice for
medical care for children" from a marketing standpoint, it is crucial that they also remember that
they are responsible for providing the best possible medical care to every child who enters their
doors, whether they are being observed or not. In conclusion, you made some compelling points,
and the responses were thoughtful. Your responses were backed up by many cited peer-reviewed
studies, which gave them legitimacy.
References
English Standard Version Bible. (2001).
Qaddo, M. (2019). Participant observation as research methodology: Assessing the validity of
qualitative observational data as research tools. project. Dubai International Academic
City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
