Running head: DB FORUM 2: Q7.6 1
Discussion Board Forum 2: Question 7.6
H. Elizabeth Farrar-Clary
Liberty University Online
DB FORUM 2: Q7.6 2
Question 7.6
NCR Corporation, known as world leader in ATMS, point-of-sale (POS) retail checkout
scanners, and check-in kiosks at airports, announced in June 2009 that it would move its
world headquarters from Dayton (OH) to Duluth(GA), a suburb of Atlanta, after more
than 125 years. An employer of 1,200 mostly high-salaried, professional workers in
Dayton, NCR was enticed to move by Georgia’s offer of more than $56.9 million in tax
credits; its fast-growing, educated 25- to 34-year-old population cohort; international
offices for 10 European state governments; and the busiest international airport (Atlanta)
in the world. a.What qualitative research might NCR have done to reach this decision?
b. NCR will use its move to Georgia to downsize its world headquarters workforce. What
qualitative research could help NCR determine which of its 1,200 employees will be
offered positions in Duluth? (Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p.168)
Our text defines qualitative research as including an “array of interpretive techniques
which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the
frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.”
Qualitative research is more focused on the emotion and opinion of people, describing how and
why things happen as they do, as opposed to quantitative research that is focused on what
happened or how often things happened. There are different views and opinions on the validity
of qualitative research. Some senior managers believe that the qualitative data is too subjective to
human error, which provides an unstable foundation for important business decisions. However,
managers seem to be returning to qualitative research more, due to quantitative techniques falling
short of giving them the insights that they need to make those important decisions. (Cooper &
Schindler, 2014, p.144) According to an article in the Oxford Academic Journal, qualitative and
DB FORUM 2: Q7.6 3
quantitative research methods are often associated in representing two different world views.
(Hammarberg, Kirkman, de Lacey, 2016, p.498)
What qualitative research might NCR have done to reach this decision?
Three key distinctions affect the research process, which would have been beneficial for
NCR to consider when conducting research to reach their decision of moving their operation
from Dayton, Ohio to Duluth, Georgia.
The level of question development in the management-research questions hierarchy
prior to the commencing of qualitative research
The preparation of the participant prior to the research experience
The nature and level of data that come from the debriefing of interviewers or
observers. (Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p.148)
The type of research NCR might have completed to reach their final decision, could have
been conducting interviews with current NCR employees and also employees of businesses that
are currently located in Georgia. An interview is the primary data collection technique that
gathers data in qualitative methodologies. Interviews are based on the number of people involved
during the interview, the level of structure, the proximity of the interviewer to the participant,
and the number of interviews conducted during the research. In this case, I believe that
individual and group interviews would have been beneficial in order to explore all issues,
concerns, attitudes, opinions, behaviors and backgrounds all of those involved. (Cooper &
Schindler, 2014, p.152)
NCR will use its move to Georgia to downsize its world headquarters workforce. What
qualitative research could help NCR determine which of its 1,200 employees will be offered
positions in Duluth?
DB FORUM 2: Q7.6 4
A focus group is a panel of people (usually 6 -10 members), led by a trained moderator,
who meet for a long period of time, typically no more than two hours. The moderator uses the
group dynamics principles to guide the group in exchange of ideas, opinions, feelings and
experiences on certain topics. (Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p.160) This type of qualitative
research would have been beneficial for NCR to conduct when trying to determine which
employees to offer positions in Duluth. The moderator would have been able to ask in depth
questions about the employee’s personal and professional lives, observe interactions between
them. The evaluation and analysis of the dynamics of employees would give the facilitator a
more precise vision on which employees would thrive in the new location.
There are many different methods of conducting qualitative research, from group
interviews, telephone and online focus groups, to case studies. (Cooper & Schindler, 2014,
p.163-165) An article discussing qualitative research in the sports management field, discusses
more contemporary methods of alternative qualitative research and how these new methods are
becoming more available for data collection. These alternative approaches are producing
transformative and meaningful work in many different fields, but especially in the sports
management field. (Hoeber & Shaw, 2017, p.4-7)
DB FORUM 2: Q7.6 5
References
Cooper & Schindler (2014). Business Research Methods. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Hammarberg, Kirkman, de Lacey (2016). Qualitative research methods: when to use them and
how to judge them. Oxford Academic , 498-501.
Hoeber & Shaw (2017). Contemporary qualitative research methods in sport management.
Science Direct , 4-17.
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