Doctoral Business Adminstration Prospectus WK5

D efinition of Terms

Employee Productivity: Productivity is the amount of output received per unit of labor input by an employee . The level of labor related activities by employee is a key performance measurement for organizations for employee productivity (Alazzaz, & Whyte, 2015).

Home Improvement Superstore: Large commercial consumer retail stores selling do-it-yourself (DIY) products from basic to advanced materials and supplies. Consumers purchase supplies for DIY tasks relating to home renovations and repairs resulting in personal satisfaction, and self-fulfilling pride of accomplishment (Hatton-Jones & Teah, 2015).

Re tail Manager: A manager in the commercial consumer retail market that has responsibility and management of employees, sales and growth of products and services, market demand, and meeting financial objectives in a competitive sales environment (Harrauer & Schnedlitz, 2016).

Retention: Retention is actions that an organization takes to encourage

professionals to maintain employment with the organization for the maximum period of

time (Ratna & Chawla, 2012).

Strategies: A strategy is the creation, implementation, and evaluation of decisions

within an organization that enable the organizational leaders to achieve their long-term

objectives (Pretorius & Maritz, 2011).

Turnover : Turnover is when an employee leaves employment and separates from an organization in its entirety including voluntary and involuntary termination such as resignation and layoffs (Ehrenberg & Smith, 2016).

Work-Life Balance (WLB): A health balance between an employee's employment position responsibilities and their private lifestyle. This balance is a mix of business and pleasure, allowing an individual to enjoy a satisfying personal life as well as meeting business objectives (Poulose & Sudarsan, 2014; Yadav & Rani, 2015).

Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations

Assumptions

As the r esearcher, I assume at least six suitable participants will be available

to participate in interviews. I also assume participants of the study will provide

truthful responses with an understanding that their responses are confidential . The final

assumption is interviews will offer an opportunity to explore similarities

involving WLB strategies that retail managers use to improve employee productivity and retention

Limitations

A key limitation of the study can be my professional background as a business manager which may influence the research approach and analysis of the data. To mitigate bias, a researcher must be aware and focused on sources of bias to immediately identify, manage and eliminate it. The researcher must ask precise, quality questions to allow the truest respondent perspectives to ensure the highest qualitative standards. (Miyazaki & Taylor, 2008). I have my own opinions about WLB strategies retail managers should use to improve employee productivity and retention. However, to minimize bias, I will focus on unconditional positive regard, and closely follow the research protocol, asking questions and suppressing my personal views, to address this limitation. Researchers can confirm and ensure quality data by sending transcribed interview data to each participant for verification and only include verified participant data in their research (Leidy & Vernon, 2008).

Delimitations

The firs t delimitation assumption can be senior retail managers which are not included in this study. Interviewing only senior retail managers can represent delimitation because if I only interview professionals who are in senior positions they may not represent retail managers which is the focus of this research. Senior retail managers may not know what WLB strategies retail managers should use to improve employee productivity and retention. Identifying retail managers that had employees with intentions to leave the company but were retained can be a challenge to find because these retail managers do not have a unique identifier. I can easily identify retail managers by a position title . For this reason, I will interview retail managers when studying WLB strategies retail managers should use to improve employee productivity and retention. The second delimitation can be the small sample size; however, a larger sample size would add more time and cost. The third delimitation could be the geographical location for the research population is limited to the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area based upon choice.

Role of the Researcher

I will serve as the primary data collection instrument. I will collect data in a responsible way and alleviate bias (Miyazaki & Taylor, 2008). I am familiar with the topic of this study because I am a business executive with experience with improving employee productivity and retention. To mitigate bias, I will focus on the various types of bias and immediately identify, manage and eliminate it. As the researcher, I will ask precise, quality questions to allow the truest respondent perspectives to ensure the highest qualitative standards. (Miyazaki & Taylor, 2008). I have my own opinions about WLB strategies retail managers should use to improve employee productivity and retention. However, to minimize bias, I will focus on unconditional positive regard, and closely follow the research protocol, asking questions and suppressing my personal views, to address this limitation. Researchers can confirm and ensure quality data by sending transcribed interview data to each participant for verification and only include verified participant data in their research (Leidy & Vernon, 2008).

References

Alazzaz, F., & Whyte, A. (2015). Linking employee empowerment with productivity in off-site construction. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22(1), 21-37. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1647109236?accountid=14872

Ehrenberg, R. G., & Smith, R. S. (2016). Modern labor economics: Theory and public policy. Routledge. New York, NY .

Hatton-Jones, S., & Teah, M. (2015). Case analysis of the do-it-yo urself industry. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 27(5), 826- n/a . Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1724852630?accountid=14872

Harrauer, V., & Schnedlitz, P. (2016). Impact of environment on performance measurement design and processing in retailing. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 44(3), 320-335. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1780749701?accountid=14872

Leidy, N. K., & Vernon, M. (2008). Perspectives on patient-reported outcomes: Content validity and qualitative research in a changing clinical trial environment. PharmacoEconomics, 26(5), 363-70. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/222286619?accountid=14872

Miyazaki, A. D., & Taylor, K. A. (2008). Researcher interaction biases and business ethics research: Respondent reactions to researcher characteristics. Journal of Business Ethics, 81(4), 779-795. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9547-5

Pretorius, M., & Maritz, R. (2011). Strategy making: the approach matters. Journal of

Business Strategy, 32(4), 25-31. doi:10.1108/02756661111150945

Poulose, S., & Sudarsan, N. (2014). Work life balance: A conceptual review. International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics, 3(2), 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.managementjournal.info.

Ratna, R., & Chawla, S. (2012). Key factors of retention and retention strategies in

telecom sector. Global Management Review, 6(3), 35-46. Retrieved from

http://www.sonamgmt.org/gmr.html

Yadav, T., & Rani, S. (2015). Work life balance: Challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Applied Research, 1 (11) , 680-684. Retrieved from http://www.allresearchjournal.com.