Doctoral Business Administration - Rewrite

Operational Definitions

Employee Productivity: Productivity is the amount of output that an employee gets per unit of labor input. The level of production output per unit of labor input 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).

Work-Life Balance (WLB): A healthy 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

Assumptions refer to ideas that are used in a particular situation that ne ed not be proven or backed with empirical evidence because they are based on facts that are already existing, (Abeysekera & Dawson, 2015). As the researcher, I assume at least six suitable participants will be available to participate in interviews. This is a reasonable assumption because the number is six is neither too big to bring forth challenges in the collection of accurate and reliable information from the targeted audience . Also, the number is not too small to result in the collection of insufficient data and information on the research topic. I also assume participants of the study will provide truthful responses in their interview. It is also imperative to explicitly make it clear to the participants that their responses are confidential and will not be used for any other purpose other than the research. The final assumption is the interviews will offer an opportunity to hear directly from the participants regarding the effectiveness of some of the WLB strategies within their workplace.

Limitations

Limitations refer to the potential weaknesses and challenges that are bound to have affected the ability of the researcher to meet the goals and objectives of the study in the manner in intended, (Waldman, Wang & Fenters, 2016) . Limitations have a significant influence on the outcomes of the research because the researcher has no control over them.

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. The second limitation is the unavailability of data relating to WLB in the retail industry which will present a challenge in finding the trend and relationship with the information collected from the interviewees.

Delimitations

Delimitations refer to the boundaries within which the research will be conducted . It is the researcher that determine the scope of the research and as such delimitation are completely controlled by the researcher, (Anon, 2012).

The first delimitation is the size of the targeted audience for the interview. The research will focus on the mid-level employees who are under the supervision of a manager or supervisor. T he main reason for this is that it is these group of employees who directly affect the ability of the retail store to meet the set goals and objectives . Secondly, it is imperative to ensure that the employees participating in the research get accurate and timely information regarding the date, time and the requirements before as well as during the interview. For this reason, I will interview retail managers when studying WLB strategies retail managers should use to improve employee productivity and retention.

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).

My role as a researcher is to ensure that the interview questions are correct and relevant to the research study to facilitate the successful completion of the study. As a researcher, I must collect the necessary information, record the information and finally analyze the information to determine the relationships and trends that relate to WLB and the effect that this relationship has to the overall performance and productivity of the targeted audience. It is crucial to ensure that the questions for the interview provide a detail and comprehensive understanding of the subject of the study.

As a manager, I would be in a better position to not only relate but also understand the responses that the employees will give to the interview questions. What this means is that I can efficiently collect and analyze the information to realize the necessary research outcomes. I also engage with employees in my areas of work, and as such, I understand some of the potential challenges that they face in their day to day operations which will significantly influence the ability of the employees to communicate freely.

A successful research will not only depend on the effectiveness of the whole study process but also the integrity of the study. As such, ethical consideration will see to it that the survey does not affect the interviewees either physically, mentally or emotionally. The research design will follow proper steps to see to it that the employees engage in conversations and activities that they are comfortable with. Unethical practice will not only compromise the integrity of the research and the research as a whole but also its application in the retail industry.

It is possible to have a bias in the design of the study based on my experiences and preference in the retail industry and these could potentially affect the successful completion of the study. As a researcher, I will see to it that I identify as well as avoid bias to make the study more effective and efficient. One of the potential bias in the study is the use of exclusive data collection methods. To avoid this bias, the research will focus on giving the participants the same amount of time as well as identical questions to obtain a reliable trend and consistency in the data collected. It is also possible to misinterpret the data collected based on my own experience in the industry, and this will affect the overall outcome of the research. To avoid this, I will develop a data analysis plan that will guarantee the reliability and consistency of the research questions.

The study is qualitative and as such is it necessary to ensure that the questions contain both short answer as well as detail answers questions. This is a move that will see to it that the study can completely cover the study area and as such provide sufficient information that will assist in the process of developing effective and applicable recommendations for WLB strategies in the retail business.

References

Abeysekera, L., & Dawson, P. (2015). Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition, rationale and a call for research. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(1), 1-14.

Alazzaz, F., & Whyte, A. (2015). Linking employee empowerment with productivity in off-site construction. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22(1), 21-37. 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-yourself industry. Asia Pacific Journal Of Marketing And Logistics, 27(5), 826-838. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/apjml-09-2015-0135

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. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm-03-2015-0048

Leidy, N., & Vernon, M. (2008). Perspectives on Patient-Reported Outcomes. Pharmacoeconomics, 26(5), 363-370. http://dx.doi.org/10.2165/00019053-200826050-00002

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

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

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

Yadav, T., & Rani, S. (2015). Work life balance: Challenges and opportunities. International Journal of Applied Research, 1(11).

Waldman, D., Wang, D., & Fenters, V. (2016). The Added Value of Neuroscience Methods in Organizational Research. Organizational Research Methods. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094428116642013