bba3042 business research project i class session two

BBA3042 Business Research Project I

Class Session Two

Devotions

AttitudeAttitude

Track One: Post BBA Career Goal:Individual Learning Outcomes

Individual Learning Individual Learning OutcomesOutcomes are post BBA career goal competencies, skills, and abilities.


Competencies:

possessing the necessary qualities for a specific profession


Skills:

technical expertness; proficiency; aptitude


Abilities:

physical, mental, or legal powers to perform; talent for a specific task


The competencies, abilities, and skills identified by the literature review and expert interviews related to the post BBA career goal will generate the Individual Learning Outcomes.


The outcomes must be broad enough to be fulfilled by an assignment within the BBA curriculum and yet pertinent to the special requirements of the post BBA career goal.


Management, communication, and analytical competencies are in demand by employers. Focus on these areas when developing Individual Learning Outcomes.


Post BBA career goal: Internet specialist for the banking industry

(from sample Post BBA Career Goal Report in Appendix K)


Plan to Achieve Individual Learning Outcomes

(listed in Appendix B of the sample Post BBA Career Goal Report)


List possible ways to achieve each Individual Learning Outcome within the BBA program.


Develop a working knowledge of Internet

Understand current banking regulations (general overview)


Understand re-engineering, strategic planning, and leadership

Develop communication skills, oral and written


Know how to develop and implement training programs


What purposes do the Individual Learning Outcomes serve?


Clarify the broader purpose of the BBA program

Illustrate connection between BBA program and post BBA career goal

Track One: Post BBA Career Goal:Review of HWA 2-3: Post BBA Career Goal Proposal

Break up into pairsEach person evaluates the other’s

HWA 2-3 assignment (DO NOT MARK ON THE COPY TO BE GIVEN TO FACILITATING INSTRUCTOR AT THE END OF THIS CLASS SESSION.)


Discuss how the proposed expert interviews will be conducted.

Create questions for the expert interviews.


How will the results of the literature review and proposed expert interviews be incorporated into Individual Learning Outcomes?

Share examples of Individual Learning Outcomes that might be developed.

Suggest how the Individual Learning Outcomes might be fulfilled within the BBA program.

Track One: Post BBA Career Goal:HWA 3-1: Plan for Post BBA Career Goal

Review next Review next week’s week’s

assignment.assignment.

Scientific Inquiry

?Selltiz, C., Wrightsman, L. S., & Cook, S. W. (1972).

Research methods in social relations (3rd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Scientific Inquiry Versus Common Sense

Definition of Common Sense:The unreflective opinions of ordinary men

Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary. (1971). Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Company.


What are some examples of common

sense?


Why did people 500 plus years ago think that the world was flat (or least hump-backed)?


Scientific Inquiry and Common Sense are both

Perception-Screening Devices


Scientific Inquiry utilizes a:systematicwell plannedlogical approach to explain observations


Common sense limits you to the familiar.


This may be an interesting discussion for the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) -- BUT what does it have to do with my world?


Decisions made by using generally accepted common sense can be wrong.


It is not practical to throw away common sense and subject every work-related decision to a scientific inquiry process.


However, understanding and incorporating the discipline of the scientific inquiry process can ENHANCEENHANCE your decision-making skills for solving work-related problems.

Scientific Inquiry Versus Common Sense: Freshman Seminar at MVNC

Freshman Seminar course has been promoted at MVNC to improve GPAs and Retention Rates.

Bolender, R. K. (1997). The evaluation of institutional goals for Freshman Seminar at Mount Vernon Nazarene College. Resources in Education Journal, The George Washington University. (ERIC: ED 406 912)


The value of Freshman Seminar is generally accepted.


An informal evaluation was conducted by comparing the average first semester GPAs of the group that completed Freshman Seminar versus the group that did not.


The informal evaluation supported the generally accepted belief that Freshman Seminar helps improve students’ GPAs. The GPAs were slightly higher.


This also supported the generally accepted assumption that students who have better GPAs, return for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th semesters.


What are some possible problems with an informal (common sense) evaluation?


Bolender (1997) supported the Freshman Seminar course and wanted to prove that it accomplished the GPA and retention goals.


The purpose of the formal evaluation was to prove that Freshman Seminar should be required for all freshmen.


The study, using inferential statistics, did not prove the assumptions that the Freshman Seminar course had a positive impact on GPAs or retention rates.


Any GPA improvement made by students completing the Freshman Seminar course was not any better than pure chance.


In fact, the formal study could not even replicate the informal average findings. More care was taken in handling the data in the formal study.


How does this example compare with any work related problems you

face?


Scientific Inquiry is:DeliberateFocusedSystematicLogical

Scientific Inquiry: Business Research Project I, II, and III

How is the scientific inquiry process used

within Business Research Project I, II,

and III?


Business Research Project Sequence

Track One:Track One: Post BBA Career GoalPost BBA Career Goal The post BBA career goal will be studied and

developed using the development development methodologymethodology format. The scientific inquiry process will be more deliberate,

systematic, focused, and logical toward connecting the post BBA career goal with the BBA program than using a non-scientific inquiry approach (for example--common sense).


Track Two:Track Two: Work Related ProblemWork Related Problem The work related problem will be solved by

studying the problem with one of three possible methodologiesmethodologies (development, evaluation, or research/quasi-experimental).

The scientific inquiry process will be more deliberate, systematic, focused, and logical toward solving the work related problem (a real world application) than using a non-scientific inquiry approach (for example--common sense).

Scientific Inquiry: Development Methodology

The post BBA career goal report (see Appendix K in the Student Study Guide) utilizes an abbreviated form of the development methodology.

There is an example of a work related problem report utilizing the development methodology at www.bolender.com.

http://www.bolender.com/


The development methodology is preferred for solving a work related problem due to its application-oriented nature.


This methodology produces a product as a result of an investigated problem.


The product can be a:PlanProgramModelHandbookVideo


Uses the formal scientific inquiry process to investigate a problem.

A research question is studied without the use of a hypothesis or statistical analysis.


Components of the Development Methodology

Research QuestionLiterature ReviewFormative CommitteeSummative Committee


Research QuestionReduce the problem to be

investigated into a concise question that can be solved by developing a product.


Literature ReviewA literature review allows the

investigator to determine what is already known about the research question. See Appendix C in the Student Study Guide.


Formative CommitteeSelect three “experts” within

your organization Give the committee an outline

of a possible solution developed from the literature review


Formative CommitteeHave the committee give suggestions for what ought to be included in the product.


Review the suggestions from the formative committee and combine with the literature review outline to develop the first versionfirst version of the product.


Summative CommitteeSelect three “experts” outside of your

organization to review the productAllow the committee members ample

time to review your productNote: If distance is an obstacle, summative

committee members do not have to meet together in a joint meeting.


The summative committee is to validate the product as a reasonable solution to the research question.


The summative committee may require revisions prior to giving approval. This process is not complete until a revisedrevised product has been validated.

Note: The term final versionfinal version of the product is the same as revisedrevised product.


Present the validated product to a key key decision-makerdecision-maker who is familiar with the work related problem.


When feasible, include the product in the appendix of the report.

If not feasible, put a description of the product in the appendix of the report. A copy of the product along with the report must be given to the facilitating instructor.

Scientific Inquiry: Career Development Possibilities


Do you see any career development possibilities with this work related problem study?


To whom are you selling yourself while conducting this investigation?


Inside your organization (formative committee members and a key decision-maker)

Outside your organization (summative committee members)


What are you illustrating about yourself to these people?

Your initiativeYour awareness of the

organizationYour problem-solving abilities

Scientific Inquiry: Evaluation Methodology

The evaluation methodology requires a higher level of analytical skills.

Qualitative questions or problems are solved with quantitative analysis.


Evaluation methodology focuses on whether an EXISTINGEXISTING product or process is meeting the organization’s expectations.


The evaluation methodology allows the application of the scientific inquiry process to a specific setting to make decisions.


A decision may be made to:continuecontinue with changesdiscontinuereplace


The evaluation methodology produces a quantitative solution for a qualitative question.


A hypothesis is developed from the research question to be analyzed using statistical analysis.


BBA383 Data Development and Analysis will illustrate the proper way to test a hypothesis using statistical analysis.


Components of the Evaluation Methodology

Research QuestionLiterature ReviewDevelop Hypothesis from Research QuestionSelect Statistical AnalysisCollect DataTest Hypothesis


The results of the hypothesis testing process will assist you in making a decision about the qualityquality of the product or process evaluated in this study.

Scientific Inquiry: Research (Quasi-Experimental) Methodology

The research (quasi-experimental) methodology requires a higher level of analytical skills.

Qualitative questions or problems are solved with quantitative analysis.


This methodology investigates the possible cause-and-effect cause-and-effect relationshiprelationship of a treatment to a problem.


ExampleThe error rate in the shipping

department for a large mail order company is too high.

Your observation is that the competence level is rather low among the 300 plus workers.


Your suggestion that the shipping department receive formal training is rejected due to cost.

You counter with a suggestion to conduct an experiment using only 50 of the workers.

Management agrees.


To solve this problem with a new treatment, two groups (as similar as possible) are selected.

Control Group: Treatment not applied

Experimental Group: Treatment applied


You randomly selectrandomly select 50 workers to be randomly assignedrandomly assigned into two groups.

One group of 25 workers is assigned to the control group. This group will not receive any formal training.

The other group of 25 workers is the experimental group. It will receive the treatmenttreatment (formal training).


The treatment is given to the experimental group.

Data is collected for the one month period following the treatment.


The t-test was used to compare the correct shipment rates for the control and experimental groups.


The improvement in the correct shipment rates for the experimental group was statistically statistically significantsignificant.


Management decided to implement the formal training program for all shipping employees.


The BBA383 Data Development and Analysis course will illustrate the use of statistical significance. What may appearappear to be an improvement may not be statistically significant.


Components of the Research (Quasi-Experimental) Methodology

Research QuestionLiterature ReviewDevelop Hypothesis from Research QuestionSelect Statistical AnalysisCollect DataTest Hypothesis


The results of the hypothesis testing process will assist you in making a decision about the cause-cause-and-effect relationshipand-effect relationship of the tested treatment.

Scientific Inquiry: Literature Review

What is it?


It is the foundationfoundation of the scientific inquiry process.


It allows the investigator to determine what is already known about the problem or research question.


If a student’s post BBA career goal is to become a specialist in developing Internet services for the banking industry, the literature review will provide a formal background in this area.


If a work related problem deals with training employees who are semi-literate, the literature review may provide studies describing how this problem has been solved at other organizations.


The literature review expands the understanding of the subject beyond what is commonly known and also provides thought provoking ideas for possible solutions.


The literature review tells you what has been done and what needs to be done.


It allows the investigator to begin the study at a higher level.


The study should not be re-inventingre-inventing the wheel--although a redesignedredesigned wheel could be a solution.

Example The development and implementation of a wellness program at Zolab will

reduce the company’s portion of medical insurance premium. How would a properly conducted literature review impact this study? What type of sources (technical and managerial) would be reviewed?

This is a business management program--so even a technical problem must include a managerial component as part of the solution.


If a review of the current literature is not conducted at the beginning of the investigation, it is difficult to develop a high-quality, innovative solution.


Literature Review within Business Research Project I, II, and III BBA342 Business Research Project I

Track One: Post BBA Career GoalTrack One: Post BBA Career Goal Post BBA Career Goal Proposal

• Requires a minimum of two sources listed in References and cited within the body of the paper

Post BBA Career Goal Report• Requires a minimum of three sources listed in References and cited within the body of the

paper

BBA402 Business Research Project II Track Two: Work Related ProblemTrack Two: Work Related Problem

Work Related Problem Proposal• Requires a minimum of five sources listed in References and cited within the body of the paper

BBA482 Business Research Project III Track Two: Work Related ProblemTrack Two: Work Related Problem

Work Related Problem Report• Requires a minimum of 10 sources listed in References and cited within the body of the paper


Remember -- many more sources will be reviewed than what are finally included in the proposal or report. Every source does not contribute pertinent information to the review.


The librarian should not conduct the literature review for you -- but -- REQUEST HELP FROM A REQUEST HELP FROM A LIBRARIAN BEFORE YOU LIBRARIAN BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR SEARCH!BEGIN YOUR SEARCH!


Why?Because you may overlook some valuable sources that are specifically related to your research problem.


Quality of Sources

Graduate-level, quality sources are not required for the literature review in this course.

However -- you should be concerned about the quality of your sources.


Remember -- the purpose of scientific inquiry is to go BEYONDBEYOND common sense. You cannot develop a good study if your literature review consists of low-quality sources.


Confused - Worried - Clueless?

Remember --When in doubt --

ASK!

Track Two: Work Related Problem:Review of HWA 2-4: Work Related Problem WorksheetRationale Document

Select one of the problems from your Work Related Problem Worksheet.

Create a new Microsoft Word document to answer the following questions (save this document as Rationale): Would the successful implementation of the solution of this

problem make a positive economic impact (give specifics) on the organization?

Is the problem dealing with a “structural” issue(s)--or is it limited to the “personality” of one or two employees within the organization?

Is the problem “worthy” of a multiple month study? If so, why? What type of literature review would be conducted? What areas

(technical and non-technical) would be reviewed? Give specific examples.

Track Two: Work Related Problem:Review of HWA 2-4: Work Related Problem WorksheetRationale Document

Print the rationale document. The rationale document will not affect

your grade unless it is not included with HWA 2-4

Do not print a new copy of HWA2-4 Work Related Problem Worksheet

DO NOT LEAVEDO NOT LEAVE

Until you have given the facilitating instructor the following items:

HWA 2-3HWA 2-4

bba3042 business research project i class session two

Documents

post bba career goal

post bba career goal

bba career goal competencies

bba curriculum

written slide

specific profession

specific task slide

devotions attitude slide