RESEARCH TOPIC
What is the topic explored in this research paper? Why is it worth investigating?
Research Topic: Critical analysis of the factors influencing employee satisfaction in retail stores in United Kingdom
Research Purpose
The concept of staff satisfaction has gained high importance in the last several years with corporations investing huge resources for satisfying their existing competent employees instead of recruiting fresh applicants (Paauwe and Boon, XXXXXXXXXXAdditionally, with speedy advancement in technology as well as scientific modernisations, ensuring that employees are fully satisfied has turned out to be almost vital for all the corporations in the present day. According to Johnason (2009), it’s truism that employees must be acknowledged as being a vital foundation as well as fraction of an organization and their efforts must be appropriately documented. Likewise, it’s the staff members whose tacit ability and expertise is employed for accomplishing set objectives and accomplishing company’s strategic objectives (Collings and Wood, XXXXXXXXXXEmployees who are fully satisfied would be always ready to give in their best for ensuring company’s progress and growth.
Taking this into consideration the above discussion, this particular research proposal attempts to critically examine the factors influencing staff satisfaction in retail stores in United Kingdom. Furthermore, the research proposal involves few sections including research aims and objectives, literature review, research methodology, analysis, ethical consideration and research timeline for dealing with research questions in the set time frame.
RESEARCH QUESTION
What is the research question answered in this research paper? (Note: Please indicate only one research question)
Research Question:
What factors influence staff satisfaction in retail companies in United Kingdom?
Research Objectives
(i) To evaluate various staff satisfaction strategies that are considered within retail companies within the UK
(ii) To evaluate the importance given by retail firms to staff satisfaction
LITERATURE REVIEW
What are the main points of agreement/contention/gaps within the scholarly literature on your research topic? (Note: You should review the literature as a whole rather than summarizing individual readings)
Based upon the strategic aim of the research i.e. to examine the factors influencing staff satisfaction in retail stores in United Kingdom; this specific section of the research throws light upon the key concepts part of this study.
The Conception of Staff Satisfaction
Certainly employees perform an important part within all corporations i
espective of the products it offers and its scope. It’s the employees who invest the most time and efforts in making sure that all the operations are ca
ied out competently (Collings and Wood, XXXXXXXXXXThe corporations could not ignore the fact that it is extremely vital to make sure that all employees are fully satisfied. At present, the main challenge faced by majority of the corporations is to proficiently satisfy their operating employees. In addition, there are various reasons that could result in employees being unsatisfied with present employment such as higher incentives and work settings offered through some other company, lack of satisfactory promotion, unpromising strategies and guidelines, physical pressure, absence of appropriate connection with managers as well as other employees in the company.
Staff Satisfaction Strategies
· Communications
The key satisfaction strategy is communication, which takes in sound interaction with employees on consistent basis
· Establishing Clear Expectations
One amongst the highly important approaches for competently satisfying the employees is through setting clear objectives and approaches.
· Effective Rewarding
This particular aspect of staff satisfaction is regarded as being one amongst the greatly employed and efficient strategy with respect to employees.
THEORY AND HYPOTHESES
What is the main hypothesis (or hypotheses) explored in this research paper?
H1: Retail corporations within the UK employ various different retention strategies
H2: Retail corporations lay high importance upon the concept of staff satisfaction.
CONCEPTS
What are the main concepts investigated in your research? (Note: You should provide a conceptual definition of theoretical concepts and explain how you will be able to observe them)
Employee satisfaction basically refers to the state when employees are completely contented with their assigned tasks and work environment. The corporations could not ignore the fact that it is extremely vital to make sure that the staff members are happy with the their position and state of work. In addition, there are various reasons that could result in staff being unsatisfied with present employment like higher incentives and work settings offered through some other company, lack of satisfactory promotion, unpromising strategies and guidelines, physical pressure, absence of appropriate connection with managers as well as other employees.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Which research design will you employ to investigate your hypothesis?
Which units/cases will you analyse in order to investigate your hypothesis? How have these been selected?
After shining light upon the key conceptions related to this study, this particular section of the research would focus upon various research patterns, methods as well as approaches that would be taken up for exploring the above stated research questions. This research proposal in specific aims to examine the factors influencing staff satisfaction in retail stores in United Kingdom.
There is no doubt in the fact that the importance of employee satisfaction within retail segment is rising considerably nowadays and thus, this research aims to scrutinize the effectiveness of different satisfaction approaches prevalent across retail firms within the United Kingdom from perspective of employers as well as the employees by surveys, interviews and finally, a comparative evaluation among the gathered information both primary and secondary.
Analysis and Interpretation
Blaxter et. al XXXXXXXXXXhold the view that all research studies at present involve data collected from primary and secondary sources. Additionally, by interviewing as well as surveying several personnel’s placed at different positions in the retail corporations, one could quite effectively gather resourceful data based upon employees and employers outlooks. Secondary data would be gathered from several different sources involving the Internet, online journals, li
ary, historical archives, textbooks, past studies and others.
For this particular research investigation would be performed for obtaining answers to set questions related to the research area through data matrix. In addition, a sharp contrast between the two i.e. primary data as well as secondary data would be emphasized. Moreover, the information collected could be examined on the basis of four
oad areas involving descriptive, analytic, comparative and lastly, investigative.
RESEARCH ETHICS
Does the proposed research raise ethical issues? (Note: Research projects involving human subjects require the approval by the IP Department Ethics Committee)
Maylor and Blackmon (2005), state that it is highly important for every research study to take into consideration with certain ethical issues. Similarly, this study would follow all the citation rules, plagiarism guidelines and referencing guidelines. Additionally, confidentiality and privacy would be made sure when ca
ying out surveys as well as interviews. Further, all the questionnaires related to the research study would be planned in a manner that politics, religion and culture are not in any manner connected and involved. Also, since the research involves human subjects it is important to obtain approval by the IP Department Ethics Committee.
WORKS CITED
Add here only the bibliographical references of the sources cited in the proposal, not of all of the sources you have read in preparing the proposal.
Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. & Malcolm, T XXXXXXXXXXHow To Research. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Collings, D. G. and Wood, G XXXXXXXXXXHuman resource management: A critical approach. In D. G. Colligs & G. Wood (Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach, London: Routledge.
Johnason, P XXXXXXXXXXHRM in changing organizational contexts. In D. G. Collings & G. Wood (Eds.), Human resource management: A critical approach, London: Routledge.
Maylor, H. & Blackmon, K XXXXXXXXXXResearching Business and Management, Vol. 1. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.
Paauwe, J. and Boon, C XXXXXXXXXXStrategic HRM: A critical review. In D. G. Collings, G. Wood (Eds.) & M.A. reid , Human resource management: A critical approach, London: Routledge.
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