https://research-methodology.net Necessary knowledge to conduct a business research Sun, 18 Feb 2024 14:38:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://rm-15da4.kxcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cropped-logoBRM-32x32.jpg https://research-methodology.net 32 32 https://research-methodology.net/brief-literature-review-on-unique-characteristics-of-tourism-industry/ Sun, 24 Jul 2022 10:03:59 +0000 https://research-methodology.net/?p=67617 The literature review has established viewpoints of other authors about unique characteristics of tourism industry. Literature review has revealed the following unique characteristics of tourism industry as summarised by TSA project in 2008: Firstly, the tourism is not an industry. The rationale behind this viewpoint relates to the idea that tourism comprises a wide range of individual businesses in a wide range of areas such as catering, transportation, entertainment, manufacturing and others. However, this viewpoint is not shared by all authors and many prominent authors in the area of tourism such as Webb (2009), Solomon and Rabolt (2009) and Rajagopal (2010) still refer to tourism as an industry. Secondly, in tourism consumers come to products. It is not possible to import tourism products and services or to provide them to customers through other channels and this point can be specified as an important distinctive feature of tourism industry from other industries. Thirdly, in tourism location is a part of the product. In tourism industry it is difficult to make a clear distinction between the value of a tourism destination and a wide range of products and services offered in this destination. In other words, tourism interconnects many separate businesses into a single entity (Schiffman et. al., 2012).   Moreover, according to literature review findings there are range of systems that can be applied in order to characterise tourism destinations. For example, a system proposed by Pearce (2005) identifies six different labels in tourism industry and explains characteristics of each label. Label Emphasis Characteristics and examples of the system Activities Physical Listings, profiles, GIS approach Settings Physical Public management agencies use of zones using a biophysical basis Facilities Physical Micro-environments and service escapes: the immediate physical features of the tourist space Service Social Personnel: the characteristics of personnel in the service…]]> https://research-methodology.net/the-triumph-of-liberal-economic-ideas-in-the-developing-world-by-biersteker-t-j-1995-annotated-bibliography/ Tue, 31 Mar 2015 10:03:46 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=6459 Biersteker (1995) explores apparent triumph of liberal economic ideas in the developing world by concentrating on the nature of change in economic thinking. According to this article dramatic changes in economic thinking in developing countries took place mainly during the period of 1980s and 1990s. Differences in perceptions between countries and their impact on implementing liberal economic ideas are stressed by Biersteker (1995) to explain variations on the levels of economic liberalisation amongst Latin American countries. Biersteker (1995) offers an interesting account of the impact of liberalism on developing countries. Specifically, Biersteker (1995) discounts the impact of following four factors in facilitating change in economic thinking – perception of superiority of liberal ideas by developing countries, exercise of power by international financial institutions such as IMF and the World Bank, intensifying forces of globalisation, and collapse of socialism. Instead, Biersteker (1995) offers explanation for change in economic thinking from four different perspectives: ideational, systematic, domestic interest, and international institutional perspectives. A noteworthy shortcoming associated with this approach is associated with being overly idealistic. While the author accepts this fact by stating that “each of these should be considered as an idealised construction” (Biersteker, 1995, p.181), nevertheless, the idealised approach undermines the level of practical relevance of the work. Reyes and Sawyer (2011) offer an alternative approach to the work of Biersteker (1995) by identifying perception of superiority of liberal ideas as the most significant factor fuelling change in economic thinking in developing counties during the last three decades of the last century.   References Biersteker, T.J. (1995) “The “triumph” of liberal economic ideas in the developing world” in Global Change, Regional Response: The New International Context for Development, editor Stallings, B., Cambridge University Press Reyes, J.A. & Sawyer, C.W. (2011) “Latin American Economic Development” Taylor & Francis]]> https://research-methodology.net/a-brief-literature-review-on-consumer-buying-behaviour/ Thu, 05 Mar 2015 20:53:20 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=3546 The topic of consumer behaviour is one of the massively studied topics by the researchers and marketers in the past and still being studied. Researchers show different reasons as to why consumer behaviour has been the topic of many academics and researchers. One of the common views is that understanding consumer behaviour has become a factor that has a direct impact on the overall performance of the businesses (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Another view suggests that understanding consumer behaviour has become crucial especially due to fierce competition in retail industry in the UK and worldwide (Lancaster et al, 2002). This chapter will introduce some other areas of research background of consumer behaviour addressing the works of researchers and marketers. Moreover, consumer decision making process, in particular, five stages of consumer decision making process will be discussed in detail.   Introduction It is worth noting that consumer buying behaviour is studied as a part of the marketing and its main objective it to learn the way how the individuals, groups or organizations choose, buy use and dispose the goods and the factors such as their previous experience, taste, price and branding on which the consumers base their purchasing decisions (Kotler and Keller, 2012). One of such studies of consumer buying behaviour has been conducted by Acebron et al (2000). The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of previous experience on buying behaviour of fresh foods, particularly mussels. In their studies the authors used structural equation model in order to identify the relationship between the habits and previous experience on the consumer buying decision. Their findings show that personal habits and previous experience on of the consumers have a direct impact on the consumers’ purchase decision in the example of purchasing fresh mussels. They also found that the image of the…]]> https://research-methodology.net/effects-of-crisis-on-uk-higher-educational-institutions-career-prospects-of-uk-students-a-brief-literature-review/ Sat, 03 Jan 2015 04:21:44 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=6268 Burke (2012) links the impacts of the global economic crisis of 2008-2010 with spending cuts on education system by the UK government. Chalabi and Arnett (2013), on the other hand, make an interesting observation related to the issue. Specifically, according to Chalabi and Arnett (2013), the levels of GDP in the UK decreased by 2 per cent between 2008 and 2010, whereas the levels of public expenditure on education have increased by 8 per cent during the same period. A large-scale survey conducted by Education Institution (2009) has attempted to assess impacts of the global economic crisis on education in 48 countries, including the UK. Infrastructure, human resources (HR), and other needs of the UK education system have been found as a result of the survey. Infrastructure needs of UK education system, according to Education Institution (2009) relates to necessity to rebuilt primary schools. Other needs are found to relate to funding for high quality continuing professional development of teachers and challenges associated with reforming curriculum and qualification system. However, it is important to note that Education Institution (2009) findings only relate to education in public sector, and the level of relevance of data to private sector educational institutions are yet to be established. Burke (2012) considers dramatic reduction of numbers of graduate employment schemes offered by multinational companies in 2009 as the direct impact of the global economic crisis. Although, this argument appears to be convincing, Burke (2012) fails to back-up the claim through referring to relevant statistical data. Vaitilingam (2010) points to the risk of lifetime earning loss for a generation of graduates that join full-time workforce during or immediate aftermath of recession. According to Vaitilingam (2010), this situation may occur due to rapid increase in the supply of graduates compared to jobs caused by cuts on graduate…]]> https://research-methodology.net/major-reasons-of-global-economic-crisis-of-2008-2010-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 30 Dec 2014 04:13:58 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=6260 There is a large volume of published studies analysing major reasons of the global economic crisis of 2008-2010. Excessive risk taking by financial institutions in the US combined with inefficiencies with US housing regulations is shown as primary causes of global recession by Roberts (2009) and Heng (2010). Heng (2010) offers detailed account of the issue and effectively demonstrates that US-based financial institutions have encouraged individuals with no adequate credit history to own homes and rapid decline of house prices, phenomenon known as ‘housing bubble’ has given start to a severe global financial and economic crisis. A study conducted by Sobel (2012) confirms excessive risk taking and inefficiencies with housing regulations as reasons behind the economic crisis and also discussed additional factors not mentioned by many other authors. Specifically, according to Sobel (2012), inadequacies in formulating interest rate policies, as well as, policies to suppress inflation in the US have also played major role in creation of environment that led to the global economic crisis of 2008-2010. Globalisation is perceived by Tan (2010) as one of the major enabling factors of the global economic crisis of 2008-2010. The topic of globalisation is addressed by Samson and Daft (2012) in great details. Specifically, Samson and Daft (2012) divide globalisation into four stages and cultural sensitivity and managerial assumptions in each stage in the following manner:   1. Domestic 2. International 3. Multinational 4. Global Strategic orientation Domestically oriented Export-oriented, multi-domestic Multinational Global Stage of development Initial foreign involvement Competitive positioning Exposition of international operations Global Cultural sensitivity Of little importance Very important Somew hat important Critically important Manager assumptions ‘one best way’ ‘many good ways’ ‘the least-cost way’ ‘many good ways’ Four stages of globalisation Source: Samson and Daft (2012) However, while linking financial crisis and globalisation, Tan (2010) fails to…]]> https://research-methodology.net/factors-contributing-to-increase-of-chinas-hegemony-a-brief-literature-review/ Mon, 25 Aug 2014 05:28:33 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5959 While there is a consensus amongst authors regarding rapid hegemonic rise of China opinions divide about sustainability of this tendency in long-term or even medium term perspectives. On one hand, there are authors such as Zhang (2012), Sobel (2012) and Joseph (2013) who express firm belief about the sustainability of Chinese hegemony. This group of authors refer to the strong competitive advantage of economy of China that is expanding beyond the cost advantage of resources to compete with producers from developed countries on quality levels. On the other hand, a range of authors such as Catley and Mosler (2007), Balogun (2011) and Nye (2011) adopt a sceptical approach about sustainability of hegemony of China in long-term perspectives. This specific group of authors justify their stand by stating that China’s hegemonic rise is directly conditioned by its volume of exports, and sustainability of volume of export depend on a wide range of internal and external factors that are becoming increasingly volatile. Nevertheless, the literature review has found a set of political, economical and social factors that contribute to the rise on the level of hegemony of China. Each of these factors is discussed below in greater details.   Political Factors Political factors contributing to the rise of China’s hegemony are closely associated with damages to the reputation of present world hegemon – the USA through unsuccessful engagement in a series of foreign wars (Catley and Mosley, 2007, Zhang, 2012, Joseph, 2013) and a range other factors discussed below. Zhang (2012) argues that financing overseas wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya is draining national economy of the USA.  Moreover, eagerness of the US President Barack Obama to initiate military engagements in Syria is most likely to have highly detrimental impacts on the level of national economy. Moreover, US government sponsors a range…]]> https://research-methodology.net/macroeconomic-implications-of-hegemony-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:02 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5937 Literature review has found a debate about the impacts of hegemony to an open economic system. On one hand, authors such as Catley and Mosler (2007), Russett (2011) and Baker (2011) confirm positive role of hegemonic states in achieving macroeconomic stability in global scale. The main justifications behind this stance relate to hegemon serving as role model for other states and playing an instrumental role in creation and facilitation of monetary and trade regimes. Supporters of this viewpoint offer various examples to justify their view. Specifically, these examples include positive implications of the British hegemony in the 19th century to trade liberalisation, and reductions on the level of free trade in the global scale after the decline in British hegemony 1875 onwards (Catley and Mosler, 2007). Moreover, Russett (2011) argues that absence of hegemonic state within the period between the two World Wars has resulted in intensification of economic protectionism in many countries, and the situation has escalated to give rise to the emergence of the Great Depression. Russett (2011) further argues that macroeconomic stability has been achieved in many countries only after the emergence of the US as a powerful hegemon upon the completion of the World War II. According to this approach, the role of hegemonic states in global macroeconomics can be represented through the following points (Baker, 2011). a)      Maintaining stabilised macroeconomic situation; b)      Enforcement of free economy rules though the use of influence; c)      Encouraging other counties to eliminate barriers to international trade; d)     Contributing to the growth of national economies of other countries through imports On the other hand, sceptical approach towards the benefits of hegemonic states to macroeconomic stability and international trade has been expressed by Schake (2009) and Nye (2011). According to this group of authors bargaining and cooperation between countries is more…]]> https://research-methodology.net/leadership-in-private-sector-organisations-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 08 Apr 2014 00:25:37 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5831 The nature of leadership in private sector organisations is directly impacted by the primary purpose of such organisations and this primary purpose is profit maximisation (DuBrin, 2012). This opinion is confirmed by Goldsmith et al. (2010), who perceive profit maximisation as the main assessment criteria for private sector organisational leaders. According to Gold et al. (2010) constant search for competitive advantage can be justly specified as one of the most fundamental characteristics of leadership in private sector organisations. According to this stance, competitive advantage can be derived from a wide range of sources and business processes, and it is the responsibility of a business leader to be able to formulate the most appropriate competitive advantage, and ensure its efficient utilisation. Stanfield (2009) explore the issues of ethics for modern business leaders and conclude that the level of ethical requirements have increased for business leaders in the last several decades contributed by increasing level of scrutiny business leaders are being subjected to.  Stanfield (2009) offers justification for this claim by stating that increasing role of viral media in the society makes any evidence of unethical behaviour hard to escape from. Maintaining high level of flexibility and implementing changes in relation to various business processes in a constant manner is pointed to as a significant challenge to business leaders by Kezar et al. (2011) and Kreitner and Cassidy (2012). Moreover, Kezar et al. (2011) stress the role of assertiveness and communication skills for business leaders in order to be able to implement changes in an efficient manner. The issue of talent management by business leaders comprehensively addressed by Bertocci and Bertocci (2009) reveals another important aspect of successful leadership practice. Specifically, according to Bertocci and Bertocci (2009) human resources need to be perceived as the most valuable business asset in the 21st…]]> https://research-methodology.net/leadership-in-public-sector-organisations-a-brief-literature-review-2/ Mon, 07 Apr 2014 00:16:07 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5826   Numbers of authors have addressed different aspects of leadership in public sector organisations in their works. Generally, public sector leadership has been described as “more specific than general leadership and more expansive than political leadership” (Raffel, 2009, p.4). There have been attempts to classify the types of leaders and followers in public sector organisations within a certain framework. One of the most notable examples of such works belong to Wart (2009), how specifies the types of leaders and followers in public organisations in the following manner: Types of work Execution Policy New ideas     Types of   Followers Employees Managers Executives with policy responsibilities Transformational leaders Constituents Community leaders of volunteer groups Legislators and advisory board members Lobbyists and policy entrepreneurs Adherents Small group leaders Leaders of social movements Philosophical zealots and social trend setters Types of leaders and followers Source: Wart (2008) Gallos (2008) declares employee motivation to be one of the most significant challenges met by public sector organisational leaders. Bertocci and Bertocci (2009) offer more detailed explanation to this viewpoint by stating that whereas managers in private sector have greater level of freedom in terms of rewarding and motivating employees through tangible motivational tools such as bonuses and pay rises; managers in public sector do not have such opportunities most of the time due to budget constraints and greater level of accountability associated with budget spending. The nature and extent of accountability to stakeholders in public sector represents another point of difficulty to organisational leaders, Stanfield (2009) argues. The author asserts that unlike private sector organisations, in pubic sector there is a greater level of scrutiny of performance from media and a wide range of other stakeholders, and this situation creates extra difficulties for organisational leaders in public sector. Moreover, Gold et al. (2010) state…]]> https://research-methodology.net/essential-leadership-qualities-a-brief-literature-review-2/ Sat, 05 Apr 2014 03:01:30 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5822 Literature review has shed a light upon essential qualities for individuals holding leadership positions in organisations. Having a clear vision and the ability of articulating it in an efficient manner appears as one of the most important leadership skills in the majority of sources addressed during the preliminary literature review. According to Wart (2008) effective leaders are able to formulate motivating vision and create a situation where the vision is shared by all employees within the organisation. Communication skills are also crucially important to be possessed by organisational leaders (Gallos, 2008, Bertocci and Bertocci, 2009). Gallos (2008) explains the importance of communication skills for organisational leaders by referring to the fact that leaders need to communicate with different organisational stakeholders in a daily basis, and each category of these stakeholders pursue varying aims and objectives. According to Stanfield (2009) and Bertocci and Bertocci (2009) decisiveness marks important trait for organisational leaders. When discussing this specific leadership trait Stanfield (2009) refers to The Great Man leadership theory, and argues that individuals born with leadership skills are tend to be more decisive than individuals who have acquired their leadership skills on the course of their lives. However, Stanfield (2009) does not offer any evidences based on empirical studies to justify this viewpoint. Similarly, self-confidence has been viewed by Goldsmith et al. (2010) and Gold et al. (2010) as another important leadership trait. Goldsmith et al. (2010) conclude that the value of self-confidence as a leadership trait increases in times of crises when  leaders need to be able to take decisions while a wide range of factors remain uncertain. In their analysis of an alternative leadership quality, integrity, Gold et al. (2010) convincingly argue that the lack of integrity associated with any organisational leader is difficult to conceal in modern times due to…]]> https://research-methodology.net/present-condition-of-chinese-healthcare-system-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 25 Mar 2014 06:11:08 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5805 According to the report published by the Chinese Ministry of Health (2002), it is said that the provision of health care services in the country is based on three-tiered system. While in rural areas the village health stations, town’s central hospitals and county hospitals form the three tiers, in urban areas the three tiers consist of neighbourhood health clinics, district hospitals and municipal hospitals. Dib et al (2009) note that this three-tiered system is aimed to ensure the efficient and effective provision of health care services while creating trusts and closer relationship between patients and doctors. As a first point of contact for patients, the health institutions at the lower level of the tier are designed to provide prevention and primary health care services. In practice, the private clinics account for majority of these low-level health instructions as they provide primary care services, health check-ups and cure minor diseases.  On the other hand, county and municipal hospitals at the upper level of three-tiered system provide impatient, outpatient and emergence care services to the patients referred from lower level health institutions and hospitals (Chen Xiaohong, 2007). However, Yu Guangjun et al (2007) argue that this vertical structured three-tiered system itself is the one of the key reasons behind the failure of the Chinese health care system. The difficulty in getting transferred from low-level health institutions and obtaining access from hospitals at the top level of hierarchy due to long-waiting lists for registration and treatment, unnecessary long bureaucratic processes pinpoint the difficulties faced by patients, particularly in rural areas.  Moreover, given the huge size of country’s population, the author argues that lack of trained doctors and health care professionals, shortage of medical equipments and facilities further diminish the ability of hospitals and other health institutors to receive and treat the patients. On…]]> https://research-methodology.net/historical-evolution-of-chinese-healthcare-system-a-brief-overview/ Mon, 24 Mar 2014 06:00:52 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5801 As the oldest living civilization, history of the Chinese medicine goes back to nearly two thousand years. The methods and theories of the Chinese medicine considered as one of the oldest in the history of medicine and they have been practiced and developed further over the centuries. However, as many scholars note, China did not have organized and centralized health care network system until middle of the 20th century. The health care services were mainly provided by small, private clinics, local, individual healers as well as some religious or charity institutions, while big central health care station, which could qualify as a hospital, mainly cared after royal family and served the needs high-ranking officials and military personnel. This highlights the fact that private clinics and practitioner had played significant role in the history and development of the Chinese health care system. The earliest contemporary hospitals began to appear in China from 18th century in the form of missionary hospitals run by western churches. According to the statistics cited by Meng Qingyue et al (2000), prior to the formation of Chinese Communists state in 1949, there were around 768 hospitals providing health care services in the country. While only 248 of them were government-funded, remaining 520 were private hospitals indicating the private sector dominated the provision of health care services throughout the history of Chinese health care system. However, following the arrival of socialism and foundation of communist state in 1949, the role of private sector in the Chinese health care has diminished significantly within very short period of time. Ministry of health, which was set up by the government as a responsible body for overseeing the provision of health care services and running of country’s health care network, soon began transferring private hospitals into public ones. The Cultural Revolution, which…]]> https://research-methodology.net/a-brief-literature-review-on-organizational-culture/ Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:57:43 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5685 According to Azhar (2003) organizational culture is the combination of important assumptions that are shared in common by each members of an organization and are often unstated. Organizational culture is basically made up by two major common assumptions: values and beliefs. Values are the assumptions that have been forwarded by the leaders of the organization and considered to be ideals that are desired by all the members of an organization. Beliefs on the other hand are the assumptions about the reality and created by experience. Robbins (1986) on the other hand, defines organizational culture as a uniform perception of an organization which has common characteristics. Organizational culture, according to the author is something descriptive and effectively it can distinguish one particular organization from another. It can also integrate individuals and groups of organization systems. Organizational culture is also defined by Rousseau (2000) as a set of commonly experienced stable characteristics of an organization which shows the distinctive features of an organization which differentiates it from others. Similar to the definitions of Azhar (2003) that has been stated above, Rousseau (2000) also define the organizational culture as set of norms and values that are shared by individuals and groups across the organization. Organizational values and beliefs refer to the common ideas about what the shared goals of an organization are, what types of behaviour should the members of an organization follow in order to achieve the common goals of an organization. These organizational values in turn form out the standard norms and guidelines for the organization that makes it distinct from others. Organizational culture is also defined by Schein (2004) as a pattern of shared assumptions that have been accepted by a group of individuals as they solve their problems. Because they have used these assumptions to solve their problems and…]]> https://research-methodology.net/ict-in-tourism-and-hospitality-industry-literature-review/ Sun, 16 Feb 2014 00:08:57 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5566 Information and communication technologies (ICT) have had tremendous impact virtually all industries and sectors, as well as, specific business businesses processes. The impact of ICT on businesses relate to the facilitation of communication with organisational stakeholders, serving as an effective sales channel, providing an effective platform for engaging in marketing and others. Literature review is a “systematic, explicit and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and interpreting the existing body of recorded work produced by other scholars” (Khan, 2008, p.41). Importance of conducting literature review in this paper can be explained in a way that it allows to present the most notable data about various important aspects of ICT in tourism and hospitality so that this data can be referred to during the case study analysis.   ICT in Tourism and Hospitality Sector Parsons and Oja (2013) mention online reservations systems as one of the greatest impacts of ICT on tourism and hospitality sector. Major travel companies such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Thomas Cook, as well as, medium and even small sized tourism and hospitality firms have online reservation functionalities on official company website. Online reservation capabilities provide substantial cost saving opportunities for businesses in tourism and hospitality sector that otherwise would have been spent on human resources making reservations in a manual manner. Moreover, according to Mihalic and Buhalis (2013), while the majority of businesses in tourism and hospitality sector have adopted various components of ICT to certain extent, there are substantial differences between businesses in terms of extent and nature of adoption of those components. In simple terms, Mihalic and Buhalis (2013) argue that some tourism and hospitality organisations have effectively included ICT to the sources of competitive advantage, whereas opportunities offered by ICT are yet to be used by others.   Importance of ICT to Small Hospitality Companies…]]> https://research-methodology.net/increasing-importance-of-brands-and-branding-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 21 Jan 2014 00:09:06 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=5370 Brand has been defined as “the sum of all associations, feelings, attitudes and perceptions that people have related to the tangible and intangible characteristics of a company, product or service” (Brandeo, 2014). The definition of a brand image has been proposed as “the total, global impression of the information that accumulates in the memory of consumers in relation to a band” (Franzen and Moriarty, 2008, p. 241). The terms of branding in particular has been defined as “the process of continuous struggle between procedures ad customers to define the promise and meaning” (Healey, 2008, p.6). The issues of increasing importance of brands and branding in modern global marketplace have been addressed by a wide range of authors and the most noteworthy contributions to the issue have been made by authors such as Hill et al (2006), Franzen and Moriarty (2008), Clifton and Ahmad (2009), and Kotler and Pfoersch (2010). Interestingly, Okonkwo (2010, p.9) reasons that “the origin of brands comes from the times when early cattle-rearing men stamped their ownership on their livestock by burning a mark of their name or identity on the cattle, to distinguish one cattle-farmer’s stock from another’s”. However, according to Franzen and Moriarty (2008) the importance of branding has seen a significant boost during the past several decades, and reasons for this have been offered as increase in the level of well-being of consumers (Inkpen and Ramaswamy, 2006), increasing role of media (Steers and Nardon, 2008), and innovations in marketing communications (Alessandri, 2009). Abbing (2010) addresses the issues associated with the shift in the role and meaning of branding in a detailed manner and presents his findings in terms of differences in branding in the past and present in the following manner: Brands were previously often referred to as being Brands in current thinking are…]]> https://research-methodology.net/leadership-differences-between-private-and-public-sector-organisations-literature-review/ Fri, 08 Nov 2013 00:29:59 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=4732 The literature review has identified the main differences between private and public sector organisations to relate to organisational aims and objectives, organisational stakeholders and stakeholder expectations, the levels of public scrutiny, external environment and its impacts and sources of motivation for employees.   1. Differences in Organisational Aims and Objectives According to Kassel (2010), Chaston (2011) and others, organisational aims and objectives represent the main point for difference between public and private sector organisations. The main objective for the majority of private sector organisations relates to maximising financial returns for investors, whereas the majority of organisations in public sector have been found to pursue objectives other than profit maximisation, such as providing various services and products for the public (Kassel, 2010, Chaston, 2011). The level of clarity of organisational objectives has emerged as an additional difference between public and private sector organisations. Specifically, according to Wright et al. (2012), while the main or even only objective for private sector organisations – maximising profits is straightforward, and therefore clearly understood by employees at all levels, the perceptions of goal clarity amongst public sector employees tends to be lower.   2. Stakeholders in Public Sector and Private Sector Organisations and Their Expectations The type of stakeholders and stakeholders’ expectations has emerged as another point of stark difference between private and public sector organisations (Chaston, 2011). Stakeholders can be defined as “any party or group who is able to influence (affect) or be influenced (affected) by the organisation and its activities” (Brink and Berndt, 2009, p.156). Stakeholders can be divided into two categories: internal and external (Parhizgari and Gilbert, 2004, Crosby and Bryson, 2005). Internal organisational stakeholders have direct relationship with an organisation and they are directly impacted by performance of the organisation. External stakeholders, on the other hand, may not be impacted…]]> https://research-methodology.net/important-leadership-skills-and-capabilities-a-brief-literature-review/ Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:16:10 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=4727 Reasonable amount of works have been devoted to the study of leadership skills and capabilities. According to Bertocci and Bertocci (2009), one of the most basic and necessary leadership qualities relates to the development of organisational vision in an effective manner and ensuring that employees are motivated by this vision. Ricketts and Ricketts (2011) consider the ability to influence others as a core leadership quality. At the same time, Ricketts and Ricketts (2011) accept that influencing can be done in a positive or negative manner and discusse the advantages of positive influencing as compared to negative influencing in long-term perspective. Similarly, the ability to motivate other people is seen by Davies and Brundrett (2010) as one of the most important trait for leaders. Confirming this point, Obolensky (2010) finds positive correlation between the level of effectiveness of organisational leaders, and the use of intangible motivational tools. In other words, according to Obolensky (2010) the most effective leaders use tangible motivational tools to a minimum extent, effectively appealing to inner psychological and career development needs of their subordinates. Differences between tangible and intangible motivators and their implications on leadership practices need to be explained in greater detail in order to further clarify the point above. Schermerhorn et al. (2011) confirm that tangible motivational tools include elements present in physical terms that can be obtained and/or experienced such as money, holidays, free meal, etc. Intangible motivational tools, on the other hand, include prestige, verbal and written appreciations from management, the provision of various titles etc (Griffin, 2011). Forsyth (2009) covers a greater range of leadership skills and capabilities in his work and represents interrelationships within leadership skills and capabilities in the following manner: Important leadership skills and capabilities Source: Forsyth (2009) Specifically, leadership skills and competencies are divided by Forsyth (2009) into…]]> https://research-methodology.net/leadership-styles-a-brief-literature-review/ Tue, 05 Nov 2013 00:54:16 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=4724 Leadership styles are generally divided into four categories: autocratic, consultative, democratic, and laissez-faire (Daiels, 2004, Davies and Brundrett, 2010). The following table contains the description of each style, relevant leader behaviours and potential impact on employees: Style Description Leader behaviours Potential impact on employees Autocratic Basic premise: leader knows best. Communication flows downwards Controlling Directive Makes all decisions and solves all problems Issues commands Hostility Rebellion Consultative Basic premise: leader informs members of best concepts Directive approach; teacher of information Increases knowledge levels Democratic (Participative) Basic premise: every member should have input. Communication is open and mutual Acts as a facilitator. Serves as a resource person Encourages members’ active participation Improved productivity More opportunity for personal growth Increased cooperation and teamwork Laissez-Faire Leadership responsibilities are assumed by group. Almost any behaviour by group is permissible due to the leader’s lack of limit-setting and stated expectations Passive, non-directive approach. Provides little, if any support, guidance, or feedback. Sets no limits Unmet tasks Relationship needs of group members ignored Apathy Descriptions of leadership styles, leader behaviours, and potential impact on employees Source: Daniels (2004) The majority of authors stress the advantages of democratic leadership style over autocratic leadership at various levels. Interestingly, Dukakis et al. (2010) argue that the negative impacts of autocratic leadership are starkly evident in private sector organisations compared to public sector organisations. To explain this point, Dukakis et al. (2010) reason that leadership issues in private sector organisations associated with the application of autocratic leadership style would be reflected in the level of revenues, whereas leadership ineffectiveness in public sector organisations might be tolerated for longer periods of time. Davies and Brundrett (2010) warn not to dismiss autocratic leadership style as totally inappropriate referring to specific cases where autocratic leadership might prove to be effective. Davies and Brundrett…]]> https://research-methodology.net/increasing-importance-of-communication-in-organisations-literature-review/ Sun, 27 Oct 2013 00:58:24 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=4686 Increasing importance of communication in organisations has been discussed by a number of authors, the most notably in the works of Mangion (2011), Guffey and Loewy (2012), Zeng (2012) and DeVito (2012). Mangion (2011) detects a direct link between the quality of management-employee communication and the level of achievement of organisational aims and objectives. Moreover, Mangion (2011) convincingly argues that increasing importance of communication in organisations is linked to shortening period of time associated with decision making. The level of communication in organisations between management and employees also has implications on the level of trust of employees towards management (Guffey and Loewy, 2012, Zeng, 2012). According to the findings of Guffey and Loewy (2012), in organisations where management regularly communicates with workforce employees tend to have greater level of trust and confidence, and consequently loyalty to their management. Similarly, DeVito (2012) finds positive correlation between the qualities of management-employee communication and the level of employee motivation. DeVito (2012) explains this finding in a way that a high quality of management-employee communication creates the feeling of involvement in organisational decision making in employees, and thus they become more empowered to perform their duties. Moreover, DeVito (2012) argues that communication in organisations might have several directions and illustrates these directions as it is represented below                     Directions of Organisational Communication Source: DeVito (2012) The most popular communication methods in organisations include e-mails, face-to-face meetings, group shifts meetings, scheduled and unscheduled meetings and others (Yates, 2007, Innis and Watson, 2008, Zeng, 2012). Hargie (2012) links the increasing importance of communication in healthcare organisations in particular to regular technological innovations and technological breakthroughs within the same sector. Moreover, important attributes of private healthcare organisations have been specified by Guffey and Loewy (2012) and Zeng (2012) as increased level of power of external stakeholders, high level…]]> https://research-methodology.net/literature-review-requirements/ Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:41:54 +0000 http://research-methodology.net/?p=4638 A literature review can be explained as “account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers” (Herbst and Coldwell, 2004, p.31). Literature review conducted as a part of an academic research must meet the following basic requirements: 1. Literature review must be directly related to project questions and objectives. 2. Literature review must contain of synthesis of results into summary about what is known and not known about the project area. 3. Literature review must identify and discuss the areas of controversy in the literature. 4. Literature review must be instrumental in identifying areas for further research.   References  Herbst, F. & Coldwell, D. (2004) Business Research, Juta and Co Ltd]]>