Remodeling HR at Home Depot Essay

Abstract Home Depot went through many changes as a result of new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. The culture inherited by both Executives from their predecessors went through a transformation process for the business to thrive once again. Blake and Crow justified laying off 1,200 workers as a result of their vision to enhance Home Depot’s position in the market and to go back to the organizations foundations embedded by founders Arthur Blank and Bernard Marcus. Specifically, a closer look at the Human Resources function in the organization was focused on in order to align an HR strategy with the business model. This paper will discuss the strategic initiatives taken by Blake and Crow and how they created a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot by focusing on strategic HR. Further, this paper will examine John Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the Organization and People Strategy, the â€Å"outside-in† HR approach, and Lepak and S nell’s HR Model. Organizational change became a necessity at Home Depot when the business failed to increase shareholder value and rivals were outperforming the company. Change at Home Depot started at the top with new CEO Frank Blake and Vice President of Human Resources, Tim Crow. Specifically, Blake and Crow transformed the way Human Resources contributed to the organizations success. Blake and Crow’s approach is comparable to a change model put forth by John Kotter—the Eight-steps Change Model. This model focuses on driving organizational changes through analysis, management, and communication. The first step in Kotter’s model is to establish a sense of urgency (Esther & Green, 2009). That is, looking at conditions within the organization to see where adjustments are needed. In Home Depot’s case, HR and its strategic role needed some attention; hence it was analyzed and modified to meet business needs. In the second step, Kotter’s suggestion is to find groups of people who can work together (Esther & Green, 2009). At Home Depot, the Store manager and HR manager were not working â€Å"together†. There seemed to be a barrier as one HR manager, overwhelmed with tasks, could not produce at the highest level. The third step in the Eight-step Change Model elaborates on creating a vision (Esther & Green, 2009). Both Blake and Crow had a vision when they took office. What is more, both Executives wanted to go  back to Home Depot’s core principles to see what changes should be made for the business to out-perform its rivals. Moving forward, the fourth and fifth steps in Kotter’s model talk about the importance of communication (fourth step) and empowering the vision onto others (fifth step) (Esther & Green, 2009). This step at Home Depot was critical—Tim Crow communicated his vision to Frank Blake and others in the company and drove them to change the way HR performed in the organization by eliminating positions that were not efficient. Step six in Kotter’s model recommends creating short-term goals (Esther & Green, 2009). Blake and Crow set realistic short-term goals and shared why taking away an HR manager from each store would be a beneficial move. That is, the Store managers gained 3 HR Generalist instead of one HR manager (Mello, 2010). Step seven in Kotter’s model rewards employees for promoting the chang e and step eight defends the organization’s position on how the new change leads to corporate success (Esther & Green, 2009). Home Depot has taken initiatives discussed later in this paper to carry out steps seven and eight. By using John Kotter’s Change Model, Home Depot went from not having an effective Human Resources presence to employing an operational HR strategy. Right now, Home Depot’s current state of HR is embedded with the company’s overall corporate strategy. The organization has HR professionals who are true business partners, something Tim Crow planned and worked towards during the Human Resources Planning (HRP) stage. Moreover, Crow has taken a strategic approach, one that compares to the Organization and People Strategy. The strategy focuses on three key areas: Reward and Recognition, Talent Management, and Organizational Effectiveness (Armstrong, 2011). Reward and Recognition programs at HD consist of the following: Success Sharing for stores that achieve sales targets (paid out $63 million in 2007), Homer Badges for employees who exemplify company values, and the Product Knowledge Recognition program to reward learning initiatives (Crow, 2008). As far as the Talent Management aspect of the strategy, Home Depot has a Master Trade Specialist program in place that hired 3,000 trade specialists who are licensed electricians and plumbers (Crow, 2008). What is more, the company has HR managers who are more involved than their predecessors with Store managers and the company has its own insourced call center to address employee concerns. To accomplish the third component of the Organization and People Strategy—Organizational Effectiveness, Home  Depot has the Aprons on the Floor program, action based training modules, and an Aware Line telephone service for individuals to call and comment on particular situations (Crow, 2008). Before Blake and Crow took over Home Depot, it was led by former CEO Robert Nardelli and his regime. Nardelli and his choice of Executives turned the Home Depot culture upside down. That is, company officers were at the top, employees in the middle, and customers on the bottom of the pyramid. It took Crow’s strategic mindset to turn the pyramid back to its original position. Further, Blake played a significant role by making employee morale and career development a strategic priority (Crow, 2008). Blake and Crow did not turn the corporation around overnight. Instead, it was an ongoing process that needed commitment from everyone in the company. The reduction in force was the first step. The layoffs assisted Home Depot to take an â€Å"outside-in† approach to focus on strategic HR. This type of approach starts with analyzing the customer, competitor, and other challenges faced by the business (Armstrong, 2011). Further, the â€Å"outside-in† approach tackles ineff ective HR practices that should be revisited and aligned with corporate strategies. To integrate corporate and HR strategies, Home Depot replaced Human Resources managers from each store with additional Sales Associates (Mello, 2010). As Home Depot moves forward with strategic HR in the organization, the focus is on both the technical and managerial strategies. Technical strategies deal with the mathematical and behavioral methods of forecasting HR needs while managerial strategies consist of ways decision-makers tackle human resource issues (Reilly & Williams, 2006). Examples of technical strategies at Home Depot are the reduction of 1,200 human resource positions and establishing fresh roles for new HR teams. From a managerial standpoint, instead of having one Human Resource manager inundated with tasks, the three new Human Resources Generalist each are responsible for one function only—staffing and development, associate relations, and performance management (Mello, 2010). Both technical and managerial HR strategies are helping create a sustainable competitive advantage at Home Depot. When Crow decided to eliminate positio ns, resistance was inevitable. However, the cuts were an advantage to HR at Home Depot because organizational resources were not being allocated in the most efficient way. The trade-off of having a Human Resources manager in each store was the lack of manpower on the floor and that meant shifting  away from selling merchandise. By eliminating the HR manager position and creating regional HR teams, the organization went back to focusing on its core competence of providing customer service and increasing sales. Revenue growth at Home Depot suggests HR regional teams are better than one Human Resource manager in each store. Further, Home Depot’s reasoning behind changing the function of Human Resources can be examined closely by using the Lepak and Snell Model. Lepak and Snell have four quadrants in their model which classify Human Resources configurations. Right now, Home Depot appears to fall under the second quadrant. That is, the focus is on Job-based Employment and the company has Productivity Based HR (Mello, 2010). However, Home Depot is striving to reach Quadrant I: Knowledge-based Employment and Commitment-Based HR by having programs such as the Master Trade Specialist and a robust HR system in place. Overtime, Home Depot can drive their HR strategy to reach Quadrant I to get the most out of th eir business objectives. Conclusion: Home Depot is an example of how strategic HR can influence growth, productivity, and success in an organization. It starts with the willingness of the organization’s leaders to drive change. When Black and Crow eliminated 1,200 employees, the move was alarming to current workers and others in the industry. However, to revamp the HR strategy, layoffs were a necessity. By using theories similar to Kotter’s Eight-step Change Model, the People and Organization strategy, the HR â€Å"outside-in† approach, and Lepak and Snell’s HR Model, Blake and Crow turned around Home Depot’s culture to focus on customer service—its core business competence. Further, the company now has HR business partners who act as liaisons to Store managers to have an effective HR presence in stores. Home Depot is headed in the right direction as a result of its strategic HR focus. References Armstrong, M. (2011). Armstrong’s handbook of strategic human resource management. London: Kogan Page. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx? direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=390442&site=ehost-live&scope=site Crow, T. (2008). Home REMODEL. Workforce Management, 87(12), 1-1,24,26,28. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/docview/219795604?accountid=11091 Esther, C., & Green, M. (2009). Making Sense of change Management. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Mello, J.A. (2010). Strategic Human Resource Management, Third Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Reilly, P. A., & Williams, T. (2006). Strategic HR : Building the capability to deliver. Aldershot: Gower. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=269752&site=ehost-live&scope=site

News article analysis Organizational theory

The article by Dr. Kathy Iversen- a business consultant- provides a lot of insight into practical application of organizational theories in management. The article features Starbucks an American based company coffeehouse company which has over 15,000 chain stores in more than 40 countries. The article focuses on Starbucks rehiring of former CEO after a downward trend due to what he terms as â€Å"†¦myopic focus on operational effectiveness led by new, post-founder management began to negatively impact the customer experience.† (Iversen, 2008,  ¶3). The author compares Starbucks fate with Apple, Swarbs and Dell transformation after the later companies effectively applied tools and systems in the organization that boosted innovation and profitability. The following are three fundamental issues focused in the report in relation to implementation of a good and effective organizational structure that could transform Starbuck’s trend to a profitable path. The organizational structure should apply systems and models that are dynamic thus are able to change with the corporate world for the business to remain profitable. A good organizational model should have effective channel of communication, feedback mechanism and facilitate good response and decision making process. The organizational culture and work environment models should facilitate optimal performance by ensuring that employee capabilities are properly utilized and encourage responsibility and innovation in the workplace. Dynamism in the corporate world. The corporate sector in modern times is subject to perpetual change therefore, organizational models adopted should accommodate this change in their organization by putting in place relevant tools to prepare it for this eventuality. External environment analysis focusing on customer, competitors changing trends and adoption of new marketing strategies are vital to ensure that the company remains relevant thus profitable. The author gives an example of Apple which changed to music enjoyment instead of computing to recapture its market and future profitability (Iversen, 2008). This shows how effective a good which focuses on investing in new fields can help a company reinvent itself into profitability path. Bureaucratic organizational model tend to focus on cost cutting rather than adoption to the innovation, for a company such as Starbucks given its level of maturity, implementing models that focus on new ideas would be the most appropriate in a move to reclaim its lost glory (Daft, 2001 pg. 107) Effective communication in Organizational Models. Effective communication is one of the most important elements in establishing an organizational model. There are two main distinction namely formal communications which is utilized in big established diverse companies and informal communication channels which lead to open interactive dialogue both horizontally and vertically in the organization. The advantages of the later is that it will help facilitate free flow of information thus for analysis of the market, an element which is essential for most businesses. In addition informal means of communication works best in volatile and uncertain environments such as the one which Starbuck’s is facing thus if correctly implemented can lead to quick response and decision making (Daft, 2001, pg.14). Organizational culture. According to Daft (2001, pg 30) scholars have pointed out that corporate culture and sound internal processes are key elements in good organizational models to the extent that they promote effective running of the organization. A fluid and flexible structure will encourage constant experimenting and learning thus ensuring better policies, procedures are adopted to ensure dynamism and innovation in the organization. For instance, given the fact that Starbucks is a service oriented company, employee training and empowerment can lead to certain beneficial attributes such as, smoothing the progress of change since they directly interact with the customer thus can be able to get the information needed by management to effect change and enhanced customer relation and satisfaction thus building of clientele and profitability (Iversen, 2008). Conclusion. Though, the author did not explore on the organizational approach and design, the best design proposed in this paper would be a decentralized approach with emphasis on organic systems of organization as opposed to mechanistic/ bureaucratic approach. Firstly, given that Starbucks is a multi national company with coffee houses all over the world. A centralized system will fundamentally inhibit flexibility and restrict decision making process and timely response to customer needs. On the other hand a decentralized approach will encourage each store to make decision based on customer needs, create diversity and promote dynamism and innovation factors that are vital for profitability. However, this approach might lead to loss of control and direction by top management thus leadership skills are essential to ensure that while chains are flexible, the company’s vision, brand name and direction is uniform to ensure sustainability and balanced growth. Secondly, good organic structures ensure that communication is free-flowing, employees are empowered and well motivated and generally the internal processes lead to optimal production hence growth (Daft, 2001, pg 64). There should be both formal and informal channels of communication that are strong and consistent to ensure that management is in control and allow timely information flow in the organization. REFERENCES: Daft, R. (2001) Essentials of Organization Theory and Design. South-Western. Iversen, K. (January, 15th 2008). Brewing a fresh pot at Starbucks. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved March 11th 2008 from http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/2008/01/15/starbucks-schultz-apple-pf-ii-in_ki_0115soapbox_inl.html   

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Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden, Research Paper

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Black Arts & Black Aesthetic Essay Example for Free

Black Arts Black Aesthetic Essay Larry Neal’s â€Å"Black Arts Movements† and Addison Gayle’s â€Å"The Black Aesthetic† are two identical mission statements for the black audience: set yourself apart from the white culture and give your culture the recognition it deserves. The two pieces are similar in ideas and purposes. The black communities were tired of always adapting to the ways of the white culture because it was the â€Å"right† way to act. The black community wanted to define their own culture and these pieces were words of encouragement for blacks to step outside the white ways of thinking and acting and step into an acceptance of their own urbanity. Once the differences were accepted that’s when you start seeing the different relationships between whites and blacks. These written pieces were significant changes in thoughts and actions at this time, and they weren’t useless. The blacks were really hoping to set themselves apart from the rest, to have people recognize they were different from the white oppressive mind set, and it worked. Larry Neal’s â€Å"The Black Arts Movement†, written in 1968, speaks directly to the needs and ambitions of Black America at the time. The main goal in â€Å"The Black Arts Movement† is to emphasize the necessity for black culture to define their world in their own terms. Larry Neal asks the question in his piece, â€Å"†¦whose vision of the world is more meaningful, ours or the white oppressors? † (Neal page 2040). He is asking his audience to move away from a white oppressor vision of the world and create their own vision of the world: a vision that has their own beliefs, thoughts, and ideas; a vision that stands out from the white patterns that have consisted years prior. The Black artists’ primary duty is to express the needs of the Black people. Neal explains this idea by saying, â€Å"†¦main thrust of his new breed of contemporary writers to confront the contradictions arising out of the Black man’s experience in the raciest West† (Neal page 2039). In other words, the goals of these new artists is to use a concept of â€Å"protest literature† (page 2040) and direct this new literature directly towards black people to summon hope and â€Å"[awaken] Black people to the meaning of their lives† (Neal page 2042). The Black community had been living in an oppressive society for years prior to this new movement. Neal believed The Black Aesthetic was the destruction of white ideas, and the destruction of white ways of looking at their world. Addison Gayle Jr. was another of these contemporary artists who encouraged a new way of life to the black community in his piece, â€Å"The Black Aesthetic†. The Black Aesthetic movement was the practice that helped those seeking to navigate and understand the experiences of black peoples. Gayle explains the Black Aesthetic movement: â€Å"The question for the black critic today is not how beautiful is a melody, a play, a poem, a novel, but how much more beautiful has the poem†¦made the life of a single black man? The Black Aesthetic, then, as conceived by this writer†¦is a means of helping black people out of the polluted mainstream of Americanism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gayle 1916). This is a significant quote because Gayle, and many of the Black Aesthetic artists at the time, really believe that these works of art are not for the critics’ entertainment. Instead they are gritty stories of these Black Peoples’ experiences and they are intended to free the Black Man of an oppressive white America. They are to encourage these black men and women to stop conforming to the white culture and instead embrace their own. The black aesthetic period is so significant because it was a time where the artists made a significant shift in the opinions of the white culture towards the black culture, and even more, it gave a chance to the Black community to find their voice in the madness and be able to stand out amongst the white, oppressive view points of the society they were living in at the time. These two pieces of work connect really well with each other. Essentially I could connect Gayle’s piece to almost any Black Aesthetic piece just because they all have similar viewpoints in regards to the freedom of the oppressive white American culture. However, Larry Neal directly comments on the Black Aesthetics. He describes the Black Arts Movement and the Black Aesthetic as one. Neal says, â€Å"Black Art is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept. As such, it envisions an art that speaks directly to the needs and aspirations of Black America† (Neal page 2039). This goes with Gayle’s beliefs that the Black Aesthetic is directly made for the needs of the black peoples. Gayle says, â€Å"A critical methodology has no relevance to the black community unless it aids men in becoming better than they are† (page 1917). Gayle and Neal both have this vision for Black Americans that they be freed from this movement, not pushed further into oppression, and they believe the arts can advocate them into being better. The encouragement the artists have for the rest of their brothers and sisters is what makes these two pieces so important, especially when they’re being compared. The black people, whether they are the creators or just regular middle-class folks, share visions of positivity during hardships. They want their brothers to come out and top, so they fight together. The Black Aesthetic movement was a time period where the black Americans, whom had the privilege to create and share poems, stories, and plays, were able to share their creations with the rest of the population to motivate them. Gayle and Neal’s goals are the same: they want the blacks to find their own identity, present themselves differently, and stop following in the footsteps of the whites. They believe that these works of art really can do wonders of change for their brothers and sisters. These stories and creations, poem and plays, aren’t just useless, fictional words that these artist create out of air. They are real life accounts of the battles the black culture have fought in hopes that the oppressive layer of the white America finally comes off their backs. In the following quote, Neal demonstrates how the arts can really be significant. Neal says, â€Å"Poetry is a concrete function, actions†¦Poems are physical entities: fists, daggers, airplane poems, and poems that shoot guns. Poems are transformed into personal forces†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 2041). In relationship to Neal, Gayle compares the oppression to war. These two works are compatible to each other. Gayle believes the two cultures are at war, while Neal has the perfect weapon: works of art. Gayle explains the society’s conditions by saying, â€Å"The serious black artist of today is at war with the American society as few have been throughout American history† (Gayle page 1914). Gayle and Neal agree upon this. The Black American culture was at a war with the white American culture and the black artists were doing everything in their power to free themselves of this war using the one weapon they were best at using: words. Using these words of hope and encouragement, and visions of freedom and opportunities, the artists created possibilities. Neal and Gayle had similar visions for the future, as well. They both believed this movement was growing and they believed that growth had been evident in white peoples’ eyes already. Gayle states this growth by saying, â€Å"The white academician†¦calls upon a black man to write the introduction. The editor then declares that his anthology ‘represents the best black literature’ or that he has chosen these works which rank the best in American artistic production. †Ã¢â‚¬  (Gayle page 1918). In saying that a black man can write an introduction and rank the best in production is a significant amount of change for the Black community. The white editors are accepting of the different writing styles and topics, and still finding that it’s quality literature even when it’s unlike theirs; a goal the black aesthetic writers have worked to achieve. Neal has a similar idea on hope, but he also adds his beliefs on the growth of this movement by saying, â€Å"Afro-American life and history is full of creative possibilities, and the movement is just beginning to perceive them. Just beginning to understand that the most meaningful statements†¦must come from the Third World of which Black America is a part† (Neal page 2050). This statement is quite similar to Gayle’s in that the white society in America is starting to recognize the importance in black arts which is a significant change because it’s one that they worked towards for many years. At the time, progress was still being made, but some progress had been made and it was enough to make them feel happy and even more hopeful for the future of the movement. The significance in the pieces is that they set their black community apart from the rest of America. Years prior the whites oppressed the blacks and so at this point in time, the black people were trying desperately to free themselves. In comparing these two pieces you really start to see the similar ideas the black people had about their community. These ideas weren’t just small things a few people decided to write about. They were words of hope for the future. A mission statement to set themselves apart from the rest, testimonies of what the artists have been through, and explanations of why they’re different and why they should be recognized as that. The incredible thing about it: it worked. Gayle, Addison, Jr. , and Larry Neal. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York [u. a. : Norton, 2004. Print. ]

The Church as Forgiving Community Essay Example for Free

The Church as Forgiving Community Essay Summary The topic covered by this article is about the power of forgiveness and the Church posing as the initial model of a forgiving community. Forgiveness interventions have shown to decrease anxiety, depression and anger while increasing self-esteem and hope. (Magnuson Enright, 2008) The article focuses on the process of forgiving as a learned action that must be practiced and performed in order to truly master it. The process is two-fold in both providing and receiving forgiveness. The article focuses on promoting the essential moral trait of forgiveness in children within their central communities and the establishment of these communities, referred to as â€Å"The Forgiving Communities†. These communities include three interdependent categories: the family, the school, and the Church. The article introduces two process models of forgiveness; Robert Enright’s process model which breaks down forgiveness into a four phase process that includes uncovering anger, deciding to forgive, working on forgiveness and the final outcome. Worthington’s REACH model breaks down the forgiveness process into recalling the offense, empathizing with the offender, gifting the offender with forgiveness, committing publicly to forgiveness and holding onto the forgiveness one has achieved. Both models agree that empathy for the offender is vital to the forgiveness process. These models were tested amongst select primary schools in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in which forgiveness interventions were held with children with notable success. The article proposes that the Church could be utilized as a similar model in which it serves as Forgiving Community in which all levels of leadership would cater to the community from infancy through adulthood with various types of programing and education. Personal Response I was interested in this article because I know how detrimental it can be to hold onto forgiveness. Throughout my 18 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, multiple deployments and several assignments in leadership, I have witnessed how holding onto past wrongs can eat away at you like a cancer and often time, it goes unnoticed until truly identified and examined by self-identification or through third party intervention. I have been involved with several situations in which members deploy into a combat zone and return different people. Many have been wronged by a common enemy and struggle to even examine the idea of forgiveness. Many soldiers carry around this pain and baggage for years without ever truly recognizing exactly what they are holding onto. The Church can be vital to this recognition and the recovery process. The article relayed how the Church can play such a vital role as a Forgiving Community reaching to all members of the family from child to adult. It was also interesting how among the various levels of leadership and roles in the Church, each one was able to offer their own gifts and talents providing to the community. It relays how a community must be all-encompassing feeling of safety and opens not only to give forgiveness, but to accept forgiveness as well. I would like to further investigate this topic by researching small group studies on forgiveness that are available through my own local Church community. I am part of a small group that meets regularly and would like to incorporate the topic into our lessons. In addition, I see that Robert Enright has done a vast amount of research on the topic and has produced many works as a result. One of the books that I would like to read is his Forgiveness is a Choice: A Step-by-Step Process for Resolving Anger and Restoring Hope (2001). I understand that it is something that we must decide to do. Until we make the first step to accept and be willing to forgive, or be forgiven for that matter, we will bear the ever increasing weight of the wrong and carry it with us throughout our journey through life darkening our  outlook and damaging our hope. Application The setting for the application of the information in this article would be the Aviano Center, a small non-denominational Church located just outside of the Aviano Air Force base in Pordenone Italy. The client who came in for our session was a 30 year old wife and stay-at- home mother of two toddlers whose husband was currently deployed to Afghanistan. They had lived in the area for about 4 months before he deployed and he is currently 5 months into an 8 month deployment. She states that she can no longer deal with the children. She has found herself trying to cope alone and often finds herself losing her patience and yelling at the children. She is afraid that she is going to end up just like her mother, who she resents because of the verbal and physical abuse that she had put her through when she was a child. She is ashamed and embarrassed about her situation. She approached me because I am one of the leaders at Aviano Center and she knows that I am in the military and also the â€Å"Life Group† facilitator who organizes the small groups for our Church. In addition, the group that I host is particularly for those families whose family member is about to deploy, is deployed or recently returned from a deployment. In the meeting with this member, I would attempt to get her to realize that she is potentially dealing with several issues, with forgiveness and resentment potentially playing a major role in them. She may be holding on to past wrongs committed by her mother and past and present wrongs that she has committed herself. I would walk her through the forgiveness process and highlight that it is a learned trait that must be practiced. I would explain that forgiveness involves both granting and receiving forgiveness. I would explain the forgiveness models, the details of those models and explain that the Church can be a model of a forgiveness community. Additionally, I would reiterate that she is not alone in feeling the way she does, in fact I would offer that there are many who feel similarly right within the Church making her aware of the current small group focused on the facilitation of the forgiveness process. I would encourage her that these groups are a caring  community that respects confidentiality. Regardless of where the conversation led, in closing, I would ask her if she would like to pray with me. I believe that God has enabled us with this ability to communicate to encourage, provide hope and comfort in situations just like this. While this may not be appropriate in all situations, depending on the client, I believe it is all too often overlooked, especially amongst believers. Reference Magnuson, C.M., Enright, R. D. (2008). The church as forgiving community: An initial model Journal of Psychology Theology 36(2), 114-123.

Approaches to Research Methodology

Approaches to Research Methodology RESEARCH METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION This section will explain the concept of research methodology, including an outline on the main methodological approaches and philosophies that exist; following this, the research strategies that will serve to address the objectives of this research topic will be explained. According to Saunders et al. (2009), three characteristics exist for carrying out research: Systematic collection of data. Systematic interpretation of data. A clear reason for investigation exists. Therefore, individuals generally undertake research because they want discover new things in a systematic manner, and hence expand their knowledge about a particular subject. Research in the business and management field is crucial as it serves to provide solutions to problems that exist in businesses. There are particular qualities that are required for carrying out good research including good communication, intellectual, organizational and IT skills. The researcher may already have these skills, or may need to develop them over the course of the research (Collins and Hussey, 2003). Research methodology is the process used to provide solutions to research problems in a systematic manner (Kumar, 2008). It is multidimensional and is the rationality behind the research methods chosen for the investigation. Research methodology provides the platform for the researcher to explain and evaluate the research strategies implemented. APPROACHES TO METHODOLOGY One can choose to take either a deductive or an inductive approach to undertaking research, both of which would influence the manner information and results are collected and distributed. The deductive approach to research involves developing a theory based on knowledge and understanding which is already in place, therefore is scrutinised and faces the risk of being unaccepted. Whereas the inductive approach begins with data collection followed by analysis of results and forming conclusions and theories based on the results (Saunder et al, 2009). In this kind of research approach, the flow of processes begins with observation and ends with findings and forming theories, which can be further integrated into knowledge that already exists. From this, it is planned that this current research will undertake an inductive approach, which will first involve data gathering, and following analysis, form conclusions as to how to enhance the management of information systems in NHS hospitals. In research methodology, research can be undertaken over two different time periods, using a cross-sectional or longitudinal method for data collection. Cross-sectional relates to research carried out and is based on the current time and place. Longitudinal, on the other hand, concerns research carried out over a certain long period of time (Kumar, 2008). Judging from the topic area and the time constraints, this research will adopt a cross-sectional style. RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES According to Saunders et al. (2009), there are three main categories of research philosophies, which are positivism, interperpretivism and realism: Positivism this assumes that knowledge has a free value and is directly gained from experience. An important aspect of this viewpoint is that research is carried out in an independent and objective manner away from any kind of influences, and is based on quantitative data from the utilisation of a structured methodology. Interpretivism this adopts a naturalist approach which places emphasisim on social constructionism and focuses on the underlying multiple social structures of knowledge. It is concerned with the attitudes of research subjects and views on the world. This type of philosophy supports the adoption of certain research techniques such as observation and interviews which in turn would enable to gain knowledge from different perspectives. Realism this is similar to the positivist theory, as it also adopts a scientific approach to the concept of knowledge development. It argues that a reality exists independent of the human mind, and that there are certain social forces that influence their behaviours and interpretations; therefore the intention of such approach is to be aware and understand these social forces. Collis and Hussey (2003) state that the choice of research philosophy to adopt largely depends on the nature of the research, therefore there is no ‘correct strategy. Having defined the three main philosophies, it is clear that one would be able to incorporate the three of them into one research strategy. However, the philosophy that will be adopted for this research is the realist approach, which is essentially a combination of the positivism and interpretivism philosophies. This would involve the collection, interpretation and analysis of data, and establishing any social processes that might influence the behavior and actions of individuals. RESEARCH STRATEGIES In order to address the objectives of the research topic, one has to implement certain research strategies that will enable the collection of the necessary data. Numerous research strategies are available including experiment, case study, survey, grounded theory, action research, ethnography and archival research (Saunders et al., 2009). The choice of the research strategy must take into consideration certain important aspects about the research topic, including the research questions and objectives, existing knowledge about the topic, the amount of time available and also the availability of other useful sources (Saunders et al., 2009). PRIMARY RESEARCH This involves the use of different techniques to collect current information. This is an important way to gain an insight into the research topic and it enables the addition of certain information and ideas to the available literature surrounding the topic. This is done using a variety of methods, as illustrated below: SECONDARY RESEARCH This involves collecting relevant information relating to information systems in the NHS, including details about their roles, impacts and management, with particular reference to the London Ambulance Computer Aided Dispatch system. This requires the review and examination of a number of materials including journals, books, the internet and newspapers. The researcher will undertake both primary and secondary research to thoroughly investigate the research topic. For primary research, the case study strategy will be chosen as the research strategy for this study, which is explained in more detail as follows. CASE STUDY STRATEGY Given the nature of the research topic, a case study has been chosen as the research strategy to be implemented in this research. According to Robson (2002), a case study enables the researcher to focus on a specific situation and explore a single phenomenon, by collection of data using a variety of methods. This research strategy has the ability to provide answers for the ‘why?, ‘what and ‘how? questions (Saunders et al, 2009), and it will enable the researcher to gain a thorough understanding of the chosen topic area. RESEARCH METHODS For the purpose of this research topic, both qualitative and quantitiative measures will be used for collection and analysis of data. The research methods chosen will be in the form of questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires are an effective technique of collecting data in which individuals are asked to answer a pre-set list of questions in a specified order (Creswell, 1994). The questionnaire will be structured, predetermined and standardised; it will contain a mixture of closed and open-ended questions that will serve to address the research objectives. An advantage of using such research method is that it enables access to a great number of people over a large area. Furthermore, a questionnaire is a reliable research method as the questions are structured and predetermined, which means that they cannot be altered and consequently minimizing bias. However, at the same time, this structured approach will also mean that respondents are unable to answer freely and expand on thei r responses. Additionally, there is the potential of a threat to validity as respondents may not understand the question clearly and therefore give an answer to a question which is not intended by the researcher. Still, however, it is important to ensure that the questionnaire is well-constructed and easy to follow; because one needs to ensure a good response rate from the sampled population which is essential for gaining accurate information that would be helpful for the research. The second research method that will be used is a semi-structured interview. This will be carried out face to face with certain staff members working for the NHS, such as hospital managers and paramedics. The aim of the semi-structured interviews is to provide more focus on the research topic by gaining reliable information from key staff members who are familiar with the topic area, and hence generate valuable information for the research. The semi-structured approach to questioning will enable the researcher to alter the style of questions appropriately depending on the individual being interviewed. Therefore, interviews provide greater flexibility compared to questionnaires, and are a relatively better tool in ensuring higher response rates. Nevertheless, both of the research methods when combined will enable the researcher to explore the complexity and gain valuable insight into the research area. For the purposes of this research, a specific sampling method will be utilised, in which the researcher will select key people to include in the research study provided that those chosen can offer relevant information related to the topic; a technique called ‘purposive sampling (Saunders et al., 2009). The sample will be selected from three Northwest NHS Foundation Trusts, including St. Marys hospital, Chelsea and Westminister hospital and Hammersmith hospital. The key staff who will be included are hospital managers, paramedics, doctors and nurses. The researcher will aim for a combined sample size of 70 individuals based on questionnaires and interviews. ETHICAL ISSUES The main ethical considerations that must be acknowledged by the researcher when conducting the methods for data collection are centered on the periods of gaining access to the hospitals and interviewing the staff. The researcher will need to respect certain ethical values such as the anonymity, confidentiality and personal privacy of the person being interviewed when collecting information during interviews. Moreover, the researcher must obviously gain an informed consent from every person prior to starting the interview or handing over the questionnaire. SUMMARY In summary, this research of management of information systems in the NHS will assume an inductive and realist approach, to be implemented in a cross-sectional method, using a case study strategy employing both semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. In addition, secondary research will be undertaken in order assist in addressing the research objectives.

Essay --

The Gay way of life â€Å"I am Vasu, an MSM (Man having sex with men)†, said a stocky man in a grey suit at Indian Community Welfare Organization (ICWO), a Nongovernmental organization at Anna Nagar, in the south Indian city of Chennai. ICWO works for the uplift of sex workers and homosexuals. Vasu realized his sexuality in school when a male teacher had assaulted him. He was ostracized from home. Few years ago, he joined the organization and now helps other abused gay men. â€Å"Now I am a peer educator here in a team of 300 people. We find men like ourselves and educate them on having protected sex and raise awareness. Lack of awareness makes few of our brethren, who conceive homosexual attraction as an illness, consult doctors to get cured. Most of the doctors are good, but few ask questions about the whole sexual process and abuse us. A large part of the society accepts us but a sadistic few abuse us. After support groups have started burgeoning in the city, our situation is becoming better†, he said. A.J Hariharan, Secretary at ICWO, who has been working towards their uplift and welfare for over a decade, briefed on the mental trauma experienced by them. He also added that homosexual people are found among all age groups in the city. But, fearing the stigma attached , many such men in the city are out in the open but they had not approached any support groups. Some of the weaker people in the homosexual community are also subject to physical and mental abuse. Vasu is one of the many men who are open about their sexuality. However, few men in New Delhi, the capital of the nation, were not as comfortable. They were trying to conceal their identity at the Pride march that happened in November as they had not informed their fa... ... pressure on them continues to exist. Propaganda of non-traditional sexual methods among the minors is liable for prosecution. In Iran, they are liable for imprisonment – sometimes even death. The draconian legislations opposing homosexuality in these countries are supported by the ministers and law makers who find same sex behavior unacceptable as it goes against the Sharia law. The law and the majority of the population in those countries oppose homosexuality in unison. In India, however, the situation is complex. While the society is progressive and supports the rights of homosexuals, the law takes the other course. Also, the government echoed the voice of the citizens and does not welcome the criminalization of same sex behavior. But, would the Indian judiciary go on to uphold Section 377 to join the league of Iran, Russia, Uganda and other African countries?

Beauty of God and the Holy Cross Essay -- essays research papers

Suppose that you were standing by a beach at sunset and you become deeply moved and utter the words, "This is beautiful, this is glorious." You are ultimately pleased by a feeling that we as a culture refer to this response as, beauty. A feeling that possesses an enormous power to touch us deeply while holding a tremendous potential to grip and transform us. For beauty stirs and satisfies our deepest longings as well as attracting us, provoking our adoration, and inviting us to adorn ourselves with its luster. Indeed, our society naturally celebrates beauty automatically through experiences that arouse affections for that which we find attractive. But what is it that poses us to allow us to obtain such a feeling? The reason for this, I think, is that there is in every person a God given sense that beauty must have meaning that is larger and more enduring than short felt satisfaction. That this urge for ultimate meaning is evidence of God’s creation of beauty. Therefore, if God has created all things and has given everything its form and its purpose, then I define beauty as a relation to God. For to know God is know beauty, to know beauty is to know God. Just as God is the source of all truth and goodness, God is also the source of all beauty. God is the Supreme Artist – the Creator of all. Thus, everything that is beautiful reflects God’s artistry. The Church Father, Hilary of Poitiers, wrote: â€Å"Surely the author of all created beauty must himself be the beauty in all beauty.† -2- Born and raised a strong Catholic, I feel God’s presence in my everyday life and I am blessed to be encompassed with this company. His power in my life allows me to unquestionably declare him as the sole individual who most ... ...s ago has opened the path to eternal life for all who believe in him. In every human sole there is a place where we yearn for beauty’s power and presence. We need beauty. We need to be overwhelmed by it and drawn into its inexplicability that arouses our desire and captivates our affections. For I believe that we all want to be moved by some rare glimpse of greatness. We long for a vision of nirvana, something that endures our soul and bring peace to our hearts. I am persuaded that the reason it is there is because God is the ultimately beautiful one and he made us to long for himself. And we can know that our desires are remnants of this urge for God because everything less than God leaves us unsatisfied. Only one vision will be sufficient for our avid hearts, the glory of God. For that we have been made, and it is for this we long, whether we know it or not. Beauty of God and the Holy Cross Essay -- essays research papers Suppose that you were standing by a beach at sunset and you become deeply moved and utter the words, "This is beautiful, this is glorious." You are ultimately pleased by a feeling that we as a culture refer to this response as, beauty. A feeling that possesses an enormous power to touch us deeply while holding a tremendous potential to grip and transform us. For beauty stirs and satisfies our deepest longings as well as attracting us, provoking our adoration, and inviting us to adorn ourselves with its luster. Indeed, our society naturally celebrates beauty automatically through experiences that arouse affections for that which we find attractive. But what is it that poses us to allow us to obtain such a feeling? The reason for this, I think, is that there is in every person a God given sense that beauty must have meaning that is larger and more enduring than short felt satisfaction. That this urge for ultimate meaning is evidence of God’s creation of beauty. Therefore, if God has created all things and has given everything its form and its purpose, then I define beauty as a relation to God. For to know God is know beauty, to know beauty is to know God. Just as God is the source of all truth and goodness, God is also the source of all beauty. God is the Supreme Artist – the Creator of all. Thus, everything that is beautiful reflects God’s artistry. The Church Father, Hilary of Poitiers, wrote: â€Å"Surely the author of all created beauty must himself be the beauty in all beauty.† -2- Born and raised a strong Catholic, I feel God’s presence in my everyday life and I am blessed to be encompassed with this company. His power in my life allows me to unquestionably declare him as the sole individual who most ... ...s ago has opened the path to eternal life for all who believe in him. In every human sole there is a place where we yearn for beauty’s power and presence. We need beauty. We need to be overwhelmed by it and drawn into its inexplicability that arouses our desire and captivates our affections. For I believe that we all want to be moved by some rare glimpse of greatness. We long for a vision of nirvana, something that endures our soul and bring peace to our hearts. I am persuaded that the reason it is there is because God is the ultimately beautiful one and he made us to long for himself. And we can know that our desires are remnants of this urge for God because everything less than God leaves us unsatisfied. Only one vision will be sufficient for our avid hearts, the glory of God. For that we have been made, and it is for this we long, whether we know it or not.