Week Two- Research Methods

Research Methods

What is Research?

Research is one of the main areas a student must master in when doing his study activities. According to Oliver (2000), "Research is about advancing knowledge and understanding." One may gain knowledge from what he/she studies. But the further reading and findings about the particular subjects advances his knowledge and makes the subject knowledge perfect.This is called Research. However, according to Sekaran (2008), Research is described as "An organized, systematic, data based, critical, objective scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it

The above two definitions  however do clash since the first one addresses Research as a method of advancing the current knowledge while the second definition says that Research is an investigation where there is a specific question and finding answers to it.

Research can be addressed in many ways. Research is a step-by-step process which has to be done systematically. It is a process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors.

Research is all about the discovery of new Data. Data can be divided into two main parts called 'Primary Data' and 'Secondary Data'. Primary data is basically the data which is available in a public domain, like Research Papers. "Primary Data is normally regarded as being data which is collected by the original researcher who is using it for some investigation" (Oliver, 2000). Secondary Data are mainly conclusions driven by the help research, interviews, quiz and other other data collection methods. As said by Oliver, (2000), "Secondary Data is data which has been collected by someone else for separate purpose, and is then used by the researcher."

References

Oklahoma State University (2012) Office of University Research Compliance. [online] Available at: http://compliance.vpr.okstate.edu/images/research.jpg [Accessed: 17 November 2012].

Oliver, (2010) Research for Business Marketing and Educaton. 10th ed. Berkshire: NTC Publishing Group, p.59.

Sekaran, (2008) Research Methods for business. 4th ed. Delhi: John Wiley and sons, p.128.

Week one- Day Two : Time Management

Time Management

Time Management is the first lesson of our syllabus to be covered. In the beginning of the lecture, an activity was carried out to understand a simple logic.

In the given image a container is showed. Here we are supposed to put all the big pebbles as well as the small ones and finally water. According to what students suggested, big pebbles were added first, then the small pebbles and finally water.

The capacity have to be properly managed. If big pebbles are added first, the small ones will fit in through the small spaces in midst of the big pebbles and if even a smaller substances like sand is added, they will fit into the smaller spaces in between the pebbles. Finally water will also have space in midst of all the above mentioned substances to fit in.

Therefore to utilize the given space properly one have to start with bigger substance and go to smaller ones.

The image above shows the next activity which was performed by the students on how they manage the time for main activities during one week. Above figures are related to the authors activities she perform during a day. The author utilizes only 117 hours a week out of total 168 (70%), which means she've got 51 remaining hours for study.

The lecturer next asked us to fill in the grid below where we are asked to list the normal set of activities we perform during a week and put them in relevant cages. The activities which fall under Urgent + Important cage are 1st priority list activities. They have to be done anyway to lead a good lifestyle. Next cage is where Urgent + Not Important activities are listed. These are the 2nd priority list activities which are not so important to perform but if they aren't performed on time, then they will turn out to be important activities. Next is the 3rd priority list activities which are Not Urgent + Important. These activities can be performed when ever you want to but it is crucial that you perform them when ever you get time. Finally, the 4th priority list activities are Not Urgent + Not Important activities. If one is busy with some work, they can simply activities which fall under this category.

Time Management is an important factor to be considered in everyone's life. Cottrell (2008), in her book speaks about importance of organizing your time. Following are few factors according to Cottrell (2008), on how to manage time.

• "Be aware of your own time management"
• "Be aware of how much time it takes you to complete each type of study task" 
• "Be aware that many aspects of study take much longer than expected"
• "Schedule time for unseen events"
• "Schedule time for relaxation and leisure"
• Be very specific in your time planning" 

(Cottrell, 2008)

Are you a Slob, Doer, Perfectionist or a Time Manager?

• Slob- A person who is not focused at the task given or even the organization. These type of people are a cost to organizations as well as the society. Clark (2001) 's definition for slob is "Always in disarray and does not focus on task".
• Doer- A person who is highly focused on the task he/she is assigned to but is low in organization. "Focuses on task, but cannot get it accomplished because things are in disarray" (Clark, 2001)
• Perfectionist- A person who is highly capable in organization the task but the task focus is at its lowest. They make sure that the factors which help in performing the task are organized properly. Perfectionist as said by Clark (2001) is "Spends too much time arranging, but does not focus on the task"
• Time Manager- This type of people sought by business organizations the most since they are the ones that have high focus on the task provided as well as the organization. However, these type of people are very scarce in the market. "Focuses on the task on hand and is organized enough to get it accomplished" is Clark (2001)'s definition for Time Manager.

By considering the above the author considers himself more of a doer. She definitely wants to accomplish the task given by some means, however she is not very particular about how to accomplish this task and organize her resources. 

References

Clark, 2001. Leadership. [Online] Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/50864338/70/Organization-and-Task-Focus


Cottrell, 2008. The Study Skills Handbook. 3rd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Week one -Day One

Week one

Day one

An introduction of the module is given together with a brief explanation of the methods of assessment followed by a discussion about the 12 week blog which have to be maintained by us. 

The students are supposed to come up with a Project Proposal for the Final Year Project they are planning to submit at the end of their undergraduate study. The project proposal have to cover the following points,

1.  Ability to identify a business problem
2. Ability to apply suitable technology solution
3. Ability to design the solution
4. Ability to implement the solution.

Next discussion was 'Business'...

After a brain storming session the students were able to find a the simplest definition of what business is, which is "A profit or a non for profit organization". According to Timms (2011), an organisation is a social entity that that provides the necessary structures to achieve specific aims. However Timms (2011), presents a more elaborated and a slightly different definition for business, which is "a commercial enterprise or establishment that trades in goods or services."
From the above definitions the author comes into a conclusion that the term organization can be used for both profit oriented  and non-profit oriented businesses. But the term business mostly focuses on profit oriented organizations.

One of the main objective of a profit oriented business is to maximize profit. Profit maximization can be of two natures which is maybe to increase revenue (mainly involving Marketing department, Sales department, Distribution department) and to decrease cost (mainly involving Accounting department, Finance department, Human Resource department)

Profit Maximization
Google Images (2012)

The main three factors which decides on the profit and the performance of a business is time, cost and resources. The nature of the business processes are decided on how the above three factors behave. Too much usage of time, cost and resources result in inefficiency.