| CODE | MGT3181 | ||||||
| TITLE | Applied Research Tools for Business | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Business and Enterprise Management | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Organizations are complex entities set up to create contexts to engage human behaviour in achieving specific targets. The complex interactions that take place in organizations spell the need for understanding their behaviours and adopting a scientific approach to predict their behaviour and also provide evidence-based solutions. Organization scientists are expected to provide data-driven solutions to ensure that organizations keep striving and functioning effectively. Therefore, the study-unit provides a good overview of the basis of traditional research methods within a real organizational environment and introduces the scope and methods for analysing problems and challenges prior to providing evidence-based solutions. The study-unit also attempts to link these techniques with practical issues such as: - Why does product A sell better than product B? - What are the factors that determine turnover in Company A? - Is risk more perceived in some insurance buyers? - What is the role of technology in improving organizational compliance? - When do people decide to alter their purchasing patterns? - Why do people engage in undesired behaviours in organizations? The course will be divided into two parts: - In part 1, students will be presented with the ‘ecological validity’ underlying the principles of good data and high-quality decisions; - In part 2, they will be introduced to a number of important elements of ‘research methods’ ranging from what is the use of research in real organizational life to a number of research strategies in use (including some innovative means) to ethical principles and report writing. A detailed breakdown of the ‘topics’ are included here: Part 1 • Data and decisions; • Perspectives about organizations; • Functions of organizations and the importance of evidence; • Reports and Decisions. Part 2 • What is ‘Research’ in organizational life? • The difference between ‘Questions’ and ‘Research Questions’; • Basic philosophical principles underlying research investigation; • Research designs and applications to business; • A look at research strategies; • Basic understanding of quantitative and qualitative analysis; • Time and sampling in research investigations; • Ethical principles; • Putting it all together: The Dos and Don’ts of research reports. Study-Unit Aims: The aims of this study-unit are threefold: - First, it strives to bridge the gap between theory and practice with regards to research designs and methodologies; - Second, it seeks to help students identify and apply those data collection methods and designs which are most appropriate for the specific research scope they are trying to achieve; - Third, it aims to expose the relevance of evidence-based data to understand the complexity of organizations; In achieving these objectives, this study-units discusses the relevance, significance and effectiveness of quantitative, qualitative and mixed method approaches to scientific research. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Define research design-related terms and keywords; b. Recognise the various aspects of the ‘research process’; c. Recall the format of a typical ‘research report’ and its important contents; d. Explain the pros and cons in evaluating typical reports; e. Establish the level of quality decision that can be made based on various research designs. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: a. Apply specific criteria to evaluate research driven conclusions; b. Perform basic skills like choosing the appropriate design, changing questions to research questions, highlight ethical issues in research, etc.; c. Write a short research plan that integrates the various components of ‘research’. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Saunders, M., Lewis, P & Thornhill, A. (2012) Research Methods for Business Students (6th edition), Harlow: Pearson. Supplementary Readings: - Monippally, M.M. and Pawar, B.S., 2008. Academic writing: A guide for management students and researchers. SAGE Publications India. - Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2013). Constructing research questions: Doing interesting research. Sage. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Vincent Cassar |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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