MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS

CHAPTER11: Research Techniques Presented by: Ali Haj Aghapour 1101600894

OUTCOMES OF CHAPTER
Comprehending the importance of research in consultancy industry  Distinguish between two main research perspectives  Understanding different quantitative research techniques  Using statistics and its limitation and importance  be knowledgeable about qualitative techniques and their limitations


INTRODUCTION
Importance of research preparation for involving in problem

STROH & JOHNSON MODEL(2006)

RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY


Biggam(2008) divided research philosophy into four distinctive categories: Positivism, Interpretivism, phenomenology, and realism. Saunders(2003) claimed that the best epistemology for managerial researches and studies is the combination of positivism, realism, and interpretivism. In terms of consultancy, two epistemologies consisting of positive refers to the quantitative or empirical approach and anti-positive refers to qualitative phenomenological approach.(Welman,2005;Bigges,2010)

QUANTITATIVE APPROACH
Emile Durkheims principles of quantitative approach in social studies:
 

Phenomena can be measured qualitatively as a concept Casual relationships between phenomena can be used to explain attitude and behavior Large samples are needed to obtain statistical generalization Knowledge can be generated by hypothesis testing on representative samples The researcher does not influence the people or objects being researched

 

BIGGS,2010
Three main quantitative methods considerably recognized in management consultancy:

  

simulation survey quasi-experimental design

IN TERMS OF SIMULATION

IN TERMS OF SURVEY

IN TERMS OF QUASI-EXPERIMENT

QUALITATIVE APPROACH
imperial research cant totally cover social studies  quantitative tools such as ATLAS which helps to investigate quantitative data


Qualitative methods(Saunders et al,2007):

  

Ground work Observation Interview

IN TERMS OF GROUND WORK

Ground work is the process of exploring secondary data including:  Charts  Graphs  Tables  Reports  Documents

IN TERMS OF OBSERVATION

IN TERMS OF INTERVIEW

REFERENCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY



Welman, C. Kruger,F. and Mitchell,B.(2005)Reaearch Methodology.South Africa: Oxford University Press. Saunders,M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill,A.(2003)Research Methods for Business Student. Harlow:FT Prantice Hall. Biggam,J.(2008)Succeding with your master dissertation :A step by step hand book,McGrow Hill:Open University Press. Crotty,M.(1998).The foundation of Social Research:Meaning and perspective in research process .London: SAGA Publications. Davenport,T.(2009)How to design smart business experiment,Journal of Harvard Business Review,87(2), pp.68-76 Biggs,D.(2010)Management consulting: A guide for student.Croatia:SouthWestern Press.