Assignment Task
Example 1
1- Title
Exploring Absenteeism in the Banking Sector in Oman
2- Abstract
This work represents an attempt to identify the factors influencing absenteeism in banking sector in Oman. This is based on current perceptions of likely causes as identified in the literature. Primary quantitative data will be obtained via a structured closed-ended questionnaire, submitted to 150 employees of both genders and a variety of job responsibilities employed in the National Bank of Oman (NBO).
The findings will assist the banking industry to retain its valuable employees adding to efficiency and productivity while decreasing recruitment costs. Suggestions will be offered as to how to tackle absenteeism and its principal causes.
3- Introduction
As in all major enterprises requiring skilled and experienced staff to deal with day to day operation while providing a high quality customer service, absenteeism presents an unwanted headache.
What is the benefit?
Whom it will benefit?
How will it?
Literature Review / Background of the topic
The responsibility for this lies in the first instance with the human resources management (Martineau and Martinez, 1998)
Many factors may play a role in motivating employees, and may not be common to all staff. These range from basic working conditions, the working environment, staff cooperation and relationships, to job satisfaction and a sense of achievement. Dealing intelligently with such factors will ultimately improve the performance of any bank (Chandrasekar, 2011)
Types of Absenteeism – Short-term, medium-term, long-term etc..
Consequences of Absenteeism
Factors Affecting Absenteesim…
Objectives of this study
- to identify the factors influencing absenteeism in the banking sector in Oman….
Research Questions
- Does the personality and social environment of the employee affect his work absenteeism?
- Does dissatisfaction and stress or work overload lead to more absenteeism?
Hypotheses
- H1: Marital Status, Family wealth, age, tenure etc.. of the employee plays a major role in their absenteeism
- H2: Employee absenteeism is a result of job dissatisfaction among employees at NBO
- H3: Work overload and stress are factors in absenteeism among employees at NBO
4- Methodology
In order to collect the necessary primary data for this study a questionnaire will be designed, tested and distributed online.
The intention is to gather quantitative primary data which would unambiguously identify the common factors contributing to employee absence and their relative impact on bank operation.
The survey would also contain inductive elements aiming to validate the study hypothesis.
Secondary sources such as bank websites and accessible data bases would also be consulted in correlation with the ongoing study.
The study sample consisted of 150 employees of the National bank of Oman. A random sample from all employees will be selected. This method of selecting samples is suitable to avoid any bias in the study results.
5- Conclusion
The principal factors thought to promote absenteeism among employees of the National Bank of Oman will be identified.
This will help the HR department to devise ways to
It will reduce the cost
Increase motivation etc
The limitations of this study are due to the small sample size gathered in a single bank premises. A wider range of employees working throughout the bank network may indicate other factors or modify the current conclusions
Example 2
1- Title
The Preferences of Consumers When Selecting Clothing Detergent Products
2- Abstract
The retailing environment has shown that consumer purchases are dependent upon the consideration and subsequent evaluation of product attributes. Consumer’s selection of products is driven by their preferences for the attributes that the products possess. The aim of this study was to investigate product attribute preferences for cross-category shopping products in Durban. The quantitative study design based on a cross-sectional descriptive survey is suggested. The study population consists of consumers within the city of Durban. The study sample includes 213 students selected from three universities in Durban (University A, B and C)
convenience sampling is used. Retail managers may benefit from communicating more value for money for their skincare product offerings. Brands that are synonymous with longer-lasting products either through offering more volume or products that require less application to achieve desired results may provide a competitive advantage
3- Introduction
Consumers use information that is already in their possession to decide whether to consider products from a specific brand, however, choice modelling assumes that consumer consider the attributes of all options
Literature Review / Background of the topic
Within a consumer’s mind, the sum total of all values of a product or brand’s attributes constitute the value that the consumer attaches to the product (Kabaday et al., 2013). The decision to purchase products, therefore, involves the evaluation of alternatives based on the merits of each product’s attributes (Forbes, 2008; Babin and Harris, 2017). Generally, consumers do not attach value to the entire product’s attributes.
Previous studies have included an investigation of the level of knowledge, in-store displays, advertising, and consumer preferences. Nonetheless, previous studies had not fully explored a retail store’s influence on the formation of consideration/evoked sets. Retailers perform an important function in the business and marketing process and their function is not limited to selling manufacturers’ products.
Objectives of this study
The following objectives were established:
- To identify product attribute preferences for clothing detergent cross-category shopping products offered by the leading retail supermarkets in Durban, South Africa.
- Investigate the effect of consumer demographics and living standard measures (LSM) on product attribute preferences clothing detergents cross category shopping products.
Research Questions
- Which product attributes attract the largest consumers for detergents?
- How do the consumer demographics and their income levels or LSM affect their preferences for detergents?
Hypotheses
- H1: Packing, color, smell, quality of the detergents influences the preferences for detergents.
- H2: Consumer age and gender affect the buying behaviour of detergents.
- H3: Consumer standard of living affects how much detergent they buy?
4- Methodology
A quantitative research approach is to be used in the study. Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, a sample population of 231 respondents would participate in a survey designed to ascertain the attribute preferences for clothing detergent products.
Sampling
For the purpose of this study, respondents would be selected from three universities in the greater Durban area, namely; University A, University B and University C. In this study convenience sampling as well as judgement sampling will be used within the study to provide the researcher access to desired consumer demographics.
5- Conclusion
The continued need to understand consumer preference changes necessitated this study as it allows for an investigation of consumer references patterns for an existing product category. Both retailers and clothing detergent manufacturers may better position their product offerings emphasizing the attributes that their consumer favour. Consumer targeting may also be aided by the results of this study.
The limitations of this study are that it has been limited by the sample size. The cluster groups selected are from universities based of ease of access.
One of the limitations of the study is the time constraint within.