Research Method For Advent Of Technology In The Educational Sector

Background

Describe about the Research Method for Advent of Technology .

Background

With the advent of technology, the Information and Communication Technology industry has started encompassing a wide area, offering its scope of application in the educational sector as well. The QLD group of private schools, has established itself as one of the most recognized organization in the educational sector of Australia (Fiedler 1967). However, since the year of 2010, the profit-earning capacity of the organization, has gone through a sharp decline, that in turn has raised the question on the effectiveness of the leadership style adopted by the school authority.

At present, it has been observed that the QLD group of schools has been suffering from problems, such as a low rate of consumer retention and low level of satisfaction, among the students, and their families. Consequently, the students are switching to other schools, which pose a serious threat to the long-term sustainability of the organization. It has been observed that the leadership style required for utilizing the ICT for marketing the service, and motivating the employees, is wanting in the organization. The management authority of the organization is unable to employ the effective use of CRM, ERP and Intranet, for marketing the educational service, as well as for motivating the employees. Besides, the use of internet for regular interpersonal communication among the employees of the organization helps in creating a positive and enriching workplace. Hence, the research intends to examine how can an effective leader utilize ICT for influencing the clients, as well as motivating the employees.

The purpose of the research is to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the communication strategies adopted by the managers of the organization, assuming leadership roles. The research intends to examine the extent to which the ICT is being utilized by the managers for communicating the strategies and organizational goals to the respective employees. Since, in case of the ICT, the workers do not communicate with each other in real presence, it is important to understand the challenges inherent in virtual mode of communication. Furthermore, although several organizations including the QLD group of schools make use of mobile marketing and internet marketing, the importance of eCRM, in evaluating the consumer rate of satisfaction, is often being dismissed by the leaders.

The areas which the particular research intends to examine, includes the following:

• The communication tools are being used by the organization
• The most popular communication strategies employed by the QLD group of schools
• The ways to improve the communication strategies for promoting the service before the clients (Glynn et al.2010)

The research questions that the research study intends to analyze are as follows:

1. Why should the QLD group of schools try to improve its marketing communication strategy?
2. What will be the probable benefits of the implementation of a new communication strategy?
3. What is exactly the perspective of the consumers regarding the marketing communication strategy, so far adopted by the QLD group of schools?

Project Research Problem

The QLD group of schools has always remained one of the most recognized organizations in Australia. However, in the recent few years, the organization has been unable to retain its position, owing to the stiff competition in the educational sector. Hence, it is highly important to understand the role communication technology can play, in regaining the position of the organization, helping it thrive in the competitive market. The research project is expected to enlighten on the effective use of ICT that can help the organization gain the trust of the consumers. It will also help to examine the extent to which QLD group of schools will be able to customize its service, communicate with the consumers, and respond to the needs of the consumers, with the help of the ICT (Graeff 1997). Furthermore, the research will also examine the effectiveness of the currently used relationship marketing strategy of the organization.

As discussed above, the research intends to analyze and comprehend the effectiveness of the communication strategies that can be or rather should be adopted by the QLD group of schools, if it wants to accomplish long-term sustainability. The research aims to analyze the usage pattern of the internet, messages or social media, that determines the organizational success of any institution. The rapid exchange of information between the management authority and the consumers, can help in capturing the attention of the consumers while also anticipating the needs and expectations of the same (Hughes et al. 2015).

Single Case Study

The following project will be based on a single case study that will be researched upon. The research will be primarily conducted, on the basis of the data collected with the help of the interview, that is being conducted with the chosen employees, working in the two chosen branches of the QLD group of schools. The employees, working in the managerial position, will be able to elucidate the communication strategies adopted by the organization, as part of the marketing and promotional strategy (Taylor et al. 2015). Next, a survey will be conducted on the consumers of the organization, asking them about the effectiveness and impact of the chosen strategies, and their perspectives regarding the strength and the weakness of the communication tools. Besides this, the research study to be conducted, will also be based on the secondary data, to be collected by reviewing the literary articles and the recently published journals, dealing with the use and effectiveness of the ICT tools in retaining the consumers, and creating consumer goodwill. 

Focus of the Study

The data that is being collected and observed with the help of first-hand experience is regarded as the primary data in any research method. The primary data is usually collected by organizing interviews and by conducting surveys, whereby the data is collected directly from the respondent. In case of the present research method, the primary data collection method has been selected, as it will help in collecting comprehensive data, that is case-study specific and highly relevant for undertaking this research. The primary data is being collected in two ways- first of all with the help of an interview and secondly with the help of a survey. The interview will be organized, for gaining an insight into the commonly used ICT tools, as employed by the managers of the organization. On the other hand, the effectiveness of these ICT tools, in satisfying the consumer needs will be assessed by conducting a survey on the consumers of the organization (Bryman 2015). For conducting the semi-structured interview, the stratified sampling method is to be chosen, whereby the consumers satisfying two criteria will be considered for the interview. The two criteria are :

He or she must belong to the management authority of the QLD group of Schools

He or she must have been involved in the marketing activities of the organization, since the last 5 years.

On the other hand, the survey will be conducted for recording the response of the consumers, in relation to the present ICT strategies implemented by the organization, A Random Sampling Method can be adopted for conducting the survey, whereby the guardians of the students, studying in the institution will be asked to respond to the online survey questions mailed to them.

The secondary data will be collected by reviewing the latest articles and recently published journals that deal with the innovative ICT technologies, as employed by different organizations off the world, for generating maximum consumer satisfaction. These articles describe the process in which the ICT can be utilized for improving the consumer service, and fulfilling the consumer demand (Cohen et al. 2013). The consumer satisfaction can be easily measured in terms of the empathy and responsiveness of the consumers, with the help of the ICT, and the entire process can be comprehended by reviewing the literary articles and business reports of the most reputed organizations of Australia

A research should always be conducted in a highly ethical and responsible way. Hence, for conducting the following research, steps will be taken so that the research does not violate the ethical and legal norms it is required to comply with. Accordingly, the research will be conducted on the basis of the knowledge and independent research and findings, and will not be plagiarized in content. Further, the research will not disclose confidential information, and the surveys conducted, will be conducted solely after the consent of the respondents. The entire ethics checklist, that will be followed, is being cited below:

1.	Will the human subjects be informed of the nature of their involvement in the collection  of data and of features of the research that reasonably might be expected to influence  willingness to participate?	Yes
2.	Will the human subjects be told that they can discontinue their participation at any time?	Yes
3.	Will the human subjects in your study be aware that they are the targets of research?	Yes
4.	If the subjects are underage, will their guardians be asked to sign the consent form?	N/A
5.	Is the confidentiality of the human subject’s identity positively ensured?	Yes
6.	In cases where there is a possibility that the human subject’s identity can be deduced by someone other than the researcher, is the subject’s right to withdraw his/her data respected?	Yes
7.	Will the researcher fulfil all the promises made to the human subjects including providing the summary of the findings upon request?	Yes
8.	Will all necessary measures be taken to protect the physical safety of  the human subjects from dangers such as faulty electrical equipment, poor grounding, lack of oxygen, falls, traffic & industrial accidents, possibility of hearing or vision loss etc.?	Yes
9.	Will the human subject be debriefed (told the true nature of the study) after  the data has been collected?	Yes
10	In cases in which the human subject is dissatisfied or a complaint about the researcher or procedure, will the researcher explain to the human subject that he or she may express  this complaint to the Subject Coordinator?	Yes
11.	Does the study involve concealment from and/or deception of the human subject?	No
12.	Will deception be used in order to obtain agreement to participate?	No
13.	Will the study involve human subjects who are legally or otherwise not in a position to give their valid consent to participate such as children, prison inmates, mental patients?	No
14.	Will information on your human subjects be obtained from third parties?	No
15.	Will any coercion be exerted upon subjects to participate?	No
16.	Will the study involve physical stress to the human subjects such as might  result from heat, noise, electric shock, pain, sleep loss, deprivation of food and drink, drugs, alcohol?	No
17.	Will the study cause any mental discomfort to the human subjects such as fear, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, shame, guilt, embarrassment etc.?	No
18.	Could publication of the research results possibly interfere with strict confidentiality?	No
19.	Could publication of the research results possibly harm the human subject – either directly or through identification with his/her membership group?	No
20.	Are there other aspects of the study that may interfere with the protection of the    well-being of the human subjects?	No

For the purpose of conducting the research, the estimated time to be required is stated below:

	0-2	3-6	7-8	9-10	14th
Research Activities	Weeks	Weeks	Weeks	Weeks	Week
selection  of Research topic
Literature Review
Data collection
Data analysis
Final business Research thesis

 

Reference List:

Bryman, A. 2015. Social research methods. Oxford university press.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. 2013. Research methods in education. Routledge.

Fiedler, F., 1967.  A Theory of Leadership Effectiveness. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Glynn, M. A., & DeJordy, R., 2010. Leadership through an organizational behaviour lens: A look at the last half-century of research.

Graeff, C. L. 1997. Evolution of situational leadership theory: A critical review. The Leadership Quarterly, 8(2), pp153-170

Hughes, R, Ginnett, R & Curphy, G 2015, Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, pp193

Imen Keskes, 2013 Relationship between leadership styles and dimensions of employee organizational commitment: A critical review and discussion of future directions, pp 27

Limsil, K., Ogunlana, S.O., 2007. Performance and leadership outcome correlates of leadership styles and subordinate commitment. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 15(2): pp164-184

Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. 2015 Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.