BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
Table of Contents
Area or Field or Research, Concepts and Theories. 8
Summary of approaches to Research Methodology. 11
Business Research Methods
Introduction
It is important to understand leadership to ensure effectiveness in reducing failure rates and promoting sustainable success in the small business sector. It will be easy to alleviate issues in any small business through information and applying appropriate knowledge from successful practitioners’ experiences. The existing gap between practitioners and educators regarding the transference of important knowledge in any small business continues to play a major role in contributing to poor performance and, in some cases, drawing criticism, particularly in leadership development. Small businesses can be seen as a neglected resource in considerations to studies. Besides, there are also fewer commitments in consideration to the sustainability of this industry due to low levels of resources and most importantly unavailability of reliable information needed to ensure effectiveness in reconciling corporate social responsibility activities to the daily performance and routines of small businesses (Babiak, 2010). Small business leaders tend to be multifunctional. As a result, they are restricted by some of the daily operational demands. Nevertheless, these leaders are still required and encouraged to focus mainly on the facilitation of sustainability. Strategies used by a leader in resolving these challenging problems can result to differences between operational success and failure. This research paper will focus mainly on leadership in small businesses from the perspective of owners/practitioners.
Definition of Terms
Small business: an organization with typically less than five-hundred workers.
Corporate social responsibility
The social, financial, and most importantly, environmental aspects related to processes within a business. They are mainly integrated with government and non-government entities, stakeholders, and local communities (Babiak, 2010).
Triple bottom line: operations within a business are normally defined as environmental, financial, and social considerations of a business.
Section 1
Business/Industry Context
The rate of failure in small businesses is significantly high. For example, some major small businesses continue to face different problems in the United States, with only about fifty percent of these organizations existing after five years. Studies show that deficiencies in leadership processes are the main contributing issue to the failure of these organizations. Lack of essential and effective skills among leaders in a business includes basic skills, motivation of employees, and effective and suitable understanding, particularly among most graduates. As a result, lack or poor developed skill-set tend to impact the liming performance of leaderships in most firms significantly.
The primary problem, in this case, is related to the fact that deficiencies of most leaders, for example those related to ethics, contributes substantially to business failure that are costly. Form a small business to be successful and prevail, it is important to have practitioners with more knowledge, and skills important and effective to their specific operations (Aldehayyat and Twaissi, 2011). However, this business issue is limits the ability to understand essential skills for leaders and most importantly other operational practices required for operators in most small businesses that will ensure effective performance and success of small businesses beyond five years.
Research Problem
Research Aims
This qualitative focuses mainly on a phenomenological study with a primary aim of understanding leader-operators in most of these organizations and, most importantly, specific skills and procedures that will ensure effectiveness and positive outcomes in the sustainability of small businesses beyond five years. The study, in this case, depends on the use of semi-structured interviews, particularly with journal notes and devices for recording on a sample of twenty small business leaders, particularly those with at least five years of experience as leaders. The participant involved small business leaders, particularly in the United States Midwest. Generally, small firms are an organization with at most five-hundred employees.
Logically, small businesses play a critical role in the United States’ economy. Leaderships play a substantial goal in influencing the local community. However, leaders in these businesses are constrained by some major management decisions in the daily operations of these businesses. As a result, these leaders need to depend on specific and practical solutions to ensure their business’s effectiveness and successful operations. The findings of these studies may be used by academia and, most importantly, business managers and leaders to gain more and new knowledge from practitioners to achieve positive outcomes in impacting the societies they serve.
Besides, the study also focuses on exploring lived experiences in small business leadership. The primary goal, in this case, improve the understanding of the functions of effective leaders in some of the best-performing small institutions. The phenomenological design is critical in gaining more knowledge on leadership’s phenomena. By depending on interviews, the study provides more focus of small businesses’ leadership by depending on and analyzing specific thoughts and, most importantly, ideas related to practicing leaders. With the lens of these experiences from leaders, the study provides a better understanding of leadership that can be used to influence positive and desired outcomes of small businesses’ success. The study also analyzes different leadership characteristics and practices from the several practitioners’ experiences. Understanding these practices and characteristics might have significant impacts in helping small organizations understand and focus on factors that will ensure effectiveness in their general operations and success.
Research Questions
Experiences from some of the effective practitioners among these businesses form the center of different research considerations and questions important for this study. Some of the most important research questions to consider in this study will include;
- What specific experiences are important in small business leadership?
- How can local communities and business owners communicate specific expectations and needs for leaders?
- What are some situations that influence leadership experiences and sustainable success?
- What specific role doe the government has in initiating sustainable objectives for small business leaders?
- What are some ways a small business can reinforce positive practices in leadership processes?
- What is the best or most effective method for leadership knowledge delivery in these organizations?
- What additional information needs to be provided to improve leadership processes and impacts on small businesses?
- What is some hard and soft skill set that improve small business operation in current and future situations?
- What method can communicate sustainable strategies versus profit strategies (short-term) to leaders in most businesses?
- What is the best way to influence the positive development of leadership in small businesses, does the way return value, and is it successful?
- How can educators and practitioners in small businesses work together to communicate successful leadership practices?
Significance of the Study
This study plays a critical role, particularly in understanding the leadership process in small businesses. It helps to ensure effectiveness in the ability of organizational stakeholders to understand important practices for small businesses, particularly in leadership. The study has developed common themes important from existing and future practitioners in consideration of their understanding of specific requirements for leaders to influence and achieve sustainability of small businesses. Different themes and concepts from participants’ experiences have potentially positive impacts in reducing failure in most small businesses (Avery and Bergsteiner, 2011).
Generically, leadership deficiencies have contributed to business leaders seeking an individual with a better understanding of specific and important responsibilities related to leadership. As a result, small businesses can improve their leadership process and roles by understanding specific practitioners’ experiences, as they seek leaders with more knowledge of sustainable practices. Besides, educators can also benefit, particularly when creating curricula focused on training small business leaders for the future. Ultimately, societies will also benefit from effective leaders. The main reason is that these leaders contribute to positive values towards societies. The development of training programs is also important, particularly to human resource professionals (Aldehayyat and Twaissi, 2011). Logically, the programs are geared towards producing new leaders who are focused on specific future needs of societies. Logically, businesses and individuals benefit through a collaborative community that allows effectiveness in sharing experiences. These experiences help in improving communications and understanding leaders as they focus on developing effective practitioners.
Section 2
Area or Field or Research, Concepts and Theories
The research related to this study will focus on specific and important themes from the research to improve understanding of different leadership characteristics and practices important for these businesses and their success. The dynamic theory in consideration to leadership development is important in this case. The theory is mainly based on the ideas that leadership is a developmental process. The process is based on specific choices that a leader makes. It is important to focus on finding the right worldview fit from a leader and their organizational practices. Scholars tend to focus on two major schools of thought regarding traits in leadership: (a) born leaders, which relates to the great man theory, or (b) development specific and important traits of leadership, particularly through different experiences, which eventually contribute to one emerging a leader. Some studies argue that leaders develop due to their past, present, and in some cases, experiences in the future (Cader and Leatherman, 2011).
In most cases, the stage starts by involving the development of self-awareness, like the ability of a leader to understand emotions, weaknesses, and most important, strengths. Second, leaders can then engage in different social encounters. As a result, these factors play a critical role in their ability to find a unique purpose in life. This case allows effectiveness in the ability of practitioners to develop from different experiences related to leadership.
Logically, leadership developed from one’s life experiences will include different human characteristics. Most of these characteristics are mainly developed from a leader’s interactions with other people. Different inter-human skill sets are mainly developed through the developmental path. Generically, most of these inter-human skill sets tend to be similar to the soft characteristics espoused. Leaders need to focus mainly on improving their social architecture through these characteristics, which specific visions and purposes should characterize (Barrett, 2009). Most of these characteristics mainly focus on leaders capable of fitting appropriately in a business. In most cases, successful leaders, particularly those that have experienced this developmental process play a critical role in influencing practitioners and benefit the community in future, particularly bydecreasing possible failures of small businesses (Gundlach and Zivnuska, 2010).
Besides, there is a need for leaders to have a more knowledge of failing and, most importantly, skill sets important in influencing sustainability. Studies show that smaller organizations tend to have a higher attrition rate, and about fifty percent of them exist after five years. As a result, small businesses need transformations from traditional related approaches focused on achieving more profit to businesses effective in meeting specific demands of future generations and, most importantly, businesses with visions and purposes (Bicknell et al. 2010). To achieve this goal, the businesses will require specific tools, skill sets, and important characteristics to ensure effectiveness in transforming and embracing a sustainable future. Organizational leaders play a critical role in ensuring the success of organizational structures with environmental adaptability, resilience, and, most importantly, responsiveness to social imperatives (D’Amato and Roome, 2009). This case plays a critical role in preparing most small-business leaders better by involving decisions processes like a better understanding of sustainable initiatives, strategic visions, global corporate responsibility, and most importantly, integrity management. Generally, soft skill characteristics espoused play an important part in semi-structured interviews. It is important in helping practitioners understand specific actions and needs that will influence any small business’s positive leadership process.
Generally, most of these small businesses do not benefit significantly from different programs related to leadership. As a result, operators in most small businesses must focus on better ways to gain new knowledge tools. Logically, the long-term success of any small business depends significantly on human capital investment and, most importantly, training with the primary aim of aching sustainability. Effective training in any small business is important and of significant value to any leader. However, training should be flexible, capable of providing relevant knowledge, and, most importantly, an environment where participants will effectively apply what they have learned.
Generally, communities need a collective voice, particularly from experienced practitioners, by working together to ensure effectiveness and positive outcomes in the ability of small business operators to improve their knowledge of leadership that will help to achieve desired goals and objectives of an enterprise. Common themes from this study help in having a better understanding of leaders and leadership in any small organization, which help to impact societies in positive ways, particularly by reducing the possibility of failure of most small businesses (Eyal and Roth, 2011). Besides, solutions can be designed by focusing on the patterns and, most importantly, common themes from the general understanding of the main issue.
Summary of approaches to Research Methodology
The qualitative research methodology in this study allows effectiveness in the flow of data from the interviews focused mainly on exploring and understanding the experiences of involved participants. The methodology in this study involved twenty-one managers from small businesses participating particularly in semi-structured interview processes to build common themes from their leadership experiences in small businesses. Some of the questions are focused on understanding why and how specific events happen. Logically, hard data might not be available when specific events occur. As a result, there is a need to understand initial relationships with specific constructs important in influencing such situations. Exploring leaders’ lived experiences play a critical role in developing more knowledge of the functions of successful leaders in these businesses (Gundlach and Zivnuska, 2010). Participants in this study are included due to their expertise and, most importantly, experiences in the small business field. Interpretation of the research questions helps develop more understanding of leadership from different views n considerations to successful practitioners.
Reducing the data for analysis plays a critical role in developing common and important themes. As a result, the development of a data analysis method involved reviewing all descriptions from the participants, particularly those that align with questions presented for the interview and the purpose of the study. As a result, the extraction of substantial statements and formulating theme into these was important in understanding these interview questions. These themes can be categorized into different information’s clusters related mainly to descriptions provided by the participants. The results involve a written synthesis of structural and, most importantly, textual explanations from the participants and play a critical role in corroborating the research study.
Gaps in the Research
Researchers have played a critical role in revealing gaps relating to knowledge transference, appropriate leadership processes in corporate social responsibilities, and effective practices in educational collaboration with industry in most small businesses. Generally, literature regarding successful leadership in this industry includes specific examples of the role of sustainable practices to the business and society. As a result, understanding leadership through specific practitioner’s experiences is important in understanding leadership and leaders in small businesses. Therefore, the benefits of this research focus on gathering information from leaders who focus on ensuring sustainability and returning more value to society (Barrett, 2009).
Conclusion
Collaborations and effective communication in the mall business community is important and must be prominent between academics and practitioners. The primary aim is to provide effective and reliable leadership that helps in addressing specific demands and issues affecting small businesses and society. Monitoring, engagement, and coaching people is important and acts as a skill-set depending on support and practices to ensure positive outcomes in developing leader candidates. It is important to invest in people through knowledge management, education, and training to ensure a return of positive value. Therefore, existing practitioners can adopt different strategies to become sustainable and, most importantly, gain practical experiences and knowledge that are important for leaders and any small organization.
Bibliographies
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Avery, G. C., and Bergsteiner, H., 2011. Sustainable leadership practices for enhancing business resilience and performance. Strategy & Leadership, 39(3), 5-15. doi:10.1108/10878571111128766
Babiak, K., 2010. The role and relevance of corporate social responsibility in sport: A view from the top. Journal of Management and Organization, 16, 528-549. Retrieved from http://www.jmo.e-contentmanagement.com
Barrett, R., 2009. The new leadership agenda. Interbeing, 3(1), 81-85. Retrieved from http://www.interbeing.biz/
Bicknell, A., Francois-Smythe, J., and Arthur, J., 2010. Knowledge transfer: Deconstructing the entrepreneurial academic. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 16, 485-501. doi:10.1108/13552551011082461
Cader, H.A. and Leatherman, J.C., 2011. Small business survival and sample selection bias. Small Business Economics, 37(2), pp.155-165.
D’amato, A., and Roome, N., 2009. Leadership of organizational change toward an integrated model of leadership for corporate responsibility and sustainable development: A process model of corporate responsibility beyond management innovation (No. 2013/164611). ULB–Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
Roth, O. and Eyal, O., 2014. Principals’ leadership and teachers motivation. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(3), pp.256-275. doi:10.1108/09578231111129055
Gundlach, M.J. and Zivnuska, S., 2010. An experiential learning approach to teaching social entrepreneurship, triple bottom line, and sustainability: Modifying and extending practical organizational behavior education (PROBE). American Journal of Business Education (AJBE), 3(1), pp.19-28. Retrieved from http://www.bsu.edu/mcobwin/ajb
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