MANAGEMENT CONSULTING:A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS

CHAPTER11:Research TechniquesPresented by:Ali Haj Aghapour1101600894

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)step1

• Identifying the real problem that clients wants to be

solved

step2

• What data need to be collected to solve the problem

above

Step3

• Where is the information that will solve the problem

available?

step4

• What is the appropriate manner to collect this

information?

step5

• What conclusion will be able to be reached by the

information collected?

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 Durkheim’s 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 SIMULATIONstep1

• research question

step2

• Identify simple theory

step3

• Choose a simulation approach

step4

• Create computational representation

step5

• Verify computational representation

step6

• Experiment to build novel theory

step7

• Validate with empirical data

IN TERMS OF SURVEY

Designing

appropriat

e

questionn

aire

Identifyin

g

Research

questions

IN TERMS OF QUASI-EXPERIMENT

Comparing results with before experiment

Modifying situation

QUALITATIVE APPROACH

imperial research can’t 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

observation

Structured observationParticipant observation

IN TERMS OF INTERVIEW

Unstructured

interview

Semi-structure

d interview

Structured

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:South-Western Press.

THANKS FOR YOUR CRITICAL ATTENTION