Reasons Why Women Are The Target Of Microfinance Programs And Their Benefits: Essay.

Explain the reasons why women are the target of microfinance programs,  suggests that there are three primary benefits to women that result from participation: Economic Empowerment, Increased Well-Being & Social and Political Empowerment.

Research Design and Planning

This activity is a personal reflection on business research. Throughout the entire twelve-week study period, it has been established that management activities are important for businesses (Businesstopia, 2017). Such activities help businesses to determine profitability in their lines of production. Otherwise, it has also been clear that several business research steps are vital in establishing strategies for research. The steps would be vital in making decisions relating to an organization (Bryman & Bell, 2015).

1. Week One

This week’s activity is about the nature, process, and strategy of business research. Through this activity I will be able to determine how the aforementioned study points influence the studies on research strategies as well as qualitative and quantitative research.

From this activity, a number of issues have been discussed in line with the nature, process, and strategy of business researches like elements of research processes among others (Hill, 2016). Otherwise, the context within which this activity is helpful depends on the existence of academic theories, assumption of researchers, existing knowledge, and views on research processes among other concerns (Hill, 2016).

2. Week Two

In week two, the theme of the study was research design and planning. In this study activity, I am required to explore and understand issues on replication, reliability, and validity of business researches as the criteria for assessing quality. In relation, the activity manages to achieve its study objectives by outlining and discussing five research designs, which include related and experimental designs, cross-sectional designs, longitudinal designs, case study designs, and comparative designs. Apart from that, I am able to address key concerns on generalizability or external validity of business researches.

Otherwise, this activity is important in establishing the difference between research designing and methodology. The activity has also made it clear that there are many forms of research designs (Businesstopia, 2017).

3. Week Three

This activity’s theme is “Literature Review and Writing Business Research”. In this activity, I am required to look for literature sources and critically engage myself with projections and ideas put across by other authors. Apart from that, I am able to establish the constituents and penalties of plagiarism alongside other writing considerations.

This activity helps in the establishment of a number of research features like referencing and bibliography (Karniel, Reich and Yoram, 2017). A good literature review requires one to have key skills such as skimming and reading skills. Apart from that, the research question should have a clear statement and structure (Malakooti and Behnam, 2013).

4. Week Four

Week four’s main activity is on “Ethics and Legal Consideration in Business Research”. This activity requires me to be able to explore and determine cases that transgress principles of ethics, different stances on business research ethics, hurdles in ethical decision-making, and politics on business research and ethics. Herein, the main research concerns are the existing relations between research partners and researchers (Pearce, Robinson and Richard, 2017).

Areas that are of ethical concerns under business research include inadequate informed consent, participant hazards, deception, and privacy invasion. In general, the study section has been keen on ensuring that I establish clear boundaries between unethical and ethical practices.

5. Week Five

Literature Review and Writing Business Research

This lecture activity is based on “The Nature of Qualitative Research, Sampling and Participant Observation”. Herein, I am required to explore, determine, and understand the main qualitative research steps as well as the existing relationship between research and theory.

The objectives of this lecture study include determining the nature of concepts of qualitative research, establishing the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, as well as employing validity and reliability as appropriate qualitative research criteria (Pearce, Robinson and Richard, 2017).

6. Week Six

This activity’s theme is “Interviewing, Focus Groups and Language in Qualitative Research”. In this activity, I am required to differentiate between qualitative and structured interviews. From this lecture study, I will be able to the device and employ a guide for the semi-structured type of interviewing, develop questions to be asked in interviews, as well as determine the importance of qualitative interviewing in research activities.

The activity discusses the role of focus groups in research activities, how to conduct such focus groups, the existing interaction between the groups and participants during discussions, and methods of focus groups as used in feminist researches (Pearce, Robinson and Richard, 2017). 

7. Week Seven

This activity’s theme is “Qualitative Data Analysis”. Herein, I have learnt to use analytic induction as a strategy for analyzing qualitative data, specifically using Grounded Theory. I can therefore, fragment data through coding as well as apply concepts of narrative analysis in conducting the secondary analysis.

The activity then points out the implications of personal documents (visual or written), official organizational documents, virtual outputs, and mass media outputs. However, the criteria used to distinguish the above-mentioned sources will involve passive and active consumers of such documents (Malakooti and Behnam, 2013).

8. Week Eight

Week eight’s activity is on “The Nature and Sampling in Quantitative Research”. In this activity, I am required to determine the steps of quantitative researches. Afterwards, I will use the gained skills to solicit the impacts of research concepts on sampling as well as determine the ways in which quantitative measures would be devised to achieve the study objectives.

In general, this activity defines quantitative research then provides its characteristics before outlining conclusive theories in relation to this type of researching (Flyvbjerg & Budzier, 2017, pg. 602).

9. Week Nine

The theme of this activity is “Structured Interviewing and Questionary Design”. In this lecture study, I have learnt to determine the reasons behind structured interviews being a prominent method of research. Such is because the activity provides many interviewing contexts, structured interviewing prerequisites, structured interviewing problems as well as the disadvantages and advantages of questionnaires (Cunha, 2013, pg. 3).

At the end of this activity, I am required to address potential problems associated with poor response rates, provide outlines on how questionnaires are supposed to be designed, as well as be able to use diaries self-completion questionnaire forms.

10. Week Ten

This lecture activity’s theme is “Structured Observation and Content Analysis”. Herein, I am required to determine research survey limitations in relation to the study of behaviour, be able to observe different forms of business research, determine the potential of structured observation, as well as devise the different strategies associated with observing behaviour.

Otherwise, this lecture study is responsible for the development of research questions that help in content analysis. It is also responsible for sampling approaches for analyzed documents as well as the disadvantages and advantages of content analysis (Calasanti and Slevin, 2017).  

11. Week Eleven

Week eleven’s theme is “Secondary Analysis and Quantitative Data”. In this study section, I have learnt issues regarding secondary data analysis. Apart from that, I have also learnt the disadvantages and advantages of secondary analysis collected by researchers. By the end of this activity, I have the potential of employing datasets that are of high quality on large samples.

Other study points include the use of official statistics concerning validity and reliability, official statistics potential, and forms of the unobtrusive method of official statistics. In this section, it is clear that secondary forms of analysis help in the exploration of research questions without necessarily going through data collection processes (Calasanti and Slevin, 2017).

12. Week Twelve

This is the last study activity whose theme is “Mixed Methods Research”. This activity requires me to develop arguments against combined qualitative and quantitative research, solicit possibilities associated with combining qualitative and quantitative research, as well as provide different executions of the mixed research method. Otherwise, this activity is responsible for ensuring that learners recognize that mixed research methods are not superior to study activities that employ single strategies of researches (Alvesson, 2013).

Conclusion

Overall, this activity as a personal reflection on business researches has used twelve study activities to establish issues on management as well as how they are vital for businesses. As aforementioned, such activities help businesses to determine profitability in their lines of production (Alder, 2016). 

Reference

Alder, N. (2016) International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior (3rd ed.). Cincinnai, OH: South-Western College Publishing

Alvesson   M., (2013) Understanding Organizational Culture. London: Sage Publications Ltd

Bryman. A & Bell. E (2015) ‘Business Research Methods’ 4^th Edition, Oxford University Press

Businesstopia (2017) Why is Non-verbal Communication Important? [Online] Communication. Available at: https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/why-non-verbal-communication-important [Accessed 25 September 2018]

Calasanti, T., M. and Slevin, K., F. (2017) Gender, Social Inequalities, and Aging. Oxford: Altamira Press.

Cunha, L. (2013) "Manufacturing Pioneers Reduce Costs by Integrating PLM &ERP”. Onwindows.com, 2(10) 2-7

Flyvbjerg, B., & Budzier, A. (2017) "Why Your IT Project May Be Riskier Than You Think." Harvard Business Review, 89 (9): 601–603.

Hill, S. (2016). "A winning strategy". Manufacturing Business Technology. Risk management — Principles and guidelines on implementation. International Organization for Standardization.

Karniel, A., Reich and Yoram. (2017). Managing the Dynamic of New Product Development Processes. A new Product Lifecycle Management Paradigm. Springer. ISBN 978-0-85729-569-9.

Malakooti and Behnam. (2013) Operations and Production Systems with Multiple Objectives. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-58537-5.

Pearce, J. Robinson, J. and Richard, B. (2017) Formulation, implementation, and control of competitive strategy (4 ed.). Irwin. p. 315.ISBN 978-0-256-08324-8.