Business Management Research Project: Work-Based Learning Placement

LO1: �Identify an appropriate business management issue and plan a research project to address this

LO2: Apply an effective research approach to a mini project

LO3: Appraise key research findings and make appropriate recommendations

As part of this module you are required to complete up to 200 hours work based learning (WBL) on a placement in an appropriate (local) organisation. This assignment seeks to capture the results of the WBL activity in the form of a formal report, treating the placement as a practical research project.

Working with your main contact(s) at your selected WBL placement provider, you are to:

• agree a suitable �business� subject area for investigation
• identify a specific question of interest / value to the employer
• undertake secondary / academic / desk-based research into the subject
• investigate the question in the context of the employer organisation
• develop informed conclusions and recommendations from your �research�
• present your findings back to the employer

Please write a short note of thanks to your main contact(s) within your WBL Placement organisation, for their help in making your WBL journey possible

Use this section to set the scene for your WBL placement, describing your WBL placement organisation, what they do, and how you came to undertake your placement with this organisation. Explain what general business subject your placement was focussed on (e.g. marketing, finance, HR etc) and who were the main people you worked with during the placement.

Use this section to identify the specific question that you set out initially to find answers to in your placement. Explain the general aim of your research and identify up to three specific / SMART objectives that you agreed with your WBL placement sponsor (these should have been set out in your ToR for Assignment 1)

Use this section to present your findings from having researched the subject area using relevant academic sources (journals, books etc) and any documents provided to you by your WBL placement organisation (reports, manuals, policies, procedures, marketing materials etc.). In terms of your academic research you should aim to include at least 10 sources to demonstrate that you have connected your research question to relevant theory. You should aim to present key issues, themes, theories, models, graphics (pictures explaining theory), writers and their ideas within this section, and link these to your WBL question, aims and objectives.

Use this section to explain how you went about collecting information & data from your WBL placement provider. Explain why you chose to collect particular information and the reasons for using the sources that you obtained the information from. Explain the relevance and effectiveness of the data collection tools / techniques you used (e.g. questionnaire, interview, document analysis) and identify any limitations or constraints that affected the quality of the data you were able to collect. �Consider how you might approach this part of your research differently if you were to undertake the project again.

Use this section to explore your research question in terms of how well it enabled you to learn about the particular aspect of business from an academic (secondary) perspective. What were the most important / insightful / surprising things / findings to come out of your secondary research � why & how were these important / insightful / surprising to you? Comment on how the secondary research informed your thinking about the subject in the context of your WBL placement organisation. How did what you found at the employer site compare to what you read in the literature? Would you modify the question now, knowing what you now know about the subject, the industry context and the employer? Add any further comments as appropriate about things you observed during your placement.

Use this section to set out any conclusions arising from the work you undertook during your placement and from the research you completed (secondary and primary). Make sure that any comments you set out are properly supported by �evidence� you include in your report and that they link appropriately to the research question, aims and objectives you started out with (or ended up with, if these changed during your project!). Likewise, with recommendations, make sure that there is a logical link to the content of your report, so that these appear to be supported by clear evidence. Set out any �Next Steps� you believe should be taken following the completion of your WBL placement.

Conduct a literature review: A comprehensive literature review of the existing research on employee job satisfaction should be conducted. This review will help identify the key factors that contribute to employee job satisfaction and the strategies that have been successful in improving job satisfaction.Conduct surveys: Surveys can be distributed to employees to collect data on their job satisfaction levels, work environment, job tasks, and other relevant factors. The survey can be designed using a Likert scale to measure the level of agreement or disagreement with specific statements related to job satisfaction.

Conduct interviews: In-depth interviews can be conducted with a sample of employees to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and perspectives on job satisfaction. These interviews can be used to supplement the survey data and provide more qualitative insights. Analyze data: The survey and interview data can be analyzed using statistical methods and qualitative analysis to identify patterns and themes related to job satisfaction. Develop strategies: Based on the analysis of the data, strategies can be developed to improve employee job satisfaction. These strategies could include changes to work processes, organizational culture, or employee benefits and incentives