In making a decision on whether to introduce a service or not, an organization must have sufficient information on the viability of that service based on research undertaken beforehand. Before research is conducted, there must be a research proposal that tends to predetermine the necessity and requirement of the research. A research proposal is defined by Davis (2000) as a written formal bid for research that identifies a problem and course of action to solve that problem. This paper tends to explain the pertinent issues of problem identification and proposal development for a company intending to introduce a new service.
From the management’s perspective, the research proposal is important as it affects the decision-making of the company directly. The proposal explains the various components that have to be incorporated in the actual research, such as the objectives of the research, data collection methods, data presentation and analysis methods, the implementation and evaluation criteria, and the budget required for the research.
A research proposal is designed on the basis of the identified problem. Punch (2000) describes a problem as an unsatisfactory situation that needs intervention. The first step in proposal development is problem identification which may involve establishing a gap that needs to be addressed or a new opportunity that arises. According to Davis (2000), problem identification and formulation is the most important part of the research proposal and essential in providing information for management decision making. In this company that aims at introducing a new service, the problem identification will be seeking to identify what gap or opportunity is available necessitating the new service.
Problem identification requires the manager to be astute in order to be able to highlight the need gaps as they arise. In this case, the management task is to identify whether the new service will be cost-effective, is a priority based on the performance of other services and benefits to be realized, whether it is researchable based on its legality and ethical impact, and whether there are adequate resources for the research. In addition, the manager has to consider the company’s orientation to research and development and capacity to accommodate changes.
The management role will be to control and evaluation of the proposal to ensure proper standards and quality requirements are addressed in the proposal. The evaluation and control may be done through valuation techniques such as Gantt charts, Program, Evaluation, and Review Technique (PERT), and cost-benefit analysis.
From the researcher’s point of view, the problem has to be clearly defined through the problem formulation process, which will also involve problem justification and the establishment of research questions that need to be answered. In addition, the objectives of the research are formulated based on the perceived value of the problem. The problem statement has to be specific, address the management’s concerns, have a clearly defined scope, and be free from personal bias. In addition, the researcher has to ensure the problem has value justification for research, is researchable with given resources and data to solve it is obtainable, and he has the expertise to carry out the research (Davis, 2000).
Proposal development requires close consultation between the manager and the researcher to ensure all the pertinent components are availed, including the cost-benefit analysis of the proposal. A decision should be made on whether research is necessary or not based on the expected benefits vis-Ã -vis the cost to be incurred. When all these are addressed, the proposal provides benefits to both the manager and the researcher.
The manager becomes confident that the researcher has a clear understanding of the problem by clearly stating the problem and the expected outcome, which should be valuable to the management based on the resources committed to the research. According to Punch (2000), a proposal is a communicating tool through which the researcher expresses his intentions and research plans to the management. This means that, for the company intending to introduce a new service, the researcher should understand the service clearly in order to be able to carry out comprehensive research.
The proposal acts as a contractual tool between the management and the researcher such that the researcher has to carry out the research work based on the terms and specifications of the proposal. This means that the work of the researcher is controlled by the proposal, and the outcome should reflect the expectation of the proposal.
The manager uses the research proposal to assess the viability of the research project based on the expected information and appropriateness of the research techniques to be used before committing the resources. The assessment may be a cost-benefit analysis, including assessing the uncertainty level of the project.
The proposal allows the management leeway to ascertain the value and quality of the proposed research. Based on the urgency of the problem and budget constraints, the management can give priority to some problems. In addition, management is bound to receive valuable and quality research results by selecting the most promising research proposal from a bidding process.
The researcher also benefits from a good proposal that guarantees him the confidence of being in the right direction in addressing the problem requested by the management. A well-stated problem statement perceived by management as valuable gives confidence to the researcher that his work is accepted.
The requirement for a quality proposal enhances the ability of the researcher to critically think out the pertinent features of the proposal that tend to address the problem fully. This makes the proposed research be conducted easily and effectively.
By structuring the proposal well, the researcher is provided with a clear plan of action that defines the scope and strategy to be adopted in the research work. In addition, the researcher focuses his mind on the research based on the outline of the research proposal.
The proposal acts as a bridge between the expectations of the management and the researcher’s work. In this case, it sets agreement between the manager and the researcher on realistic information to be provided, thus eliminating the unrealistic expectations of the management.
References
Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007). Business Research Methods. 2nd Edition, Illustrated, Oxford University Press. Web.
Cooper, D. R. and Schindler, P. (2006). Business Research Methods, 8th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Davis, D, (2000). Business Research for Decision Making. 5th Edition, CA: Duxbury Press.
Punch, K. F. (2000). Developing Effective Research Proposals. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.