1.2 Discussion Questions

1.2 Discussion Questions:

How could research help this small organization? What would you hope to gain as the manager?
What dependent variables should you, as the manager, consider researching? Why?
Think about research designs discussed in the Appendix on Research Designs used in OB at the end of the book. Which one(s) do you think would be appropriate for the manager to use? Would there be any benefit to using multiple methods, and if so, in what order would you conduct the research studies

Individual Responses:

Faranda:

Research could help this small organization increase camaraderie, reduce turnover, detect bottlenecks in the processes, and how to create a better experience for customers. I would hope to gain insight into what would make the transactions more efficient and increase employee retention to reduce the costs of hiring and training new employees.T
The dependent variables that I would consider are wait times, employee turnover, and customer service because they all are adversely affected by the processes and procedures of the DMV.
Qualitative and Quantitative research would be appropriate methods for the manager to employ to create a better environment and for staff and guests as well.

The benefit to using multiple methods is that the manager will get a more accurate scope of the issues that are causing the procedural issues at the DMV.

Qualitative, Quantitative, and a correlational field study.

Cheryl:
Research would have assisted the company with their employee retention. Through research the company would learned methods for fostering more customer oriented environment and assisted the tax collectors with deal with customers.
Dependent Variables would be training for the tax collectors, employee morale and customer wait times/ customer complaints. I would research these variables to ensure employees were trained to assume the responsibilities from the DMV employees. I would review the employee moral to learn how they are reacting to the recent changes, and reviewing the customer wait times and complaints to see what other areas of the processes I need to review for actions.
Quantitative and Qualitative method interviews people to gather data, analyze the data to assess the environment.

Brian:
Research could have made the transition much smoother and eliminated a lot of the issues they faced.It seems little thought was given to potential issues that would arise from a rapid reduction in qualified staff. I would hope to gain insight into what areas could be trimmed, make more efficient usage of the knowledgeable employees and retain more of the staff to complete and smooth out the transition.
The variables that I would consider are why are tenured employees leaving the organization. Also what is the reason behind the high turnover rate, specifically to a job that had a high retention rate.
I think mixed methods research and qualitative and quantitative research could be used. Using them in this order would give management a greater group of data to use to overcome the issues that are being experienced at the DMV.

Group:
We discussed our individual responses and concluded that research could help this small organization by reducing employee turnover, increasing the quality of customer service, and how to make transactions more efficient.
The dependent variables that we agreed should be considered are wait times and turnover because those variables impact customer service and employee morale.
We concluded that qualitative and quantitative research would be the appropriate methods for the manager to employ to create a better experience for employees and customer at the DMV.