comments and constructive criticism
The writer will have to read each of this post and react to it by commenting,
analyzing and supporting with relevant articles. The writer will have to read
carefully before giving constructive commentsor criticism on the post. The
writer should write a one paragraph of at least 150 words. APA and in text
citation must be use as each respond to the 4 article must have in text
citations. The writer will have to use an article to supports his comments and
criticism on each of the article. Address the content of each post below in a
one paragraph each, analysis and evaluation of the topic, as well as the
integration of relevant resources. The writer cannot just say “I agree or
disagree” the writer must constructively support and use relevant sources to
support his point why expanding on the article.
Article 1
The research question for the interview was as follows: What strategic human resource
management practices contribute to the retention of employees in the business?
Based on the two interviews conducted, the following themes were present:
Small business experience
Motivation of employees
Marketing for employees
Training employees
Communicating with employees
Relationship building
Atmosphere of small business
Qualitative researchers create small categories based on text or visual data (Creswell, 2013). In
developing the codes, I looked for common things related to human resources. Some of the
themes I gathered from researching human resource practices. I looked for commonalities
between the research and statements made during the interview. I listened and looked for
patterns between the interviewees.
Small Business Interview 1 Transcript
Interviewer: Good morning. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. Today, I would like
to interview you regarding your small business. Your name and the name of your business will
remain confidential. Is it okay if I record the session?
Participant 1: Yes
Interviewer: Okay, let’s get started. First, I would like to ask you some background information
regarding your business.
Interviewer: What type of business do you own?
Participant 1: I own a Plumbing Repair/Remodeling business which provides 24 hour service
365 days out of the year. I knew I wanted to go into business for myself at a young age. I didn’t
know what type of business I wanted to own until I met my husband. He was going to school for
plumbing and I was going to school for business. We made the perfect team. For the first few
years, it was just the two of us. Over time, our team grew. Our team members are all licensed
and highly skilled with many years of experience. For over 30 years, we have always maintained
superb customer satisfaction, affordable prices, and the highest quality products on the market.
Interviewer: How long have you been in business?
Participant 1: (Experience) We have been in business for 31 years. We had only two plumbers
but after 2 years clientele increased beyond belief. As a result, we made the business decision to
expand and hire a crew of plumbers to support the expanding demand. We have one building
located in the center of the metroplex. We decided to strategically locate in the center so it would
be easy to service the entire metroplex.
Interviewer: How many employees do you have?
Participant: As of right now we currently have 8 full time plumbers that work during the day and
3 on-call plumbers that assist with the overnight service calls. We recently made the decision to
hire on 5 more techs that are currently going through the interview process. We believe in the
next five years we will have at least 15 full time plumbers.
Interviewer: What methods do you use to recruit employees?
Participant 1: (Marketing for employees)We rely heavily on social media. We recently opened a
Facebook account and have over 300 followers. We also use career websites to recruit such as
Zip Recruiter and Career Builder. Another marketing technique that we have found useful is to
post recruitment flyers at all of the local supply stores. Eventually, we would like to attend some
of the career fairs that are held around town.
Interviewer: How do you motivate employees?
Participant 1: (Motivation) We have various contests throughout the year that are geared towards
motivating our employees to reach certain goals. Once these goals are reached they are rewarded
with bonuses and pay increases. For example, we typically compete to see who successfully
services the most clients in a specified time period. The plumbers have to complete the regular
plumbing services within an hour and have no complaints for a year.
Interviewer: What type of human resource management training have you completed?
Paericipant 1: (Experience) I went through a community college and obtained a Management
degree with a focus in HR. I also participate in at least one HR training or seminar every year. I
did learn a lot of things along the way. One day I’d like to complete my certification in human
resource management.
Interviewer: How do you help your employees understand the day-to-day operations of your
business?
Participant 1: (Communication)We have weekly mandatory meetings where we discuss finances
and our company goals. We also keep all of our employees up to date on all training materials as
well as policies. The foundation of our company comes from employing qualified and expert
plumbers who are trained to follow well-organized business procedures to provide the best
experience and customer satisfaction.
Interviewer: What day-to-day practices do you use to retain your employees?
Participant 1: (Communication) We have an open door policy which allows all of our employees
the opportunity to express any concerns with the owners. (Building relationships) I let all of my
employees know that I appreciate them and how valuable they are to my company. We also
provide health benefits, vacation/sick time, and offer the opportunity to attend self-improvement
trainings.
Creswell, J.W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches.
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Include the one paragraph comments hear using a pear review article to support your
comments. Also include in text citations in APA.
The article is clear and precise. I do agree that indeed qualitative research is suitable for
conducting such an interview. Using interviews allows a researcher to obtain in-depth
information that provides insights on the topic of focus (Creswell, 2013). Furthermore, a
researcher has to use coding to better understand the key aspects of the study (Bailey, 2014). It is
however, important that the researcher listen attentively when using interview. Recoding the
interview is one of the best ways to ensure that nothing is omitted or misquoted. I therefore, find
the article insightful and well organized. The themes selected are very important in any human
resource department in human resource management and in retaining customers. For instance,
employees require motivation to remain focused and have a sense of belonging (Fratričová &
Rudy, 2015). Relationships building and employee experience as well as training and
communication in an organization play a key role when it comes to performance and employee
retention.
References
Bailey, L. F. (2014). The origin and success of qualitative research. International Journal Of
Market Research, 56(2), 167-184. doi:10.2501/IJMR-2014-013
Creswell, J.W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches.
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Fratričová, J., & Rudy, J. (2015). Get Strategic Human Resource Management Really Strategic:
Strategic HRM in Practice. International Journal Of Management Cases, 17(4), 149-155.
Article two
Small-Scale Qualitative Research Project—Conduct the Interview
The purpose of my proposed qualitative study is to determine the accounting skills small
business owners use to achieve business sustainability beyond 5 years. The primary research
phenomenon under study is the relationship between accounting knowledge, managerial decision
making, and small business failure. The primary research goals are to explore strategies small
business owners use to record accounting information and subsequently retrieve and analyze the
data for decision-making purposes.
The targeted population will consist of owners of companies with fewer than 20 employees,
inclusive of the owner, located in Juneau, Alaska that have been in business for more than five
years. I interviewed one participant for the small scale research project. This interviewee owns
and operates a small businesses in Juneau, AK that has sustained beyond five years.
Furthermore, this interviewee meets the Walden University Institutional Review Board criteria
for Minimal Risk.
Data analysis and interpretation within a qualitative study is time consuming and iterative
(Creswell, 2013). Along the data analysis spiral, researchers describe, classify, and interpret data
into codes and themes (Creswell, 2013). The researcher begins the process by identifying a short
list of codes (Creswell 2013). The investigator applies those codes to evidence thereby
aggregating the information into categories (Creswell, 2013). The examiner further analyzes the
resulting categories to develop themes (Creswell, 2013).
Prior to coding the interview transcript, I identified four codes: Processing; Decisions;
Knowledge; and Assistance. Table 1 includes the name and description of the codes used to
analyze the interview transcript.
Table 1. Code Names and Descriptions
Code Description
Processing Interviewee conducts accounting related transaction processing
Decision A managerial decision is made that is informed by accounting information
Knowledge Interviewee self-assessment of accounting knowledge, skill and ability
Assistance Small business leader relies on an outside accounting firm for assistance
Analysis Small business leader reviews accounting information
I developed the codes by keeping in mind the overarching research phenomenon and primary
research goals under study. In the next section, I apply the codes to the interview transcript of
the interview conducted on October 1, 2015.
Interview for Participant #1, small business owner in Juneau, AK
Interviewer: Thank you for agreeing to talk to me this afternoon. As we spoke before, I’m
interviewing you for my DBA my doctorate in business administration which I am seeking from
Walden University and my main research topic is the relationship between accounting
knowledge, managerial decision making and small business success. As we talked before I am
taping this interview and if you wish to look over the transcript after I transcribe it you are more
than welcome to do that. And in the report I will submit for my class, I won’t use your name or
the name of the business you will simply be Participant #1, small business owner in Juneau.
OK? So as I get ready to ask the questions to you have any questions for me?
Participant #1: No, I don’t.
Interviewer: Well, great. So the first few questions are just some initial background questions.
So how long have you operated your business?
Participant #1: 15 years
Interviewer: 15 years. So even though I’m taping I’m going to jot down a few notes as we go.
Do you perform your own accounting?
Participant #1: See I’m not that knowledgeable about what exactly what part is accounting.
[Knowledge] I have an accountant [Assistance]. But I use QuickBooks. So I do all accounting
things. I write paychecks, I pay all the bills, I balance the checkbook. But I do that all month
then they check it. I give it to them once a month. I also pay sales tax. All those 730 forms, all
those 130 forms – federal and city [Processing]. Then I give it to them at the end of the month.
They make sure it is balanced and that the checks are in there [Assistance]. I did not start with
QuickBooks so now it is easier, obviously.
Interviewer: Did you do it manually then switch to QuickBooks?
Participant #1: Yes. The previous owner did nothing on a computer.
Interviewer: OK
Participant #1: So, they don’t do as much at the end of the month but they make sure I balance
correctly [Assistance]. And then, they do the State employment taxes [Assistance] and make
sure my 940s are submitted correctly. I submit them [Processing] but then they
make sure everything is correct. Then at the end of the year, they do my taxes [Assistance].
Interviewer: Is this a CPA firm?
Participant #1: Yes
Interviewer: Ok, great.
Participant #1: I do my basic accounting [Processing] and they do my taxes [Assistance].
Interviewer: So it’s a mix of doing your own daily transaction work and then you hire an
accountant to oversee everything and then do some reporting for you.
Participant #1: Right. I can’t stand finding that little mistake and it takes so much of my time it
is not worth it [Assistance]. But it is worth my time to write paychecks and do all that
[Processing]. The previous owner, didn’t even write paychecks and that is a piece of cake now
day.
Interviewer: With QuickBooks?
Participant #1: Yes, that was a long answer.
Interviewer: No that is great. And we have kind of hit several of the next questions. You
perform your own accounting [Processing] and yes you do hire an outside firm to help out with
that [Assistance] and you use QuickBooks as your general ledge accounting system.
Participant #1: Correct
Interviewer: Have you taken any accounting courses?
Participant #1: No, that is what I have wanted to do [Knowledge]. You said five years is kind of
the cut off of who you would interview and at about five years I realized that Wow, I don’t really
understand the basics or the terminology [Knowledge].
Interviewer: Debit, credits?
Participant #1: Yeah – all that stuff. Like at the University but adding more night classes to a
business that has night working hasn’t worked out, especially with kids [Knowledge].
To review the remainder of the coded interview transcript, please download the attached word
document.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Include the one paragraph comments hear using ana pear review article to support your
comments. Also include in text citations in APA.
The article is well organized and precise. Using qualitative research is recommended for
researchers and I therefore, support the decision of the researcher to use this research design
(Creswell, 2013). I do agree with the researcher and support the use of interviews as a technique
of data collection. Despite the various alternatives of collecting data such as use of
questionnaires and observation, interviews have benefits as well (Sandy, Beigi, Cohel & Nash,
2014). Using interviews allows the researchers to read into the emotions of the interviewees. The
researcher can therefore make adjustments when asking questions to ensure that detailed data is
collected. I also agree that when using interviews, it was a good gesture for the researcher to
request or seek informed consent from the interviewee on whether to record the interview or not.
Embracing ethics in the study is a positive gesture that helps to increase the level of confidence
among the users of the information. The themes adopted by the researcher to code the interviews
suits the topic of study. I therefore, find this article constructive and reliable.
References
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches
(3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sandy, E. A., Beigi, R. H., Cohel, C., & Nash, K. C. (2014). An interview tool to predict
disruptive physician behavior. Physician Leadership Journal, 1(2), 36-39.
