Page 46 - [Uma_Sekaran]_Research_methods_for_business__a_sk(BookZZ.org)

30 SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

and styles, and a score of other verbal and nonverbal cues can be readily picked
up by managers who are sensitive to the various nuances. Irrespective of whether
we are dealing with finance, accounting, management, marketing, or administra-
tive matters, and regardless of the sophistication of the machines and the Internet,
in the ultimate analysis, it is the people who achieve the goals and make things
happen. Whether it is the installation of an effective Management Information Sys-
tem, a new manufacturing technology, distribution channel, strategic plan, cost
accounting system, investment plan, or training scheme, it is mainly through the
efforts of the employees that the goals are attained. The vast majority react and
respond positively or negatively to various factors in the work environment, and
knowingly or unwittingly transmit cues, which the manager can easily pick up.
When there is indeed a problem in the situation, the manager may not understand
what exactly is happening, but can definitely sense that things are not what they
should be.
Likewise, a drop in sales, frequent production interruptions, incorrect account-
ing results, low yielding investments, disinterestedness of employees in their
work, and the like, could easily attract the attention of the manager, though why
they occur may be an enigma.

Preliminary Information Gathering
Preliminary information gathering involves the seeking of information in depth,
of what is observed. This could be done by talking informally to several people
in the work setting or to clients, or to other relevant sources, thereby gathering
information on what is happening and why. Through these unstructured inter-
views, one gets an idea or a “feel” for what is transpiring in the situation. Once
the researcher increases the level of awareness as to what is happening, the per-
son could then focus on the problem and the associated factors through further
structured, formal interviews with the relevant groups. Additionally, by doing
library research, or obtaining information through other sources, the investigator
would identify how such issues have been tackled in other situations. This infor-
mation would give additional insights of possible factors that could be operating
in the particular situation—over and above those that had not surfaced in the
previous interviews.
Thus, a mass of information would have been collected through the interviews
and library search. The next step is to make sense of the factors that have been
identified in the information-gathering stage by piecing them together in some
meaningful fashion.

Theory Formulation
Theory formulation, the next step, is an attempt to integrate all the information
in a logical manner, so that the factors responsible for the problem can be con-
ceptualized and tested. The theoretical framework formulated is often guided by
experience and intuition. In this step the critical variables are examined as to
their contribution or influence in explaining why the problem occurs and how it