BA (Hons) Business Management Fast Track
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/7229
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Item To critically assess what financial challenges are faced by chain restaurants in the UK as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic(2021)The primary aim of this research was to undertake a critical investigation in understanding the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on chain restaurants in the hospitality industry. Specific objectives were aimed at learning more about what the potential outcome will be for restaurants as a result of the pandemic, public perceptions of how the hospitality industry has been affected and individual motivations to engage in the hospitality industry. The research is given some context with a thorough literature review covering the intrinsic factors effecting the economy and chain restaurants. It also gives examples of previous financial crisis’ outcomes in order to equate them to the current period of financial instability and predict potential consequences. A quantitative online survey was conducted with participants answering a number of closed questions relating to the research issue. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify the key themes and variances between answers. The results and discussion related to the research objectives and to relevant literature to explain the findings. There were some significant findings that came from the research. Hospitality was widely agreed to be one of the worst affected sectors as a result of the pandemic. While Chain restaurants are suffering financially, it has been acknowledged that by adapting and using advancements in technology such as smart phone apps or having additional features such as drive-thru or takeaway services; chain restaurants stand a much better chance of surviving. The literature and primary research contradicted each other slightly surrounding consumer behaviour in the pandemic. It is clear from the primary research that respondents were willing to engage to in the hospitality industry as soon as restaurants reopen. No definitive conclusion could be formed when determining the overall outcome for chain restaurants as a result of the Covid-19 as findings are still ongoing.Item An investigation on millennials’ perceptions on current online recruitment practices(2020)Corporations are faced with the challenge of recruiting and retaining younger workers, such as millennials, due to the Baby Boomer generation being retired or reaching retirement. The past decade has seen the rapid development of technology putting human resource management under pressure to become more productive and efficient. Consequently, corporations feel pressured to follow this technology push and understand the generational differences of their workforce. A discussion of the literature has shown that little research has been done on applicants’ preference of different online recruitment channels, the rise of passive applicant attraction and millennials’ work-related values in combination with their attitude towards web based attraction variables. Therefore, this research aims to investigate millennials’ experiences with and perceptions of current online recruitment practices. Qualitative research, investigating millennials’ in-depth opinions, was carried out through six semi-structured interviews. Two interviews were carried out with a sample of HR practitioners, while the other four interviews were with millennial applicants who recently have or are seeking for a job online. The two sample groups were selected through purposive and snowball sampling. The results of this investigation show that millennials prefer commercial websites, due to the variety of opportunities available to them on these platforms. Participants have criticised aspects of online recruitment, such as the attraction of passive applicants. Nonetheless, overall current online recruitment practices, with a focus on applicant attraction, have been positively perceived. The main recommendation of this research for recruiters is to familiarise themselves with millennials’ preferences, values and their behaviour during the recruitment process. This will allow recruiters to efficiently and successfully attract a millennial applicant pool.Item “An exploratory study, investigating how an organisational culture can influence employee engagement.”(2020)The primary aim of this research is to critically explore how an organisational culture can influence employee engagement. The study will examine how a company and its employees can benefit when the organization’s culture is an integral part of the company’s strategy. The research will also look at how change management and leadership can affect employee performance. Existing literature presents the concept of an empowering organisational culture, which promotes inclusiveness, employee voice, and employee engagement in an organisation. The literature also underlines that leaders play the most important role in developing and maintaining an organization’s culture, because they model the desired behaviours and build the personal relationships that make the culture credible on a daily basis. Finally, literature states that companies that do not have an empowered culture can be successful economically, but if they do embed an empowering culture in their organizations, they can be even more successful. The study was conducted using primary research, and qualitative, semi-structured interviews on the topic of organisational culture. The interviews were conducted with three entry-level employees of a retail store to understand their views of the store’s culture and their individual engagement. The most significant findings of the research showed that leadership is paramount to the success of an organisational culture and it has a large influence on employees’ engagement. Secondly, the findings confirmed that personal connections create an environment of inclusion and trust between leaders and employees, which encourages engagement. Finally, the findings show that when leadership is lacking at the management level, entry-level employees can display leadership behaviours that can change the culture from the bottom up.Item An Investigation into Improving Employee Engagement and Retention in the Edinburgh Branch of a Global Furniture Retailer(2020)Engaging and retaining high quality employees is crucial for business success in the current economic climate. This research investigates what could be done to improve employee engagement and retention in an Edinburgh branch of a global retailer, with a key focus on differences in views between employees with varying length of service. Specific objectives were aimed at learning more about what motivates and engages employees in different groups, their reasons for staying with the company and their suggestions for improving engagement and retention across the organisation. The research began with a thorough literature review which focused on Herzberg’s seminal theory, along with more current adaptations on this. It also covered the effect of intrinsic factors, employee engagement literature and employee retention theories. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants in three main Length of Service (LOS) groups; the groups were generated using the existing quantitative results from the organisation’s annual survey. The interview questions were a mix of open and closed questions, linked to the research aim and objectives and focussed around the relevant literature. Thematic analysis was utilised to identify the key themes and the variances between the LOS groups. The results and discussion were linked to the research objectives and to relevant literature to help explain the findings. There were some noteworthy findings from the research. Communication was a key recommendation for improving both employee engagement and retention; this focused on higher level management communicating with employees in their unit and communication received from the organisation on a global approach. Relationships with colleagues were considered to be very influential in encouraging engagement and retention. Respondents emphasised the importance of teambuilding activities. No definitive conclusion could be formed around Herzberg’s theory as some findings substantiated the theory while others contradicted it.