BA (Hons) Business Management
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/7228
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Item A Critical Investigation into the Most Effective Ways to Market a Modern Day Music Event: A Young Consumer’s Perspective(2019)The global music events industry has grown massively over the last twenty years and shows no sign of stopping. The title of this research is ‘A Critical Investigation into the Most Effective Ways to Market a Modern Day Music Event: A Young Consumer’s Perspective’. This research aims to highlight the challenges when marketing modern day music events as each is so diverse and requires a unique set of marketing communication tools, as well as looking at the idea of ‘traditional’ and ‘non-traditional’ methods and discovering the level of influence consumers have when it comes to marketing. To begin, a literature review was carried out, investigating the existing research in the key areas this study; mainly the background of the events/music events industry, market awareness, consumer behaviour and power and the theory of ‘traditional’ versus ‘non-traditional’ marketing. Next, it was decided that qualitative research would be used to research this particular topic because this study is based on the consumer’s perspective when it comes to marketing so it was important to hear their real life experiences and opinions. The researcher conducted six semi-structured interviews, with people aged from 18-35 who had attended a wide range of different music events. The researcher then analysed the data collected from the interviews (some surprising and some expected) through the use of digital audio recordings and underlined the key themes in relation to the main aims and objectives of the project. The key findings made up four main themes: importance of knowing your market, consumer preference, the power of consumers and traditional vs. non-traditional/digital marketing. In order to answer the objectives of the research project and establish suitable conclusions and recommendations, each theme was analysed closely.Item Do the differences in gender effect the perception of internet security? An exploration on the potential impacts for females using e-commerce(2019)The projects aim is to understand how gender may impact decision making within e-commerce. Current literature suggests that females are deterred from shopping online due to various security issues, such as; fraud (credit or debit card), virus attacks, abuse of sensitive information and trust. Investigating further the motivators and barriers women face whilst also challenging their preference for conventional shopping. Research into the literature revealed only quantitative studies that produce mixed and sometimes contrasting results. Adapting this research so it can be addressed from a qualitative perspective may provide a way of challenging the assumptions and conclusions held within the literature review. Semi-structured interviews were used on a strictly female sample, identified using non-probability, purposive sampling techniques. These exploratory results tentatively revealed that the interviewees contradicted key elements of the literature, credit cards were used to ensure safety and do not appear to deter these women. Future research is required to identify further motivators and barriers, this research did highlight issues around inconsistent clothing sizes whilst challenging quantitative motivational assumptions. The results seem to indicate that the interviewees do not prefer conventional shopping, as the literature suggest, they can equally enjoy both, calling for future research on a larger scale to explore these motivations further. This research is limited by time constraints, conducting and transcribing interviews, thematic analysis and the writing of the results may have benefitted from more time. An increase in time would also allow for a larger sample, providing access to larger amounts of useful data.Item An Investigation into Resistance to Change in an Agile Financial Institution(2019)Aim: With the growth of agile management sweeping the financial sector, organisations are undergoing transformational change to become more resilient and undergo agile management. However, notably organisations that implement change often encounter employee resistance. The aim of the research is to critically analyse resistance to change and how this is managed by management in a financial organisation applying an agile strategy. Methodological Design: The study conforms to a qualitative research method in order to gain a deeper understanding of employee perspectives when transitioning through change. The study focuses on a financial institution that is implementing agile management by creating a new streamlined multi-skilled workforce. The original workforce is moving from Edinburgh to Manchester by summer 2019. 8 participants completed the survey, 6 employees and 2 managers, all of which are based in Edinburgh and due to find new roles in different business areas. Findings: The findings from the data analysis provide mixed perceptions of resistance to change indicators. Generational differences transpire through the data, suggesting baby boomers are less likely to resist change. Following this, the main cause of resistance identified was; lack of support, dishonesty in management and little opportunity for feedback or discussion. Management appear to demonstrate some form of leadership ability however, do not capture employees’ values or needs. Therefore, management could invest more time and resources into identifying employee’s motivations to resist the new changes.Item An investigation into whether or not technology could replace the need for sales assistants within retail(2019)This paper presents an explorative study into whether or not technology can replace the need for sales assistants within retail. The research considers the current contribution of retail assistants and whether, given the development trend of the industry, these assistants will be needed in the longer term. The literature discusses different aspects of retail and technology. It explores customer service, internet shopping and artificial intelligence in retail in the present and the future. A qualitative research method was used to conduct the research since the project aimed to gather the opinions of others in depth, and convenience sampling was used to contact potential participants for the research project. Data was then gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews. Five participants were interviewed, all of whom had at least three years experience working in retail. Analysis of the data shows how vital sales assistants are in retail. Other themes that emerged were the different types of AI found in retail, the profile and contribution of sales assistants, and the current status and future potential of technology. Suggestions for additional research are made in the conclusion; the literature on some aspects considered by this paper is limited and future research should address these gaps.Item Publishing in the Digital Era(2019)This study addresses the impact of digitalisation on the publishing industry and examines the challenges which publishing companies face with the introduction of digital practices. A literature review on the transformational process from traditional to digital publishing highlights various shifts and disruptions to the traditional model. This research aims to prove and evaluate these shifts by comparing and contrasting them with the information collected through interviews with publishing experts. In light of the fact that the dynamics of the current reality of global publishing have mainly been addressed from a quantitative point of view, a qualitative approach is opted for. The advantages of conducting a qualitative study allowed for semi-structured interviews to be conducted with managers of seven publishing companies in the UK, France and Italy. The results, although small in number, draw their conclusions from the discursive and exploratory nature of the interviews. The findings indicate that the digital revolution has altered the traditional publishing model. However, the study also indicates two important features of digitalisation: the lack of an adequate model for companies to follow and, the notion that organisations as well as consumers require time to adapt to innovations. Lastly, based on its findings, the research makes recommendations in regard to the external applicability of the results as well as addressing the implications for further studies on the topic of digital publishing.Item Are you being influenced? An investigation into Instagram amongst students at Queen Margaret University from three different cultures (Northern Irish, English and Scottish) to find out what motivates students to use this social media network and follow who they follow.(2019)The aim of this dissertation was to effectively investigate and understand the reasons behind the way in which students form a cross-cultural UK study (Northern Irish, English and Scottish) use Instagram in particular, to follow who they follow and establish similarities or differences. In contrast to existing literature, although there is plenty of sources available which look at the reasons behind Instagram use, there is nothing available which explicitly focuses on this phenomenon in relation to UK students. Therefore, there is a need for further developments into this area. The aim of this research was supported and helped achieved through the use of the following objectives: 1. To evaluate the popularity of Instagram as a means for Northern Irish, English and Scottish students to use in comparison to Facebook. 2. To investigate what factors are related to Northern Irish, English and Scottish students which makes them use Instagram and follow the likes of influencers, to see if there is a correlation of results. 3. To understand if personal image of Instagram influencers and their level of engagement plays a part in which entices Northern Irish, English and Scottish students to interact with them. This study adopted a qualitative methodological approach to data collection in order to obtain rich and detailed information into the research area. The data was collected using focus groups, were a total of three sessions were conducted with each individual sitting consisting of only Northern Irish, English and finally Scottish students from Queen Margaret University. These students were selected via a mixture of non-probability sampling and convenience sampling, as the researcher needed participants who fitted the criteria of the study and were also easily accessible. An inductive approach was undertaken by the researcher, with thematic analysis used to analyse the data gathered in order to identify key themes across the findings. The researcher found that the students who participated in this study use Instagram excessively and spend large amounts of time on the social media site each day. The findings also indicate Northern Irish, English and Scottish students use Instagram for a variety of different reasons such as a means for social interaction and surveillance of others. In addition, it was found students are selective in who they follow in which their own personal interests can determine who they interact with on the social media site. Overall these findings have highlighted nothing out of the ordinary which previous literature has not already touched upon, however this research study has strengthened the existing literature available and has provided further recommendations to which similar studies in the future could potentially do differently. It is important to note this research had a narrow focus due to the short time frame in which the work needed to be completed by for this honours dissertation module.Item Mind the Gap: A Qualitative Study into the Recent Graduate Perceptions of Discrimination Equality in the Workplace.(2019)Graduate level discrimination develops in many forms through overt and covert channels, although motivation for committing discriminatory acts remain constant with traditional underlined mindsets driving derogatory behaviour. This study is concerned with investigating how graduate employees with degree orientated roles view discrimination from the entirety of their perspective, with specific reference to the sex, race and age inequality. The study begins broadly through gathering information with regards to mainstream discrimination practices with a focus on pre-employment, then seeks to progress and evaluate the understudied area of employment discrimination with specific reference to how graduates believe their employment decision warrants acts of inequality. The lack of previous inquiries into the topic provided the greatest challenge and motivation in tandem. Semi structured qualitative interviews where designed and employed to gather detailed accounts of first hand impressions of pre and in-house discrimination and thereafter condensed down to focus solely on the mainstream issues such as gender and age, all be it engaging the key motivations from a subtle perspective as evolution of discrimination is prominent. Key data and information were collected from recent graduates catagorised by graduation from 2016 to 2018 to ensure that a modern perspective was accounted for when noting two key significances: initial impressions of discrimination and experiences encountered within applicable workplace. Following interviews, thematic analysis was enrolled to ensure data presented was logicalised, thus authenticating the preceding order of findings. Findings produced contrasting results, the attempts to obtain degree orientated level employment produced negative correlation with regards to the perception of discrimination encountered in conjunction with pre employment attempts. With regards to in house discrimination mainstream motivations for subtle practice persisted with no direct overt behaviour encountered. Assessing the graduate perspective, indicated subsection to discrimination based on traditional motives, although the ambiguous of intent promotes little reaction, thus revealing the understudied phenome.Item The Influence of Performance Management on Employee Relations; an Explanatory Case Study on a Call Centre in the Financial Industry(2019)Aim: The research aims to examine the influence of performance management on employee relations in call centres. To accomplish the aim the following objectives must be considered, to understand how performance management has been implemented from the perspective of employees, employers and trade unions. To explore the influence that performance management has on organisational culture; as well as identifying the benefits of performance management from an employee and employer perspective. Finally, evaluating the impact of employee relations in the workplace. Overview of methodology design: The methodological stance employed during the study was an exploratory, qualitative case study. To explore what extend the U.K largest banks adaption of performance management influenced their employee relations. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to gain a perspective from three key stakeholders; Employers, Employees, and Trade Union Representive. A purposively sampled group of six, all employed by an organisation which directly measures behaviour through performance management. Findings: Thematic analysis was conducted to present the researcher with five recurring themes; Organisational behaviour, Performance Management Appraisal, Pay Rewards, Training and development and Employee Relations. The evidence imposes that the scope and method of performance management are becoming outdated. Formalising employees who have grown with the organisation and identified to have served long service, to resent their need to participate. Placing emphasis on the difficulty management face, when employee extrinsic attitudes merge into the organisations culture.Item Socially Conscious: Exploring the Rationale for Businesses use of Social Media(2019)The global phenomenon of social media has altered the way people connect and engage with one another and has increased rapidly over recent years. The purpose of this dissertation aims to critically explore and develop an understanding of the participating businesses rationale for engaging with social media. In the literature there is multiple suggestions on how the use of social media can impact businesses significantly. Qualitative data collection has been chosen for this study. Due to it being an exploratory study, five semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to delve deeper into the issue. Due to the selected respondents all being in close geographical location face-to-face interviews was deemed most suitable to determine the thoughts and feelings towards the research topic. This also allowed the researcher to use both inductive and interpretivist methods. The criteria for inclusion was to understand social media platforms along with being the owner, manager or director of a business. To analyse the data, it was reviewed and compared against the themes established in the literature against the findings established. This permit the researcher to interpret and gain a greater understanding of the phenomenon based on the subject’s views and opinions. Through the research process it was identified that there were various motives for participants engaging with social media. The research findings are as follows: - Social media and organisations - Lack of prior research - Customer engagement and brand awareness - Marketing and advertisement tool - (Lack of) measurement techniques - Pressure to participate - Time costs of social media use This demonstrated the need for organisations to recognise and understand their target market, determine the costing of advertising through social media applications and identify the time required of staff to generate and post content. and understand their target market. As this is an exploratory study, the results provide a foundation for future research and demonstrate further research requirements.Item Management Styles and Motivation: A Study of The Influence on Job Satisfaction(2019)The aim of this research project is to critically assess the relationship between management styles in the business sector and the impact they have on employees’ motivation and job satisfaction within Edinburgh based businesses. The researcher will gather both primary and secondary data to generally assess the link between management styles and their influence on employees in the work place. There are four objectives set by the researcher in order to reach the aim of the study. 1) To provide an overview of management styles in the business sector in Edinburgh, and how these styles relate to motivation and job satisfaction in the work place. 2) To critically analyse employee motivation, and the extent to which line managers play a part. 3) To evaluate the impact of line managers’ management styles in relation to how it can influence employee’s motivation and 4) Provide recommendations about which management styles work best in getting the most out of employees’ efficiency. The researcher has opted for a mixed methods approach to collecting primary data. An online survey was used in the first instance and sent out to participants who are employed within Edinburgh. This was followed by a series of face to face interviews conducted with individuals of different positions within different industries. The results confirm that line managers do play a significant part in the levels of motivation and job satisfaction however, it is difficult to generalise the results due to the sample population lacking variety in profession. Going forward, future research should consider approaching a wider range of participants over a more varied platform to be able to reach a wider audience.