Research Methods Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Methods - Assignment Example There are two main research methods used in the business field, which are the qualitative and quantitative research methods; their use depends on different scenarios and the type of data that is required. Qualitative research methods are meant to help the researcher in understanding how people make decisions. This is achieved by evaluating the cultural and social contexts that describe the environment in which such people are situated (Myers, 2013). On the other hand, quantitative research was developed from natural sciences in understanding natural phenomena; the research approach uses numbers to represent values in constructing theoretical concepts. Interpreting such numbers is a strong scientific based method of understanding how a process actually works, and allows greater reliability as data collected offers a better trend of relations between two variables (Myers, 2013). This report uses a qualitative and a quantitative article in management to show how each research methodolog y applies in examining relationships between concepts. The report further determines the suitability of each methodology under differing research contexts. Holts (2011) uses a descriptive quantitative approach in determining the necessary behaviours, skills and practices that a pharmaceutical company would require to establish a reliable and effective leadership development program. The research involves collecting data from sales representatives and district managers. The two groups represent multi-level structures in an organization and offer reliable trends in the behaviour of sales persons in the company. Case studies as in Holts case may be said to be, â€Å"an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context† (Yin 2003, p.13). In other words, the study is aimed at investigating the dynamics that manifest in a single research setting, in this case examining actions taken by sales persons in a pharmaceutical company. The author ai ms at tracing operational links and their impacts on sales representatives. In addition, the research establishes ‘how’ the company may use skills of the experienced sales persons in formulating a training program for new personnel in the future. Holts first offers a background on how companies formulate different approaches to structure leadership development programs, and forms a problem statement based on this introduction. The research problem, which forms the basis of the article, is that companies lack enough knowledge on how to formulate effective leadership training programs. Holts justifies this problem by examining the benefits of forming a program based on the data from sales representatives and district managers, as they possess the required skills in marketing the company’s products. However, Holts in the conceptual framewor