Integrated BBA-MBA Programme

Term – VIII

Individual Assignment

Research Methodology

Submitted To:
Prof. Sunita Guru

Date of Submission: 29th November 2021

Submitted by:
Bhavya Choudhary 197310
 Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................................................................3

Company background....................................................................................................................................4

Part 1.............................................................................................................................................................5

Aims..........................................................................................................................................................5

Objectives..................................................................................................................................................5

Research questions....................................................................................................................................5

Part 2.............................................................................................................................................................6

Reason for choosing the research project...................................................................................................6

Part 3.............................................................................................................................................................7

Literature review........................................................................................................................................7

Part 4...........................................................................................................................................................12

Timeline...................................................................................................................................................12

Ethical consideration...............................................................................................................................13

Part 5...........................................................................................................................................................14

Methodology............................................................................................................................................14

References...................................................................................................................................................17
Introduction
Various developments have occurred in the quickly expanding planet. People's behaviour and lifestyles
have changed as time has passed. The advancement and development of technology has aided in this
transition. Many reasons have played a crucial role in compelling firms to modify the way they used to do
business. Changes in the context of how they portray their business, how they treat their workers, how
they service the client, and how they handle operations may be comprehended.

Everything happens for a reason, and the primary goal of these changes is to provide organisations with a
competitive edge in the market in which they operate. The focus of this study proposal is "workplace
transformation," and the topic chosen to examine is "the role of the worldwide pandemic in encouraging
workplace transformation." The onset of the worldwide pandemic altered many aspects of people's
behaviour and lifestyles. Many businesses were obliged to make modifications as a result of these
developments.

Umbro, a British sportswear manufacturer, has been covered in the study proposal. The proposal will
explicitly outline the research's goals and objectives, as well as the rationale for choosing the issue. The
research questions have also been stated, as has an overview of the literature that has been evaluated. The
data gathered during secondary research has been reflected in this section.

Furthermore, the research proposal has outlined the technique employed in the study to highlight the data
gathering and analysis procedure. To carry out the research, the researcher employed positivism as a
research philosophy. Furthermore, an abductive research technique has been used. The sampling approach
employed in this study is simple random sampling, and the sample frame size is 20 Umbro workers.
Company background

Umbro is the firm that has been considered in the study project. It is a global corporation established in the
United Kingdom that makes sportswear. In the 1920s, the organisation was created in Wilmslow, England
(Araujo et al., 2018). The company's headquarters are presently in Manchester, England. The company's
product lines include jerseys, kits, and footwear for other sports, as well as a particular maker of football-
related things. The firm presently employs over 300 people and sells its high-quality items in over 89
countries. Nike purchased the company, which operates under several names, in 2007.
Part 1

Aims
The way people used to live altered as a result of the worldwide epidemic. As a result, businesses have to
alter their operations to match the demands of the current environment. The primary goal of designing
this study project is to identify the impact of the worldwide pandemic on workplace change.

Objectives
 Umbro's transformational character should be evaluated.
 To identify the variables that have had a key impact in enabling workplace change.
 To examine the problems that Umbro had when implementing the transition in their workplace.

 Umbro's tactics for overcoming problems will be evaluated.

Research questions
 What are the characteristics of the transformation introduced in Umbro?

 What elements have been critical in accelerating change at Umbro's workplace?

 What role does the global pandemic play in hastening workplace transformation?

 What problems did the organisation confront when implementing the changes?

 What measures did Umbro employ to address the issues that arose throughout the transformation?
Part 2

Reason for choosing the research project

The research has assessed many aspects of the "workplace transformation" and will evaluate significant
outcomes that will assist the researcher in mitigating the firm's issues. The research has given the
researcher the opportunity to confront many scenarios and get firsthand knowledge of the study's reality.
The actual work of the research has strengthened the researcher's numerous talents and expertise, such as
communication skills, collaboration potential, and topic knowledge. The research also had a personal
interest in the subject matter, which aided in the process. The utilization of numerous methodologies and
practices will enable the researcher to successfully finish the research and fulfil the study's goals and
objectives.
Part 3

Literature review
Workplace transformation

According to Lazarevi and Krizmani (2018), workplace transformation refers to the act of altering the
procedures utilised by an organisation to conduct their firm. It entailed making changes to the way
businesses offered their products and services, changing workers' working habits, modifying the
infrastructures of the company's facilities, and many other things.

According to Harteis et al (2020), a firm's workplace transformation may be defined as introducing

changes in many aspects of the business to increase the company's flexibility in order to react to the
environment of the market in which they operate. improvements in worker management and
manufacturing methods. The nature of transformation that has been discussed in the research project is
the digital transformation of the workplace. This can be understood as adopting innovative technologies
and digital facilities to enhance the performance and productivity of the firm. The latest technologies have
various features that the firms can use to enhance their production efficiency and to complete the tasks in
an improved and faster way.

Organizations have to gather various data to enhance their competitiveness and to better understand the
needs and preferences of the customers they are serving. This data needs to be stored for further use of the
data and to analyse the performance of the firm. Latest technologies allow the frim to manage the
collected data in an improved manner. The innovative technologies can also be used to transform raw
data into something valuable that various departments can use to meet their business objectives. These
technologies have allowed firms to allocate various resources of the firm under one observation allowing
them to manage their resources appropriately and effectively. The digital transformation has also provided
various tools to the workforce of the firm which can be used to bring efficiency in their performance and
productivity
Drivers accelerating workplace transformation

According to Anderson (2018), the introduction of uncertainty in the shape of a worldwide pandemic has
played the most significant impact in supporting the expansion of digital transformation of workplaces.
The worldwide epidemic radically altered the view of the globe by preventing everyone on the earth from
freely associating with one another.

Because of the potential of infection during the pandemic, some governments implemented lockdowns to
limit people's mobility. Due to the fear of a lethal coronavirus, every firm had to halt operations.
Employees of the companies ceased working for the corporation as a result of lockdowns and the danger
of infection. Enterprises needed to devise a strategy to meet the challenge posed by the worldwide
epidemic. As a result, many businesses began to use digital platforms to sell their products and services to
clients. Because of the convenience provided by internet companies, clients were able to use the services
provided by numerous businesses from the comfort of their own homes (Drago, 2019). Customers were
offered home delivery services, which not only provided them with additional comfort but also lowered
their risk of infection during the epidemic.

As a result, many customers began to purchase online during the worldwide pandemic, promoting the
expansion of businesses that operate on digital platforms. Many businesses were obliged to migrate to
digital platforms in order to survive the worldwide pandemic catastrophe. The firm's digital
transformation enabled it to communicate with many stakeholders, including customers. It enabled the
company to provide better customer support amid the worldwide epidemic. Working grew simpler with
the advent of cutting-edge technology, and government organisations from numerous nations also enabled
internet businesses to operate throughout the worldwide pandemic. Many businesses, including as
Amazon, aided the firm's growth and development throughout the worldwide epidemic by selling items to
clients via online platforms. During the worldwide epidemic, the firm also provided work possibilities to
many people.
According to Sadeghian et al (2018), forces like as technological innovation, changing customer
behaviour, and increased market rivalry have all played an important part in speeding the expansion of
digital transformation. The growth of technology has provided several benefits to the company. Firms
may operate in a more efficient manner with less human labour and effort by utilising innovative
technologies and tools. Furthermore, organisations' production efficiency may be improved by utilising
cutting-edge technology. The automation of the process has increased the firm's flexibility, allowing it to
better satisfy the demands of its clients. The customer's behaviour has shifted. They increasingly choose
the convenience provided by internet businesses. This has also compelled the company to implement
digital improvements in their workplace.

The employment of cutting-edge technology has increased the competitiveness of numerous sectors. As a
result, many businesses are being pushed to implement digital transformation in order to survive in the
competitive landscape of the market and sector in which they operate.
Challenges faced by firms in bringing changes

According to Kim and Hamilton-Hart (2021), the main challenge for the company in implementing
digital transformation is the employees' lack of familiarity and capacity to handle complicated
technology. The technologies include a variety of features that may be employed to improve the firm's
operations. However, these capabilities are quite difficult to utilise. Only people who have a strong
understanding of technology and are familiar with it can use sophisticated technologies effectively. This
issue has compelled the company to hire a qualified team capable of utilising these technologies
effectively. Furthermore, many personnel in the companies have been with the organisation for a very
long period. These elderly people lack understanding on how to use the most recent technologies and are
uneasy with the changes. Many businesses have had to fire a large number of employees who were
obliged to operate unethically. This affected the brand image of numerous companies, resulting in lower
sales and profits.
According to Maziriri and Saurombe (2018), workplace transformation appears to be a simple notion,
however implementing digital transformation takes significant expenditure. Organizations must make large
investments to get the latest, most costly technology in order to adopt them. Firms must guarantee
appropriate access to capital in order to make major expenditures in order to acquire sufficient resources to
improve their performance and productivity. Furthermore, the most recent technologies necessitated a set
of abilities that employees had to master in order to use the technologies effectively. This compelled them
to hire potential personnel for the company. They had to execute promotional initiatives to raise knowledge
about the empty job in the firm, which necessitated further financial commitments. Furthermore, the
procedure was time-consuming, and the business had to incur losses at the first stage of the process.

Strategies used to eliminate the issues

According to Enochsson et al (2020), enterprises experienced several problems throughout the change, but
by employing proper methods, they were able to overcome the challenges given by the circumstance. To
address the issue of staff turnover and worker dissatisfaction, the organisation ensured that a positive
connection between management and employees was established. A strong social tie aided the firm's
Human Resource executives in persuading employees and boosting their confidence. The firm's HR
officials began to inspire its staff, which assisted them in overcoming the problem. The firm's HR
department began to provide staff the essential development and training programmes to help them
overcome the difficulty. These development programmes are implemented in the organisation to identify
issues that workers have and to improve their skills and knowledge.
According to Shojaie et al. (2017), the business's economic difficulty was solved by building a culture in
the organisation that fostered sustainable behaviours. These strategies included lowering the firm's
environmental effect, maintaining a positive market image, and creating positive relationships with the
company's key stakeholders. These aided the firm in attracting a diverse range of investors eager to
participate in the company's shares.

This provided the business with ample access to cash, which they utilised to bring technological
breakthroughs to improve the firm's productivity and profitability. Furthermore, the firm's management
ensured that a positive connection was established with the company's important investors (van der Meulen
et al., 2018). This aided the corporation in persuading them to continue investing in the organization's
shares. Being loyal to investors and keeping the decision-making process clear aided the firm in
strengthening its connection with key stakeholders. These measures aided them in mitigating the
difficulties they encountered during the change.
Part 4

Timeline

Particulars Start Date End Date Duration (days)

Start of the research 1-Nov 3-Nov 2

Findings aims and objectives 4-Nov 8-Nov 4

Literature Review 9-Nov 18-Nov 9

Methodology 19-Nov 25-Nov 6

Ethical Considerations 26-Nov 28-Nov 2

Table 1: Work breakdown structure

(Source: Created by the learner)

Figure 1: Gantt chart

(Source: Created by the learner)
Ethical consideration
The researcher has examined various ethics, which are described below, in order to mitigate potential
ethical difficulties that may occur throughout the research.

 No harm will be done to the sample frame participants throughout the procedure.
 The information was gathered with the full agreement of the respondents.
 The information acquired will be safeguarded by the United Kingdom's "Data Protection Act"

 No societal or cultural beliefs will be violated as a result of the research.

Part 5

Methodology
Methodology refers to the process of gathering data using various instruments and procedures in order to
analyse the results and meet the research's goals and objectives. This component of the research proposal is
quite important since it tells the readers about the path taken when obtaining information (Liu et al., 2018).
The efficacy of the approach determines the research's success.

Research philosophy

This component of the research proposal provides a philosophical framework for the study. In this part,
the process of developing the origin and substance of the information is carried out (Coker, 2018). The
research philosophy covers a wide variety of estimations made by the researcher on the methodologies
utilised in the data collection procedure. The bulk of research employs four sorts of research philosophies
(Verma et al., 2018). These are pragmatism, positivism, realism, and interpretivism in philosophical
study. The researcher's comfort level and the nature of the issue influence the choice of research
philosophy. The pragmatic research philosophy employs a variety of approaches for acquiring
information, including both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (Simpson, 2017). The positivist
research theory has a complex framework for doing research, but it also allows the researcher to collect
data from a large sample size. The realism research philosophy is chosen if the nature of the issue
corresponds to this philosophy's beliefs. Small samples are analysed using interpretivism. The researcher
employed positivism as a research philosophy for this study.

Research approach

This component of the research proposal reflects the procedures that the researcher would use while doing
the research. In the studies, three sorts of research methodologies are applied. They are referred to as
"deductive, inductive, and abductive research methodologies" (Frisk and Bannister, 2017). The researcher
will use the deductive research strategy if it is necessary to answer the hypothesis established throughout
the investigation (Pastar et al., 2018). This research technique is used to choose and reject alternative
hypotheses during the hypothesis analysis. When the researcher has to generate a hypothesis for the study,
the inductive research technique is utilised. The study's pattern is examined in order to build theories and
models to address the company's problems. If the investigation must examine numerous factual facts and
unexpected components of the issue, the abductive research technique is applied.
Data collection methods and tools

The data collecting method refers to the process of gathering important information in order to formulate
the study findings. There are two kinds of data gathering tools available: primary data collection tools and
secondary data collection tools. The research becomes involved in the process of data collecting in the
primary way of acquiring information (Chiavacci and Pindilli, 2020). This approach necessitates the
researcher's physical engagement, and it allows the researcher to collect real-time data about the issue.
The researcher must utilise several data collection techniques to retrieve information from the study
participants while collecting data utilising the primary data collection approach. Surveys, interviews,
focus groups, questionnaires, and other methods are used to obtain primary data.

The employment of various instruments yields various forms of information. Data is divided into two
categories: qualitative data and quantitative data (Otobo et al., 2019). The researcher acquires qualitative
data via the use of instruments such as focus groups and interviews. These statistics provide useful
information to the researcher and may be relied on to provide successful findings. The researcher can
collect quantitative data by using instruments such as surveys and questionnaires. Mathematical formulas,
graphs, and charts can all be used to depict quantitative data.

The mean, median, and frequency of the obtained data can also be calculated by the researcher. The
researcher used interviews and questionnaires to collect both qualitative and quantitative data for this
study. Interviews and questionnaires were utilised by the researcher to obtain data. Interviews are defined
as the collecting of information via the use of a speech medium. It is necessary to engage with
respondents in order to gather data by asking numerous questions related to the topic and the aims of the
study (Bukunova and Bukunov, 2019). Questionnaires are a collection of pertinent questions to the
study's topic that help in the collection of a large amount of data from a large sample. The use of
questionnaires has enabled the "researcher" to collect data from a large sample of people in a short period
of time. This technology also reduces the budgetary requirement for information collecting. The
interviews enabled the researcher to collect high-quality data.

The secondary technique of data collecting involves pulling information from many sources such as
papers, journals, books, websites, and so on. This enables the researcher to examine numerous aspects of
the research issue.
Sampling

The practise of selecting individuals from a particular demographic to facilitate data gathering is known
as sampling (Jothi, 2021). The target population may be defined as the targeted set of people who have
the greatest potential to provide valuable information to the research. This study's target group is Umbro
workers in the United Kingdom (Harisman and Sovia, 2021). The researcher can utilise a variety of
sampling procedures to choose samples from the target population. There are two sorts of sampling
procedures that are often used: probability sampling and non-probability sampling. The major distinction
between the two sampling procedures is that probability sampling gives each individual in the target
population an equal chance of being chosen as a sample (Triay-Portella et al., 2018).

While using a non-probability sampling approach, each member of the target population does not have an
equal chance of being selected from the sample. The non-probability sampling approach chooses samples
based on the researcher's availability and viewpoint. The features of the persons chosen as samples for the
study will be reflected in the research sample frame. The study sample frame includes applicants who
have been with the firm for more than three years and are between the ages of 25 and 50. The sample
frame will include a total of twenty individuals. This is the sample size used for the investigation.

To pick the individuals who would serve as a main source of primary data for the research, the researcher
employed simple random selection under probability sampling. The researcher was able to analyse
numerous aspects of the study and gather a wide variety of data thanks to the usage of this sampling
approach.
References
Anderson, G.J., 2018. Transforming Workplace Relations: The Way Forward. Victoria University of
Wellington Legal Research Paper, (90).

Araujo, D., Caldwell, H. and DeFanti, M., 2018. Nike's Utilization of Brand Strategy to Increase Global
Competitiveness. In Competition Forum (Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 109-115). American Society for
Competitiveness.

Broto, V.C., Stevens, L., Ackom, E., Tomei, J., Parikh, P., Bisaga, I., To, L.S., Kirshner, J. and Mulugetta,
Y., 2017. A research agenda for a people-centred approach to energy access in the urbanizing global
south. Nature Energy, 2(10), pp.776-779.

Bukunova, O.V. and Bukunov, A.S., 2019, March. Tools of data transmission at building information
modeling. In 2019 International Science and Technology Conference" EastConf" (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Chiavacci, S.J. and Pindilli, E.J., 2020. Trends in biodiversity and habitat quantification tools used for
market‐based conservation in the United States. Conservation Biology, 34(1), pp.125-136.

Coker, H., 2018. Purpose, pedagogy and philosophy:“Being” an online lecturer. International review of
research in open and distributed learning, 19(5).

Drago, R., 2019. New systems of work and new workers. In Contingent Work (pp. 144-169). Cornell
University Press.

Enochsson, A.B., Kilbrink, N., Andersén, A. and Ådefors, A., 2020. Connecting school and workplace
with digital technology: Teachers’ experiences of gaps that can be bridged. Nordic Journal of Vocational
Education and Training, 10(1), pp.43-64.

Frisk, J.E. and Bannister, F., 2017. Improving the use of analytics and big data by changing the decision-
making culture: A design approach. Management Decision.

Harisman, Y. and Sovia, A., 2021. The Effect of Problem Based Module for Sampling Technique Courses
Toward College Student Problem Solving Behaviour; Case Study in Indonesia. In Journal of Physics:
Conference Series (Vol. 1742, No. 1, p. 012013). IOP Publishing.

Harteis, C., Goller, M. and Caruso, C., 2020, January. Conceptual change in the face of digitalization:
challenges for workplaces and workplace learning. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 5, p. 1). Frontiers.
Jothi, K., 2021, May. A Cognitive Study on Paddy Cultivation using Random Sampling Technique.
In 2021 5th International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control Systems (ICICCS) (pp. 84-
89). IEEE.

Kim, H. and Hamilton-Hart, N., 2021. Negotiating and Contesting Confucian Workplace Culture in South
Korea. Asian Studies Review, pp.1-20.

Kobayashi, T., Murayama, S., Hachijo, T. and Gotoda, H., 2019. Early detection of thermoacoustic
combustion instability using a methodology combining complex networks and machine
learning. Physical Review Applied, 11(6), p.064034.

Lazarević, E.V. and Krizmanić, V., 2018. Transformation of a Workplace Design Approach: the Impact of
Network Society and Information Technology. Przestrzeń, Ekonomia, Społeczeństwo, (14/II), pp.241-260.

Liu, J., Ding, W., Gu, Y., Xiao, Z., Dai, J., Dai, P., Chen, X. and Zhao, G., 2018. Methodology for
predicting reservoir breakdown pressure and fracture opening pressure in low-permeability reservoirs
based on an in situ stress simulation. Engineering geology, 246, pp.222-232.

Maziriri, E.T. and Saurombe, M.D., 2018. Antecedents towards employees’ harmonious habitation of the
environment and workplace environment-friendly behaviour: a case of Johannesburg employees within
small and medium enterprises (SMES). Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 13(1).

Otobo, E., Park, C., Rogers, J., Fasihuddin, F., Garg, S., Kakkar, S., Kumar, V., Madisetty, D. and Atreja,
A., 2019. P039 reinventing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) clinical trial recruitment using novel
digital medicine tools. Gastroenterology, 156(3), p.S28.

Pastar, I., Wong, L.L., Egger, A.N. and Tomic‐Canic, M., 2018. Descriptive vs mechanistic scientific
approach to study wound healing and its inhibition: Is there a value of translational research involving
human subjects?. Experimental dermatology, 27(5), pp.551-562.

Robertson, S., 2021. Transparency, trust, and integrated assessment models: An ethical consideration for
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 12(1),
p.e679.

Rubilar Panasiuk, C.T. and Crespi Abril, A.C., 2017. Does Echinoderm research deserve an ethical
consideration?.

Sadeghian, P., Abdollahian, F. and Hamidi, K., WORKPLACE SURVEILLANCE: REVIEW OF

SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL OF WORKPLACE.
Shojaie, S., Barani, G. and Seyyedrezaie, S.H., 2017. Necessity of implementation of workplace
spirituality and its administrative strategies. Journal of Humanities Insights, 1(04), pp.168-171.

Simpson, B., 2017. Pragmatism: A philosophy of practice. The SAGE handbook of qualitative business
and management research methods: History and traditions, pp.54-68.

Triay-Portella, R., Escribano, A., Pajuelo, J.G. and Tuya, F., 2018. Perception of faunal circadian rhythms
depends on sampling technique. Marine environmental research, 134, pp.68-75.

van der Meulen, N., Dery, K. and Sebastian, I.M., 2018. Digital Workplace Design: Transforming for
High Performance. In Work, Working and Work Relationships in a Changing World (pp. 161-182).
Routledge.

Verma, M.K., Yadav, S.K. and Singh, S.N., 2018. Research Publication Pattern of Library Philosophy and
Practice (e-journal): A Bibliometric Analysis during 2008-2017. Library Philosophy and
Practice(ejournal).