CHAPTER-IV. testing project. The best design depends on the research questions. Every design

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1 CHAPTER-IV RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4.1 Research Design A Research design is concerned with turning a research question into a testing project. The best design depends on the research questions. Every design has its positive and negative sides. The research design has been considered a "blueprint" for research, dealing with at least four problems: what questions to study, what data are relevant, what data to collect, and how to analyze the results. Research design can be divided into fixed and flexible research designs (Robson, 1993). Others have referred to this distinction with 'quantitative research designs' and 'qualitative research designs'. However, fixed designs need not be quantitative, and flexible design need not be qualitative. In fixed designs the design of the study is fixed before the main stage of data collection takes place. Fixed designs are normally theory-driven; otherwise it's impossible to know in advance which variables need to be controlled and measured. Often these variables are quantitative. Flexible designs allow for more freedom during the data collection. One reason for using a flexible research design can be that the variable of interest is not quantitatively measurable, such as culture. In other cases, theory might not be available before one starts the research. Over the years it is found that the basic contributory factors for employee job satisfaction are employee involvement and empowerment. Many a researcher has emphasized the fact that it is job satisfaction which drives people to put in

2 their best possible efforts to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. It is also clearly established by many researchers that a satisfied worker or employee would be a real productive one. In this age of tough global competition, it becomes imperative for organizations to achieve higher levels of productivity to remain in the race and to outsmart the competitors. This study is taken up against this back drop. It is intended to cover some of the companies across various industries in India. 4.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS Within the framework of research conducted in the literature review, several issues are grounded in theoretical and practical analysis. Certain relationships have been identified in earlier analyses in service industries and small manufacturing environments; however, few studies have examined the employee interactions in a large manufacturing. The following are the research questions considered in the present study. I. What are the significant factors influencing the employee involvement? 2. What are the signz$cant factors influencing the employee empowerment? 3. What are the signijicant factors iryluencing the Job satisfaction? 4. What is the relationship between employee involve me^, empowerment andjob satisfaction? 5. What are the individual and demographic characteristics that influence the employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction?

3 4.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The present study was based on the following objectives: *:* To examine the influence of demographic characteristics on employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction. *3 To identi& the relationship between employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction. *:* To suggest a comprehensive model combining the various factors of employee involvement and empowerment on job satisfaction to the Indian corporate sector. 4.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES The present study has framed the following hypotheses based on extensive review of literature in the area of employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Table 4.1 shows various sources for tkaming the hypothesis. HI: There is a significant difference between male and female employees in their perception toward employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction, Hla: fiere is sign~cant relationship between gender and employee involvement. Hlb: There is significant relationship between gender and employee empowerment. Hlc: There is significant relationship between gender and job satisfaction

4 H2: There is significant difference among employees of varied age in their perception towards involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction. H2a: There is signijcant relationship between age and employee involvement. H2b: There is signijicant relationship between age and employee empowerment. H2c: There is signficant relatiomhip between age andjob satisfaction H3: Employees' involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction differ significantly based on their job tenure. H3a: There is relationship between job tenure and employee involvement. H3b: There is significant relationship between job tenure and employee empowerment. H3c: There is signifcant relationship between job tenure and job satisfaction. H4: There is significant relationship between employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction.

5 Table 4.1: Sources of Research Hypotheses Hypothesis Statement Sources Hla There is signficant between male and female employees in their perception toward empowerment. Zee (2003); HI Hlb There is signi$cant d&ence among employees of varied age in their perception towards empowerment AY~PP and Chung (2010); Nodson (1 989); There is significant relationship between gender and job satisfaction HZa There is signifcant relationship between age and employee involvement. Spreitzer (1995), Pate1 ( 1999), H2 H2b There is significant relationship between age and employee empowerment. Zee (2003), Zoe (2004), There is signifcant relationship between age and job sutisfction Abuduaini (2009). H3a There is significant relationship between job tenure and employee involvement. H3 H3b There is significant relationship between job tenure and employee empowerment. Venkatachal am & Reddy (1 996), H3c There is signzjkant relationship between job tenure and job satisfaction H4 There is signvcant relationship between employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction. Venkataehalam et al. (1998); Bordin and Bartram (2007); Dickson and Lorenz (2009); Jain (20 10); Najafi et al. (201 1);

6 4.5 PROPOSED MODEL OF THE STUDY The present study examines the relationship between demographic variables (such as gender, age and tenure) and employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Further, the hypothesis (Hl, H2, H3) were framed accordingly to test the significance of the relationship. Further, the study tests the relationship between employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction which was hypothesized as 'H4'. The proposed model of the study connects demographic variables, employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction as shown in figure 4.1. Employee involvement was measured using the Lawler (1996) scales of knowledge, reward, power and information. Employee empowerment was measured using the Spreitzer (1995) scales of meaning, competence, impact and choice. Job Tenure Figure 4.1: Proposed Model of the Study

7 4.6 SAMPLING DESIGN The study is being conducted in the industrial city of Chennai, I'amilnadu, because it is an Industrial hub of the country. Six good industries are being considered for the study and from each industry one organization was picked as respondent organizations, and middle levels of employee (i.e. E3 or M3) were chosen to get the exact result in the study. The secondary data will be collected from the company records and manuals while the primary data will be collected by administering a structured questionnaire to a group of respondents from the selected organizations. Quota and Convenience sampling methods are being used to pick the respondents. The study aims to cover a group of 800 respondents from the selected organizations and received 520 responses of which usable responses are 477. Table 4.2 Sample distribution among selected companies Name of the Company 1 No. of Employees I Received data 1 Wipro Ford Saint Gobain Nokia Bell Orchid (-N=SOO)

8 4.7 DATA COLLECTION METHOD The researcher reviewed some research articles related to research objectives that was given in different journals considered. Published journals and proceedings of national and international conferences were systematically taken for articles or studies related to the present topic of study and collected for review. A few of the significant secondary sources are listed in the following table. And the relevant literatures were also collected from Bangalore Indian Institute of Management. Table 4.3 Seconda y Data Sources Serbian journal of management Human Resource Management journal International Jownal of Operations &Production management The Academy of Management Journal Afkican Journal of Business Management Emerald Management Research News Most Reviewed JOURNALS International journal of Multidisciplinary sciences & Engg International conference on e-education, e-business, e- management & e-learning Institute of Behavioral & applied Management South Asian journal of Management Administration & Society International review of business research papers Leadership & Organization development journal Journal of Orgn. Behavior

9 4.8 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN Questionnaire is one of the most commonly used research tools in management research and is highly useful when data is collected fiom a representative sample of a larger population. This study needs development of a questionnaire to know the employee involvement, empowerment and job satisfaction in Indian corporate sector. In the questionnaire, five point Likert scales were used with anchors 1 - Strongly disagree, 2 - disagree, 3 - neutral, 4 - wee and 5 - strongly agree. The measurements of employee involvement and employee empowerment were taken from various 3revious studies tabulated in table 4.4. Section-A: Demographic Characteristics was designed to collect the demographic and social characteristics of the respondents (gender, age, work experience and marital status). Section -B: Individual Characteristics includes Organization, Job tenure, Designation, Commuting time, and their Office timings. Section - C: Employee Involvement: Knowledge: 3 items, Reward: 5 items, Power: 4 items, Information: 6 items Employee Empowerment: Meaning: 3 items, Competence: 3 Items, Impact: 3 items, Choice: 3 items Job Satisfaction: Overall satisfaction includes 3 items.

10 Table 4.4: Variables for the Study Employee Involvement Employee Empowerment Sources of Measurement Scales Used in the Questionnaire Sources Lawler (1996), Rose (2005). Spreitzer (1 993, Lee and Koh (200 1 ), Lynn and Susan (2003), Carless (2004), Heather et al. (2004), Moye and Henkin (2006). Scales Knowledge, Reward, Power, and Information Meaning, Competence, Choice, and Impact 4.9 PILOT STUDY A pilot study with a sample size of 60 responses was conducted before arriving at the final questionnaire. Reliability analysis (Cronbach's alpha) was applied to check the reliability of items used in initial questionnaire. Based on reliability analysis and feedback from respondents, the final questionnaire was prepared. Table 4.5: Reliability Analysis for Pilot Study EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT Meaning Competence Impact Choice JOB SATISFACTION ,753

11 4.10 RESEARCH PROCESS The research process started with literature review after that initial questionnaire was designed and chosen 60 for pilot study and then made a reliability analysis based on that main questionnaire was designed,totally 520 responses were collected of which 477 was used for the study and then gone for Hypothesis testing. Figure 4.2 shows the research process for the present study TOOLS OF DATA ANALYSIS In this research, all the survey responses were coded into Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet, verifying for missing data and inconsistently filled-in questionnaires. The data coded were transferred to SPSS 17 under its relevant defined variables, while creating the data file for analysis. The data analysis for the present study was undertaken in three phases. In the first phase, all sorts of descriptive statistics of the responses were calculated. In the second phase, data collected using scaling techniques were analysed employing reliability analysis. In the final phase testing the hypotheses was done, using statistical tests.

12 FI--~?! Literature I A Survey of 60 respondents (Pilot Study) Questionnaire Survey (N=800) I F Reliability Analysis I 1 + I Collected I I Resoonses (n=520) 1 I L Valid and usable responses (n=477) Descriptive S.tatistics I Reliability Figure 4.2: Research Process of the Present Study

13 (i) Reliability Testing Reliability is the trustworthiness of an instrument used for data collection. In this study, consistency of scales used in questionnaire initially in pilot study and also the final responses collected is tested by using Cronbach's alpha scores. (ii) Statistical Tools for Testing Hypotheses Testing of hypotheses was conducted using statistical tools such as t - test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and linear regression. The statistical tests applied to each hypothesis, dependent and independent variables were summarized in table LIMITATIONS 1. The sample collected in the study may be small compared to the population and moreover the sample drawn was non-probabilistic. 2. Only few industries were considered and within each industry only an appropriate organization was taken in the study. The survey also faile'd to maintain proportion of male and female responses. 3. The expected response was not materialized due to non cooperation of the employees.

14 Table: 4.6 Statistical Test required for Testing Each Hypothesis I Employee Independent Sample Hlb Gender Empowerment t - test Independent Sample Hlc Job Satisfaction Gender t - test H2a Employee Analysis of Variance Involvement Age (AN0 VA) H2b Employee Analysis of Variance Empowerment Age (AN0 VA) H2c Job Satisfaction Age Analysis of Variance (AN0 VA) H3a Employee Analysis of Variance Job Tenure Involvement (AN0 VA) H3b Employee Analysis of Variance Empowerment Job Tenure (AN0 VA) Analysis of Variance H3c I Job Satisfaction I Job Tenure I (ANOVA) I Employee Envolvement, Linear Regression H4 Job Satisfaction Employee Analysis Empowerment

15 4.13 ORGANISATION OF THE STUDY The following section covers the outline of the present thesis. Chapter-it Focuses on overview of Indian corporate sector, its evolution, growth and trends. Further, discusses about the leading industries in India and gives a brief description about the selected companies of the present study. Chapter-ii: Explains the theories and concepts of the present study. This chapter highlights the concepts of employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction with its relevant theories or models. Chapter-iii: Reviews the existing literature in the area of employee involvement, employee empowerment and job satisfaction. This consists of both Indian and foreign studies which examined the key aspects of employee involvement, empowerment from different perspectives. Further, reviewed the studies of job satisfaction based on employee involvement and employee empowerment. Chapter-iv: Portraits the research design and process. This chapter highlights the research questions and hypothesis of the present study. It explains the proposed model of the study along with sampling and questionnaire design issues. Further, reliability analysis of the pilot

16 study was presented. It ends up with a brief note on tools of data analysis and chapterization of the thesis. Chapter-v: Covers the initial descriptive statistics of the responses collected from the questionnaire survey with its frequencies, mean and standard deviation across selected companies and, discussing about noteworthy points from the tables. Chapter-vi: Starts with the reliability analysis for the scales used in the present study. Then, hypothesis were tested using various statistical tools such as 't' test, ANOVA and regression. Chapter-vii: Concludes with directions for hrther research and recommendations to the organizations.