Module 7 Assignment

Student Name: Chabala Mulundu/ GBS901320

Course Code: GBS5021 / Research Methods

Instructor’s Name: Dr. Nicholas Odongo

Due Date: 10th November, 2019

Assignment: You have been appointed as the new general manager of Protea Hotel by Marriott

Lusaka. The hotel is not performing as expected and is not meeting its target. Your first

assignment is to resolve this problem. Describe in details how you would go about addressing

this problem.

Hint: Describe the data collection approaches you would use (Observation, interviews, surveys,

historical research (past 5 years), etc.) and why you chose this specific form of data collection

etc.

Introduction

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 Solving problems requires that quality and timely data or information is used. Nevertheless, this

data or information is not always readily available. Thus it needs to be made available by

gathering it using an appropriate data collection approach. The choice of a data collection

approach is usually dependent on the nature, scope and object of enquiry[ CITATION PSa12 \l

1033 ].

Looking at the matter at hand where as its new general manager, I have been assigned to resolve

Protea Hotel by Marriott Lusaka unexpected performance and it not meeting its targets.

In this assignment, I have been asked to describe in details how I would go about addressing this

problem. Thus I would first call for a meeting with key staff. I would also decide to look at past

records of plans and transactions of the hotel by conducting historical research, a survey would

also be done to assess how other hotels are performing, and lastly, I would call for another

meeting to brainstorm on the possible solutions to reviving the fortunes of the hotel.

Initial meeting

Being a new general manager, it is imperative that I get to meet key hotel staff. This would be for

the purpose of introducing myself and also knowing who is who in the hotel management. This

would also give me an opportunity to get to know how the hotel has been operating and also to

inform the staff about the task at hand of trying to revive the fortunes of the hotel.

Historical Research

Historical research studies the meaning of past events in an attempt to interpret the facts and

explain the cause of events, and their effect in the present events. In doing so, researchers rely

heavily on primary historical data which is, direct accounts of events, archival data - official

documents, personal records, and records of eyewitnesses[ CITATION CRK04 \l 1033 ].

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 Therefore, in trying to find out why the hotel is not performing well and not meeting targets, I

would use historical research as a data collection approach. The choice of this approach is based

on the fact that sorting out the issue at hand would require one to dig in to the primary historical

data.

The other reasons for choosing this approach is because; the researcher is not involved in the

situation that is studied; the researchers do not interact with the subjects of study; Analysis of

historical data may help explain current and future events.

Though in choosing this approach, I would be mindful of some of its pitfalls: Historical data is

incomplete and vulnerable to time as documents can be destroyed over time: Data collected

through historical research can be biased and corrupt, this is due to the fact that, diaries, letters,

and many others are influenced by the person writing them: Historical research is a complex and

broad category because the topics of research are affected by numerous factors that need to be

considered and analyzed[ CITATION WHM13 \l 1033 ].

This approach would assist me to get information on past and present plans, direct accounts of

events, archival data - official documents, personal records, transactions, and the target clientele

among others.

Survey

This can be defined as a research method used for collecting data from a pre-defined group of

respondents to gain information and insights on various topics of interest[ CITATION PMG09 \l

1033 ].

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 Thus, I would also use this approach to find out how our competitors are performing. The choice

of this approach is based on the fact that it is less time consuming as already the target

respondents would be known in advance and what data to get from them.

This approach would give me an opportunity to gain insights on other hotels operations and

performance.

Focus Group Discussion

This is a form of qualitative research where questions are asked about the respondents’

perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, opinion or ideas[ CITATION ASt90 \l 1033 ].

I would choose this approach to get ideas of how the performance of the hotel would be

enhanced because it involves gathering people from similar backgrounds or experiences together

to discuss a specific topic of interest, which in this case would be improving the performance of

the hotel like earlier stated.

This meeting would give us an opportunity to brainstorm on the possible solutions to reviving

the fortunes of the hotel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the above problem would require a number of data collection approaches to gather

data and come up with a workable solution to the hotel’s unexpected performance and not

meeting its targets. The choice of the data collection approach is dependent on the nature, scope

and object of enquiry.

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 References
Corbin, A. S. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.

Gulati, P. M. (2009). Research Management: Fundamental & Applied Research. New Delhi: Global India
Publications PVT LTD.

Kothari, C. R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi: New Age
International.

McDowell, W. H. (2013). Historical Research. New York: Routledge.

Sam, P. S. (2012). Research Methodology. Delhi: Kalpaz Publications.

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