SAP Large Software Vendor Company: Dissertation Methodology

Introduction

Reliable and pertinent methodologies characteristically feature certain prevalent and pivotal elements. Synonymously, the SAP Large Software Vendor Company methodology is characterised by these critical methodology prerequisites. For instance, the structural and literal scope of the method is aligned with the essential objectives of the thesis. One of the purposes is understanding the process of change management as well as finding out how the theory applies to practice with the assistance of studying a new strategy implementation in the firm. The other objective is understanding staff involvement and acceptance of the change process as well as their adherence to the new strategy. Therefore, this methodology limits itself within the objectives of the thesis in its functional task of identifying, selecting, processing, as well as analysing information on the Large Software Vendor, SAP.

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Methodology

The overlying functional commitment of a methodology in a dissertation is primarily to provide a reader with an arena to critically evaluate the general reliability and validity of a study ("ERIC," n.d.). Thus, the methodology section provides answers to two fundamental questions. These questions are: how the data was either generated or collected and how the same data was analysed. Therefore, the focal point of this methodology is to provide an outline of how the research will be undertaken that is inclusive of the methods used that will primarily describe the modes or the means of data collection and also where specific results will be calculated.

Research Approach and Design

The research adopted a quantitative approach. Primarily, quantitative analysis is defined as a formal, systematic, objective process applied in the testing and description of relationships as well as in examining the cause and effect of interactions among variables. The use of surveys is relatively spread across exploratory, explanatory, and descriptive research ("(PDF) Research Methodology," 2017). The project, however, uses the case study as the primary method of the research. Hence, a survey was used in the gathering of original data principally for describing change management and in the understanding of staff involvement and acceptance of the change process.

A survey is mainly used to collect information from a sample of people through the use of self-report; that is, individuals respond to several questions posed by the researcher. In this study, the much-needed information will be collected through the use of interviews. The people to be interviewed will include the global and regional line of business leaders of SAP as well as the staff. The prime basis for the selection of a descriptive survey is the knack of a descriptive study to provide an account or portrayal of the features, for instance, opinions, behaviors, knowledge, beliefs, and abilities of a specific person, group, or situation ("(PDF) Research Methodology," 2017). Therefore, the selection of the research design was arrived at mainly to meet the objectives of the study.

Research Approach

The research approach that was considered for this study is the inductive. The inductive research approach stipulates that researchers ought to commence the research process with specific observations. The need to begin with specific views is centered on the fact that the observations are used in the production of general conclusions and theories as obtained from the study. More so, the principal reason for settling on the inductive research approach is the fact that the approach puts into consideration the context where the research effort is more dynamic. Also, the procedure is extraordinarily vital, where small samples are involved in producing qualitative data ("UM Students' Repository," n.d.). The main limitation of the method however is its production of generalised theories and conclusions that are mostly grounded on an inadequate level of observations. Therefore, the dependability on such research outcomes is immersed in compromise.

Data Collection and Tools

In-depth interviews were widely administered purposely for this study. More so, the in-depth interviewing of the global and regional line of business leaders of SAP, as well as the staff, was unstructured and personal. This was done mainly to identify the participants' opinions, feelings, and emotions concerning specific research subjects ("UM Students' Repository," n.d.) The core advantage of the use of personal interviews in the research is its involvement of both direct and personal contact between the interviewees and the interviewers. Also, the use of interviews obliterates any possibility of non-response rates. However, it is gravitas for interviewers to be skillful and knowledgeable in carrying out successful interviews.

Sample Selection

In developing and selecting the sample of the study under discussion, the purposive sampling method was used. Notably, the purposive sampling method is grouped under non-profitability sampling techniques. According to the stipulations of the sampling method, sample members are gathered based on their expertise, relationships, and knowledge concerning the subject under research ("404 - File or directory not found," n.d.). The selected sample members of the research characteristically encompassed individuals with unique relationships to the phenomenon under study, relevant and sufficient work experience in the field of corporate management. More so, the selected sample members are individuals actively involved in several change management partnerships. Thus, in the context of the methodology of the project, the participants of the research were the global and regional line of business leaders of SAP as well as the staff.

Research Process

The research process was spread across a fixed period when most of the global and regional lines of business leaders of SAP, as well as the staff, were available and easily accessible. Importantly, the research was keen to come into touch with these group of people that provided the researcher with the opportunity of requesting the global and regional line of business leaders of SAP as well as the staff to take part in the research after explaining to them scope and nature of the study. Consequently, the participants or the respondents were very much willing to take part in the study, and therefore, the interviews were carried out within a specified period.

In carrying out the interviews, the discussions mainly occurred in the offices of the global and regional line of business leaders of SAP as well as the staff and lasted for roughly 20-25 minutes. Notes were mainly kept as the interview was in session to provide the researcher with a platform for the analysis of the gathered data ("(PDF) Fundamentals of research methodology and data collection," 2016). Also, in conducting the interview, the respondents had the liberty to express their opinions freely, even in topics excluded from the areas under discussion. At the end of the research process it is vital to note that conversations between the interviewees and the interviewer flowed pleasantly and smoothly.

Data Analysis

The content analysis approach was employed to analyse the collected data from individual respondents. The content analysis approach essentially categorises collected data into themes and sub-themes mainly to create a framework for making comparisons ("(PDF) Research Methodology," 2017). The leading advantage of using content analysis in this research is its assistive knack in the simplification and reduction of the gathered data. Also, another beneficial element of using content analysis in the study is its capacity to produce results that are measurable using quantitative techniques ("UM Students' Repository," n.d.)

Besides, the content analysis provides researchers with a platform of structuring the gathered qualitative data in a manner that contents the accomplishment of the objectives of the research ("404 - File or directory not found," n.d.). However, in using content analysis, there is always the risk of human error due to the possible threat of researchers misinterpreting the collected data. Thus, resulting in the generation of erroneous, unreliable, and false conclusions.

Ethical Considerations

As a critical requirement in most researches, the current dissertation was equally subjected to several ethical issues. For instance, all the participants had to report their individualistic acceptance of their participation in the project, which was made through a briefing letter and a signed consent. On the same note, the selected sample members were requested to sign a debriefing as well as a withdrawal letter. The chief objective of the two letters was to reassure the participants of the veracity that their participation in the study is voluntary and thus had the permission to withdraw from the engagement at any point and for whichever reason ("(PDF) Fundamentals of research methodology and data collection," 2016).

Moreover, the participants were adequately informed concerning the research's objectives, while at the same time reassured of the confidentiality of their answers as well as use for solely academic purposes and the right research purpose. Additionally, the participants were not either abused or harmed, whether psychologically or physically through the research process ("UM Students' Repository," n.d.). Therefore, the researcher mostly tried creating and maintaining a conducive environment.

References

(PDF) Fundamentals of research methodology and data collection. (2016, April 19). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303381524_Fundamentals_of_research_methodology_and_data_collection

Resource not found. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/24016/04chapter4.?sequence

UM Students' Repository. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/5013/5/chapter_3_final

Kafedra sociologiyi. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sociology.kpi.ua/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Ranjit_Kumar-Research_Methodology_A_Step-by-Step_G