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CH_sh2

Dear Class

As I have mentioned earlier that the research methodologies have close relationship with the research questions of which are developed based on the management research topic. Therefore, it is critical to have a research topic and research questions fixed to determine the research scope and what data need to be collected before we decide on the research methodology (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). Firstly, my research topic would be : ‘Adopting the balanced scorecard to drive performance in the Chinese banking sector: The case of an international bank'. Secondly, the research questions basically include the following in brief. Once we understood the research topic and the scope of questions to be addressed, it is easier to move on to decide what data to be collected and how to collect.

- How extensive that the international bank used BSC to measure performance?
- What group or which job role is suitable for BSC?
- The past experience and expectation from staff whose performance is measured by BSC?
- The effectiveness of using BSC in the banking sector and in an emerging market?
- What are the difficulties and other challenges of using BSC?
- Would the implementation of BSC really benefit the organisational performance of an international bank?
- (more...)

Obviously, the epistemology perspective of the research is constructionism, which the starting points is question! Research design should follow cases and surveys, data types are both words and numbers, and the research outcome is normally generalization through theoretical abstraction (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). My initial plan is to have both qualitative and quantitative data coming from both primary source and secondary source.

Theoretical and literatures review

It is important to understand what have been concluded in past to support future research intention. The established theories shall form the base and provide a rigorous but rational explanation (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012) to support an extension of research but with a new purpose to be accomplished or to satisfy new interest. Theoretical review is regular research methodology since construnctionism nature. Predominantly, they are secondary sources which can be obtained through research library, educational journals, research journals, and others. Internet search is an alternative source of obtaining such data. They are important because of validity and credibility concerns.

Using Database

It is about getting quantitative data which usually referring to archival sources of secondary data (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). This method can be very valuable in using the data collected for another purpose but it is most unwise to plunge straight into ta data archive without thinking carefully (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). However, it is still very important because the nature of my research would need to prove the effectiveness of BSC and how it has impacted performance in the past and hence, this type of data is crucial for comparison purpose. Important to note that archival data were collected according to a specific design and therefore, it is necessary to close the gap of the previous study objectives as compared to current purpose (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). The secondary source has also included cross checking to the Bank's financial reports and local government reports.

In-depth Interview
This is to collect mostly qualitative data from primary sources. Proposed to conduct in-depth interview with seniors, HR, performance management department, CFO, compliance and governance, and other important stakeholders of the international bank operating in Germany. It is forecasted to have about 20 interviews which cover most of the key positions from the Bank who technically have direct interest on BSC performance measurement and reward. Structured question method is to be adopted in view of the need to draw consistency of asking question and answers from respondents (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012).

Focus Group Interview
This is also to collect qualitative data form primary sources. As one of the research question is to find out the expectation from the staff whose performances are subject to BSC measurement, interview with them is assessed crucial to obtain the perception of current BSC performance measurement system and how to improve the criteria that can further influence the staff for driving excellence performance. It is also meant for the reflection from the ground to be part of the research scope. However, unstructured question is proposed because there may be possibility to drawn new ideas or new interests that can be redirect to management for consideration. Unstructured question has the advantage to improve confidence level from respondents and promote thinking outside the box (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012). Focus group or rather cluster interviewing based on departments and seniority. May consider random sampling to demonstrate fairness of picking interviewees (Easterby-Smith, M., et. al., 2012).

Questionnaire survey
The target respondents are the stakeholders within the banks who may have influence on the implementation of BSC system. Questionnaire is to be circulated via email and data is expected to be collected may consist of both qualitative and quantitative. The key purpose of collecting this type of data is for validating hypothesises and comparing the degree of difference from the data who has direct involvement in BSC or being measured by BSC. This survey methodology shall include the response from competitors particularly international banks operating in Germany. Tentatively, 30 questionnaires are proposed to be circulated to strike a balance with the number of interviews to be conducted within the Bank.

Looking forward to hearing your comments or recommendations. Thanks.