Business Administration Research and Studies

The assignment provided is a compilation of research articles and studies related to business administration, including topics such as transfer of training, mixed-method research designs, technical efficiency of business courses, small and medium-scale enterprises, demographic differences in organizational commitment, public-private partnerships, student loyalty toward Master's degree programs, authentic and self-directed learning, small business administration, reconstruction of sub-industrial statistical data, and personality and preference for evaluation methods. The articles cover various aspects of business administration research and studies, providing valuable insights and information for students and researchers.

Business Administration

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
UNIT 10...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1 ...............................................................................................................................................1
1.2 ...............................................................................................................................................1
1.3 ...............................................................................................................................................2
1.4 ...............................................................................................................................................2
2.1 ...............................................................................................................................................2
UNIT 11...........................................................................................................................................3
1.1 ...............................................................................................................................................3
1.2 ...............................................................................................................................................4
1.3 ...............................................................................................................................................4
1.4 ...............................................................................................................................................5
1.5 ...............................................................................................................................................5
UNIT 19...........................................................................................................................................6
1.1................................................................................................................................................6
1.2................................................................................................................................................6
1.3 ...............................................................................................................................................7
1.4 ...............................................................................................................................................7
1.5 ...............................................................................................................................................7
1.6 ...............................................................................................................................................7
3.2 ...............................................................................................................................................8

UNIT 21...........................................................................................................................................8
1.1 ...............................................................................................................................................8
1.2 ...............................................................................................................................................8
1.3 ...............................................................................................................................................8
1.4 ...............................................................................................................................................9
1.5 ...............................................................................................................................................9
1.6 ...............................................................................................................................................9
1.7 ...............................................................................................................................................9
1.8 .............................................................................................................................................10
UNIT 49.........................................................................................................................................10
1.1 .............................................................................................................................................10
2.1 .............................................................................................................................................10
3.1 .............................................................................................................................................11
UNIT 52.........................................................................................................................................11
1.1 .............................................................................................................................................11
1.4..............................................................................................................................................11
2.4 .............................................................................................................................................11
2.7 .............................................................................................................................................12
UNIT 73.........................................................................................................................................12
1.1 .............................................................................................................................................12
1.2..............................................................................................................................................12
1.3..............................................................................................................................................13
1.4..............................................................................................................................................13
1.5..............................................................................................................................................13
1.6..............................................................................................................................................13
2.1..............................................................................................................................................13
2.2..............................................................................................................................................14
2.3..............................................................................................................................................14
3.1..............................................................................................................................................14
3.2..............................................................................................................................................15
3.3..............................................................................................................................................15

3.4..............................................................................................................................................15
3.5..............................................................................................................................................15
3.6..............................................................................................................................................15
4.1..............................................................................................................................................16
4.2..............................................................................................................................................16
4.3..............................................................................................................................................16
4.4..............................................................................................................................................16
4.5..............................................................................................................................................16
4.6..............................................................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Business administration is management of a business. It includes all aspects of
overseeing and supervising business operations and related field which include Accounting,
Finance and Marketing (Escobar-Rodriguez and Monge-Lozano, 2012). This report will
discuss about various topics like developing a presentation, managing office facility,
handling mail etc.
UNIT 10
1.1
If companies really want to shine at these prospect meetings, it is needed to be armed
with a polished presentation that builds credibility, shows your experience, and conveys a
memorable message that doesn't put people to sleep.
Best practice cab be:
 Appropriate font size of the slides
 Use of colour which is suitable
1.2
Before even preparing for the presentation, one needs to get in touch or consult with
the coordinator or the person in charge of the event, be it a meeting or a conference or a
discussion. Also it is important to consult the venue before the presentation and maybe even
visit the venue physically a day or two before the presentation to see what facilities are
available and if anything needs to be taken along for facilitating smooth presentation.
1.3
An effective presentation makes the best use of the relationship between the
presenter and the audience (Hesselbarth and Schaltegger, 2014). It takes full consideration of
the audience’s needs in order to capture their interest, develop their understanding, inspire
their confidence and achieve the presenter’s objectives. Careful planning is essential.
The development of a good presentation is incumbent on several factors:
 Specific aims and objectives
 Researching of the topic
 Key points to be delivered
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 Relevant handouts
1.4
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
 It educates people. Through
television and radio programs, people
get to learn about health matters,
environmental conservation, and
much more.
 People get the latest news in a very
short time. Distance is not a barrier.
People get news daily through the
media and this keeps them updated
on the happenings around the world.
 It leads to individualism. People
spend too much time on the internet
and watching television. As a result,
socialization with friends, family and
neighbours is affected.
 Some media contents are not suitable
for children. Limiting children’s
access to such content can be
difficult.
2.1
PURPOSE
Bear in mind what you want to achieve and what you want your audience to take
away with them (Roth, 2012). Once objectives are decided, position is much better to make
strategic decisions about the design and tone of your presentation. For example, a
presentation to a seminar group might require a balanced
argument, whereas a charity appeal might require a more creative approach.
Audience
Audience will have a variety of different experiences, interests and levels of
knowledge. A powerful presenter will need to acknowledge these and prepare for and
respond to them accordingly.
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UNIT 11
1.1
An office requires systems and procedures to ensure that tasks are carried out safely,
efficiently and in a consistent manner (Ackermann, 2012). In any office there are likely to be
systems and procedures for the following:
 safe working procedures and risk assessment
 fire, accident and emergency
 security
 stock control – storage and issuing
 purchasing – equipment, consumables, service contracts
 equipment use, monitoring and maintenance
 sending and receiving information
 storing and retrieving information.
1.2
Some people mistakenly assume that performance management is concerned only
with following regulatory requirements to appraise and rate performance. Performance
management is the systematic process of:
 planning work and setting expectations,
 continually monitoring performance,
 developing the capacity to perform,
The purpose of our work management system is to provide the standardisation and
rules to follow in order to lessen and in time eliminate the disruptions to the function of
maintenance (Pham, Segers and Gijselaers, 2013).
1.3
Developing effective conflict resolution skill sets are an essential component of a
building a sustainable business model. Unresolved conflict often results in loss of
productivity, the stifling of creativity, and the creation of barriers to cooperation and
collaboration. Leaders who don’t deal with conflict will eventually watch their good talent
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walk out the door in search of a healthier and safer work environment (Miller and Cameron,
2011).
While conflict is a normal part of any social and organizational setting, the challenge of
conflict lies in how one chooses to deal with it.
1.4
As an office supervisor reviewing or implementing new systems, it is important to
ensure that they are simple and easy to use and that the users are aware of them. Every
system should be monitored for success and periodically reviewed for improvement.
It is important to ensure that all staff are provided with up-to-date information on the
systems and procedures in use in order to ensure correct and fair use of equipment and
resources. Ways of communicating the systems and procedures in use will vary accordingly
and the following are some ways of informing and ensuring staff use them.
 Notices – located near to equipment
 Staff handbook – issued to all staff; a good way of communicating standard, complex
procedures
 Equipment manuals
 Memos/email – quick method to provide new or updated information
 Intranet
 Induction/training sessions – must be backed up by handout material.
One of the main areas that will require regular review to ensure compliance with policy and
legislation is that of health, safety and security (Miranda, Gramani and Andrade, 2012).
1.5
The office environment should be regularly reviewed with a view to risks and security
arrangements.
Risk assessment - regularly check for the following:
 trailing leads and power supply overload
 wear, tear or damage to equipment and facilities
 stock storage complies with health and safety requirements including hazardous
substances
 there is adequate protective equipment
 there is training provision for new equipment.
4

Security – regularly check the following:
 safe storage of valuables
 visitors are controlled
 confidentiality of information is maintained
 IT security procedures are followed.
UNIT 19
1.1
Junk e mailers are getting more savvy. Often mail sent to the return address bounces
because the return address is forged (Aremu and Adeyemi, 2011). Following three-step
process is required to be assessed:
Step 1: Ready...is rather lengthy because it walks through a complete example of tracking
down the origin of a junk email from their message itself. It also gives you links to Web-
accessible versions of all the tools you need to do the job.
Step 2: Aim..shows how to dig deeper and discover the identity of junk e mailers, or (more
importantly) the people responsible for giving them access to the Internet.
Step 3: Fire!tells you how to get that access cut off by showing you the best way to proceed,
what to say in your message and other important things as well.
1.2
There are usually no problems with damaged mail,as all items are carefully handled
regardless of them being the are rarely sent out through the post as most banking is done
electronically this is because it is more secure, easier to use and much faster than waiting for
a cheque to come through the post (Love, 2013). Problems can be :
Potential problems: Deadlines missed, appointments missed – Ensure post is sorted
quickly and efficiently by getting it to the right person
Security issues, damage – Items are checked at reception
Mail delivered to wrong address – Put back through the post or use return to
sender.
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1.3
Franking Machine Machine provides labels which include, date, price, return address
and company logo (Cooke and Alcadipani, 2015). Correct amount of postage is checked by
weighing items and selecting the size of package letter, large letter, parcel and so on and also
whether it is sending first or second class.
Second class post is placed into a green bag and first class is placed into a red bag,
both are which supplied by the Royal Mail. It is needed to make sure there is sufficient
credit on the franking machine or items won’t be franked – Balance is shown on the bottom
of the screen. The company would keep a copy of when it was last credited and who by.
There may be someone appointed for this as it can be credited at the machine itself
1.4
Follow these steps for preparing packages:
 Choose a box strong enough to hold the contents. That means it shouldn't have tears,
rips, bends, or other damage.
 Select and use proper cushioning materials for package contents. Wrap items
individually and surround them with bubble sheeting and recyclable or foam loose-
fill materials.
1.5
 Security of items – Confidential data, delivered to named staff via pigeon holes to be
opened by the member of staff themselves If no name then administrators to open
(Ismail, 2013).
 Outgoing mail is sent via trusted courier, appropriately packaged
1.6
Suspicious or damaged items procedure are as follows:
 Record date and time of receipt
 Report to appropriate authority – usually line manager first
 Do not open – Can sometimes tell by uneven packaging, discolouring, odour
3.2
The best option for dispatching mail services can be Campus Mail Deliveries.
Campus mail is delivered once a day to each office/department. Exceptions to this rule could
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occur during the summer, over a postal holiday, inclement weather, or campus occurrences
that would delay the mail delivery (Gulid, 2011).
UNIT 21
1.1
Meetings are held for any of the following reasons:
To sort out any conflicts.
To negotiate a contract or agreement, or matters to do with it.
To deal with a current problem within the group or within the business or
organisation.
To receive a report for assessment and review.
1.2
A quorum is the minimum number of owners who must be at a meeting before
business can be transacted.
Meetings that don’t have a quorum must be adjourned and rescheduled at a later date.
This costs the association money and creates more work. And, achieving a quorum at a
second meeting—if we couldn’t get one the first time—is even harder.
1.3
Ways are:
 You could issue a survey at the end of an event that asks for feedback, although this
takes time to act upon.
 The location has to meet the requirements of all attendees to assure satisfaction and
returning guests (De Bruijn and Leeman, 2011).
 Meeting rooms should be spacious enough to accommodate all attendees in comfort,
but not so big that they seem empty.
1.4
Health, safety and security are the most important factors to be considered while conducting
a meeting (Chen, 2011).
 Check to see if the venue is a safe structure for the kind of meeting taking place.
 Check that electrical wires are secured properly and not trailing on the floor.
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1.5
The following are some of the basic resources required for a meeting.
 Writing material: to take down notes in the meeting.
 PC/laptop: these are used in conjunction with the overhead projector for displaying
slide shows or documents.
1.6
When discussion is underway, it is the chairperson's responsibility to ensure that it
continues to flow smoothly by involving all members present and by not permitting one or
two people to dominate the meeting. Summarising by the chairperson during meetings can:
 Indicate progress, or lack of.
 Refocus discussion that has wandered off the point.
1.7
Formal meetings have a formal agenda, but many informal meetings do not. Unlike formal
meetings, participants are free to speak their minds in informal meetings.
Informal meetings can take place anywhere, such as a restaurant or a coffee shop, while a
formal meeting takes place at a pre-planned place at a particular time.
1.8
Although many policies and procedures are legal requirements in formal business
meetings, others are agreed on by the attendees of the meetings (Dilger, 2013). If meetings
are regular, attendees may come up with their own agreed policies and procedures during the
first meeting. These policies may then be debated again in later meetings if the participants
wish.
UNIT 49
1.1
Spreadsheet software tools and techniques will be defined as ‘basic’ because:
 The range of data entry, manipulation, formatting and outputting techniques are
straightforward(Grudzewski and Hejduk, 2011).
 The structure and functionality of the spreadsheet will be predetermined or familiar
8

2.1
The principal methods used to summarise data:
1.Measures of location
 Mean
 Median
 Mode
2.Measures of spread
 Range
 Interquartile Range
 Variance and standard deviation
3.1
Candidates should plan the presentation of their spreadsheets to make the
information easy to use by the intended audience. This might be by logically structuring
sheets to summarise different views of the data.
UNIT 52
1.1
The type and size of attachment will greatly affect how quickly mails can sent and in
some cases if at all. Methods can be:
Message transmission: Managing attachments; mailbox restrictions;
Methods to reduce size or improve transmission; Transmission limitations
1.4
Stay safe:
 Avoid inappropriate disclosure of personal information,
 Avoid misuse of images
 Use appropriate language
 Respect confidentiality
 Use copy lists with discrimination
 Using encryption
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2.4
Organisations must retain their data – including email – and ensure that any
requested material can be retrieved and presented in a timely manner (Lakhal, Sévigny and
Frenette, 2013).
Reason to archive messages are as follows:
 Compliance
 Legal Requirements -
 Business continuity and Disaster Recovery
 Storage management
 Application performance
2.7
These problems are as follows:
 Address the email only when it is ready to send
 Attach any files before composing your note
 Reply to a new person from the same address that received that person's note
 Be careful with addressee auto-complete
UNIT 73
1.1
Objectives – it is important to rank the objectives in order of priority and risk of criticality
to the outcome of the management of the task or project (De Meyer, 2013).
Scope - The scope can then be delegated and allocated out to people within the team who
have the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise.
Success - To be able to do this successfully the learner needs to mention that the criteria can
include delivering the task or project on time, within budget.
1.2
Assessment of the importance of the potential impact can include:
 Financial implications on too much resource being used or too little being used
 Allocation of work to specific people, ensuring that correct knowledge and expertise
is given against each aspect of the task or project.
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1.3
To enable managers to know which parts of task or project will need to take priority
and this in turn will lead to deciding to whom, and why, tasks within the task or project need
to be allocated. This then allows the manager to be able to allocate suitable time for each
aspect of the task/project ensuring that all individual deadlines are met.
1.4
 To ensure that tasks/projects being undertaken will benefit the business in terms of
sales, productivity, meeting customer requirements (internal or external)
 Continue to ensure that work being done meets with the ethical, moral, financial
reputation/view of the organisation and thus lessen any risk of negative impression
externally (Escobar-Rodriguez and Monge-Lozano, 2012).
1.5
The two ways information validated need to be individual to the learner, and their
own specific experiences given. However these validation ways could be:
 Integrity of person/s or site/s information came from
 Checking information against details and specification of task/project requirements
1.6
These can be addressed by:
 Discussing the issues openly and professionally with others and especially
stakeholders to enable potential compromises to be given and agreed
 Communicating clearly with all personnel involved with the task/project
(Hesselbarth and Schaltegger, 2014).
2.1
Manager Leader
 The main responsibility of a manager
is to: plan, organise, lead and control.
 The primary function for the manager
is to achieve organisation objectives
and this is the influence they have on
their teams e.g. ensuring the jobs get
 The main responsibility of a leader is
to: communicate, motivate, inspire
and encourage employees towards a
higher level of productivity.
 Leaders tend to show personal
passion and are an inspiration to team
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done. members.
2.2
 Participative leadership style – this is suitable as it allows the team member to
make own decisions on task completion.
 Transactional leadership style – this could be suitable if the team member
responded positively to reward based task completions.
2.3
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting
with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself.
Herzberg was the first to show that satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work nearly
always arose from different factors, and were not simply opposing reactions to the same
factors, as had always previously been believed (Roth, 2012).
3.1
These can be :
• Controlling helps managers to identify when objectives are not going to plan and
allows managers to make alternative arrangements and adjustments as necessary in
order to correct the deviations (Ackermann, 2012).
• Planning should take account of planned and unexpected contingencies, plans should
be flexible enough to be amended as and when needed.
3.2
Consider smart targeting for all team members, close monitoring of progress of
individuals and overall team objective, building commitment from the team and each person
in the team, being clear about objectives so that all team members know their own role and
responsibility within achieving objectives, renegotiate with team members as necessary.
3.3
If the organisation has clear vision, mission and objectives then the manager knows
the culture he/ she is working within and achievements made can be set against these
parameters. The manager is the person who ensures that the team also works within these
12

parameters and monitors the progress of achievements against the given rules and
procedures, ethos and culture.
3.4
Nudge theory – modern change management concept that helps managers to
understand people’s way of thinking, helping them to improve upon this and managing
change of all types.
Tuckman’s forming, storming, norming and performing model – explains team
development and how teams mature into co-operative working that can work independently.
3.5
Information and explanations on how directive a manager will need to be dependent
on the theory used, how hands on a manager needs to be with managing different aspects of
team behaviours, thinking processes and motivations and commitments. How directive a
manager is regarding risk for the organisation and cost to reputation as a whole – this fits in
with ethos and culture (Pham, Segers and Gijselaers, 2013).
3.6
Operational constraints could be:
 Staffing levels – increased or decreased
 Allocation and procurement of resources and materials
 Ability to be able to forward plan effectively – workwise and also growth wise
 Inability to gain loans or financial backing from investors, banks, etc
 Allows organisations to stage growth and expansion.
4.1
 The objectives are set first and within this key criteria of outcomes are set also.
 This then feeds into the performance measurement across all levels of personnel
within the organisation and is linked into specific job roles and outcomes of
performance levels expected within each role.
4.2
The main / key features are that it has to be reliable and good. The performance
system could include – information needs to be quantitative, measurable, easily understood
by everyone using the system, visible and appropriately used, measures outputs as well as
13

inputs, encourages trust between parties using the system, measures only key indicators, is
easy for the collection and utilisation of information and data.
4.3
Make sure that what is being set is measurable, map core business processes, mapped
core business processes are aligned to roles, responsibilities and any factors for success that
are critical to the business, select the KPIs based on success criteria established, set target
and review dates.
4.4
Ensure monitoring is based on a clearly formed plan and can be chart driven e.g. as
for project management, plans should have the KPIs on it so that it is clear that this is what
is being monitored against, it should also contain the timetabling for reviews and when these
will take place (Miller and Cameron, 2011).
4.5
The use of integrated performance management (IPM) this would include taking a
holistic look at planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, performance measurement and
profitability. Looking at performance management pyramids (who reports on what to
whom), ensuring that flow of information covers management accounting, finance this then
flows into organisation objectives.
4.6
Outputs Outcomes
Outputs are the things that take place
because of the organisation’s products or
services and this includes the unexpected as
well as the expected, the good as well as the
bad.
The outcomes are the changes that take place
as you carry out your aims or objectives as
an organisation and the outcomes may not be
what the organisation planned them to be
initially.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that it is very important for every
business to make sure that their functions are being conducted in an effective manner so that
their goals and objectives can be achieved.
15

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Escobar-Rodriguez, T. and Monge-Lozano, P., 2012. The acceptance of Moodle technology
by business administration students. Computers & Education. 58(4). pp.1085-1093.
Hesselbarth, C. and Schaltegger, S., 2014. Educating change agents for sustainability–
learnings from the first sustainability management master of business
administration. Journal of cleaner production. 62. pp.24-36.
Roth, A.E., 2012.Axiomatic models of bargaining (Vol. 170). Springer Science & Business
Media.
Ackermann, S. ed., 2012. Are small firms important? Their role and impact. Springer
Science & Business Media.
Pham, N.T ., Segers, M. S. and Gijselaers, W. H., 2013. Effects of work environment on
transfer of training: empirical evidence from Master of Business Administration
programs in Vietnam. International Journal of Training and Development. 17(1).
pp.1-19.
Miller, P. J. and Cameron, R., 2011. Mixed method research designs: A case study of their
adoption in a doctor of business administration program. International Journal of
Multiple Research Approaches. 5(3). pp.387-402.
Miranda, R., Gramani, M.C. and Andrade, E., 2012. Technical efficiency of business
administration courses: a simultaneous analysis using DEA and SFA. International
Transactions in Operational Research. 19(6). pp.847-862.
Aremu, M. A. and Adeyemi, S. L., 2011. Small and medium scale enterprises as a survival
strategy for employment generation in Nigeria. Journal of sustainable development.
4(1). p.200.
Love, K. G., 2013. Demographic differences in organizational commitment to the university
of college of business administration students: An application of the Allen and
Meyer model. College Student Journal. 47(1). pp.192-202.
Cooke, B. and Alcadipani, R., 2015. Toward a global history of management education: The
case of the Ford Foundation and the São Paulo School of Business Administration,
Brazil. Academy of Management Learning & Education. 14(4). pp.482-499.
Ismail, S., 2013. Critical success factors of public private partnership (PPP) implementation
in Malaysia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration. 5(1). pp.6-19.
Gulid, N., 2011. Student Loyalty toward Master's Degree Business Administration
Curriculum at Srinakharinwirot University. American Journal of Business
Education. 4(8). pp.49-56.
De Bruijn, E. and Leeman, Y., 2011. Authentic and self-directed learning in vocational
education: Challenges to vocational educators. Teaching and Teacher Education.
27(4). pp.694-702.
Dilger, R.J., 2013. Small business administration and job creation.
Chen, S., 2011. Reconstruction of sub-industrial statistical data in China (1980–2008). China
Economic Quarterly. 10(3). pp.735-776.
Grudzewski, W.M. and Hejduk, I.K., 2011. Przedsiębiorstwo przyszłości. Zmiany
paradygmatów zarządzania. Master of Business Administration. 19(1). pp.95-111.
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Lakhal, S., Sévigny, S. and Frenette, É., 2013. Personality and preference for evaluation
methods: A study among business administration students. Studies in Educational
Evaluation. 39(2). pp.103-115.
De Meyer, A., 2013. The future of doctoral education in business administration. Journal of
Management Development. 32(5). pp.477-486.
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