Research Design and Methodology for Quantitative and Quantitative Research

5 BUSINESS RESEARCH Running Head: BUSINESS RESEARCH BUSINESS RESEARCH Introduction 2 Project objectives 2 Project scope 2 Summary of Literature review 3 Research questions 4 Research design and Methodology 4 Qualitative research 4 Quantitative research 7 Research Time plan 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Appendix 13 Research Time plan 13 Introduction Outsourcing could play an imperative role in the business function of the multination organizations, where the organizations could outsource their activities for focusing on the primary activities and obtains higher competitive benefits. The outsourcing could support organization to reduce their operational cost

Running Head: BUSINESS RESEARCH
BUSINESS RESEARCH

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Project objectives....................................................................................................................2
Project scope...........................................................................................................................2
Summary of Literature review................................................................................................3
Research questions.................................................................................................................4
Research Design and Methodology........................................................................................4
Qualitative research................................................................................................................4
Quantitative research..............................................................................................................7
Research Time plan....................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11
Appendix..................................................................................................................................13
Research Time plan..................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
Outsourcing could play an imperative role in the business function of the multination
organizations, where the organizations could outsource their activities for focusing on the
primary activities and obtains higher competitive benefits. The business outsourcing could be
imperative for the business growth. The business outsources is become significant in the
current era as it would support to hire human resources and marketing. It could also support
to decline the workload by categorizing the activities (Schniederjans, et al., 2015). It could
support to attain the organizational task in the least time and cost. It could support the
organization to manage the challenges of expertise selection. Operational cost could support
the organization to attain objectives and aim (Johnson, 2016). The outsourcing could support
organization to reduce their operational cost because it enables the company to outsource
their business function to the third party. But at the same time, it is also analyzed that there
are many facts that could directly influence the outcome of research (Gurung and Prater,
2017).
Project objectives
The main aim of this research is to address s advantage ages and disadvantages of business
functions outsourcing. The following objectives will be completed by the researcher to meet
the specified aim of research.
 To discover the meaning and concept of business function outsourcing
 To identity the advantages of business function outsourcing
 To explore the disadvantages of business function outsourcing
Project scope the the
This proposal supports to collect the knowledge about advantages and disadvantages of
business functions outsourcing, Australia. It is also analyzed that business outsources could
directly impact on the organizational performance of the organization. It could inspire the

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researcher to start their investigation on the current research concern. Furthermore, it can also
be analyzed that there are different factors that could support to improve the process of
business functions as it would support to get higher competitive benefits in the least time and
cost. This research proposal assists the research scholar to enhance their professional skills. It
could also be imperative for the research scholar to make their career in starting a new
business. It could support to obtain higher competitive advantages. In the existing business
scenario, company use outsources business activity to keep the capabilities of the firm. This
research helps to make an appropriate decision in the context of business functions
outsourcing.
Summary of Literature review
With respect to the literature review, it can also be summarized that outsourcing enables the
organization to outsource their secondary activity to the third party for eliminating operating
cost. Consequently, Organization would be capable to obtain higher competitive benefits in
least time and cost (Sivakumar, et al., 2015). From this, the organization could enchased the
efficacy of businesses by selecting talented third party for outsource their business function.
It could also enable the organization to make the flexible atmosphere in the working place. In
this, the organization would be capable to hire the specialist from the different cultural
background (Dinu, 2015). Cost-effectiveness is also enhanced as the workforces are being
hired at lower compensation. It can also be concluded that the multinational organizations of
American and Europe region are capable to hire cheap skilled rated employees from the
Asian Countries. The key advantage of business function outsourcing is associated with the
enhancement of economic situation of developing countries as it would support to enhance
higher employment level (Hair Jr, et al., 2015). In the current scenario, the organization
could use foster innovation for increasing the business sustainability in least time and cost.
Outsourcing business function could be possible by different talented people as it would

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enhance the innovation level at the working place. Consequently, the organization would be
capable to obtain higher success. It can also be illustrated that outsourcing could mandate the
organization to distribute their services to the third party that decline their power to control
the secondary activities of the organization (Lewandowski, 2016). It would decline the
growth of organizational performance by negatively influence the image of the organization.
In addition, it is also found that the efficacy of business could be dependent on the
transparency of confidential data of outsource organization. The outsourcing organizations
share their whole information to the third party that could enhance possibilities of the data
leakage. The outsourcing of business functions could decline the financial performance of an
organization by leakage the confidential data of organization in the least time (Kumar, et al.,
2015). Hence, it can be said that outsource could negatively impact influence the
organizational performance. It is also found that the small organization uses many unethical
practices to hack the confidential information of the multinational company and obtain higher
benefits. Thus, it can also be analyzed that outsourcing could decline the image of
organization caused by investing minimum money in outsourcing activities and outsource
their business activities to any country. It will also influence the whole performance of the
organization (Markus and Jacobson, 2015).
Research questions
 What is meaning and concept of business function outsources?
 What are the advantages of business function outsources?
 What are the disadvantages of business function outsources?
Research Design and Methodology
The research methodology supports the research scholar to choose appropriate data collection
method for discovering current research concern. There are two methods that could be

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considered by the research methodology like qualitative and quantitative research design
(Agostino, et al., 2015).
Qualitative research
Chart 1: Qualitative research process
(Sources: Hatten, 2015).
The qualitative research process could consider many phases like research planning,
recruitment, screening criteria, discussion guide and homework, and focus group & final
report. Initially, a researcher could discover the information about advantages and
disadvantages of business functions outsourcing (Hatten, 2015). After this, a researcher could
broadcast the required criteria for functioning research process. In addition, research scholar
could try to discuss their issues form their mentor and obtain a reliable and valid result.
Subsequently, research scholar could concentrate on the targeted group for making the last
report by considering the collected findings (Patil, and Wongsurawat, 2015).
Approaches to reliability and Validity
The research approaches could be imperative for attaining aim and objectives of the research.
The inductive approach will be practiced by the investigator to obtain the feasible result in
the context of research matter. The inductive approach enables to obtain conceptual

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information about the research matter (Peters, et al., 2015). Apart from this, deductive
approach aids the research scholar to make a hypothesis and prove and reject the collected
data for the attainment of research concern. The research issue is subjective in nature hence
the deductive approach would not be appropriate to meet the aim and objectives of research
concern.
Sampling and Sample Size
Sampling method could enable the investigator to choose an appropriate sample from the
whole population. It could also help the research scholar to perform their research study and
obtain reliable research result (Taylor, et al., 2015). The non-probability sampling method
will be exercised by the investigator to operate the process of research consequently
researcher would be capable to get feasible research result. The non-probability sampling
method enables the research scholar to select the research candidates on the basis of
education, gender, sex, age, and experience. It is also analyzed that the non-[probability
sampling method facilitate the research scholar to get accurate data in the context of research
concern. For this research study, 7 managers of Apple will be selected from the different
region of Australia by the researcher to conduct their research. It would support to evaluate
the advantages and disadvantages of using business functions outsourcing.
Data Collection Method
The primary data collection method will be practiced by the research scholar to get the
feasible information in the context of research concern. This method could also be imperative
for getting the reliable and valid outcome in the context of current research concern. The
primary data collection method use survey through questionnaire method to obtain fresh
information about research issue (Taylor, et al., 2015). Moreover, it can also be illustrated
that this method could also help to obtain valid data from the targeted sample size.
Variables Specifications

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The independent and dependent variable are two different variables that are considered in the
research study. For this business, outsourcing could be independent factors while the
performance of Apple could depend on the factor.
Quantitative research
Chart 2: Quantitative research process
(Sources: Mackey and Gass, 2015).
In the first stage, the research scholar identifies the research issues for effectively conduct
their research. Later, the researcher develops the hypothesis and creates the literature review
to perform other research activity and obtain a reliable outcome. Furthermore, ethical norms
could help the researcher to perform an ethical behavior at the time of research with their
selected research participants (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Subsequently, practiced many data
collection method researcher to perform their research and get a feasible outcome. The
investigator would make a budget plan for attainment of the objectives of the researcher to
get a valid and feasible outcome.
Research Instrument

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The investigator uses secondary data collection method to get theoretical information about
the advantages and disadvantages of business function outsourcing. In this, different methods
are considered by the researcher such as an academic journal, annual report, offline and
online websites, and government publication (Flick, 2015). This technique is used by the
researcher to obtain higher benefits. It could also assist the researcher to obtain a reliable
outcome.
Quantitative Data Analysis Process
Chart 3: Quantitative data analysis process
(Sources: Flick, 2015).
Initially, the research scholar would make an effective plan for the current research matter.
Afterward, the research scholar would support to record the data and evaluate them
appropriately. In this research, Ms-excel software will be practiced by the research scholar to
present their collected information by column, bar, pie chart, and graphs. The investigator
would interpret the collected information after the completion of data collection.
Consequently, the researcher would be capable to obtain feasible information in the context
of research concern (Flick, 2015).
Sampling and Sample Size
For this research, the probability sampling method will be considered as it would facilitate to
conduct the survey through a questionnaire. Consequently, the researcher would be capable to

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obtain feasible information in the context of research concern. This method enables the
investigator to select research contributors randomly. It will facilitate the researcher to
eliminate biases from the research (Humphries, 2017). It will also support to improve the
quality of research outcome. For this research study, the researcher has selected 50
employees of Apple for conducting the research and obtains a reliable outcome.
Reliability and Validity of Data
Validity demonstrates the practicability of research as it would be completed by the using the
quantitative information. Apart from this, the reliability could support to examine the
trustworthiness of research outcome.
Research limitation
There are many factors that could negatively impact on the quality of research results like
resource, cost, and time. In addition, it can also be examined that the inappropriate sample
size could decline the quality of research result. A researcher could also accountable for
maintaining the confidential information of research contributors as it could also be hectic for
the researcher scholar (Silverman, 2016). Moreover, it is also found that the primary data
collection method takes more time than the secondary data collection as it would also a
negative impact on the research outcome.
Research Time plan
The research time frame could support to examine the time for completion of research
activity. The research time frame is discussed by following Gantt chart:
Research Activities Estimated Time Frame for research activities
completion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4 15
Research concern development
Design of research aim and
objectives and hypothesis
Selection of data collection method
Development of Questionnaire

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Design
Selecting suitable sample size by
considering sampling method
Data analysis method selection
Final draft
Report submission
From the above research time frame, it can also be summarized that research time frame
support to estimate the suitable time as it would be supportive to obtain reliable data. There
are different kinds of research activities that could be considered by the researcher to
complete the whole research. These research activities like Research concern development,
Design of research aim and objectives and hypothesis, Selection of data collection method,
Development of Questionnaire Design, Selecting suitable sample size by considering
sampling method, Data analysis method selection, Final draft, and Report submission.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that outsourcing could support the
organization to distribute their consumer’s services or secondary activities to the third party.
Consequently, the organization would be capable to focus on the primary activity and obtain
higher competitive benefits. It can also be summarized that the business outsourcing could
decline the power of organization to manage both primary and secondary activity as it would
negatively impact on the company’s image.
References
Agostino, M., Giunta, A., Nugent, J.B., Scalera, D., and Trivieri, F., 2015. The importance of
being a capable supplier: Italian industrial firms in global value chains. International Small
Business Journal, 33(7), pp.708-730.
Dinu, A.M., 2015. The risks and benefits of outsourcing. Knowledge Horizons.
Economics, 7(2), p.103.

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Flick, U., 2015. Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. UK: Sage.
Gurung, A. and Prater, E., 2017. A research framework for the impact of cultural differences
on IT outsourcing. In Global Sourcing Of Services: Strategies, Issues, And Challenges (pp.
49-82).
Hair Jr, J.F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A.H., Samouel, P. and Page, M.J., 2015. Essentials of
business research methods. UK: Routledge.
Hatten, T.S., 2015. Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond. USA: Nelson
Education.
Humphries, B., 2017. Re-thinking social research: anti-discriminatory approaches in
research methodology. USA: Taylor & Francis.
Johnson, G., 2016. Exploring strategy: text and cases. USA: Pearson Education.
Kumar, N.S., Lakshmi, G.R. and Balamurugan, B., 2015. Enhanced attribute-based
encryption for cloud computing. Procedia Computer Science, 46, pp.689-696.
Lewandowski, M., 2016. Designing the business models for the circular economy—Towards
the conceptual framework. Sustainability, 8(1), p.43.
Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design. UK:
Routledge.
Markus, M.L., and Jacobson, D.D., 2015. The governance of business processes.
In Handbook on Business Process Management 2 (pp. 311-332). Springer, Berlin, USA:
Heidelberg.
Patil, S. and Wongsurawat, W., 2015. Information technology (IT) outsourcing by business
process outsourcing/information technology enabled services (BPO/ITES) firms in India: A
strategic gamble. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(1), pp.60-76.

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Peters, C., Blohm, I. and Leimeister, J.M., 2015. Anatomy of successful business models for
complex services: Insights from the telemedicine field. Journal of Management Information
Systems, 32(3), pp.75-104.
Schniederjans, M.J., Schniederjans, A.M. and Schniederjans, D.G., 2015. Outsourcing and
insourcing in an international context. UK: Routledge.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. UK: Sage.
Sivakumar, R., Kannan, D. and Murugesan, P., 2015. Green vendor evaluation and selection
using AHP and Taguchi loss functions in production outsourcing in the mining
industry. Resources Policy, 46, pp.64-75.
Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research
methods: A guidebook and resource. USA: John Wiley & Sons.

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Appendix
Research Time plan
Research Activities
Estimated Time Frame for research activities
completion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
15
Research concern development
Design of research aim and
objectives and hypothesis
Selection of data collection method
Development of Questionnaire
Design
Selecting suitable sample size by
considering sampling method
Data analysis method selection
Final draft
Report submission