Importance of Compensation and Benefits in Retail Industry HRM: A Study on Iceland

This research project aims to identify the significance of compensation and benefits on employee retention within an organization. It focuses on Iceland, a British supermarket chain, and uses primary research in the form of a questionnaire to draw authentic data-driven inferences with secondary research to supplement the findings and conclusion.

Research Project
(Primary Research)

Table of Contents
TITLE: IMPORTANCE OF COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS WITHIN...............................3
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RETAIL INDUSTRY.............................................3
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................4
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................6
CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION...............................................................................9
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
APPENDICES ..............................................................................................................................15
Appendix 1: Research Proposal............................................................................................15
Appendix 2: Research Ethical Form.....................................................................................19
Appendix 3: Questionnaire...................................................................................................21

TITLE: IMPORTANCE OF COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS WITHIN
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN RETAIL INDUSTRY
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Research Background:
The UK retail industry is one of the most lucrative market sectors the economy has to offer with very high
barriers to entrance (Batallán, 2019). This has resulted in the segment being dominated by 4 giant supermarket
chains, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons (Ahmed, 2018). However apart from the major players, there are
also small yet profitable players operating such as Iceland Foods Ltd. which is a British supermarket chain
established in 1970 by Malcolm Walker specialising in frozen foods and prepared meals and vegetables. This
report will be done under the organizational context of Iceland and will focus on the compensation and benefits
packages of the company. The basic aim of this research will be to highlight the plights if any of the employees of
this firm regarding their remuneration for working in retail. This project will use primary research in the form of a
questionnaire in order to draw authentic data driven inferences with secondary research to supplement the findings
ad conclusion along with a Gantt chart to record the time taken.
Research Aim: To identify the significance of compensation and benefits on employee retention within an
organisation. A study on Iceland.
Research Objectives:
 To determine the importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation.
 To discern the types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within
Iceland.
 To examine the impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of
business. To identify the challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within the
workplace.
Research Questions:
 What is the importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation?
 What are the types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within
Iceland?
 What is the impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of business?
 What are the major challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within
the workplace?
Research Rationale:
The workforce of an organization needs to be focused, driven and in today's volatile business environment
where disruptions that affect business operations are many, dedicated employees are crucial for the smooth
running of business activities (Bibi, Ahmad and Majid, 2018). This research project is being undertaken to analyse
the complex function of compensating employees and it's effects on employee and enterprise performance

because the new developments in human resource and talent management has made the process go much beyond
then simply paying the workers their monthly or weekly salary.
Research Significance:
Analysing human resource components of business is quite significant as business will always remain a
workforce driven activity and employee compensation and benefits form a huge basis upon which business
operations are conducted. Simply hiring and on boarding talent isn't enough for success and this report will
highlight the impact on employee benefits on their performance and productivity (Dabija, Bejan and Dinu, 2019).
Undertaking this research project will help in enhancing the data collection and analysis skills of both the
researcher and the students and will impart key learnings in the field of human resource management.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1: Importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation.
According to Kimberlee Leonard (2019), knowing that attracting and retaining diligent and hardworking
talent rests largely on the compensation and benefits package that an enterprise offers their employees is a
hallmark of a smart and successful employer. Employee compensation is subject to various forms such as bonuses
and salaries and their place in a company is very important because:
 It helps in attracting quality candidates for job vacancies – A healthy compensation package which
includes heavy performance related pay and a robust salary structure is the most effective way to recruit
talented candidates and integrate them in a company's hierarchy as money is the biggest motivator in the
world and every employee wants to see themselves financially strong and secure (Diantari and Riana,
2019).
 Increases the morale among the workforce – In order to make sure that the employees of a firm are
working consistently, it is important to reward their hardwork generously(Do, 2018). High amounts of
performance related pay and bonuses are key factors and tools of management which are used universally
to motivate employees as they act as an incentive to deliver grander results for more money and
recognition.
Theme 2: The types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within Iceland.
According to Amy Stewart (2020), human resource and payroll specialists in an organization have a
massive role to play as they are responsible for designing compensation and benefits packages for employees and
determining the type of compensation to be given to different employees is a very crucial task as they have to
balance the needs of employees with the budget and convenience of the business (Fedaseyeu, Linck and Wagner,
2018). Iceland is a major presence in British retail and their employees are subject to a host of compensation and
benefit packages which include the following:

 A robust hourly wage system for it's store workers which is much higher compared to other
supermarkets on the british streets.
 Free access to michelin star restaurants and other premier establishments.
 Gym memberships and discount cards on restaurants.
 Workplace pension scheme under their own plan called NEST (PAY AND PERKS, 2022)
Theme 3: The impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of business.
According to Eric Dirks (2020), gone are the days where simply cutting a cheque for an employee or
crediting salary to their accounts on a monthly basis consistently was all that was needed to keep them motivated
(Hartono, Efendi and Nurwati, 2021). Compensation is a complex process of human resource management and
has evolved over time to include non-monetary benefits such as health insurance and paid leave policies as
employees are incresingly wanting rewards that are more than just money. Compensation also has great impact on
retention and business performance as:
 Employee Retention – Turnover costs are detrimental to a business and existence of a compensation
system which takes into account the needs and efforts of the workforce is a compulsion for modern
businesses. Keeping the existing workforce happy, content and loyal to the organization for long durations
results in lower turnovers and increased retention (Kusuma, and et.al., 2021).
 Organizational Productivity – A business can only reach it's goal and objectives if there are competent
employees working hard and efficiently day in and day out. In order to keep the workforce motivated,
focused and in perfect alignment with the operation requirements, there must be industry best standards of
pay and benefits which makes their job roles desirable.
Theme 4: Major challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within the
workplace.
As per the opinion of Patricia Woodside (2019), compensation management is a critical business operation
and failure or outdation in compensatory activities can affect the productivity of the entire organization
negatively. Iceland being in retail industry faces various challenges as the retail industry is known for being
predatory towards workers and Iceland has over 900 stores in UK which makes compensation difficult due to the
following reasons:
 Inconsistent and fluctuating hourly work rates – Despite offering a much better hourly pay scale to it's
store workers, Iceland has struggled to regulate it's compesation policies across it's many stores resulting
in discrepancies in pay (Leedy and Ormrod, 2019).
 Boring and traditional outlook on non-monetary benefits – The entire perks and benefit range offered
by Iceland to it's employees at all levels of the organization is lacking in keeping them satisifed. Money
despite being a universal motivator for workers is not the only key metric to focus on as fringe benefits are
increasisnly becomiong important for all employees in retail.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is the basic framework within which the entire research is conducted and it defines
the idea behind data collection, approaches, design and methods of collecting information (Mone and London,
2018). There are various types of research methodologies with two being widely followed:
 Qualitative – Data is collected based on existing theories and assumptions. It is inaccurate but easier and
time saving.
 Quantitative – Numerical data is collected, analysed and forecasted with the use of statistics.
This project will use quantitative research methodology as there will be use of questionnaires and their statistical
analysis and interpretation. Other areas of research methodologies of this project are as follows:
Research Philosophy
It refers to the belief and notion behind data gathering, collection and the purpose for which the data will
be used by the researcher. There are 2 major research philosophies:
 Interpretivism – This philosophy is used with qualitative research and only takes into account the social
constructs around the subject matter.
 Positivism – This philosophy pushes the belief that scientific approach is the only way to collect and use
data and the researcher must be a distant observer and make their research findings quantifiable (Mousa,
Simha and Chowdhury, 2019).
This project will use the positivism approach as the research findings and analysis will be quantifiable and based
on numerical data.
Research Approach
Refers to the plans and processes that are adhered to while undertaking research ranging from broad
assumptions to planning of data collection and analysis. There are two major approaches to research:
 Inductive Reasoning – In this approach, theories are not tested and they are developed through
observation which makes the inferences drawn unreliable.
 Deductive Reasoning – Existing theories are used as base and are thoroughly tested after hypothesis are
drawn from them.
This report will use deductive reasoning as there will be use of statistics and observational approach will not be
used.
Research Design
This is the broad framework of research methods and techniques which is used to ensure that the research
problem is tackled in the best way possible. There are many research designs such as:

 Exploratory – These researches are done on unfamiliar and complex topics to again a general
understanding and new outlook on materials that haven't been analysed properly (Purdon and Thornton,
2019).
 Experimental – Treats the research analysis as an experiment and allows the researcher to control all
variables that may affect the outcome of the chosen.
 Descriptive – Helps answer the questions of who, what and where pertaining to the research problem.
This project will use descriptive research design as impact and challenges of compensation and benefits at Iceland
will be discussed.
Sample Method and Size
Sampling size determines the scope of research and the samples to be analysed can either be taken
randomly with probability sampling or they can be specifically chosen from a strata with non-probability
sampling (Sparks, 2020). This report will use non-probability sampling as the sampling size of 40 has been pre-
determined and only employees of Iceland will be filling the questionnaire.
Data Analysis
The collected data sets can be analysed using variety of methods such as descriptive statistics, cluster
analysis and the nature of data can be varied such as:
 Primary Data Analysis – The basis of these researches is based on authentic and originally sourced data
from verifiable sources to gain the most accurate analysis possible.
 Secondary Data Analysis – This is analysis which is done by the data collected by somebody else from
different sources (Yadewani and Wijaya, 2021).
This report will use descriptive statistics to draw inferences and will include primary data analysis with the use of
questionnaire.
Questionnaire
Name -
Age -
Sex -
Q1) Are you knowledgeable about the compensation and benefits that your company
provides it's employees ?
(A) Yes
(B) No

Q2) Are you aware about the rights of employees to get compensated optimally ?
(A) Yes
(B) No
Q3) Are your workplace compensation and benefits at Iceland on par with other retail
sector companies ?
(A) It is better
(B) It is worse
(C) It's on par
Q4) Which of the following types of compensation and benefits would you like to receive
from your employers ?
(A) Social Security Schemes
(B) Performance Incentives
(C) Annual bonuses and increments
(D) Educational and recreational facilities
(E) All of the above
Q5) Are you fully satisfied with the compensation and benefits package offered by
Iceland ?
(A) Yes
(B) No
Q6) Are the current compensation and benefits being offered at Iceland motivating you to
work hard and stay focused at your job at all times ?
(A) Yes, my motivation to do my job everyday is high and I remain focused
(B) My motivation and drive to commit to my job is decreasing
(C) I feel demotivated and unappreciated
Q7) What do you think is lacking in the compensation and benefits management at
Iceland ?
(A) Consistency
(B) Lack of fringe benefits
(C) Outdated and low paying compensation structure

(D) All of the above
(E) None of the above
Q8) What would be the impact on your existing productivity if you were being
compensated better by Iceland ?
(A) I would work harder to receive bonuses and incentives consistently
(B) I would be highly focused on my job and completing set retail sales targets
(C) My efficiency will increase as I remain driven to perform better for the company
CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION
Q1) Are you knowledgeable about the compensation and benefits
that your company provides it's employees ?
Frequency
Yes 30
No 10
Interpretation – Due analysis of the above questionnaire tells us that 75% of the workforce of
Iceland has no concrete idea about the full range and scope of their compensation and benefits
package details with indicates poor communication coupled with lazy management tactics.
Q2) Are you aware about the rights of employees to get
compensated optimally ?
Frequency
Yes 27
No 13
Interpretation – Uninformed workers are much easier to motivate and exploit and 67.5% of the
employees not being privy about their rights and powers in retail provides a valid reasoning as
to why Iceland's management has gotten away with such a sub-par compensation package for so
long. Iceland's workforce seems to be in major divide over the knowledge regarding their rights
and remuneration.

Q3) Are your workplace compensation and benefits at Iceland
on par with other retail sector companies ?
Frequency
It is better 15
It is worse 10
It is on par 15
Interpretation – The responses actually paint a little positive picture of Iceland's retail
remuneration standards as they do not cheapen out on providing good or above average hourly
and monthly wages which are reflected in their work force's opinions as a combined 75% think
the standards of pay are at-least on par with the retail industry if not better.
Q4) Which of the following types of compensation and benefits
would you like to receive from your employers ?
Frequency
Social Security Schemes 4
Performance incentives 8
Annual bonuses and increments 14
Educational and recreational facilities 5
All of the above 9
Interpretation – It is clear from the responses that almost every employee wishes that
something extra and entertaining were provided to them on premises to make work conditions
better and not boring. Annual bonus and increments were the most desired coming in with a
demand of 35% followed by 22.5% demanding a mix of social schemes, incentives, increments
and workplace recreation. Iceland can use this to innovate and add new offerings in their
compensation packages.
Q5) Are you fully satisfied with the compensation and benefits
package offered by Iceland ?
Frequency
Yes 22
No 18

Interpretation – Once again a worrying statistic for Iceland's management as 45% of the
workforce is not currently content with the compensation benefits they are being subjected too
and the remaining 55% are either situated higher in the company hierarchy or they are subject to
slow decline of motivation because Iceland does not offer much fringe benefits.
Q6) Are the current compensation and benefits being
offered at Iceland motivating you to work hard and stay
focused at your job at all times ?
Frequency
Yes, my motivation to do my job everyday is high and I
remain focused
17
My motivation and drive to commit to my job is decreasing 15
I feel demotivated and unappreciated 8
Interpretation – This analysis is one of the most prominent ones for Iceland to get a close look
at the mental state of their workers and make alteration in their human resource strategy as
37.5% of the workforce which is a large chunk is apparently suffering from a commitment
slump and 20% are flat out demotivated due to sub-par standards of an outdated compensation
system.
Q7) What do you think is lacking in the compensation and
benefits management at Iceland ?
Frequency
Consistency 10
Lack of fringe benefits 8
Outdated and low paying compensation structure 9
All of the above 6
None of the above 7
Interpretation – Flaws have been pointed out by the workers in various departments which
speaks of a layered problem related to Iceland's benefit packages. 25% of the employees
complained about the consistency in hourly and weekly wages across Iceland's multiple store
and 22.5% and 20% of the workforce feel that the non-monetary benefits are lacking and the

way they are paid is outdated in modern retail. A very small part of the workers are actually
positive about the process of compensation coming in at 17.5%.
Q8) What would be the impact on your existing productivity
if you were being compensated better by Iceland ?
Frequency
I would work harder to receive bonuses and incentives
consistently
12
I would be highly focused on my job and completing set retail
sales targets
17
My efficiency will increase as I remain driven to perform
better for the company
11
Interpretation – This should serve as a satisfying conclusion to the employee responses as
Iceland's workers have admitted the importance of proper benefits for them in enhancing their
productivity. 42.5% have attributed to their focus and drive getting better, 30% responded by
promising to work harder for better compensation and 27.5% answered with an efficiently
increase. Iceland needs to rebuild the way it thinks of compensation in retail.
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
The above concluded research project painted quite an interesting yet polarizing picture in the
organizational context of Iceland and it's compensation and benefits management for it's large retail oriented
workforce. The analysis done on 40 employees working for the company and their questionnaire responses
revealed that a major part of the workforce is not satisfied at all with the current system of remuneration in the
company and the communication between the management and workers on rights, benefit packages and amount
of bonuses is not clear which is a cause for future friction. Despite the hourly pay rate being above average from
an employee point of view, there is inconsistency reported by them and a decent chunk of the workforce feels that
they can be catered to in a better way as many of them reported declining levels of commitment towards Iceland's
retail work.
CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS
After a detailed analysis of the questionnaire responses and comprehensive literature reviews about the
role, importance, types and impact of compensation and benefits on a retail business, it is clear that Iceland faces
quite a few challenges as when it comes to compensation, a major part of their workforce stands unsatisfied and

divided. Here are the recommendations through which Iceland Foods Ltd can service their employees better and
provide better compensation and benefits:
 Standard and Uniform hourly pay standards – A major complaint in retail industry in general and those
of employees working for Iceland is that there is no consistency in payment and compensation standards in
the company as different stores run differential rates and run double hourly pay offers on different weeks.
Iceland should focus on providing a well planned and high hourly wage system and implement it fairly
across all it's stores through management systems.
 A focus on fringe benefits and social welfare – Merely providing money is not enough to keep a modern
workforce motivated and many employees of Iceland pointed towards outdated benefits and lack of a
social reward structure. Iceland should build exciting and innovative benefits package focusing on mental
health and recreational facilities and should also pay social security of all their employees which is
majorly lacking in retail industry.
Gantt Chart

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahmed, J., 2018. A framework for identity fraud management in mobile commerce: a case of online retail
organisations in the UK (Doctoral dissertation, University of Central Lancashire).
Batallán, G., 2019. Anthropology and Research Methodology. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education.
Bibi, P., Ahmad, A. and Majid, A.H., 2018. HRM practices and employee retention: The moderating effect of
work environment. In Applying partial least squares in tourism and hospitality research. Emerald
Publishing Limited.
Dabija, D.C., Bejan, B.M. and Dinu, V., 2019. How sustainability oriented is Generation Z in retail? A literature
review. Transformations in Business & Economics, 18(2).
Diantari, N.P.A. and Riana, I.G., 2019. Effect of transformational leadership and compensation on employee
performance. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 6(6), pp.146-154.
Do, T.T., 2018. How spirituality, climate and compensation affect job performance. Social Responsibility Journal.
Fedaseyeu, V., Linck, J.S. and Wagner, H.F., 2018. Do qualifications matter? New evidence on board functions
and director compensation. Journal of Corporate Finance, 48, pp.816-839.
Hartono, R., Efendi, E. and Nurwati, E., 2021. The Effect of Compensation and Motivation on Employee
Performance with Job Satisfaction as Intervening Variables at Hotel XYZ, in Jakarta. Majalah Ilmiah
Bijak, 18(1), pp.153-166.
Kusuma, and et.al., 2021. EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND COMPENSATION: EVIDENCE FROM
INDONESIA. Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences, 24, pp.1-12.
Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E., 2019. Practical research: Planning and design. Pearson. One Lake Street, Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.
Mone, E.M. and London, M., 2018. Employee engagement through effective performance management: A
practical guide for managers. Routledge.
Mousa, F., Simha, A. and Chowdhury, J., 2019, July. Extending Insights from TMT Pay–Performance Research
to Director Compensation-A Quasi-Replication. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2019,
No. 1, p. 16259). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Purdon, M. and Thornton, P., 2019. Research methodology for adaptation policy analysis: embracing the eclectic
messy centre. In Research handbook on climate change adaptation policy. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Sparks, L., 2020. How is Coronavirus affecting the UK's Retail Sector?.
Yadewani, D. and Wijaya, R., 2021. The Effect of Compensation and Career Development on Employee
Turnover Intention in the Culinary Sector. ADPEBI International Journal of Business and Social Science,
1(1), pp.37-44.
ONLINE REFERENCING
PAY AND PERKS, 2022 [online] available through <https://icelandcareers.co.uk/faqs/pay-and-perks/will-i-be-
paid-weekly-or-monthly/>
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Research Proposal
Proposed title: Importance of compensation and benefits within human resource management in retail
industry.
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title of the project:
Importance of compensation and benefits within human resource management in retail industry.

Objectives:
 To determine the importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation.
 To discern the types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within
Iceland.
 To examine the impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of
business.
 To identify the challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within the
workplace.
The main aim of this research is to identify the significance of compensation and benefits on employee retention
within an organisation with a contextual study on Iceland. This project will analyse various questions stated
below.
Questions:
 What is the importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation?
 What are the types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within
Iceland?
 What is the impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of business?
 What are the major challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within
the workplace?
This research is being conducted to study the impact of compensation on employee and organizational
performance and the challenges associated with it with special emphasis on Iceland, which operates in UK's retail
industry.
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
There are various reasons to choose this research project as it deals with the elements of human resource
management which is a very crucial component of every company's business operations. A major driving force
behind taking this topic is the personal interest that the author has in the compensation and benefits aspect of
human resource. Conducting this research is beneficial for various stakeholders such as researchers, students as
well as Iceland as researchers can learn from the research methodology and philosophy used and students can
undertake key learning's in the field of compensation, talent retention and talent management. The management at
Iceland can use this research report to analyze it's policies of employee compensation and find solutions to the
challenges their workers are facing when it comes to benefits and perks of the retail industry.
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Theme 1: Importance of compensation and benefits for employees within an organisation.
According to Kimberly Leonard (2019), knowing the fact that attracting and retaining quality talent in a company
requires a lucrative compensation system is a hallmark of an experienced employer. Properly compensating
employees for their efforts has plenty of benefits highlighted below.
 Attracting quality talent – The structure of remuneration and the benefits of working in a company are

the biggest factors that is uses to hire top talent in the market as money is the biggest form of motivation.
 Keeping morale of the workforce high – When the employees recieve fair compensation for their efforts
in a company, they remain driven and focused to keep doing better work in hope of achieving a better
financial position.
 Improving loyalty of workers towards the organization – Workers do not complete their tasks
efficiently over a long period of time if they don't feel valued or important to the business, proper and
good system of compensation makes them feel valued and appreciated increasing retention.
Theme 2: The types of compensation and benefits offered to workforce for retaining employees within Iceland.
According to Amy Stuart (2020), understanding the different forms of employee compensation is a fundamental
requirement for HR and payroll specialists and these job roles are responsible for managing the workforce of a
company. Iceland offers various forms of compensation to it's employees which are stated below.
 Restaurant and Gym memberships
 Discounted lifestyle products and amenities
 Workplace pension scheme (NEST)
Theme 3: The impact of compensation and benefits on retention of employees and performance of business.
According to Eric Dirks (2020), compensation functions as the reward given to employees for their continued and
sustainable performance and it forms the backbone of the overall performance of the organization. By properly
compensating the workforce, enterprise is postitively impacted in some areas described herein.
 Retention – Turnover is drastically reduced and employees strive to perform better by sticking to their
given job roles in long periods of time.
 Organizational Productivity – A motivated workforce performs better and helps achieve business
objectives much more smoothly.
Theme 4: Major challenges faced by Iceland while selecting types of benefits and compensation within the
workplace.
As per the opinion of Patricia Woodside (2019), employee compensation management is a much more deeper and
complex process then simply paying employees and it is subject to various economic and non economic barrriers.
Iceland has had it's share of struggles while selecting compensation packages which are stated below.
 Inconsistency and infrequency in performance bonuses
 Benefits package is quite basic and lacks innovation
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research
project (e.g., research, development and analysis
of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical
analysis, tutor meetings, production of final
outcome, evaluation, writing the report):
How long this will take: (See Gantt Chart below)
Milestone one: See Gantt Chart
Target date (set by
tutor): ..............................................................................
...........

Milestone
two: .................................................................................
........
Target date (set by
tutor): ..............................................................................
...........
Section Five: Research approach and methodologies
Research Philosophy: This refers to the thought process and agenda behind the collection of research related
information and there are two major philosophies which are interpretivism and positivism. This report will use
the positivism philosophy due to it's time and cost saving nature and help in attaining detailed knowledge.
Research Approach: Refers to the method of evaluating information and making assumptions and hypothesis
about the research topic. Inductive and deductive are two most common types of research approaches and
deductive reasoning has been used in this report as it is a more scientific method and findings can be proven.
Research Design: It is the framework of research methods and techniques employed by researchers to conduct
their analysis of a hypothesis. Exploratory, Descriptive and Experimental research designs are the most followed
ones and in this report descriptive design has been used due to focus on theoretical presentation of collected data.
Research Methodology: It involves the various way in which information is collected and analyzed to reach the
desired conclusions. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are widely followed methodologies and in this
project, quantitative methodology has been chosen due to the presence of statistically presented data.
Sampling Method: Probability and non-probability are two methods by which the sample size is chosen by
researchers and this project's sample has been chosen using probability sampling as it facilitates a higher and
more precise sample size analysis and is not time consuming.
Sampling Size: 20 employees working for Iceland have been selected to constitute the sample size in this report.
The data collected will accurately depict the compensation management of Iceland.
Data Analysis: There are different methods of analysing the collected data and descriptive statistics will be used
in this report to properly present the collected quantitative data.
Comments and agreement from tutor
Comments (optional)
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is
appropriate
Agreed Name: Date:

Comments and agreement from project checker (if applicable)
Comments (optional)
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is
appropriate
Agreed Name: Date:
Appendix 2: Research Ethical Form
Section 1 Basic Details
Project title:
Student name:
Student ID Number:
Programme:
College:
Intended research start date:
Intended research end date:
Section 2 Project Summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project:
(Copy and paste the tick where applicable)
Interviews:
Questionnaires: ✔
Observations:
Use of Personal Records:
Data Analysis: ✔
Action Research:
Focus Group:
Other (Please specify): ✔

Section 3: Participants
Please answer the following questions, giving full details where
necessary. Will your research involve human participants? Yes
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply:
Ages 12-16:  Young People aged 17-18:  Adults: ✔
How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?
Approached
Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what you are doing:
By telephonic conversations and emails
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written?
How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw
consent to participate at any time?
Consent form shall be given through email and all information will be provided
thereof.
Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option
of omitting questions they do not wish to answer?
Yes: ✔ No: 
If No please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical
issues arising from this Studies involving observation: Confirm whether
participants will be asked for their informed consent to be observed.
Yes:  No: 
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give
them a brief explanation of the study)?
Yes: ✔ No: 

Will participants be given information about the findings of your
study? (This could be a brief summary of your findings in general)
Yes:✔ No: 
Appendix 3: Questionnaire