Tawk Research Proposal SBS SWISS Business School

Tawk Research Proposal
SBS SWISS BUSINESS SCHOOL
Doctor of Business Administration
Assignment Coversheet
Plagiarism Statement
This assignment is the original work of the person whose name is given above (unless
otherwise acknowledged as well as the SBS Swiss Business School procedures,
which are detailed in the handbook.
Signed
Note: This assignment should be stapled in the top left corner and should not be
bound by other means.
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Candidate Family Name: Tawk
First / Other Names: Charles
Candidate ID Number: 11753
SBS DBA Intake: 11th DBA
Course: Research Methods in Business & Management
Assignment Topic: Research Proposal
Lecturer: Dr. Beenu Mago
Due Date: October 14th , 2021
Office use only
Received on __/__/__
By________________

Tawk Research Proposal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................................2
Research Proposal.....................................................................................................................................3
1. The title of the research.....................................................................................................................3
2. Introduction.......................................................................................................................................3
3. Recipients for the Research..............................................................................................................4
4. Suitability of Researcher for the Research......................................................................................4
5. Literature Review/ Overview............................................................................................................5
6. Research Methodology....................................................................................................................10
6.1 Ethical Issues................................................................................................................................12
7. Population and Sample....................................................................................................................13
8. Data Collection, Editing and Coding..............................................................................................14
9. Time, Cost and Project Management.............................................................................................16
10. New and Relevant Research........................................................................................................17
11. Appendices...................................................................................................................................18
12. References....................................................................................................................................25
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Tawk Research Proposal
Research Proposal
1. The title of the research
The impact of psychological capital factors on employee’s retention at the ministry of human
resources and Emiratization in the United Arab Emirates.
2. Introduction
Worldwide, employee retention is a serious problem for companies, especially those that fail to
retain their top talent, as they face a shortage of skilled workers that eventually affects their
competitiveness (Iqbal, Guohao & Akhtar, 2017). Retention necessitates many requirements
such as challenging tasks, virtuous relationships, appealing rewards, and a positive environment
(Gonaim, 2019). In this context, recent studies have shown that retaining highly skilled
employees has become a challenging task, and several best practices have been suggested as
effective methods for attracting, hiring, and retaining employees, including but not limited to:
Salary, incentives, benefits and promotions, work-life balance, and others (Al-Emadi,
Schwabenland & Wei, 2015) and (Osibanjo, Adeniji, Falola, & Heirsmac, 2014).
Correspondingly, many researchers suggested an answer to gain that competitive edge,
recommending the individual and organizational investment and development of psychological
capital (Luthans, Youssef, & Avolio, 2015). As per Luthans et al., (2015) Psychological Capital
can be defined as the study of the processes by which positive attitudes and behaviors contribute
to the functioning and development of individuals, teams, and organizations. Broad and Luthans
(2020) defined Psychological Capital, commonly known as PsyCap, as the individual’s positive
psychological state having the following components: (1) determination toward goals and, when
needed, changing paths in order to be successful (hope), (2) confidence to take on and put in the
necessary efforts to succeed at challenging tasks (efficacy); (3) sustaining and rebounding back
and even beyond to attain success (resiliency), and (4) making a positive attribution about
succeeding now and in the future (optimism). Psychological Capital covers quantifiable,
developable, and successfully manageable applications related to the psychological capacity of
human resources, which result in performance growths in organizations (Keleş, 2011). Keleş
(2011) has found that the quality of individuals and their psychological capital can be developed,
and the results transferred to the workplace, which can lead individuals to success along with
their organization. Hence, the psychological factors H.E.R.O (hope, efficacy, resilience, and
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Tawk Research Proposal
optimism) can help solid mental employees to stay in their organization. Psychological capital
construct has been well explored and many researchers and scholars tried to interpret its impact
on a large gamut of employee attitudes and behaviors. Organizations should understand better
the intentions of their employees and what are the factors that make them quit and those that
make them stay in their job. The enhancement of psychological capital may represent a good
strategy to decrease employee’s turnover and increase the possibilities of their retention.
Therefore, this research intention is to contribute to the literature in the field of human resources
management and industrial and organizational psychology by testing the four factors of
psychological capital: hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism, and how they could impact
employee’s retention at the ministry of human resources and Emiratization in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
3. Recipients for the Research
The findings of the research should be shared with the supervisor. He would help in leading the
researcher to fulfill the current academic program partially. The findings should also be shared
with Human resources professionals of the ministry of human resources and Emiratization in the
United Arab Emirates. The conclusions would help them in understanding the psychological
capital and its four factors and if they correlate or not with employee’s retention. The findings
would also be useful to develop knowledge on how HERO (hope, efficacy, resilience, and
optimism) model can be translated into leadership practices, and how each factor can be
developed to decrease employee turnover, hence increase retention.
4. Suitability of Researcher for the Research
The researcher has completed his Master of Science in Human Resources and Training in 2019;
this degree has provided him with insights into various areas of human resources management
and has increased his ability to achieve advanced levels of knowledge and skills in this area.
Furthermore, it opened his eyes to a new area that is considered the future of human resources
which is industrial and organizational psychology. The researcher is a Partner in a Consulting
firm, additionally to his Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management and Training
from the United Kingdom, he is a senior certified professional by the Society for Human
Resources Management (SHRM-SCP), a member in the society of industrial and organizational
psychologists (SIOP), a member in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
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Tawk Research Proposal
(CIPD), and a registered organization development consultant (RODC) with the International
Society for Organization Development and Change (ISODC). The researcher held several
positions in the areas of human resources, consultancy, law, and management. The researcher is
very well connected with the local and international human resources bodies and entities.
Additionally, the researcher focused on the human resources and industrial and organizational
psychology construct in his Master of Science degree, in his professional research, and in his
consulting projects until he became an authority and a subject matter expert in both fields.
5. Literature Review/ Overview
Psychological capital construct has been the subject of substantial theories and research over the
past number of years. It has been mentioned into many types of literatures such as organizational
behavior, positive psychology and many more. Psychological capital is considered the science of
positive personal practices (Aybas & Acar, 2017). Subsequently, Psychological capital started to
gain interest where numerous researchers attempted to investigate its global and cross-cultural
applications (Baron, Franklin and Hmieleski, 2016). Furthermore, many gathered research have
verified that psychological capital is positively linked to a variety of employee desirable
attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes (Luthans, Luthans and Jensen, 2012), (Dawkins et al., 2013),
(Wernsing, 2014), and (Broad & Luthans, 2017). Correspondingly, in their research for criteria
to enhance organizational positive behavior, Luthans and Youssef (2004) proposed that self-
efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience represent the positive capacities or resources and they
called the combination of these capabilities’ psychological capital. PsyCap definition is agreed
on and supported by researchers such as (Luthans, Avey, Avolio, Norman, and Combs, 2006);
(Luthans, Avolio, Walumbwa, and Li, 2005), (Mazzetti et al., 2016), and many others. One
cannot tackle the psychological capital subject without providing a comprehensive description of
its four components.
Efficacy, or self-efficacy, is the individual’s faith is his capabilities that fuel his motivation and
beliefs to succeed in his tasks (Öqvist & Malmström, 2018). Bandura (1997) defined confidence
as a positive psychological capital capacity and went further by demonstrating a strong positive
relationship to employee work-related performance. Moreover, Nolzen (2018) described the
PsyCap as being the human ability that can be quantified, developed, and controlled for
performance enhancement.
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Tawk Research Proposal
Hope is an important contributor to PsyCap, and it is defined as individual’s positive
motivational condition, goal-oriented energy, and planning to meet goals (Yu et al., 2019). Hope
can be considered as a positive state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes
enhancing employee performance and retention.
Optimism De Meza, & Dawson (2021) defined optimism in a theory where they explained that
optimists consider bad happenings as being only momentary, while pessimists consider the same
as permanent. However, for good events it is exactly the opposite. Yildiz (2019) studied the
positive impact of optimism by providing evidence on its influence on desirable organizational
effects such as trust.
Resilience represents the capacity to “bounce back” from difficulty and intense changes. This
component is much needed and relevant in today’s fierce business environment. Linkov &
Trump (2019) claimed that resilience is not an extraordinary capacity that differentiates average
individuals from leaders as it is considered a normal part of the human adaptation system.
Conversely, Duchek (2020) supposed that resilient individuals have three characteristics: a firm
acceptance of reality; a profound belief based on deep values; and a strong ability to improvise.
Beyond doubt any organization can benefit from the presence of resilience between its
employees. As a result, resilience can contribute to PsyCap with a return of desired outcomes.
Lately PsyCap factors have been shortened using the acronym HERO: hope, efficacy, resilience,
and optimism (Youssef-Morgan & Stratman, 2017) as an easy and unforgettable reference. Each
single element is grounded in the PsyCap theory, and it is authenticated with experimental
research data, and found to have a positive impact on attitudes, behaviors, and performance.
Moreover, each element is considered a psychological state and not a trait; therefore, it could be
developed (Satpathy, 2020). When all four distinct elements are present in a situation, with the
proper organizational antecedents, the individual tends to achieve more task and objectives. The
collective impact of HERO goes beyond the effect generated from each of its element alone
(Luthans, 2015). It is this precise thing that makes PsyCap a high construct. PsyCap is the HERO
within each person as it can define who you are and who you can turn into (Luthans, 2015). By
considering Luthans et al., (2015) four resources HERO: hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism
as imperative aspects of PsyCap, it is expected that this combination will result in more desirable
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