Report on Business Research Methods: Delivering Bad News Effectively

This report explores the complexities of delivering bad news within organizations, a critical task for leaders and managers. It examines the impact of bad news on employees and outlines a multiphase procedure for its delivery, including preparation, delivery, and transition. The research utilizes qualitative methodology, incorporating semi-structured interviews to gather data on effective strategies such as performance correction, blame management, and building support and commitment. Ethical considerations are addressed to ensure respondent confidentiality. The report concludes that strategic functions and careful planning are essential for mitigating the adverse effects of delivering negative information, highlighting the importance of transparent and supportive communication practices within the workplace. Desklib provides access to similar reports and study tools.

Business Research Methods

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Explaining Bad News..................................................................................................................3
Impact of bad news on individuals.............................................................................................4
Delivery of Bad News: Multiphase procedure............................................................................4
Analysis of delivering bad news.................................................................................................5
PART 2............................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
There are two types of news existed within an organisation such as good news and bad
news. When managers are required to communicate good news then this will draw positive
impact over the business environment and resultantly employee engagement can be enhanced. At
the same time delivery of bad news may create several consequences which may create negative
impact over the workforce (Buckman, 2017). There are various organisation those are having
significant process within their organisation in which they have a process to deliver bad news.
This is recognised that there is no such integrative framework which can be used in order to
deliver bad news to employees. In the current research, significant information can be gathered
which describes that how bad news is being delivered within the organisation so that to manage
their duties and obligation. This includes such information in which strategic functions can also
be considered as the manner by using the same bad news can be delivered by leaders and
managers.
PART 1
An employee works within an organisation and in this various types of news can be seen
such as good news and bad news. Within an organisation there are various news which are
required to be delivered by managers to their employees (David and Ginglinger, 2016). This is
examined that bad news could be delivered on regular basis or this is daily phenomenon that
could be explained by the organisation the manner in which supervisors are seen their negative
performance and at the same time impact of bad news could be related with decreased service
quality and along with this bad customer experience can also be provided.
Explaining Bad News
Bad news is regarded as the major conceptual problem which is not gaining such
attention within management scholars. A review has been seen into the people in which good
events are acquired. In this analysis it is being identified in which pleasant and beneficial to get
desirable results. In other words, bad news are unpleasant in nature which are undesirable for the
individual. This is examined that bad news are such negative information which includes degree
of badness due to the information is considered as bad (Coutts, 2019). This is examined that
there are two common approaches which are considered within delivering bad news. The major
approach is related with focusing on various types of negative news which are agreed as bad

news. This is the approach which includes feedbacks and employee termination. Another type of
common approach is asking the participants to explain the bad news. This is the aspect which is
considered as qualitative study in order to delivery of bad news. Bad news is focused over
internal aspects in which severity is considered by the organisation in terms of meeting
organisational expectations (Steffens and et. al., 2017). These approaches are providing little
attention to define bad news. According to world of medicine bad news is considered as such
piece of information which is putting negative impact over expectations of individual in which
future expectations are impacted in negative manner. Bad news is defined as the news which
alters the view point in future.
Impact of bad news on individuals
According to the viewpoint of this is examined that bad news is more powerful than good
news as these are impacting the perspective of individual. In other words this can be said that bad
events leads to develop negative impacts and consequences over the organisation. Bad news
spread in fast manner as in comparison of good news (Rao and et. al., 2016). This is also
analysed that bad events are much more powerful as respect of good events.
Delivery of Bad News: Multiphase procedure
There are various professionals such as law officers, doctors and medical examiners. At
the same time managers of the organisation are having occupation to deliver bad news to their
sub-ordinates. There are multiple phases which are used by individual in order to deliver bad
news such as preparation, delivery and transition (Richter and et. al., 2016). In the stage of
preparation advance warning can be given to employees so that gaining of opportunities to raise
of voices. At the stage of delivery manager is deciding timing of delivery in which self-
presentation is managed. In the process of transition managers are engaged in public relations,
providing such appealing process. These are the phases which assist the manager to manage such
bad news and activities so that blame can be given to significant person and at the same time
more positive opinion can be developed. This is the phase in which different frameworks are
included and using the same bad news can be delivered to people which are working in internal
manner in which flow of information in upward to downwards. Bad news are not associated with
annual reports so that this is an internal aspect which are holding higher degree of importance.

Analysis of delivering bad news
The leaders within an organisation are required to adopt strategic functions so that to
deliver bad news to their employees in better manner so that adverse impact of bad news can be
reduced (Erlangga and Sos, 2020). One of the prominent way to deliver bad news is to correct
performance as this is regarded as the primary aspect that can be used in order to manage public
relations larger track can be developed. In order to correct performance, various paper trails are
added so that chances to change behavioural aspects are given and in the same manner
responsibility to manage failure and losses can also be managed. Another way is considered as
blame management in which managers are required to focus on managing different activities to
manage functions (Carroll and et. al., 2018). Another way is to build support and commitments
so that managers and leaders can be included within providing opportunities to employees for
making public relation activities.

PART 2
Methodology is defined as the method which is used within the investigator so that to
collect significant information related with managing the research in proper and systematic
manner (Ørngreen and Levinsen, 2017). In the present research various research methodologies
are used which are defined as below. These are the procedure which are used in order to
recognise, process and select related information to the research so that researcher get an edge to
analyse research information related with research topic. Under this section reliability and
validity is being evaluated in which gathered information can be analysed as well.
Research Philosophy: Research philosophy is regarded such belief and values those are
associated with such methods of examining information in systematic manner. The research
philosophy is majorly divided into three main parts such as ontology, epistemology and
axiology. The researcher is using epistemology research philosophy in order to manage the
current research (Mohajan, 2018). Epistemology is further divided into three types such as
positivism, interpretivism and realism. Investigator is choosing interpretivism as this is
associated with qualitative information in appropriate manner. Interpretivism research
philosophy is wholly focused over managing the theory in defined manner.
Qualitative Methodology: Qualitative methodology is used in order to develop the
investigation so that to include analysis and collecting information in theoretical manner. This is
associated with newspapers, articles and other letters that can be used within the research so that
to attain objectives (Al Kilani, 2016). Qualitative research methodology is concerned within
gaining significant piece of information as in terms of developing open-ended communication.
Researcher is based over managing the whole research in qualitative manner so that using such
theory results can be acquired.
Qualitative data collection technique: Qualitative data collection techniques are referred
as such techniques those are used in order to gather information related with research topic.
There are various types of data collection techniques such as unstructured interviews, focused
group, structured interviews and many others (Davidavičienė, 2018). In order to collect high
quality of information within the current research, semi-structured interviews are used so that
appropriate information can be framed. This is helpful in gaining significant information related
with research along with collection various opinion related with research topic.

Sampling: Sampling is considered as the research methodology that facilitate in selection
of such samples out of the whole population. This is not an easy job to manage interview of
various respondents in which sampling methods can be used. This is divided into two types such
as probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling (Al-Ababneh,, 2020). Under the current research
probabilistic sampling will be used so that to gather respondent in appropriate manner. Managers
are chosen within the current research so that to take out information that how they are delivering
bad news.
Access: In order to conduct the research this is necessary that to access primary and
secondary information at simultaneous manner. At the time of gathering data from managers
access is required to be taken from their source location where they are working.
Ethical considerations: Ethics are considered as that significant aspect of the research in
which data can be gathered from various sources in optimal manner. In the context of present
report permission is taken from respondents so that confidentiality can be maintained.

CONCLUSION
From the above information this can be summarised that delivering bad news is regarded
as one of the hardest task for leaders. There are different phases which are included in the report
and using these steps managers are able to deliver bad news in successful manner. In order to
manage bad news various aspects and strategies can be used such as blame management,
performance correction, building support and commitment, self-management etc.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al Kilani, M., 2016. An overview of research methodology in information system (IS). Open
Access Library Journal, 3(11), p.1.
Al-Ababneh, M.M., 2020. Linking ontology, epistemology and research methodology. Science &
Philosophy, 8(1), pp.75-91.
Buckman, R., 2017. How to break bad news. University of Toronto Press.
Carroll and et. al., 2018. When bad news isn’t necessarily bad: recognizing provider bias when
sharing unexpected news. Pediatrics, 142(1).
Coutts, A., 2019. Good news and bad news are still news: Experimental evidence on belief
updating. Experimental Economics, 22(2), pp.369-395.
David, T. and Ginglinger, E., 2016. When cutting dividends is not bad news: The case of
optional stock dividends. Journal of Corporate Finance, 40, pp.174-191.
Davidavičienė, V., 2018. Research Methodology: An Introduction. In Modernizing the Academic
Teaching and Research Environment (pp. 1-23). Springer, Cham.
Erlangga, H. and Sos, S., 2020. The Challenges of Organizational Communication in the Digital
Era.
Mohajan, H.K., 2018. Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related
subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), pp.23-48.
Ørngreen, R. and Levinsen, K., 2017. Workshops as a Research Methodology. Electronic
Journal of E-learning, 15(1), pp.70-81.
Rao and et. al., 2016. Breaking bad news: patient preferences and the role of family members
when delivering a cancer diagnosis. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 17(4),
pp.1779-1784.
Richter and et. al., 2016. Displaying fairness while delivering bad news: Testing the
effectiveness of organizational bad news training in the layoff context. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 101(6), p.779.
Steffens, N.K., Peters, K., Haslam, S.A. and van Dick, R., 2017. Dying for charisma: Leaders'
inspirational appeal increases post-mortem. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(4), pp.530-
542.