Case Study: Impact of Trust on Management on Employee Satisfaction

This case study explores the impact of trust in management on employee satisfaction and loyalty, focusing on fast-food restaurants in California. The research investigates the relationship between employee-oriented HRM policies, effective communication, and the development of trust between employees and management. The study aims to understand how these factors influence employee satisfaction and retention, addressing the high turnover rates in the industry. The methodology involves an exploratory qualitative approach using face-to-face interviews with employees from selected restaurants, supported by a review of existing literature. The theoretical framework includes Maslow's hierarchy of needs and leadership style theories to analyze employee needs and the influence of leadership on employee satisfaction. The study highlights the significance of trust in management for employee satisfaction and loyalty within the service industry, particularly in the context of fast-food restaurants.

Running head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN 1
Qualitative Research Design: A Case Study
Student’s Name
University Name

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGN 2
Qualitative Research Design: A Case Study
Part One
The topic of Case Study: Impact of trust on management on employee satisfaction and loyalty.
Research Objective: To explore how trust in management impacts employee satisfaction and
loyalty.
Background
Various research studies have confirmed a positive correlation between employees’
satisfaction, motivation, work performance, and ethics at work (Dugguh, S. I., & Dennis, A.,
2014). A satisfied employee is more committed to the work and remains loyal to the organization
in the long-run (Balouch, R., & Hassan, F. , 2014). Therefore, it is essential to comprehend the
major factors that impact employees' satisfaction and employees' loyalty.
State of the Problem
Various industries in the USA are currently dealing with high employee turnover rate. A
high turnover rate refers to a high number of employees leaving the organization due to various
reasons. In the USA, industries that are dealing with high turnover rate are staffing, hotels, fast
food restaurants, and retail; in some cases, the turnover rate is as high as 300 percent (DailyPay,
2017). Rubel, Rimi, Yusliza, & Kee (2018) said that employees remain loyal when they have
faith in their HR department and the company's management. Organizations that formed and
implement employees’ oriented policies, and display their care and commitment towards
employees, are successful in retaining their employees for longer time (Rubel, Rimi, Yusliza &
Kee, 2018). It can be inferred that employees working in hotels, staffing, fast food restaurants,
and retail industries do not feel that their management care for employees, and also, do not form
policies that show management commitment towards employees.

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Population
The research study is focused on understanding how the trust in management impacts
employees' satisfaction that further leads to impacting employees' loyalty for the organization.
The study will be conducted on the fast-food restaurants operating in the California state to
understand how a high level of trust between employees and management positively impacts
employees' satisfaction. The study will also explore how a high level of employee satisfaction
positively impacts loyalty and retention.
Specific Problem
Management policies that ensure employees’ growth, their professional & personal
development, fair treatment, reward & recognition, and transparent appraisal, helps in building
trust on the management (Weibel et al., 2016). Such policies help in communicating that
management care for their employees. Another factor that facilitates the development of trust is
positive and effective communication between management and employees. Thus the specific
problem that will be explored in the research study is to understand how employee-friendly
HRM policies and healthy communication between managers and employees positively impacts
employees’ satisfaction in the Quick Service or fast-food restaurants operating in the
neighborhood.
Research purpose
It is often said that a happy and satisfied employee can only make customers happy.
When employees are not satisfied then they would not be able to serve customers efficiently.
Therefore, it is imperative for organizations, operating in the service industry, to make their
employees happy and satisfied so that they remain loyal to the company (Heydari & Lai, 2019).

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Part 2
Research Questions
 To explore the relationship between employees-oriented HRM policies and the
development of trust between employees and management.
 To investigate the impact of healthy and effective communication between employees
and management on building trust between employees and management.
 To explore how trust in management makes employees satisfied and loyal?
Research Methodology
The case study is exploratory because it is focused on exploring the factors that facilitate
the development of trust between employees and management. Also, the study explores the
impact of trust on management on employees' satisfaction and loyalty.
Knowledge Gap in Literature & Significance of Problem
There are various research studies have been conducted to analyze the relationship
between trust in management and employee satisfaction. These research studies also emphasize
on factors that help in developing a strong trust between organizational leaders and employees.
For example, McManus & Mosca (2015), in their research study, identified trust as one of the
major factors that impact employee satisfaction. Dahl & Peltier (2014) said that trust in
management plays an essential role in employee satisfaction and positively impacts employees'
loyalty (Dahl & Peltier, 2014). Employees who trust their leaders stay longer in the organization
and work with full dedication (Waqas et al., 2014). Employees trust their management when they
feel that management cares for them and consider them as a valuable part of the organization.

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However, very limited studies have been conducted to analyze how these factors work in
the fast-food industry. The business dynamics and environment varies from one industry to
another, and it is not necessary that factors that work well in one industry will work well in
another. For example, factors that are positively impacting employees' satisfaction in the
manufacturing industry may not work positively in the service industry. Literature confirms that
positive HRM policies help in creating trust in management, but there is also a possibility that in
service industry trust is developed through healthy communication. Also, it is difficult to find
research studies that are conducted specifically on fast-food restaurants in California, USA on
the identified topic.
Theoretical Framework
Nawaz & Khan (2016) said that there are various theories that provide a framework to
evaluate employee satisfaction such as the hierarchy of needs, two-factor theory, equity theory,
etc. Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' theory classified employees' needs in five categories and place
those needs in a hierarchy. Maslow placed physiological needs (food, shelter, and water ) that
are essential for survival, at the bottom of the hierarchy. Management of any organization should
first these needs of employees. Moving one level above are safety-related needs. So after
fulfillment of physiological needs, the organization should focus on providing a safe working
environment (Nawaz & Khan, 2016). Belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs are placed
at third, fourth, and top-level respectively in the hierarchy. According to this theory,
management who wants to satisfy their employees should fulfill employees’ needs in hierarchal
form, starting from bottom to top.
Leadership style theory also provides a framework to explore the relationship between
organizational leaders and employees. According to Afshinpour (2014), leadership styles shown

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by organizational leaders were classified into five types i.e. transformational, transactional,
autocratic, charismatic, and situational leadership styles. Every leadership style shows different
leadership characteristics that impact their relationship with employees and employees'
satisfaction. For example, employees working with transformational leaders will be more
satisfied as compared to authoritative leaders. Because transformational leaders are inspiring;
they care for their employees and develop a strong relationship with them. However,
authoritative leaders believe in getting work done by using their power (Afshinpour, 2014).
Sample Population
Employees who are working in fast-food restaurants will be the suitable target population
for the research study. For the primary research study, three fast-food restaurants operating in the
neighborhood will be selected for the research study. The restaurant will be selected on a random
basis. For the interview, five employees will be selected from every restaurant, so there will be a
sample size of 15 employees in total. All employees will be selected on a random basis
depending upon their availability and comfort level. However, it will be ensured that selected
employees represent both genders and different functions of an organization like admin,
reception, customer care, waters, etc. (Robinson, 2014).
Data Collection Techniques
Both primary and secondary data collection techniques will be used in the research.
Primary data will be collected by face-to-face interviews, and secondary data will be collected
from the literature review of past research studies conducted on the subject. A well-developed
questionnaire that will comprise of open-ended questions will be used for primary data collection
(Palinkas et al., 2015). The majority of the questions will be kept open-ended due to the
qualitative nature of the research study.

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References
Afshinpour, S. (2014). Leadership styles and employee satisfaction: A correlation study.
International letters of social and Humanistic Sciences, (27), 156-169.
Balouch, R., & Hassan, F. . (2014). Determinants of job satisfaction and its impact on employee
performance and turnover intentions. International Journal of Learning & Development,
4(2), 120-140.
Dahl, A. J., & Peltier, J. W. . (2014). Internal marketing and employee satisfaction and loyalty:
Cross-cultural scale validation in context of US and German nurses. Journal of Consumer
Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 27, 43.
DailyPay. (2017, July 10). What Is The Average Employee Retention Rate by Industry? Retrieved
from business.dailypay.com: https://business.dailypay.com/blog/employee-retention-rate
Dugguh, S. I., & Dennis, A. (2014). Job satisfaction theories: Traceability to employee
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Heydari, M. D., & Lai, K. K. (2019). The Effect Employee Commitment on Service Performance
through a Mediating Function of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Using Servqual
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McManus, J., & Mosca, J. (2015). Strategies to build trust and improve employee engagement.
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Nawaz, Z. A. K. D. A., & Khan, I. (2016). Leadership theories and styles: A literature review.
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(2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method

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Robinson, O. C. (2014). Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: A theoretical and
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