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Need help with bolded questions in italics below: 3.0 PROPOSAL…
Need help with bolded questions in italics below:
3.0 PROPOSAL
3.1 Introduction
Inconsequential EI by retail business executives during organizational transition has affected staff performance and disengagement (Ojo et al., 2021). Leaders must inspire and motivate their teams to make organizational changes (Sampson et al., 2021). EI requires openness to new ideas, learning, and judicious risk-taking. Leaders must manage stress and uncertainty, be cheerful, and focus on the organization’s vision despite differences (Eliot, 2020; Hillmann & Guenther, 2021). Without changing leadership techniques, firms will likely have high turnover, corporate growth, and unethical work practices, leading to negative workplace occurrences (Yanchus et al., 2020).
Practice shows that businesses need help to adjust to workplace changes, which prevents them from meeting strategic goals (Harsch & Festing, 2020). Leaders must foster innovation, collaboration, and continual development to keep their companies competitive (Olughor, 2023; Zighan & Ruel, 2023). Organizations must adjust their processes, structure, and culture to adapt, which is arduous and costly. Retail business executives require greater EI to manage complex organizational transformations, requiring leadership interventions (Holbeche, 2019; Naong & Naong, 2022). Resilient, motivated, and unlikely to burn out, EI leaders have stronger social connections and fewer workplace problems (Kumari et al., 2022). During transformation, interventions and tactics must strengthen organizational leaders to bridge the gap and improve performance.
CEOs and higher-level executives must help and guide their managers to build the ability to negotiate complex organizational transformation (Lo et al., 2020; Ngayo Fotso, 2021). Corporate leaders must encourage staff to take chances and innovate to develop the company (Lo et al., 2020). Strong leadership is essential for navigating organizational changes in today’s fast-changing retail business climate. Retail leaders with low EI struggle to handle these shifts, which lowers staff performance and engagement (Udod et al., 2020). The gap in practice impacts corporate stakeholders such as executives, employees, shareholders, customers, and the community (Bilginoglu & Yozgat, 2018; Le & Le, 2021; Suphattanakul, 2017). Leaders must train and upskill to close this gap. Leaders’ EI and its impact on change and issue statements, purpose statements, and project questions need further study. The capstone project’s business problem may solve the requirement for business executives to use EI to negotiate challenging organizational change.
The literature review examined the following topics to provide a foundation for the research, including the significance of EI for retail executives, the difficulties of navigating intricate organizational change, methods for enhancing EI, and the influence of EI on employee performance and motivation. This qualitative study will concentrate on the perspectives of U.S. retail business executives regarding strategies to enhance their EI to navigate complex organizational change in a manner that improves employee performance and engagement.
The project aims to investigate the following research question: What are the perspectives of U.S. retail business executives on strategies to enhance their EI to effectively navigate complex organizational change to increase employee performance and engagement? This study will investigate the research question and gain the most effective strategies, according to U.S. retail business executives, for enhancing their level of EI to navigate complex organizational change and to improve employee performance and engagement. This project’s methodology will consist of semi-structured interviews with U.S. retail business executives. The interviews will be documented acoustically and transcribed. The information will be subjected to thematic analysis. This research will add to the existing body of knowledge regarding the significance of EI for retail leaders and the strategies that can be used to enhance EI. The findings of this study can be used to develop retail leader training and development programs.
In Section 3.0 of this capstone study, I will investigate the essential elements required to complete the study. This section includes the justification of the chosen technique, the identification of data sources, the determination of the sampling strategy, the establishment of recruitment procedures, the development of interview protocols, the implementation of field tests and expert panels, the selection of data collection methods, the formulation of a plan for data analysis, and considerations regarding reliability, ethics, biases, and the study schedule. The third section provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of the critical elements, ensuring the study’s rigor, reliability, and adherence to ethical standards.
3.2. Terms and Definitions
Digital Transformation. Digital transformation is not the same as digitization, which involves converting analog data to digital format (Kraus et al., 2021).
Emotional Intelligence. EI is the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods, suspend judgment, pursue goals, understand emotional makeup, treat people based on their reactions, build rapport, self-confidence, realistic self-evaluation, humor, trustworthiness, openness to change, drive to achieve, optimism, organizational commitment, and expertise in developing and retaining talent (Goleman, 1996, 2009, 2019).
Employee Disengagement. Employee disengagement is job dissatisfaction that leads to employees needing more involvement with the organization, a culture directly influenced by leadership, the failure to create a secure environment, and the need for more motivation (McCrae, 2020).
Employee Performance. Employee performance is conceptualized as a multidimensional construct comprised of task performance and organizational citizenship behavior (Meijerink et al., 2021). However, organizational citizenship behavior is discretionary (Meijerink et al., 2021).
Organizational Change. Organizational change is modifying structural elements to address operational costs, productivity, and service quality deficiencies; its success requires candor and support (Hubbart, 2023).
Retail Industry. The retail industry is the part of the economy comprising businesses selling products to end users directly (Hameli, 2018).
Retail Executives. Executives in the retail industry are the people who run retail companies and include store managers, district managers, and vice presidents, among other titles (Jung et al., 2021).
Leadership Change Navigation. Effectively managing and guiding an organization through a significant transition (Vassolo & Weisz, 2022).
EI Enhancement. Strategies for enhancing emotional intelligence are the ways that can be employed to create and improve emotional intelligence (Drigas et al., 2021).
EI’s Impact. The influence that EI has on the degree of output or results that a person produces in their work, as well as their level of commitment and excitement for their employment is referred to as the impact of EI on employee performance and engagement (Makkar & Basu, 2017).
3.3 Justification of Technique
The rationale for undertaking this research lies in the necessity for assisting corporate leaders in effectively managing intricate changes, which is attributed to the prevailing low EI levels within leadership and the presence of organizational change across various industries (Eliot, 2020; Holbeche, 2019; Levey & Levey, 2019). According to Hillmann and Guenther (2021), lacking employee engagement can lead to subpar performance, impeding the organization’s ability to change and fulfill its goals. Leaders have the potential to enhance their resilience by cultivating higher EI, enabling them to lead and support their teams through periods of transition effectively. These leaders may inspire and guide their teams toward successful outcomes by retaining a positive perspective and skillfully managing the change process. A practice gap arises from the need for more EI of business leaders in the face of intricate organizational change, necessitating interventions to cultivate and augment their resilience (Ojo et al., 2021). Qualitative research approaches are acceptable for this project due to the necessity of investigating leaders’ views towards the development of EI and organizational change. Qualitative research approaches have the potential to effectively capture comprehensive insights into participants’ experiences and subjective perceptions.
Qualitative inquiry is suggested as a suitable approach for addressing the highlighted deficiencies in practice within scholarly and practitioner literature. Qualitative methodologies are well-suited for capturing intricate and nuanced responses, mainly when comprehending the attitudes of individuals occupying leadership positions (Priya, 2021). These methodologies are particularly valuable when investigating organizations’ strategies and practices to cultivate higher EI in leaders and effectively navigate organizational change. Such inquiries necessitate a thorough and comprehensive exploration (Tenny et al., 2022). This investigation into the project inquiry can offer valuable insights for researchers and professionals in the business field, including recommendations for establishing a robust leadership culture that can be advantageous for numerous firms. Leaders tasked with managing change and enhancing organizational performance and competitiveness will derive advantages from the research findings and appreciate their significance since comprehending attitudes alone enables the implementation of change (Padil et al., 2018). This study has the potential to offer leaders valuable insights and guidance on establishing a leadership culture that fosters the value of improving and leveraging EI. Such a culture would equip leaders with the necessary skills to manage change and sustain competitiveness in a global economy effectively (Marx, 2017).
The project aims to investigate the perspectives of retail business leaders in the United States on strategies to enhance their EI to navigate organizational change and boost employee performance and engagement effectively. The study will use semi-structured interviews to collect comprehensive data on pragmatic strategies and approaches to cultivating resilience among leaders. This approach allows for a deeper exploration of contextual factors and nonverbal forms of communication, resulting in a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter (Liang & Pang, 2022). The existing literature on EI tactics employed by U.S. retail industry executives is limited, and the research inquiry is to understand the perspectives of U.S. retail business executives on strategies to strengthen their EI to effectively navigate complex organizational change and increase employee performance and engagement. The chosen technique should prioritize data acquisition relevant to the research question, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter and its multifaceted aspects.
Selecting a suitable technique should align with the subject matter of your project and the research inquiries you aim to address. The subject matter pertains to the correlation between EI and the organizational change process within the retail sector. The research inquiries being pursued pertain to the methodologies leaders in U.S. retail businesses employ to enhance their EI to navigate intricate organizational transformations.
Semi-structured interviews have been identified as an appropriate methodology for this study because they collect comprehensive and detailed data about participants’ experiences and viewpoints (Flynn et al., 2021). The significance of this inquiry is in comprehending the methodologies employed by executives in the U.S. retail industry to enhance their EI proficiency. Semi-structured interviews allow the opportunity to pose follow-up inquiries to elucidate or elaborate upon the responses provided by participants. When providing a rationale for your chosen technique, it is essential to include a comparative analysis with explored alternative procedures and explain the reasons behind your selection (Chua et al., 2023). In this particular scenario, one may have explored utilizing a survey or a focus group as a viable research methodology. Nevertheless, it should be noted that a study may yield a different level of comprehensive and detailed data compared to a semi-structured interview. Additionally, a focus group would be limited in gathering complete data from individual participants, providing challenges in maintaining conversation control.
Selecting a suitable technique should encompass the capability to gather data pertinent to addressing the research inquiry at hand. The study focuses on executives’ tactics in the U.S. retail industry to enhance their EI and successfully navigate intricate organizational transformations. The utilization of semi-structured interviews enables the acquisition of data about the tactics employed by participants in improving their EI and their encounters in managing complex organizational changes. The advantages and benefits of this technique include using interviews, which enables researchers to gather comprehensive and detailed information from study participants. Participants’ responses might be clarified or expanded upon by asking follow-up questions (Ferreira & Serpa, 2018). These systems possess a high degree of flexibility and can be customized to suit the unique requirements of your project.
The disadvantages and limits associated with using semi-structured interviews are that conducting them might be time-consuming, Transcribing and analyzing them can provide challenges, and the potential for bias exists when interviewers pose questions or analyze data (Flynn et al., 2021). Researchers from various fields, such as psychology, sociology, and business, have employed semi-structured interviews in their studies (Akmal et al., 2022). Overall, retail leaders’ interviews will help gather information about diverse subjects, encompassing organizational transformation, effective leadership, and EI, that will help justify investing and leveraging EI in retail.
3.4 Data Sources
This capstone project’s primary objective is to conduct a qualitative investigation employing semi-structured interviews with a sample size of 10-12 people. In qualitative research, using in-depth interviews is crucial as it enables the collection of comprehensive and intricate data (Gray et al., 2020). The secondary objective of this study is to collect firsthand data regarding leaders’ viewpoints regarding techniques and practices that can be employed to develop EI and effectively manage organizational change. This study will interview organizational leaders to investigate their attitudes and dispositions toward EI and its potential for facilitating organizational change. In order to extend the investigation conducted by Karreinen et al. (2023) about the examination of resilience and leadership in the context of the pandemic, it is proposed that a similar methodology be employed, involving interviews with leaders, to get insights into their perspectives and dispositions on EI and leverage it with organizational change. The research methodology will employ purposive sampling techniques to pick leaders from various backgrounds and industries. The recruitment process encompasses using professional networks, industry groups, and referrals to establish connections with prospective participants. This will be achieved by leveraging professional networks, industry associations, and recommendations. Participants will be obligated to give informed consent, comprehending the study’s aims, entitlements, and safeguards to ensure confidentiality. The interviews entail actively involving participants by posing open-ended inquiries to delve into their viewpoints, encounters, and understandings. The interviews will adhere to established protocols and best practices to uphold their quality and rigor. The interview questions will be subjected to a thorough evaluation by experts to guarantee that they align with the topic and are appropriate in terms of content (see Appendix C). The expert review process will enhance the questions’ quality by assuring their relevancy and clarity. A limited number of participants will be chosen to evaluate the interview procedure and improve the efficacy of the questions. The researcher will use a purposive sample strategy to pick participants who possess pertinent experiences and viewpoints about the subject matter. The chosen sample strategy is thoughtfully aligned with the qualitative technique employed in this study, facilitating a thorough investigation of the subject matter. The methods and protocols have been meticulously established to enhance the quality and comprehensiveness of the collected data.
3.4.1 Sampling Strategy
The sampling strategy employed in a qualitative study ought to suit the research inquiry and the data collected. (Zolali et al., 2022) To comprehend the viewpoints of U.S. retail business executives regarding techniques for enhancing their EI in the context of intricate organizational change, a purposive sample strategy will be employed. This strategy was chosen because it allows for selecting participants who can provide diverse views and insights on the research topic. A purposive sample is chosen based on specific criteria, such as their role in the retail industry, experience with organizational change, and willingness to participate in the study. (Aziz & Wahid, 2020)
Attrition refers to participant attrition within a study, encompassing instances of dropout, unavailability for interviews, or failure to return surveys (Hewwit et al., 2010). In order to mitigate attrition, it is imperative to address this issue through strategic planning proactively. This can be achieved by adopting specific measures, including but not limited to overestimating the sample size and implementing attrition reduction techniques. (Ball et al., 2023)These strategies may encompass using reminder systems and providing incentives to enhance participant engagement and completion rates. Determining the appropriate sample size is contingent upon various criteria, including but not limited to the nature of the research inquiry, the type of data being collected, and the resources at hand. The purposive sampling technique is suitable for choosing respondents for qualitative studies using the interviews as a data collection tool (Khan et al., 2021). Using purposive sampling, participants can be selected based on specific criteria, ensuring they possess expertise in the research topic and are willing to participate.
The ideal setting for a conducive environment should possess comfort, convenience, and minimal interruptions. Such settings may include a conference room, library, or coffee shop. A comprehensive examination of the broader population, encompassing U.S. retail industry executives, is warranted. Recruitment efforts should be directed towards a specific target population consisting of retail business leaders in the United States with prior experience implementing EI tactics.
In order to provide a rationale for the chosen sample size, it is imperative to take into account many factors, such as the research question at hand, the type of data being collected, and the resources that are available for the study (Spanhel et al., 2020))By incorporating citations from prior research and providing a comprehensive explanation of the methods employed to assure the representativeness of the sample about the general population, the justification for the chosen sample size can be strengthened. (Mehta et al., 2019) Various strategies can be employed to address the issue of attrition, such as implementing a more significant sample size estimation and providing incentives to encourage participant completion (Priya, 2021). The purposive sampling strategy employed in this study was driven by the need for diverse views, ensuring that the research questions could be effectively addressed.
3.4.2 Recruitment Procedures
The recruitment process is a detail set of procedures you propose to engage in to identify, recruit, gain access to, and eventually obtain informed consent from participants for your project.
Explain in detail how recruiting will occur, who will be invited to participate, why these people were selected, and how do you know these people possess the knowledge, experience, and expertise needed for you to collect data from to answer the project question.
Therefore, clearly explain the participant eligibility criteria (inclusion and exclusion criteria) that will be used to screen potential participants.
Discuss site permissions and attach in appendices any permissions achieved, in accordance with IRB requirements (i.e., informed consents, etc.).
Be sure to follow all relevant IRB and ethical requirements of participant recruitment. Do not contact participants prior to following all proper procedures required by the Capella IRB.
Insert a Recruitment Announcement in an appendix within your Capstone project. See Appendix E: Recruitment Announcement Template which you can customize for your project.
3.4.3 Instrumentation/Interview Protocols/Document Review Protocols
Researchers collect data using variety of data collection instruments. The type of data collection instrument you use must align with the technique. Permitted techniques in the DBA Capstone are described in the Programs of Research guide and further guidance is provided in the DBA Skills Lab. Please review the most recent guidance for your technique there. Regardless of your chosen technique, you will use a data collection instrument to collect information to answer your project question. Present descriptions of instrumentation or data collection tools to include name of instrument, type of instrument, concepts measured by instrument, and processes needed to complete the instruments by the participants. For qualitative technique projects: Provide the interview guide and/or document review protocols and describe how they were created (provide any sources or citations from which the ideas were found within the framework or literature review). Place the actual interview guide or other protocols in an Appendix in your Capstone project. Locate the example Interview Guide Worksheet in Appendix D and customize for your project. The download link is in Appendix D.
Align the interview questions to the project question, explain how you used the concepts within the applied framework to develop the interview questions.
Discuss the research that was used to develop each original source of data.
Review and consider all Capella IRB requirements as you develop the interview and/or document review protocols.
Insert the interview guide protocol or other guide/protocol documents in an Appendix and refer to the Appendix within the narrative of Section 3.4.3.
For example, “the use of an interview guide will take place to ensure a consistent interview process (see Appendix X).” 37 For quantitative technique projects, address the following:
Describe the instruments used for data collection and explain how each instrument aligns with project question, hypotheses, framework, and variables.
Provide previously reported validation and reliability data (Cronbach’s alpha measure of reliability or consistency) for each instrument and cite the sources.
Explain why this instrument will work for your project (cite previous similar studies using the instrument).
Detail how the instrument measures the variables and describe any subscales. Explain the scoring process for each scale or subscale.
Specify the type and level of data (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) collected with each instrument for each variable and how the data aligns with the selected design/statistical analysis approach. Include demographic information to be collected that is needed or specific to the project.
Review and consider all requirements as you identify validated instruments, such as obtain written permission or purchasing a license from the holder of the instrument’s copyright.
3.4.4 Expert Panel (also called Field Test by the IRB)/Test Runs/Pilot Tests
An integral element of the proposal is ensuring the chosen data collection instrument(s) will actually result in you collecting the data needed to address the problem, fulfill the purpose, and answer the project question. Test Run of interview questions (qualitative), and pilot testing (quantitative) are the means to verify the veracity and validity of your data collection instruments. Based on the project technique, describe and explain the procedure (i.e., test run or pilot test) you will use to verify that you have a valid means to collect relevant, accurate data.
For a test run, you will have two people who meet your eligibility criteria complete the interview to evaluate the follow criteria for each interview question:
Ease of understanding of the interview questions.
Clarity of response.
Completeness of response.
Adequacy of response to answer the project question.
A Test Run Form-Interview Questions template is located in Appendix F. Fill out the test run template and place in an appendix in your Capstone project. The download link is in Appendix F.
A pilot test is small-scale preliminary study to test the validity of quantitative data collection instruments in preparation for carrying out the actual project. In conducting a pilot test, you use a small sample of people who meet the eligibility criteria for the larger project. A pilot test is necessary when you are proposing to use a quantitative data collection instrument that has not been thoroughly tested by previous researchers for acceptable levels of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha reliability measure) and validity. If you are using a validated, reliable quantitative data collection instrument, describe and explain the process previous researchers undertook to validate the instrument and include the Cronbach’s alpha consistency/reliability measure.
3.5 Data Collection
To prepare for data collection, you must have a keen understanding of the various steps and procedures as well as the order of the steps to be successful. Writing a proposed plan for data collection is a detailed process that requires you to think and write in recipe card mode. You must be aware of all the steps and have them in the correct order. The only way you can replicate another chef’s recipe is to follow the exact process and procedures; hence, the objective here is for you to provide, describe, and explain the step-by-step procedures you propose to use to carry out all the major steps for data collection for the project in a way that would allow another researcher to replicate the project. Describe how raw data will be prepared for analysis and how the integrity of the data will be assured (i.e., recording and transcribing interviews, conducting transcript reviews, data export formats (if applicable), 39 scoring process for survey instruments, etc.).
Explain how you propose to mitigate personal biases, remain objective during data collection, and set aside personal worldviews.
