Business Research
There are four general response types for data -- nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. The most appropriate one will depend on the type of information that is gathered. The survey conducted was one in which respondents answered each question on the basis of "strongly agree," "disagree," etc. These responses, which not having a specific numeric value, are ordinal in nature. The five levels of response are ordered but there is no specific definition of the differences between the responses; that is entirely subjective from the respondent's point-of-view.
The responses can be tabulated such that a percentage of responses in each category can be taken. However, no in-depth statistical analysis can be undertaken. A mean would require numeric values be ascribed to each response, for example. If this was the intent of the researcher, the respondents should have been pressed for a numeric answer. Instead, they were pressed for non-numeric answers with ill-defined differences between answer categories. Thus, statistical analysis is of no value.
Therefore, the only viable option for analyzing these responses is within the context of ordinal responses. Thus, a frequency distribution is the only reasonable type of analysis that can be conducted. S. Stevens proposed that ordinal responses can be calculated on the basis of means and percentiles, but even this is impossible since the responses were non-numeric.
The tabulated responses can be found in Appendix a. These can also be expressed in percentage form for each specific response, as in Appendix B. The results can be provided by rating, based on the number of favorable results, to determine where the company scores highest. The sort can include a secondary sort parameter based on the number of 'strongly agree' and then the number of 'agree' responses. This gives the following ranking of the firm's elements, from highest to lowest, as found in Appendix C.
For most responses, the company scored 100% favorable. The only two that were not were for receiving recognition for contributions and for leadership making positive impacts. Within the other categories, the strongest response came from the question about job satisfaction. The questions about corporate leadership were more mixed. For example, only 8 respondents felt strongly the company was a leader in the industry. Although all respondents felt that leadership has a clear vision of the future and that the company is a strong competitor, none of the respondents felt strongly about either statement, which indicates a weaker response than for most of the questions.
As a result, the company can take from this survey that it needs to do a better job of communicating the ways that the leadership's changes benefit the employees. As this speaks to an issue of recognition and that issue received the second-lowest scores, then the company should also examine the degree to which it actually delivers recognition and benefits to the company. While the employees are generally satisfied, clearly there are specific aspects to their employment that reduce that satisfaction from time-to-time. Further statistical analysis of this survey would not yield better results, in part due to the nature of the survey question and in part due to the small sample size, but regardless the data provided by the survey can be useful for helping management to improve relations with employees.
Appendix a: Basic Tabulated Responses
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Our company is a leader in the industry.
8
12
Our company is a strong competitor in key growth areas.
20
Our company's leadership has a clear vision of the future.
20
Our company's leadership has made changes which are positive for the company.
10
10
Our company's leadership has made changes which are positive for me.
3
4
10
3
I receive appropriate recognition for my contributions.
5
11
4
My job give me a sense of personal accomplishment.
10
10
I am satisfied with my direct supervisor.
10
10
I am satisfied with my overall job security.
18
2
I am satisfied with the company as a place to work.
15
5
I am satisfied with my job overall.
10
10
Total:
89
14
0
3
Percentages:
37.08%
47.50%
5.83%
0.00%
1.25%
Total Number of Surveys Completed=
20
Number of Survey Questions=
12
90.42%
of Survey Results are Favorable
Appendix B: Percentages by Question
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Our company is a leader in the industry.
40%
60%
Our company is a strong competitor in key growth areas.
Our company's leadership has a clear vision of the future.
Our company's leadership has made changes which are positive for the company.
50%
50%
Our company's leadership has made changes which are positive for me.
15%
20%
50%
15%
I receive appropriate recognition for my contributions.
25%
55%
20%
My job give me a sense of personal accomplishment.
50%
50%
I am satisfied with my direct supervisor.
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