Strategic Points for a Study

Running head: CURRICULUM PLAN AND INTEGRATED UNIT

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Part I - 10 Strategic Points for a Dissertation

1. Topic – Provides a broad research topic area/title: A Case Study of how different personalities work together to achieve an organizational goal.

2. Literature Review – Lists primary points for four sections in the Literature Review:

a. Background of the problem/gap:

i. The link between teamwork and organizational success is established in existing literature since team members can develop effective, mutual relationships towards achieving common organizational goals (Tarricone & Luca, 2002).

ii. Existing studies also demonstrate that personality traits and goal commitment among organizational members affect their job satisfaction and achievement of organizational goals (Lau, 2012).

iii. Since organizational members have different personalities, the impact of personality traits on self-efficacy and locus of control remains relatively unknown. There is need to examine how different personalities work together to accomplish an organizational goal (Lau, 2012).

b. Theoretical foundations (models and theories to be foundation for study):

i. Bruce Tuckman Theory (Belsan, 2014).

ii. Belbin’s Theory of team roles (Belsan, 2014).

iii. Models of collaboration (Naughton, 2006).

c. Review of literature topics with key theme for each one:

i. Historical Events: Work groups and teams with a common goal have been the centerpiece of human social organizations since ancient times (Kozlowski & IIgen, 2006).

ii. National Trends: Organizations in at the national and state levels have numerous work groups and teams in their workforces to help achieve their desired goals.

iii. Global Trends: Organizations across the globe have been forced to restructure around work teams to enhance their flexibility and responsiveness because of the emerging global forces (Kozlowski & IIgen, 2006).

d. Synthesis/Summary:

i. Work groups and teams have become a critical success factor for modern organizations.

ii. Work groups and teams comprise of individuals with different personalities.

iii. Gap in terms of additional research required to examine how different personalities work together to achieve an organizational goal.

3. Problem Statement – Describes the phenomenon to study (qualitative):

It remains unclear how different personalities work together to achieve an organizational goal despite the significant of work groups and teams to organizational success.

4. Sample and location – Identifies sample, needed sample size, and location:

a. Location: The State of New Jersey of the United States of America.

b. Target Population: Business organizations with more than 30 employees.

c. Sample: A single business organization with more than 50 employees and has established work groups/teams in its workforce.

5. Research questions – Provides research questions to collect data to answer the problem statement: R1: How do different personalities in an organization’s work groups or teams work together to achieve an organizational goal?

6. Hypothesis/variables or Phenomena: Provides hypotheses with variables for each research question (quantitative) or describes the phenomenon to be better understood (qualitative):

Phenomenon: Understanding how different personalities work together to achieve an organizational goal in a business organization with more than 50 employees in the State of New Jersey.

7. Methodology and design – Describes the selected methodology and specific research design to address problem statement and research questions: The methodology is qualitative while the research design is a single case study of a business organization with over 50 workers.

8. Purpose Statement: The purpose of this qualitative single case study is to examine how different personalities work together to achieve an organizational goal.

9. Data collection – Describes primary instruments and sources of data to answer research questions:

a. The researcher will conduct an analysis of teamwork in organizations using electronic databases like EBSCOHost and Emerald Insight.

b. The researcher will interview the organization’s management and employees to understand how work groups and teams are established and how the different personalities in these groups or teams work together to accomplish an organizational goal.

c. The researcher will directly observe the organization’s employees with regards to their personalities and participation in work activities.

10. Data analysis – Describes the specific data analysis approaches to be used to address research questions:

a. Data obtained from participants using interviews and direct observation will be organized and prepared for analysis.

b. The obtained data will be summarized using descriptive statistics.

c. Thematic analysis will be utilized to identify emerging themes and patterns in data to answer the research question.

Part II – Dilthey’s Use of Metaphor and View of Personal Bias

Wilhelm Dilthey is a German philosopher who made significant contributions in various fields including psychology due to his differentiation of natural and human sciences. Through his work, Dilthey made significant contributions in the field hermeneutics, particularly in the scientific knowledge of individuals. One of the major elements in Dilthey’s work is his construction and use of the “blind window” metaphor. He developed this metaphor as part of his approach to evaluate the occurrence of misinterpretation of written text because of personal preference or bias. When using this metaphor, Dilthey meant that people process and understand things based on personal preference or bias. These biases and preferences influences an individual’s beliefs and perspectives about things and act as the basis of determining one’s increased or reduced interests on certain issues. As a common occurrence in daily life, the “blind window” does not necessarily reflect the actual perspective of things because of the role individual biases and preferences play in shaping people’s perceptions. Dilthey argues that people do not discover new science from the perspective of symmetry or architectonics, but end up developing blind windows through which no one can see because of personal biases and preferences (Dilthey, 1996).

One of the major areas in which Dilthey applied the “blind window” metaphor is in interpretation of text. In this regard, he argues that people’s interpretation of written text is influenced by their personal preferences or biases. Dilthey views personal bias as the tool that shapes people’s beliefs, opinions, and perceptions of written text. Humans do not interpret written text based on what it actually is, but examine it through the lenses of their biases and beliefs. Therefore, personal bias influences an individual’s processing and understanding of written text by acting as the lens through which we view things. This implies that the most crucial component in interpretation of written text is personal bias, according to Dilthey.

Utilizing Hermeneutics as a Scientific Tool

Hermeneutics has emerged as a research methodology approach for interpreting emerging issues with regards to human actions and the outcomes of such actions, particularly texts. This method is considered critical in efficient treatment of problems of interpretation of texts, human actions, and other critical material since it’s a methodological discipline. While hermeneutics was originally a methodological discipline that focused on examining texts, particularly legal and theological, it is currently considered as a distinct rational means of inquiry. Philosophers like Wilhelm Dilthey that this methodology has the ability of providing ontological foundations to the human-historical sciences (Yadav, n.d.).