What approaches to justifying this investment might Sylvia consider?

JUSTIFYING AN HRIS INVESTMENT

Introduction:

This case focuses on a company that is in need of a more robust Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to keep track of and automate records. The company owner enlists the help of Sylvia to create a case to justify the need for the new HRIS. The case showcases the importance of the need to justify the cost of HRIS investments. Accurately identifying and estimating the value of the benefits and costs of new HRIS functionality will play a critical role in HRIS investment decisions in the foreseeable future.

Case Study:

Investment Associates, Inc. started as a small firm in 2001 with four employees plus its owner, Jim Tower. The company specialized in providing financial investment and tax advice to its clients. Jim had brought a substantial number of clients from his private practice, which had become too large for him to handle by himself. His four employees included three colleagues who had some experience in financial investment advice and a secretary/administrative assistant. Jim and his three colleagues were all certified public accountants (CPAs), and a considerable portion of the company’s business was in tax consultation and the completion of individual and corporate tax returns.

Investment Associates was quite successful and, by 2007, had added 42 new employees—financial and tax advisers and additional administrative staff, including an office manager, Marian Sweet. In addition to the office manager’s supervisory tasks, Marian had to complete federal and state reports on the employees as required by law.3 However, Marian was not trained in HRM, and she suggested to Jim that the company needed to hire someone with a background in HRM before they “got into trouble” with the government. Marian was particularly concerned about gender and racial discrimination but did not understand how to apply the provisions of the appropriate laws and guidelines.

In November 2007, Investment Associates hired Sylvia Wong, who had an undergraduate degree in psychology and four years’ experience in HR. In addition, in December 2007, Jim was negotiating to purchase the financial consulting business of an old friend who was retiring. This purchase would mean the addition of 17 new employees in February or March 2008. Sylvia met with Jim in mid-January 2008 to discuss the growing burden of employee reports and payroll processing, all of which were currently being done using a paper-based HR system. She advised Jim that the company needed an HRIS to process employee records and complete the required government reports. As an example, she stated that, because she had to search through paper copies of all employee files, it took her a full week to complete the Equal Employment Opportunity Report (EEO-1)4 required by the federal government. Furthermore, based on this report, it appeared that the company could have problems in terms of compliance with several federal laws. She suggested that the company purchase an HRIS to assist with company record keeping and the production of required reports.

Since the company had been using computer-based applications for financial analysis and tax reporting, Jim thought that Sylvia’s suggestion to computerize employee records was a good one. However, given his financial background, he wanted Sylvia to develop a business case, including a cost-benefit analysis, for the purchase of an HRIS. Your task is to help Sylvia justify the purchase of an HRIS.

Case Study Questions:

  1. What approaches to justifying this investment might Sylvia consider?
  2. What are some of the costs and benefits involved in this investment in an HRIS? Which would you be sure to include in your CBA of this project and why?
  3. Explain how to estimate costs and benefits, both direct and indirect, in terms that Jim will understand. (Remember, Jim always has his eye on the “bottom line.”)
  4. Explain how to calculate a CBA to justify the HRIS project. Would you use cost reduction or organizational enhancement (or both) as a strategy for justifying the purchase?
  5. What are the three common problems that could occur in your CBA for an HRIS? How would you avoid them?
  6. What are some of the ways you can use the HR metrics that would be available after the implementation of an HRIS to justify its purchase?
  7. Finally, and most important, explain how variance estimates that can be generated for a CBA would be useful to Jim in the management of his company.

GRADING RUBRIC

Category

Points

Description

Understanding

35

Demonstrated a strong grasp of the problem at hand. Demonstrated understanding of how the course concepts apply to the problem.

Analysis

35

Applied original thought to questions asked. Applied concepts from the course material correctly towards answering case study questions.

Execution

55

Wrote answers clearly and succinctly, using strong organization and proper grammar. Demonstrated effective written communication that is free from errors in punctuation, syntax, spelling, and grammar. Used at least three (3) scholarly sources correctly. Included a cover and reference pages in APA format, and also numbered answers such that readers will know where to find the various information. Final report is at least three pages not including title page, graphics, references, and appendices.

Total

125

A quality paper will meet or exceed all of the above requirements

Counselor Dispositions Worksheet

Topic 1: Counselor Disposition Worksheet

Directions: Review the counselor disposition document located in the weekly materials. After reviewing the dispositions, complete the table below and total your ranking score at the bottom of the table.

Part A: Use only a sentence (or two) to discuss each of the following. APA formatting is not required.

Counselor Disposition Ranking: 1-10 (10 being the strongest) How strong are you in this area? How is the disposition demonstrated in your behaviors or thoughts? Provide an example. How do you know it is an area for growth and how you can become stronger in this area? What areas have you made progress on since being in the program? How will you continue to make progress? Why is this disposition important in the process of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment?
Psychological Fitness          
Self-Awareness          
Cultural Diversity          
Acceptance          
Empathy          
Genuineness          
Flexibility          
Patience          
Amiability          
Professional Identity          
Total Score [Enter your score here]

 

Part B: Click here and pull up the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey (MAKSS). Complete the MAKSS survey and write a brief one paragraph summary (75 to 150 words) of what you learned about yourself from taking the survey.

MAKSS Survey Reflection:

 

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Theoretical And Conceptual Frameworks

After reading and considering the differences and similarities between theoretical and conceptual frameworks from different sources, the next step is to consider what type of theoretical or conceptual framework would be appropriate for your topic of interest.

Please note that this is not always easy or obvious, as it is a rare event to find a theory or concept paper that exactly mirrors your topic. Consult with the Walden Library to be creative with keywords and search strategies that will generate a scholarly article (or articles) appropriate to your topic.

For this Discussion, you will examine the theoretical and conceptual frameworks in qualitative research.

To prepare for this Discussion:

  • Review the Grant and Osanloo article (ATTACHED) related to conceptual and theoretical frameworks found in the Learning Resources and consider how a conceptual framework differs from a theoretical framework.
  • Use the Course Guide and Assignment Help to help you search for a research article on your topic of interest (Burnout/Work Life Balance Attached) that uses a theoretical or conceptual framework. (Note: This can be the same article as the one you will use for your Annotated Bibliography in this week’s Assignment.)

Post:

an explanation of how Grant and Osanloo (2014) describe the differences between conceptual and a theoretical framework. Support your explanation with examples from the article as well as from your texts.

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12Grant & Osanloo DOI: 10.5929/2014.4.2.9

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UNDERSTANDING, SELECTING, AND INTEGRATING A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN DISSERTATION RESEARCH: CREATING THE BLUEPRINT FOR YOUR “HOUSE” Cynthia Grant, PhD University of Colorado-Denver

Azadeh Osanloo, PhD New Mexico State University

The theoretical framework is one of the most important aspects in the research process, yet is often misunderstood by doctoral candidates as they prepare their dissertation research study. The importance of theory-driven thinking and acting is emphasized in relation to the selection of a topic, the development of research questions, the conceptualization of the literature review, the design approach, and the analysis plan for the dissertation study. Using a metaphor of the “blueprint” of a house, this article explains the application of a theoretical framework in a dissertation. Steps for how to select and integrate a theoretical framework to structure all aspects of the research process are described, with an example of how to thread theory throughout the dissertation.

Keywords: theoretical framework, dissertation, doctoral, academic writing, research methods

The dissertation is a labor of love requiring much work, sweat, and tears, as well as organization skills and extensive resources from others who are involved with the process. The final product is a document that one can recognize as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. We liken this experience to the task of building your own home. As any architect or contractor knows, prior to building a house, one must develop drawings called a blueprint for the structure. A blueprint serves as a guide for all those who are involved in the construction of the home. The drawing permits the foundation of the home to be built, and it dictates the overall floor plan of rooms, the flow of plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems—even the direction in which the house will face. Like housing construction, much critical thinking and planning must be put into developing a blueprint for the dissertation. We believe the blueprint is an appropriate analogy of the theoretical framework of the dissertation.

The theoretical framework is one of the most important aspects in the research process, and a component that is often minimally covered in doctoral coursework. Iqubal described the struggle to identify and prepare the theoretical framework for the dissertation as “the most difficult but not impossible part of [the] proposal” (2007, p.17). As professors and dissertation committee members of doctoral students in the fields of education, policy, leadership, curriculum and instruction, and social work, we have heard students express confusion, a lack of knowledge, and frustration with the challenge of choosing a theoretical framework and understanding how to apply it throughout the dissertation. Some students briefly make mention of a theoretical framework at the start of the dissertation and never return to it throughout the rest of the document; others omit the inclusion of a theoretical framework in the proposal and are required to restructure their document after committee review.

The importance of utilizing a theoretical framework in a dissertation study cannot be stressed enough. The theoretical framework is the foundation from which all knowledge is constructed (metaphorically and literally) for a research study. It serves as the structure and support for the rationale for the study, the problem statement, the purpose, the significance, and the research questions. The theoretical framework provides a grounding base, or an anchor, for the literature review, and most importantly, the methods and analysis. Lysaght (2011) highlighted the necessity of identifying one’s theoretical framework for a dissertation study:

A researcher’s choice of framework is not arbitrary but reflects important personal beliefs and understandings

 

 

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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2

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about the nature of knowledge, how it exists (in the metaphysical sense) in relation to the observer, and the possible roles to be adopted, and tools to be employed consequently, by the researcher in his/her work. (p. 572)

Without a theoretical framework, the structure and vision for a study is unclear, much like a house that cannot be constructed without a blueprint. By contrast, a research plan that contains a theoretical framework allows the dissertation study to be strong and structured with an organized flow from one chapter to the next.

Over the past 30 years, there has been an increasing trend to include a theoretical framework in the dissertation (Melendez, 2002). There is an expectation by most chairpersons and committee members that a dissertation study will be informed by theory. Despite these realities, oftentimes students begin the dissertation process at a loss for how to accomplish working with a theoretical framework. Concurrently, incorporating a theoretical framework into research studies is a task that some may continue to struggle with post-graduation. Silver and Herbst (as cited in Lester, 2005) have acknowledged that journal submissions are often rejected for being atheoretical, or having no theory. This underscores the importance of teaching students how to implement a theoretical framework in their research, as it pertains not only to the dissertation, but also to scholarship and research activities in the professorate.

Thus, the purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the theoretical framework and to outline a blueprint for how to understand, select, and integrate a theoretical framework into one’s research when writing the dissertation. We offer the analogy of using a blueprint when building a house to provide the reader with a visual representation of the importance of this step in the development of a dissertation idea. We hope the necessity of this step in preparing the dissertation will be metaphorically obvious—a contractor could not possibly know what kind of house to build without instructions mapped out ahead of time. Similarly, one cannot guide a reader through thinking about a dissertation study without a clear explication of the study’s theoretical framework. This article is intended to be a resource for faculty working with doctoral students in the classroom or in an advisory role; however, it is primarily aimed towards doctoral candidates who are seeking guidance with this foundational piece of the dissertation.

This article first covers the basics of understanding a theoretical framework, while simultaneously introducing the analogy of the blueprint for a house, which is a running theme throughout the entire article. This section also focuses on the differences between a theoretical and conceptual framework. Next, the article describes the important tenets of selecting an appropriate theoretical framework for one’s research. Finally, we highlight strategies and techniques for implementing a theoretical framework in a dissertation study.

UNDERSTANDING THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK What is a Theoretical Framework? The theoretical framework is the “blueprint” for the entire dissertation inquiry. It serves as the guide on which to build and support your study, and also provides the structure to define how you will philosophically, epistemologically, methodologically, and analytically approach the dissertation as a whole. Eisenhart defined a theoretical framework as “a structure that guides research by relying on a formal theory…constructed by using an established, coherent explanation of certain phenomena and relationships” (1991, p. 205). Thus, the theoretical framework consists of the selected theory (or theories) that undergirds your thinking with regards to how you understand and plan to research your topic, as well as the concepts and definitions from that theory that are relevant to your topic. Lovitts (2005) empirically defines criteria for applying or developing theory to the dissertation that must be appropriate, logically interpreted, well understood, and align with the question at hand.

We assert that students must select and clarify a theoretical framework from the time the dissertation topic is initially conceptualized. Philosophers such as Dooyeweerd (as cited in Sire, 2004, p. 35) have even gone so far as to call for “pretheoretical commitments” by the researcher to specifically identify one’s “worldview of the heart rather than the mind.” We profess that the researcher’s choice of theory must be clearly stated and explicitly mentioned early in the writing of the dissertation.

Mertens acknowledged that the theoretical framework “has implications for every decision made in the research process” (1998, p. 3), which supports our belief that the theoretical framework for a study must be identified at the

 

 

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14Grant & Osanloo DOI: 10.5929/2014.4.2.9

Describe the role of personality in affecting situational behavior.

·Select two of the following theoretical approaches: psychodynamic, humanistic and existential, dispositional, or learning. Make sure the two selected are not the same as from Week Two.

·Obtain faculty approval.

·Prepare a 1,400- to 1,750-word paper in which you compare and contrast the theories selected. Address the following items:

oDescribe the role of personality in affecting situational behavior.

oExamine the personality characteristics attributed to each of the theories in your approach.

oExplain the interpersonal relational aspects associated with the theories selected.

Can not be on freud or adler

must be in apa format

include 3 references and in text citations

no duplicate work please do this new for me