This report outlines the objectives for students to create a research proposal addressing an HR issue for the fictional company, Media Web, which is focused on improving either recruitment efforts among college students or evaluating the effectiveness of its management training program. Each student will act as a business research consultant, proposing research actions to address the chosen scenario, and the final report must adhere to a specified format including elements such as problem definition, research methodology, and sample population. The report emphasizes the importance of thorough analysis and application of business research theories to ensure the proposals are well-founded and actionable.

1. ASSIGNMENT OBJECTIVE
The
objective of this report is to provide students with an
opportunity to apply business research methods to a specific HR
business issue.
In report #1, you will be responsible for a
written research proposal
to pitch your recommendation on how to deliver a quality
business research effort to help Company “Media Web” with a
specific HR business issue.
EACH REPORT SHOULD BE A MAXIMUM OF
10 PAGES DOUBLE-SPACED
(before appendices, table of contents, bibliography, etc.)
You will be required to pick and work on one business scenario.
This selection must be made from the two options outlined
below in the Background section.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Careful thought should be given to your
selection of the HR business issue in Report #1, since the same
issue will need to be worked on from an information systems
perspective for Report #2.
GENERAL PROJECT CONSIDERATIONS
1)
The successful completion of this research project is predicated
on the student’s capability of understanding the key concepts
and terms outlined in each lesson.
STUDENTS MUST MAINTAIN ACTIVE COURSE READING

2. THROUGHOUT IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS
ASSIGNMENT.
2)
The project
must
contain evidence that business research theory has been
applied.
All
recommendations in the report
must
be based and developed on a thorough analysis of the HR
business issue and how business research methods will best
assist in the resolution of the business problem.
3)
All sources must be cited using proper footnotes with
supporting bibliography
.
4)
Careful attention to detail is essential in this (and all)
deliverables. Even a small error may deter a potential client!
5)
For an overview of the required format of the required report,
please refer to the following section titled “Required Format for
Report”
Background

3. You are to consider yourself and independent consultant, hired
by fictional company “Media Web.” Media Web is a fictional
private company headquartered in Toronto. Media Web is the
world’s largest online developer of phone applications, and
websites in the world. They have developed over 5000 phone
apps, including the number one best selling game of all time,
Happy Fish. The company hires people from around the world,
and globally has over 3000 non-unionized employees. Of these
employees, 2000 are based in Toronto and Ottawa, and the other
thousand work remotely around the world in virtual based
teams.
The company’s HR department is centralized in the Toronto
office, and consists of 50 people. The HR department
undertakes HR operations, compensation and benefits,
recruitment and selection, training and development, as well as
occupational health and safety functions for the company.
The VP of HR is currently concerned with two business related
issues at Media Web. The VP knows that some further
investigation and research is going to be required to get a better
understanding of the underlying issues and potential solution to
any problems. The VP will need assistance with this, and is
interested in getting proposals from outside research
consultants. Each consultant will need to prepare a proposal on
what research actions they recommend should be conducted to
get a better understanding of the business problem’s nature and
scope. This proposal is only to provide a recommendation of a
research approach and a proposed research process, not to
actually conduct the research. Although it should be said, that if
the VP is satisfied with the research proposal, it is likely that
the VP would award the work to conduct the research to the
winning consultant. Therefore, it is in the best business
interests of the consultant to provide a well-written, and
comprehensive research plan and proposal to the VP.

4. Each student will need to act as a business research consultant.
Each individual will need to prepare a research proposal as a
report deliverable to the Vice-President of Human Resources at
Media Web.
Each individual is to select
ONLY ONE
business scenario to work on. The two scenarios from which to
pick from is listed below:
HR Business Issue A - Recruiting
Company Media Web is interested in improving its recruiting
efforts among college students. To do so, the company believes
it needs to identify specific interests and criteria that college
students use in their job search. Specifically Media Web would
like to learn more about the following:
a) What criteria do college students use to identify prospective
employers for whom they would like to work for?
b) What criteria do they use to ultimately prioritize and select
any prospective job offers?
This type of information would assist the company in updating
its recruitment activities to better tailor to college students and
graduates. Changes to the recruitment approach using this new
information would allow Company Media Web to attract more
talented and qualified college applicants. What research
approach would you recommend to the VP of HR to help
investigate this business scenario?
HR Business Issue B – Training and Development
Company Media Web is unsure as to whether its existing
management training program is effective in training its
managers and preparing them for future progression. There has

5. been evidence recently that many of the company’s managers
have not been well prepared to handle several important and
difficult business situations.
The VP of HR is interested in learning more about the
following:
a)
What the company’s managers think of the effectiveness of the
existing management training program, specifically in terms of
preparing them to handle business situations and prepare them
for progression to more senior roles and assignments?
b)
What suggestions could be made for the improvement of the
existing program to make it more effective and successful?
Collection of this type of information will allow the VP to
request updates of the training program to make it more
effective for all involved. What research approach would you
recommend to the VP of HR to help investigate this business
scenario?
REQUIRED FORMAT FOR REPORT
Title Page
·
Subject, course code, section code, professor name, and date the

6. report is prepared.
·
Who prepared the report
_____________________________________________________
_______________________
Table of Contents
·
Key body elements should be noted with page numbers
·
Appendices (all information should be clearly cross-referenced
in the body of the written report) should be clearly outlined
with page references.
·
Bibliography
·
If
numerous charts, graphs and tables are included, it is desirable
to include a list of these immediately following the table of
contents
_____________________________________________________
_______________________

7. Executive Summary
-
Should be approximately 1 page (double spaced) in length.
-
Inclusion of a clear and concise executive summary to serve as
an introduction to the reader of the proposal document
-
Needs to provide a high level summary of the research approach
that will be detailed in the report
-
Needs to provide a good “sales pitch” to the reader to draw
interest to the rest of the report, and in your skills as
researchers and proposal writers.
_____________________________________________________
_______________________
Problem Definition and Research Objectives
-
Should consist of a 1 to 2 double page
overview
of your
proposed problem definition and research objectives. These
need to relate directly to the business issue you have selected to

8. work on. This should include:
Clearly defined problem definition
Definition of your research objectives and purpose
Listing of any assumptions that you will take into account as a
base for your research proposal
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Proposed
Research Process and Methodology
Should consist of a 1 to 2 double spaced page
overview
of your recommended process and plan to conduct the research.
This should include:
Description of proposed research design and methodology for
undertaking research into your chosen business issue
Outline of the rationale for your chosen research methodology
§
Why do you think your chosen approach is the best way to
proceed with the research into your chosen business issue
_____________________________________________________
_____________________
Proposed Sample Population and Plan
o
Should consist of a 2 to 3 double spaced page

9. overview
of your recommended process and plan to conduct the research.
This should include:
§
Description of proposed sampling approach including any
assumptions that you will need to make plus an action plan to
overcome and avoid any assumed potential difficulties
§
Proposed sample population
·
Describe your target audience.
·
Who will you collect data from?
·
How many individuals will comprise your sample population?
§
Outline of the rationale for your choice of sample population
·
Why is your recommended sample right for your proposed
research?

10. ·
What makes your sample a good representation of the total
population?
·
How will this sample enable you to obtain your research data?
§
Outline of a sample plan
·
Clearly spell out your proposed plan to select your sample and
how you will collect data from this sample
·
Outline how your sample plan relates to the questions of
who/how/when/where?
§
Outline of the rationale for your sample plan
·
Outline why you think your plan will be most effective in
identifying your sample individuals, and how it will enable you
to collect the data you need.
_____________________________________________________
_________________________

11. Proposed
Example/Draft Materials
Should consist of a 2 to 3 double spaced page
overview
of your proposed process for data collection with an inclusion
of example or draft materials to indicate what these data
collection devices will look like. This should include:
Identification of proposed data collection techniques to be
followed using the sample/draft materia
l
Rationale for selection of your chosen data collection devices
and approach
§
Why did you choose your specific data collection approach
§
How will this help you obtain the information you hope and
need to collect?
Preparation of, and inclusion, of example/draft research
material and data collection forms (e.g. surveys, interview
questions, etc.)
Inclusion of explanation of, and rationale for, the use of these
example/draft forms.
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Summary and Recommendations

12. -
Should be approximately 1 page (double spaced) in length.
-
Inclusion of a clear and concise summary of the research
proposal.
-
Clear outline of how proposed research approach is to meet the
stated research objectives and purpose
-
Inclusion of “sale pitch” as to why your proposal should be
selected for action
_____________________________________________________
________________________
Appendices
A place for those report items which do not fit in the research
report because they are either too detailed or are too specialized
such as questionnaires, interview questions, etc. If material is
placed in the appendices please ensure that appropriate
reference points are included in the main body of the final
report to direct the reader to the appropriate material.
_____________________________________________________
_________________________
Additional Submissions

13. o
Final report submission must also include:
o
Bibliography