| |
| You are invited to be part of a research study. The main purpose of this introduction is to provide information to help you make an informed decision if you want to participate in the study. Please click 'Continue' to answer the survey. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
If you have any questions about or do not understand something in this form, you should ask the researcher, her supervisor, or contact Capella’s Research Integrity Office. The researcher is a doctoral learner at Capella University in the School of School of Business and Technology.
WHAT IS THIS STUDY ABOUT? Examining the degree to which an HR consultant could influence small business leaders in formulating a human resource based strategy to establish a sustained competitive advantage for the business. Why am i being asked to be in the study? You are invited to be in the study because you are a small business leader in a company that employs less than 500 employees in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Delaware. The following criteria below must be met in order to participate in the study. If you do not meet the criteria below, you are not eligible to participate in the study Study Criteria: Employed by a company located in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia or Delaware with fewer than 500 employees.A small business leader who owns a small business or supervises more than one employee in a small business.Have not responded to this same survey for more than one company.
WILL IT COST ANYTHING TO BE IN THIS STUDY? You do not have to pay to be in the study nor will payments be rendered. The only cost to you is in the time it will take for you to complete the survey. How long will I be in the study? If you decide to be in this study, your participation will last about 20 minutes.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THIS STUDY? If you decide to be in this study, you will need to provide the following: Personal information about yourself such as your highest level of education, gender, and current role in the company Complete a survey about how HR Consultants can enable small business leaders to establish sustainable competitive advantage. While you are in the study, you will: Be asked to follow the instructions you are given. Have the opportunity to withdraw from the study by not completing the survey; you may do so at any time without any repercussions or penalty. WILL BEING IN THIS STUDY HELP ME? Information from this study has the potential to benefit small business leaders and other researchers who investigate this important topic. There may be no direct benefits to you in the short-term, other than the possibility of increased self-awareness about how HR consultants can enable small business leaders to establish sustainable competitive advantage.
ARE THERE RISKS TO ME IF I AM IN THIS STUDY? No study is completely risk-free; however, we do not anticipate that you will be harmed or distressed during this study. You may stop participating in the study at any time if you become uncomfortable. This will not affect your standing in the small business community. You should be aware, however, that there is a small possibility that responses could be viewed by unauthorized parties (e.g. computer hackers because your responses are being entered and stored on a web server, or if you walk away from your computer while working on the survey and someone were to access your computer and look at your response before they were submitted), however since no personally identifiable information is being collected, it may be difficult or impossible to link you to your survey responses.
WILL I GET PAID? You will not receive any compensation for being in the study. DO I HAVE TO BE IN THIS STUDY? Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. You can withdraw from the study at any time with no consequences. Opt-out capability is also available within the survey. If you decide to drop out of the study at any time, there will be no penalty to you.
WHO WILL USE AND SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT MY BEING IN THIS STUDY? The results of the study will be published in aggregate form, however, any information you provide in this study that could identify you such gender, highest level of education, current role, and current industry will be kept confidential. In order to maintain confidentiality of your records, the researcher will not publicize or download any IP addresses. In any written reports or publications, no one will be able to identify you. The researcher will keep the information you provide in a safe place. For data security purposes, the data collected from the survey will be coded to protect the identity of the study participants and demographic data will not match up to any individual. This information will be backed up on a CD then encrypted. The encrypted CD will be stored in a safe and all data will be destroyed and broken into pieces in seven years. Only the researcher and research supervisor will be able to review this information. The anonymous data from a portion of the survey will be shared with the survey owner, to be added to a larger pool of data that is part of ongoing evaluation of the instrument’s properties. Limits of Privacy (Confidentiality) Generally speaking, the researcher can assure you that she will keep everything you tell her or do for the study private.Yet there are times where the researcher cannot keep things private (confidential), though since there is no personally identifiable information collected as part of this study, there is no direct way to link your survey responses to you. There are laws that require many professionals to take action if they think a person might harm themselves or another,or if a child or adult is being abused. In addition, there are guidelines that researchers must follow to make sure all people are treated with respect and kept safe. In most states, there is a government agency that must be told if someone is being abused or plans to hurt themselves or another person. Please ask any questions you may have about this issue before agreeing to be in the study. It is important that you do not feel betrayed if it turns out that the researcher cannot keep some things private.
WHO CAN I TALK TO ABOUT THIS STUDY? You can ask questions about the study at any time. You can call the researcher at any time if you have any concerns or complaints. You should call the researcher at the phone number listed above should you have questions about the study procedures, study costs (if any), study payment (if any), or if you get hurt or sick during the study. The Capella Research Integrity Office (RIO) has been established to protect the rights and welfare of human research participants. Please contact us at 1-888-227-3552, extension 4716, for any of the following reasons: You have questions about your rights as a research participant.You wish to discuss problems or concerns.You have suggestions to improve the participant experience.You do not feel comfortable talking with the researcher. You may contact the RIO without giving us your name. We may need to reveal information you provide in order to follow up if you report a problem or concern.
DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THIS STUDY? By clicking the link below you agree to the following statement: I have read this form and I have been able to ask questions about this study. The researcher has answered all my questions, if applicable. I voluntarily agree to be in this study. I agree to allow the use and sharing of my study-related records as described above. I have not given up any of my legal rights as a research participant. I will print a copy of this consent information for my records. Click Next to continue YES, I accept the terms of the above and will continue with the survey. Exit out to not participate in the survey. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| * Describe your role in the organization |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * What is your highest level of education? |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| * What state is your company registered for business? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * What type of business is your company? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How long has your company been in business? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * What industry/market does your company perform business activities? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How many employees does your organization have? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How many employees (full and part time) are devoted to HR practices (excluding those who process payroll) within your company? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * Has your organization used an HR consultant in the past? An HR Consultant is an individual who has credentials in the field of human resources including but not limited to certification and or Bachelor’s degree or higher in the field. |
| |
|
|
| |
| * Do you anticipate hiring an HR consultant in the future? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Trusted Advisor
Consultants are often considered to be trusted advisors, the intent of the following questions is to determine to what degree certain attributes of an HR consultant as a trusted advisor are important to you. |
| |
|
|
|
| |
| * To what degree do you believe an HR consultant could be a trusted advisor? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * If you were to hire an HR consultant as a trusted advisor, how likely are you to be open to feedback and suggestions from the HR consultant on how to best resolve issues? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * If you were to hire an HR consultant as a trusted advisor, how likely are you to be open to the feedback and suggestions from the HR consultant when making business decisions? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it for an HR consultant to understand certain strategic elements of the firm such as business goals, values and the firm’s capabilities? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it for an HR consultant to understand certain strategic elements of the industry in which the company competes such as the competition, suppliers, and customers? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it that a trusted advisor has good listening skills? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it that a trusted advisor be able to provide guidance in the development of business strategy? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it for a trusted advisor to analyze and bring to your attention strategic issues? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it for a trusted advisor to assist with formulating a strategy based upon organizational HR resources and capabilities? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what degree do you feel you can trust an outside HR consultant to help the company achieve competitive advantage? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that you could have used expertise from an HR consultant with decisions that involved employee matters? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Strategic Management
Strategic Management consists of a business strategy and a competitive strategy. The intent of the following questions is to determine your understanding of strategic management, how it is utilized within your firm, and your perception on the role of human resources in strategic management. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that a business strategy should strengthen market position while enabling a firm to gain competitive advantage? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that your firm currently has a set of defined strategic goals? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that your firm makes HR decisions based on company defined strategic goals? |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that identifying and assessing a firm’s resources and capabilities are the foundation of a competitive strategy? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * A key issue related to the sustainability of a competitive advantage, derived from resources and capabilities, is: can the competition replicate a firm’s resources and capabilities and imitate its strategy. To what extent do you agree? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what degree do you feel that the employees of your firm possess capabilities that result in that are unique and result in a differentiation or cost advantage? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that a strategy relating specifically to human resources can enable the company to establish and sustain competitive advantage? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * How important is it that HR practices for recruiting, retention, compensation, and training are aligned with the competitive strategy of the organization? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| * To what extent do you agree that a firm should adopt a set of HR policies, procedures, and practices as a key component to establish and sustain competitive advantage? |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
HR Architecture
HR Architecture refers to the policies, procedures, and practices that a firm utilizes to manage its human resources. The intent of the follow questions is to determine if your firm has an HR architecture in place. |
| |
|
|
|
| The following questions will be used to analyze, sort and group responses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loading...
