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Introduction

1. Introduction The Purpose of this project was to fulfil the research brief assigned by the client. This consisted of a study into the feasibility of an online referencing service and research into possible features and successful ideas. Both the group and the client were allocated at random, which posed potential behavioural issues within the group and towards the client. Despite any issues the group had to carry out research into the graduate recruitment and referencing procedures. Although the brief was relatively clear it covered a wide range of investigative areas and a large amount of both primary and secondary research. This report will go on to discuss the dynamics within the group, how the client relationship was managed and the various issues that arised when carrying out the primary and secondary research using academic models for support and analysis. 2. Methodology For the purpose of this project both secondary and primary research was carried out to provide a greater range of results. The details of which are described and analysed below. 3. Secondary Research After speaking with the client it became clear that no prior research had been done into the project. The idea was based on the client's personal experience in assisting student employment and the assumption that most employers with financial positions available would require a five year reference history. Due to the lack of any factual background it was felt important to carry out secondary research prior to any primary research. This is supported by Patzer's view that "Secondary data enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of collecting, analyzing and reporting of the primary data." (1995, p11) Secondary research would give the group an insight into the services already available and a basis for the information needed from the primary research. The secondary research was carried out in two areas: * Researching the existing websites that offered graduate services to compare the available sites with the clients proposed idea, the waitingformyreferene.com concept. ...read more.

Middle

As Chrisnall (2005) points out 'co-operation in surveys is voluntary and relies largely on goodwill of informants' (Chisnall, 2005 p140). If a lot of people refused to take part there would be a risk of inaccurate or limited data as the respondents 'willingness does not necessarily guarantee accuracy' (Chisnall, 2005 p140). An incentive to complete the student questionnaires was given to encourage a high response rate, however respondents may have completed the questionnaire as quickly as possible just to apply for the prize draw. So although there was a high response rate to the student questionnaires which would imply a greater reliability in the results, there was not as much detail in the open questions as was hoped and the sample is only a small proportion of the whole student population. The tutor research had a lower response rate, which provides less scope for analysis and less reliable results, this was due to tutor's lack of co-operation in returning the questionnaires. A method of improving this would have been to target a greater sample of tutors to allow for not receiving all of the responses. 4.2 Employer interviews The choice of employers was decided by the client including a few additional companies that were known personally by the group and more reliable and detailed results were expected from them. When making conclusions this had to be kept in mind as it may not be a true representation of the views of all companies and could be thought of as a bias method of selection. 4.2.1 Method Selection Structured interviews were used when researching employers. These were done over the phone. 'Structured interviews use questionnaires based on predetermined and standardised or identical set of questions' (Saunders et al, 2003, p246). This allowed for two groups members to conduct the interviews and carry out a constant questioning style which would provide results that could be easily analysed against the same criteria. ...read more.

Conclusion

This further supported the professionalism of the group towards the client. 6.3 Client Relationship The importance of building a trusting relationship was evident from the start when the client deliberately got to know the members of the team through asking many questions as possible to get to know the group's capabilities and personalities. This was an attempt by the client to get to know the group as quickly as possible. The quote below is from The Independent Consultants Survival Guide and relates to the situation experienced by the group. "Once a client gets to know you and your capabilities, they will feel comfortable and like having you around" (Johnson, 2005) The project undertaken met the needs and expectations set by the client in the brief. The group maintained a good client relationship throughout the project but there were areas that could have been improved upon. The unavoidable time restraints mentioned restricted how strong the relationship could have become. With a stronger relationship the group could have taken the project further and could have come up with more ideas and areas to research. 7. Conclusion After analysing the methodology used in the project, the dynamics of the group and how the client relationship was managed, we can a***s how the objectives of the project were achieved. Although the group carried out full and thorough research, there were many constraints which can question the reliability of some of the results. This can mainly be accounted to the unavoidable time constraints of the project. The group were organised in both their approach to work and managing the client's needs. This could be attributed to the strong nature of the leader; however it is not apparent how the group would have reacted without this presence. To conclude, there could be significant improvements in the methodology and sample sizes if a greater timescale and resources were available. The group dynamics were fairly positive which was reflected in the successful client relationship management. ...read more.

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