edd/581 action research proposal rosalyn m. reed

EDD/581 ACTION RESEARCH

PROPOSALROSALYN M. REED

1Action Research Proposal

Problem Statement

Action Research Proposal

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The problem is the lack of leadership development for

non-managerial employees. Upon recognizing the need and

the desire for leadership development, a proposed leadership

development program will be implemented.

Problem Description


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Employees are promoted for numerous reasons within the

corporations of America. Some employees elevate

themselves based upon their knowledge of their company’s

industry. Others rely on their decades of service and

commitment to their current employer. Regardless of which

upward route a person chooses, few are promoted without

effective leadership skills.

As a company, we pride ourselves on promoting from

within; however, many current employees have found

themselves to be inadequate when reading the internal job

postings.

Problem Description Cont.


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These postings state that leadership skills are preferred

for lateral positions and required for vertical positions.

Although our company has an extensive leadership and

development program, this instruction is reserved for

manager/senior manager/director positions. This top tier

leadership instruction does not come without a price. A 3-day

leadership workshop retails for $19951 per person according

to Franklincovey.com (2014). With over 300 non-managerial

day shift employees and our 24-hour operation, it is



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understandable that cost is a factor in determining who

attends the available leadership workshops.

If effective leadership built this company and aided its

reputation as an industry benchmark, then effective

leadership will be the key to its future success. Employees in

many departments boast of having reached their 25th

anniversary with the company; however, many of these

veterans are not qualified for vertical promotions due to their

lack of leadership development.



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Non-managerial employees may not need the most

expensive leadership development; however, if the company

desires to continue with its internal promotions, then

leadership development is needed for all employees. By

providing all employees with leadership development, all

employees will contribute to the company’s future, expand its

lateral foundation, and help it to hold firmly to its global

reputation as an industry leader.1Training & Events | Calendar. (n.d.). FranklinCovey. Retrieved February 23, 2014, from

http://www.franklincovey.com/tc/events/calendar

Purpose of the Project


The purpose of this project is to provide concrete evidence

of the benefits of a leadership and development program for

non-managerial employees. This project will further

determine the most cost effective methods of leadership

development for the corporation while showing various

methods of effective instruction for the employees.

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Writer’s Role


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As a 14-year veteran of ___ and a 3-year veteran of our

former self, ___, I have seen the internal and external growth

of our corporation. With these many years of service, I have

also seen many veteran employees – my peers and myself –

remain in the same positions. Many have received a lateral

shuffle; many more have left the company in search of

opportunities elsewhere. As a college graduate and future

graduate student, I look forward to future possibilities with

this company. My desire is to assist our company

Writer’s Role Cont.


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with meeting the leadership and development desires of

my peers while it benefits from the leadership of an

effectively equipped staff. Today’s employees must be

prepared to continue the legacy of our corporation’s

reputation.

Problem Documentation


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In the past 5 years, _____ company has offered more than 500 full- or part-time positions. The breakdown of these positions is as follows:+ 500 of the positions have been filled+ 275 of the positions were filled by women+ 225 of the positions were filled by men- ½ of the positions were filled by external candidates- ¾ of the positions were filled by people with prior leadership and development training- ¼ of the applicants had received no prior leadership and development training

These figures have been adjusted due to privacy laws; therefor, no citation is provided.



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Clearly, _____ company offers numerous positions to their

existing employees; however, without essential leadership and

development training, many of the current employees are being

overlooked for these positions. Only those persons qualified for the

positions will receive an interview because _____ company utilizes a

point system screening process for all applicants. Roughly 80% of all

internal applicants received interviews for these positions. This

means that, on paper, these applicants passed the pre-interview

screening. The question remains, what was lacking from the internal

applicants that prevented so many from receiving the positions

applied for?



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What form of leadership and development have you previously experienced?

How has this training helped your personal or professional development?

What is your definition of a leader? What does the phrase ‘natural-born-leader’ mean to you? What would be the personal benefits of future leadership &

development? What would be the professional benefits of future leadership &

development? Do you currently hold any leadership position[s]? If so, what is

the position and where? If you currently hold a leadership position, what ongoing

leadership training are you receiving? If a professional leadership class [or classes] was offered in your

workplace, would you desire to attend? What would you like for a workshop leadership curriculum to

teach?



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Each of the below options will allow for decreased biasness as the collected data will be used to accurately depict what current employees desire from leadership and development training. No attempt will be made to sway responses or to force participants into mandated training.

Option [1] includes an equal number of participants who have and have not received leadership and development training and their respective surveys.

-OR- Option [2] includes a range of focus group participants [from no

leadership and development training to ongoing leadership and development training] and their respective surveys.

Literature Review


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Literature Review A literature review should summarize all

important research relevant to the problem, demonstrating a current understanding of the topic.

You should have at least seven literature references.

List your literature review in the following format:Authors of the study

Title of the study

Purpose of the study

Pertinent findings that support your project

Literature Review


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Authors of the study

Title of the study



No author Developing Leaders To transform people and organizations in an effective manner

• Leadership should be developed at all levels

Efron, Louis Six reasons your best employees quit you

To teach employers why the average employee’s tenure is now averaging only 1.5 years

• The top 6 reasons for employees leaving a company have nothing to do with money

• Effective leadership attracts and retains effective employees

Selley, Nicole 10 reasons why employees really leave their jobs

To teach employers how to effectively process the truth received from employees during their exit interviews

• Exit interviews should be taken seriously

• The cost of developing current employees is lower than the cost of training new employees

• Employers must discontinue the thought that money is the key factor to an employee leaving

Literature Review


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Title of the study



Brunone, Chris Leadership development vs. Employee engagement

To determine the best approach to training current employees

• Comparison between training the more senior employees vs the broader employee base

Naseer, Tanveer Leaders, are you developing employee’s super powers?

To teach leaders the importance of developing their employee’s superior strengths

• Leaders have to be developed in order to develop future leaders

• Leaders must know their leadership styles in order to know how to develop their teams

Heathfield, Susan M. Five factors every employee wants from work

To explain each of the five things that employees want

• 2 of 5 points relate to employees desiring leadership and development

Literature Review


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Title of the study



Mitchell, T., Holtom, B., Lee T., Graske, T.

How to keep your best employees: Developing an effective retention policy

To make employers aware that keeping qualified employees is more involved than simply paying higher salaries

• People leave for reasons that may be unrelated to money

• People may remain due to attachments to their job and to their community

• The lack of promotion is often the most influential decision for leaving an organization

• Leaving a job costs both the employer and the former employee

Action GoalAction Goal Provide the goal for the intervention that you are purposing

and include a brief overview of the intervention plan that you have selected.

Example: The goal of the intervention is to increase effectiveness of

regular classroom teachers in implementing accommodations and modifications for special education students. A three-prong intervention will be implemented to meet the goal, which includes teacher IEP training, teacher/paraprofessional training, and weekly collaboration time supported by the administration.

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Action GoalAction Goal

The goal of the intervention is to provide substantiated proof of the benefits of leadership and development training for the company and for all current employees – regardless of employment position. A three-tier intervention will be implemented to show the positive attributes of leadership and development training that include employee surveys, documented evidence of the company’s promotional policies, and the long-term benefits of leadership and development training for all employees. The results of which will be presented to the leadership and development team for review and consideration.

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Selected Solutions Selected Solutions Pre-Work

Assign informed assistants to explain the survey process to each chosen department

Explain, distribute, and collect the confidentiality forms Appendix 1.1

Explain, distribute, and collect the completed employee surveys Appendix 1.2

Reinforce the confidentiality agreement

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Selected Solutions Selected Solutions Tier 1 – Employee Survey

At least 5 departments of employees, minimum of 10 people each, will complete a detailed and confidential survey designed to delve into the subject of leadership and development. The desire is for at least 10 groups of surveyors. Survey topics should include: Length of time with the company Leadership and development received internally and externally Possible promotions sought within the company Specific ways in which leadership and development training could

improve their professional careers Specific ways in which leadership and development training could

improve their personal endeavors.

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Selected Solutions Selected Solutions Tier 2 – Company’s Leadership & Development Policy

The company has developed and maintains an extensive leadership university. While management is required to enroll, non-management employees are not able to participate at-will. The solution is to show: Employee’s commitment to the company Leadership and development benefits the company’s PSP [people-

service-profit] philosophy The costs of training current employees is less than the cost of

marketing and interviewing possible new hires Leadership and development motivates employees

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Selected Solutions Selected Solutions Tier 3 – Benefits of Leadership and Development

The company recognizes the need for leadership and development; however, has reserved this learning for management. This portion is to show that leadership and development: Enables employees to become more intelligent about the company

as a whole Equips employees to understand the requirements of management Gives employees interest beyond a salary Motivates employees to apply their leadership and development to

all aspects of their lives Encourages employees to increase personal productivity Prepares employees to become eligible for promotions

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Selected Solutions Selected Solutions Post-Work

Present the findings of the completed surveys to the management team of the leadership and development department for review

Present a PowerPoint presentation to the leadership and development management team

Set a proposed date to discuss and review the findings

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Calendar Plan25


WEEK ONE • Gather leadership and development paperwork

• Create confidentiality forms• Meet with chosen department

managers to confirm availability • Give available time slots to each

chosen department manager for review Appendix 1.2

WEEK TWO • Select and inform assistants of the research

• Print and review confidentiality forms with assistants

• Confirm each department’s time slot

• Secure training roomsWEEK THREE • Set-up training rooms

• Present and collect surveys from each department

Calendar Plan26


WEEK FOUR • Review surveys• Sort findings• If the findings are incomplete,

additional departments will be sought for additional surveys

WEEK FIVE • Submit completed findings and PowerPoint to the leadership and development management team

• Seek follow-up time for action research review

Expected Outcomes


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Expected Outcomes

Employees will provide specific examples of professional change as a result of leadership and development training in the following areas:• [1] increased productivity• [2] priority setting/attention to detail• [3] team building• [4] leadership

Expected Outcomes


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Expected Outcomes

[1] Increased productivity• Veteran employees (5+ years) should show

a 15-20% daily work increase • New employees (0 – 5 years) should show

a 5-10% daily work increase• Employees should have chosen 2

additional teams for cross training

Expected Outcomes


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Expected Outcomes

[2] Priority setting/Attention to detail

• Employees will develop a priority management scale to fit their workloads

• Employees will lower their error rates by 5% monthly

• Employees will learn to use available computer software calendar planning

Expected Outcomes


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Expected Outcomes

[3] Team building• Employees will learn to identify their

professional strengths • Employees will present developmental

plans to strengthen their weaknesses• Employees will develop prospective

teams for project handling

Expected Outcomes


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Expected Outcomes

[4] Leadership• Employees should re-answer the

following leadership survey questions using Appendix 1.3

Measurement of Outcomes


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Increased productivity • Employees will calculate their new production requirements based upon their length of time with the company

• Each employee will provide a proposed timeline for meeting the new production rates

Priority setting/Attention to detail

• Computer applications will be used to record the employee’s proposed to-do list

• Employees will gauge their proposed to-do lists against their actual completed accomplishments list

• Employee error rates will be tracked against their new production requirements

Measurement of Outcomes


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Team building • Employees in team-driven departments will be asked to share how their teams have aided/benefitted from their training*

• Employees in non-management positions will be asked for specific indicators of their training via online team building scenarios

Leadership • Completed leadership surveys will be discussed with each participant

• Answers will be used to determine and to develop future training classes

Analysis of Results


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The results will be analyzed by comparing employee performances before, during, and after leadership & development training. Rather than having a defined control and experimental group, each employee’s data will be treated as the control [pre] & experimental [after] group. How will I determine if the solution strategy was effective? An overall effective indicator will be determined by the percentage indicator determined on the current employee performance reviews: 4=>75% 3=75% 2=50% 1=25%

Analysis of Results


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How will I present my findings and to whom? The findings will be presented through anonymous employee production reports. After 3 weeks of production tallies, reviewed schedules, and error reports, each employee’s findings will be compared to their pre-leadership & development training results. This compiled report will be given to the management staff of the leadership & development team and to the managers of trained employees. Although all employee information will remain anonymous, the gathered data will be used to develop future leadership & development curriculums.

References


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Efron, L. (2013). Six reasons your best employees quit you. Forbes. Retrieved

March 31, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/louisefron/2013/06/24/six-

reasons-your-best- employees-quit-you/

Selley, N. (2013). 10 reasons why employees really leave their jobs. Retrieved

March 31, 2014, from http://www.insidebusiness360.com/index.php/10-

reasons-why-employees-really- leave-their-jobs-53/

Appendix 1.1


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Confidentiality survey

I, , a/an - year employee of Company F, have been explained the reason for this confidential survey. I understand that while my information will be made known, my identity will remain anonymous. My involvement with this survey is purely voluntary and serves only as research material for school-related research. I understand that in no manner am I obligated to benefit from any aspect of this survey’s results.

Employee’s printed name Employee’s signature Surveyor

Appendix 1.2


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Available Timeslots

MON SURVEY

TUES SURVEY

WED SURVEY

THUR SURVEY

FRI SURVEY

9:00 – 10:00 AM

9:00 – 10:00AM

9:00 – 10:00 AM

9:00 – 10:00AM

9:00 – 10:00AM

OR OR OR OR OR11:00 –

12:00 PM11:00 –

12:00 PM11:00 –

12:00 PM11:00 –

12:00 PM11:00 –

12:00 PM

Appendix 1.3


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How will this training help your personal or professional development?

What is your new definition of a leader? What does the phrase ‘natural-born-leader’ mean to you? What will be the personal benefits of this leadership &

development? What will be the professional benefits of this leadership &

development? Did this leadership curriculum teach objectives that you found

beneficial?

edd/581 action research proposal rosalyn m. reed

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