McKenzie Has a Management Dilemma

Research Proposal

1. Research Projects Title

2. Project Background

McKenzie has a management dilemma. The late rate of staff is standing high. In order to decrease the late rate of the staff, they set up a fingerprint machine for recording the time that staff arrived at office. If they are late for one minute, they need to pay $1 for the penalty. However, except of the first month that implemented the policy, the late rate of staff is continuing stand high. We would like to find the effective way to decrease the late rate of staff.

3. Project problem Statement

The major concerns of the management is find out the efficient and effective way to decrease the late rate of staff. Should increase the strength of the punishment or increase the reward to reach this goal?

4. Research Objectives and Research Questions

As become one of the largest private rehabilitation companies, it is serving for more than 200 organizations and 300,000 client headcounts. With more and more clients and the staff, the increasing late rate that affect the quality of the services. In order to maintain the high quality of the rehabilitation services for the clients, McKenzie desire to find out a way to decrease the late rate, increase the staff morale. We would make use of the research questionnaire approach through the use of a well-designed, target specific questionnaire to our staff to understand their thought about the policy. The purpose of this research is to answer the management questions including (a) determine the factors that staffs coming late to office; (b) analyze why the new policy (set up the fingerprint machine) can’t decrease the late rate; (c) analyze whether increase the strength of the punishment or increase the reward is the most effectiveness way to encourage the staff go to work on time. The result of the research will help to determine the policy to decrease the late rate and increase the staff morale.

5. Critical Literature Review

Although punishment is levied on late comers, some of the staffs are still late at office. They are willing to pay money rather than back to office earlier. In this situation, management thinks that it may be related to staff morale.

According to David and Cary (2009) state that moral is "a state individual psychological well-being based upon a sense of confidence and usefulness and purpose" and " the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed" (p.2). The meaning of this statement is that company staffs are define into different groups and each group members as presented by cheerfulness, self-discipline, and willingness and maintain their personal