Operations Strategy Case Study

Case Title:

SSS’s Experiment: Choosing an Appropriate Research Design

Abstract:
Soft Space Solutions (SSS), a software company which develops customised software solutions for it clients worldwide, is facing internal problems with its employees. During the US Financial Crisis of 2008, the company’s employee productivity which had reached record levels, is now decreasing. The firm also observed that the attrition rates, which were very low during the period, are now beginning to increase as the market is gaining momentum. Therefore, the company management decided to conduct an experiment to seek the reasons for its employee behaviour and take appropriate steps to bring the productivity and attrition levels back. However, the company has to choose among the various experimental research designs that suit its requirements.

Pedagogical Objectives:

The case study facilitates to understand:
• The basics of experimentation
• Various experimental design procedures and their application in various situations.

Keywords : Business Research, Research Design, Experiment, Experimental Research Design, Experimental Design, Experimental Control Dependent Variable, Indepent Variable, External variable, Statistical Technique, Validity Fcators, Selective Manipulation, Randomized Design, Random Design, Random Replication Design, Randomized Block Design, Latin Sqaure Design, Factorial Design, Control Group