Programme Title:
MBA University of South Wales Programme
Course Title:
BS4S14-V1-12730 Research Methods
Summative Assessment Essay 2
Student Name:
Ekebo Udo Ituk
Student ID Number:
74107156
Lecturer:
Christine Ooko
Submission Date:
December 2019.
Reflective Journal on My Investigations of the Effects of manpower training and
development in a service organization: Case Study of Power Holding Company of
Nigeria – PHCN.
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The course started with the usual introduction of the teacher and all the students. I was
a bit worried because of the pattern and timing of submission of the summative
assessments. It was different in so many ways. Unlike the usual 8 weeks course where
you submit 2 summative assessments at 4 weeks interval, this was a 12 weeks course
requiring submission of the summative assessments on the 10th and 11th week
respectively. It was also different because it required going out to the field and doing the
"dirty work" yourself, which for a very busy person as myself who is hardly in one place
for a long period at a time posed a huge challenge. I was a bit worried because I not
only had to read loads of books and journals in order to pass this course, I had to go
out, meet and talk to a lot of people who would either help my work or waste my time.
The teacher’s email on how to hack the course helped me kick start my research study
early and with less anxiety. Her advice was to start early and read extensively. I started
with looking at journals and books on research methods and how to create good
questionnaires.
My choice of topic ‘Effects of manpower training and development in a service
organization: Case Study of Power Holding Company of Nigeria – PHCN.’ was
influenced by experiences from my previous workplace. Management felt that it was too
expensive to sponsor trainings for employees, yet they expect and demand optimum
performance from the employees. Despite complaints from a few quarters, it fell on deaf
ears as they rather employ new staff to take over that role than train the already existing
staff. It happens that after a few years, the new employee skills become obsolete as the
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economic and technology terrain changes and no training was provided for upgrade.
