Problem Statement Survey free essay sample

Problem Statement Survey Arthur Problem Statement Survey In today’s society a recession seems to happen at least once every decade. Each time a recession happens the unemployment rate goes up sky high and companies drop like flies and start filling bankruptcy. Small and large companies alike seem to always layoff staff in order to resolve their shortcomings in finances. This maybe a result of the recession or it could be an effort to take advantage of the recession label and clean house within their staff to reduce their annual labor costs. However, staff reductions do not always produce the desired results and on occasion causes a larger loss of profit than the intended results of keeping a company afloat. This research document will help to prove that a company which minimizes or does not have staff reductions and continues to give merit increases during a time of recession can show larger profit overtime and be more successful than a company that does the opposite. Survey Examination The employer salary survey addresses the staff reduction problem by examining the different levels of salaries within a company. It will help to identify possible pay rate level issues, labor costs influenced by staff reductions, benefit issues compared to salaries, and customer base loss compared to staffing issues. The survey is somewhat appropriate for the business problem stated but may be too personal for employers to complete. On the other hand if an employer took the time to complete the survey and was provided the results they could gain invaluable information about their business decisions. They would be able to compare themselves to the rest of the business world and see if they are making the right decision or wrong decision in this area of their business. If they found out that companies where actually making more of a profit by not doing staffing reductions and by continuing to give merit increases then they may change the way they view this economic problem. Level of measurement The measurement used in the following question is a Ordinal measurement because of the small, medium, and large classification statuses. 1. What size is your company small (1-20 employees), medium (20-100 employees), or large (100+ employees)? The measurement used in the following question is a nominal categorical measurement because it will require the employer to place people into ethnical categories. . What is the ethnical make-up of your employee base? The following question is considered to be a nominal measurement because it has no order. 3. Do you continue to provide merit increase during times of hardship? The following question is considered to be a nominal measurement because it has no order. 4. Do you stop all benefits in an effort to keep your st aff during times of recessions? The measurement used in the following question is a Ordinal measurement because it has levels and can be measured in a scale from none to extensive or rather zero to more. 5. What level of insurance do you offer for your employees none, basic, or extensive? The following question can be measured in a interval way because it there can be intervals between salary ranges. 6. How many employees in your company make $10,000 to $30,000? The following question can be measured in a interval way because it there can be intervals between salary ranges. 7. How many employees in your company make $30,000 to $50,000? The following question can be measured in a interval way because it there can be intervals between salary ranges. 8. How many employees in your company make $50,000 or more? The following question can be measured by a ratio scale because you can divide or multiply the results in order to get a different understanding of them. 9. What estimated percentage of your operation costs are you spending per month for labor? The following question is considered to be a nominal measurement because it has no order. 10. Do you offer bonuses for every level of pay grade in your employee base? The following question can be measured by a ratio scale because you can divide or multiply the results in order to get a different understanding of them. 11. What is turnover percentage rate of your employees annually? The following question can be measured by a ratio scale because you can divide or multiply the results in order to get a different understanding of them. 12. What percentage of overtime labor costs have you had to pay monthly for reducing your staff in times economic hardships? The following question can be measured by a ratio scale because you can divide or multiply the results in order to get a different understanding of them. 13. What percentage of customers did you lose in the last recession? Ethical implications When developing a survey questions the developer should consider the confidentiality of the responder and the anonymity of the responder should be upheld to the highest standard. This will help in the current employer survey by empowering the responded with a sense of security in providing their answers. Another ethical concern should be the intentions of the survey. These intentions should be focused on bettering the company rather than belittling their business decisions. Displaying the results in a summary form will help to support any ethical concerns with privacy issues as well. References Introduction to SAS. UCLA: Academic Technology Services, Statistical Consulting Group. from http://www. ats. ucla. edu/stat/mult_pkg/whatstat/nominal_ordinal_interval. htm Appendix 1. What size is your company small (1-20 employees), medium (20-100 employees), or large (100+ employees)? 2. What is the ethnical make-up of your employee base? 3. Do you continue to provide merit increase during times of hardship? 4. Do you stop all benefits in an effort to keep your staff during times of recessions? 5. What level of insurance do you offer for your employees none, basic, or extensive? 6.