Research Method Manufacturing Industries

Question: Discuss about the Research Method for Manufacturing Industries. Answer: Introduction: Singapore has always remained one of the most popular countries, as and when the question of foreign employment opportunities has emerged. In fact, recent research studies have shown that the country has been hiring as much as 1.32 millions of people, in the last few years (Ruby and McKay 2013). While the largest number of employees is being hired in the construction and marine sectors, the other sectors such as the food sector, transportation sector as well as the administrative sectors have also witnessed a huge demand and consequent hiring of foreign labour force. The major reasons accounting for the remarkable inflow of foreign workers, in Singapore, include factors such as an impressive infrastructure, greater demand for foreign workers, the quota of 25 % and higher in each private sector for the foreign factors, and diverse employment opportunities in the country (Yew 2012). However, it should be noted that despite the huge pool of workers, working in Singapore, the foreign wor kers keep on switching their jobs, owing to the lack of motivational factors offered by the organizations. Importance of Job Satisfaction of the Foreign Workers in Singapore: As and when a foreign organization is hiring foreign workers, the employers are expected to improve the welfare and protection of the migrant workers. Although the Singaporean government has already introduced the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, which intends to look after the welfare of the foreign employees, working in Singapore, the working condition of the workers apparently is far from being better. While the low-income workers are unable to find proper accommodation for them, ending up in the overcrowded apartments of immigrant workers, the high-income foreign workers are still heard complaining of encountering workplace discrimination in respective workplaces (Sze and Sovacool 2013). However, if the workers keep on finding themselves amidst unsafe work environment, detached co-workers and employees indifferent to their well-being, they will tend to switch their jobs, and if necessary may consider leaving the workplace country as well. In accordance with the findings of the research study conducted by Wills Towers Watson, more than one quarter of the average number of the employees, working abroad are in the high-risk retention category, and hence this accounts for their high turnover rates (Lim et al. 2016). In fact, it is worth mentioning in this context, that a recent research study conducted in Singapore by Hay Group Consultancy has in fact claimed that the employee turnover rate of the organization is expected to rise, from 14.1 % of the previous year to 15.6% of the present year (Thangavelu 2016). The discontent workers with pent-up frustrations, and yet sufficient skills and professional expertise, are likely to leave the organization for better working con ditions and greater incentives. This not only implies a loss of the organization, but is also likely to lead to the downturn of the national economic growth of Singapore. It should be noted that rapid force of industrialization as well as tight labour supply and unavailability of qualified, cheap labor force has increased the dependence of Singapore on the foreign workers. Since the migrant and foreign laborers form an integral part of the cheap labor force, their unavailability might pose a serious threat to the important organizations of the nation. A huge number of workers, working in Singapore, are the actual residents of The Republic of China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and as per the official statistical reports, the country has witnessed a rise of 7.20% in the population of the foreign resident workers in the country (Huang et al. 2012). Consequently, the organizations of Singapore operating in the construction sector or domestic service sector, being largely dependent on low-wage imported workforce, is likely to get affected, owing to foreign employee dissatisfaction. In fact, it is needless to state that these all ar e going to affect the GDP of the country in a significant way as well (Platt et al. 2014). The employee satisfaction is integral to achieve organizational success. The foreign employees coming to work in a different place might feel discouraged and de-motivated to continue with their jobs. Low wage, labour exploitation and discrimination, lack of flexible schedule, high stress or cultural conflict, along with other factors, are likely to affect the satisfaction rate of the employees (Ostbye et al. 2014). It should be noted that lack of motivation at workplace not only results in high rate of employee turnover, but also causes other problems, such as high rate of absenteeism, lower rate of productivity, tardiness in showing up for work and other withdrawal behaviors that ultimately affect the employee efficiency. Dissatisfaction of Foreign Workers in Singapore and Abroad: The recent research reports have shown that a large number of the foreign workers, who wish to earn more money, by working overseas, end up feeling disenchanted and discontent with the foreign workplace. The problem does not at all lie with the workers, but with the employers or the government of the respected nations. Either the labor policies of the nations do not seem to favor the conditions of the foreign workers, or the employers follow a low-wage, high-input growth model, as in fact is the case with Singaporean organizations. Consequently, countries such as Australia and the United States, are witnessing a peak in the employee turnover rates, since the last decades. Despite the manpower shortage problem, the employees working abroad are exploited, and the situation even gets worse with the construction industries. It should be noted that the foreign countries not only offer low wage to the international employees, but also offers less or no insurance at all, to the employees, f or safeguarding their lives from potential danger. Besides, in the construction sectors, the most hazardous jobs are being done solely by the foreign workers, most of who work without enjoying the facilities of health or life insurance. This exposure to health and life risks, is one of the major reasons why the employees I the construction industry consider leaving jobs. These employees are less likely to represent the nation and its organizations in a favorable way in their home countries, and are less likely to recommend service in the organization to their peers and relatives. All these, in turn, end up ruining the reputation of the organization in the international labour market. This is the reason why half (46 % approximately) of the population of Japan and Singapore complain of job satisfaction at workplace, as per the Workmonitor Survey (Cheng and Wu 2013). Low Wage Rate in Singapore: In a recent research conducted on 5,670 Singaporean employees, it was being observed that around 75% of the foreign employees claimed that they are engaged in their jobs, merely because they want to make a living, and will consider switching jobs, by the next years, even without a second thought (Low et al. 2015). The reason behind this is the incredibly low rate of salary and wages received by the employees, working here. In fact, the situation is further worsened in case of the blue collar workers, as they encounter a striking discrimination in terms of their pay scale, as the local workers get much higher wages than the foreign workers. This form of labour exploitation leaves the employees, feeling de-motivated and deprived (Ratha and Yousefi 2015). Poor Working Condition in Singapore: The underappreciated and underpaid workers also end up suffering from poor working conditions. The workers being underpaid, fail to enjoy sufficient amount of money, meant for building their own houses. Consequently, the workers end up living in stuffy and overcrowded apartments, with poor ventilation system, and no recreational opportunities. Usually, while in many countries the employees are being provided with accommodation facilities, countries like Singapore put almost no effort to improve the poor living conditions of the employees. While the legal maximum official time, an employee is expected to overwork for, is four hours, the limit is exceeded by most of the foreign employees in Singapore (Hui 2013). The foreign employees do not receive any form of economic support from the government for paying their debts. Hence, they have to work amidst the insupportable working conditions, working overtime each day, without receiving any proper recognition for the same. Cultural Conflict: Since a large number of foreign workers enjoy the opportunity of working in Singapore, the Singaporean native residents often have a sense of apathy and contempt towards the intrusion of the foreign workers. Consequently, many foreign employees complain of having encountered cultural clash, leading to denial of promotional opportunities, workplace abuse, and cultural isolation, that in turn de-motivates the foreign employees, and compel them to resign. Workplace Discrimination: Although the Singaporean organizations show sufficient leniency, while hiring foreign workers, and even prioritizing their employment over local workers, at times, the foreign workers, forming the ethnic minority often complain of facing workplace discrimination. The employees are not only deprived of equal right to wages but also promotional and career development opportunities. Although the foreign workers in Singapore, make up to one-third of the total workforce of the country, the employees do not receive the same wage as the local workers. The foreign workers not only receive unequal pay, but their employment security and well-being rights are not even being protected by the trade unions (Mitlacher et al. 2014). Methodology: For conducting the following research, the quantitative research method will be undertaken. The reason behind the same is that unlike the qualitative research method, the quantitative research method is capable of measuring the satisfaction level of the foreign workers, working in HWS Construction Pte. Ltd. Since the present research intends to examine and evaluate the extent to which the HWS Construction Pte. Ltd. is able to motivate its employees, the research is required to conduct a survey on the employees of the organization. This will help in achieving a statistical analysis of the average job satisfaction rate of the employees, working here (Soy 2015). Since the research will be conducted on the basis of the data collected via the survey questionnaires, the research will conduct a primary method of data collection. The main advantage of the primary data in the research is that it will be helpful in collecting case specific data, that will not merely provide a general idea about the job satisfaction of the foreign employees in Singapore, but in HWS Construction Pte. Ltd (Baskerville and Woodharper 2016).The sampling method chosen for the research is the Stratified Sampling Method, whereby the sample chosen for the study, will not be selected on a random basis, but on the basis of the fulfillment of two or more criteria (Hair and Lukas 2014). Accordingly, in this research, the respondents are chosen only if they are fulfilling the below mentioned conditions: S/he is working in HWS Construction Pte. Ltd S/he is a foreign worker, working in the Singapore branch of the organization for either a period of more than 3 years, or for a period less than a year. The employees are working in the construction sector of the organization, and do not work under the managerial designation in the company. The sampling size chosen for the conduction of the research is 30. Out of these 30 chosen respondents, at least half of the respondents must have served The organization for more than 3 years, while the other half must be fresh employees, recruited not more than a few months. Since the construction workers are being chosen, an open question survey method is not chosen. The respondents will be provided with a questionnaire, which will comprise of simple questions, and the respondents will have to rate the statements, on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 will imply strong dissatisfaction, while 5 will imply strong satisfaction. The workers will be expected to mark their responses in response to the survey questions related to the field of their workplace environment, wages, incentives and allowances, and working conditions. In accordance with the data of the responses collected, the data will be analyzed. In case, the average response lies between the scale of 1 to 3 in any specific field, th e organization will have to consider implementing change in the particular area. Reference List: Baskerville, R.L. and Wood-Harper, A.T., 2016. A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. InEnacting Research Methods in Information Systems: Volume 2(pp. 169-190). Springer International Publishing. Cheng, C.W. and Wu, T.C., 2013. An investigation and analysis of major accidents involving foreign workers in Taiwans manufacture and construction industries.Safety science,57, pp.223-235. Hair Jr, J.F. and Lukas, B., 2014.Marketing research. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. 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