ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING IN TAIWANESE BANK

Organizational Learning In Taiwanese Bank Performance

Organizational Learning in Taiwanese Bank Performance

The emphasis on subjecting all theoretical concepts, hypotheses, and expectations to empirical demonstration—that is, of testing our ideas—is basically what distinguishes the scientific method from other forms of inquiry. And the principles of scientific methodology, which lend structure to the manner in which such inquiries occur, is what this paper is connected with.

Definition of (Qualitative/Quantitative) Research

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is research involving the use of structured questions where the response options have been predetermined and a large number of respondents is involved.

By definition, measurement must be objective, quantitative and statistically valid. Simply put, it's about numbers, objective hard data. A scientifically calculated sample of people from a population is asked a set of questions on a survey to determine the frequency and percentage of their responses. For example: 240 people, 79%, of a sample population, said they are more confident of their personal future today than they were a year ago. Because the sample size is statistically valid, the 79% finding can be projected to the entire population from which the sample was selected. Simply put, this is quantitative research.

The sample size for a survey is calculated by statisticians using formulas to determine how large a sample size will be needed from a given population in order to achieve findings with an acceptable degree of accuracy. Generally, researchers seek sample sizes which will yield findings with at least a 95% confidence level (which means that if you repeated the survey 100 times, 95 times out of a hundred, you would get the same response) and a plus/minus 5 percentage points margin of error. Many survey samples are designed to produce smaller margins of error.

Survey sample and structure designs, survey question writing and testing, criteria for selecting appropriate methods and technologies for collecting information from various kinds through survey of respondents, survey administration and statistical analysis. However, due to their technical nature, these topics are not covered in this brief.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open-ended. Small numbers of people are interviewed in-depth and/or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted.

Participants are asked to respond to general questions and the interviewer or group moderator probes and explores their responses to identify and define peoples' perceptions, opinions and feelings about the topic or idea being discussed and to determine the degree of agreement that exists in the group. The quality of the findings from qualitative research is directly dependent upon the skill, experience and sensitivity of the interviewer or group moderator.

This type of research is often less costly than surveys and is extremely effective in acquiring information about peoples' communications needs and their responses to and views about specific communications. It is often the method of choice in instances where quantitative measurement is not ...