“Not Everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted” (A. Einstein)
3.1. Introduction
The essence of this research is in addressing the two research questions posed by the study. It intends to examine the relationship between the value chain and production, and how the value chain can enhance global competitiveness for the Nigeria oil palm market situation. This it does by providing a concrete description of the research methodology along with the theoretical framework and literature. The research methodology benefits from a qualitative approach which is descriptive and explorative in its data collection. The chapter is structured to provide insights into the research method, samples selected and sampling method employed, also the data collection and analysis method, ethical considerations and the limitations faced by the research.
3.2. Research Method
This study adopts the qualitative method, which is aimed at answering the questions of “Why” and “How”. It is highly appreciated in this study, since its purpose is to drive into the heart of the oil palm industry by evaluating chain holders in the value chain. Although qualitative data is very demanding and rigorous to measure and quantify, one of its strengths lies in the valuable and intuitive perspectives it brings to research to make it rich and concrete, which of course is absent in quantitative research. Qualitative research has an explorative and descriptive character which is derived by the dialogue bonding of the interviewer and interviewee and it can easily be understood by users and readers of the information. Qualitative research involves field work which is carried out without a pre-purpose categorization of analysis; this qua...
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... are inclusive of quotes, observations, note taking, focus group discussions, In-depth interviews and so forth. Marshall and Rossman, (1999) noted that in qualitative research, data collection methods can be grouped into Four (4) types; “Participation in the setting, direct observation, In-depth interviews, and document analysis”. Data is usually not derived from only one method of collection, it makes use of two or more methods, and its range of theoretical and literature frameworks available to it. Thus, in this research work the use of In-depth Interviews and Document Analysis is in use. Before the interviews were carried out, interviewees were sought after; phone calls were made, after which, introductory letters (see appendix) accompanied by consent forms (see appendix) were sent out to the interviewees. Thereafter, dates and time of interviews were scheduled.
Monsanto Vegetable Seeds has placed the supply chain organization within global manufacturing and supply chain. The of this group reports directly to the President of the division and the organization is about 1,000 employees strong. The supply chain heads are paired with their commercial counterparts and their marketing counterparts. This is hand...
The type of data collection for a qualitative research study depends on the research design. The qualitative design itself originates out of the disciplines and flow throughout the process of research (Creswell, 2014). Creswell (2014) recommends narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study, and grounded theory as common qualitative research methods. These were recommended because of they are popular across the social and health and science research studies. Hays and Woods (2011) asserted that selecting a research tradition congruent with one's research orientation and study purpose, and at the same time, infusing it in all phases of qualitative inquiry, is one of the key criterions for trustworthiness of the research results. Hays and Woods (2011) recommends six qualitative research traditions, including ground theory, phenomenology, consensual qualitative research, ethnography, narratology, and participative action research. Indeed, while there are additional qualitative research methods available, scholars have identified these six qualitative traditions consistently or identified them as emerging and common methods of qualitative research (Hays & Woods, 2011).
To complete the above fieldwork exercise, the method of qualitative research utilised was Ethnography. Ethnography is a method in which the ethnographer or researcher becomes either an overt or a covert participant in the lives of people (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2105). It involves collecting any data that is available to explore the focus of the research (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007). One could suggest Ethnography is a method to study society and culture (Berg and Lune, 2017).
Many companies have turned to sustainable palm oil, palm oil that is produced on plantations that reuse the land for their agricultural purposes, thus supplying more palm oil without the destruction of natural forests. Some choose to boycott palm oil entirely, but this alternative will not significantly change the demand for palm oil. Vegetable oil is used abundantly and oil palm trees are the quickest producing oil crops, concluding them necessary to satisfy the demand for edible oils. Not only is palm oil versatile for its uses and quick to produce, but it is a major component to the economy in Indonesia and Malaysia. Many people living in these countries struggle with poverty, and agriculture of sustainable palm oil is how a great deal of people support themselves and their families. If the boycott of palm oil were successful, a considerable population of people would be unemployed and
There has been a debate over which tradition of methodology, qualitative or quantitative, can provide a better explanation while conducting social science research. Qualitative research provides in-depth case-by-case studies while quantitative, generates broader arguments accommodating a large number of cases. Many social scientists may be naturally qualitative analysts and their expertise could lie predominantly in such field (Mahoney and Goertz, 2006). Quantitative analysis, on the other hand, is preferred when the researchers want to observe common patterns among several different cases. However, both quantitative and qualitative analyses ask questions differently which may lead to different explanations, although they may be examining
Qualitative research has gained significant recognition in the social science sphere with its holistic and purposeful pursuit in illuminating new areas for research lacking through quantitative research. (Carey, 2012; Cleary, Horsfall, & Hayter, 2014; Reeves, Kuper, & Hodges, 2008; Stevenson, Britten, Barry, Barber, & Bradley, 2000; Thyer, 2012). Qualitative research uses a variety of methodologies to explore an individual’s inner world, expand our understanding of a social phenomenon, and advance and discover new theories (Carey, 2012; Fortune, Reid, & Miller, 2013; Saldana, 2011; Thyer, 2012). Stevenson (2000) describes qualitative research as an in-depth investigation into the inner world of reasoning, decision-making and meaning. Furthermore, qualitative research takes into account the context and history that shapes presented information and ventures to understand participant’s experiences, thoughts, opinions, and feelings towards their social reality (Ivey, 2012; Nielsen, 2011; Thyer, 2012).
To get started, we first need to understand what Crocs' value chain is and how that process plays a role in the strategic direction of the company. The authors of our text, views the value chain as "the entire series of organizational work activities that add value at each step, from raw materials to finished product. In its entirety, the value chain can encompass supplier's suppliers to the customer's customers"(Robbins & Coulter, 2009, p.430). At Crocs, the entire series of organization work activities may be broken down even further using Porter's value chain model of viewing a manufacturing (or service) primary and secondary activities as a "system made up of subsystems, each with inputs, transformation processes and outputs"(Ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk, 2011). A diagram, compliments of Porter(1985) can be seen below:
The aim of the value chain structure is to maximize the value creation while minimizing costs. Value Chain Analysis is a useful tool for working out how you can create the greatest possible value for your customers. Value chain analysis relies on the rudimentary economic principle of competitive advantage -companies are best served by operating in divisions where they have a relative prolific benefit compared to their competitors. Concomitantly, companies should ask themselves where they can deliver the paramount value to their customer. To conduct a value chain analysis, the company begins by identifying each part of its production process and recognizing where steps can be purged or enhancements can be made. These improvements can result
Reviewing the previous qualitative studies, the interview has become one of key research approaches (along with field observations and document analysis) for gathering data that is closely conducted by qualitative researchers. (Kvale, 1996; Brinkmann, 2008; Seidman, 2006). As Gubrium & Holstein (2003) suggest that the qualitative interviews are able to assist researchers to investigate the discovery-oriented enquiries and the increased understanding of subjectivities in the researching fields of social science, media, health care, etc.
It is found that the positives of palm oil production are that the palm oil contains vitamins and is low in cholesterol which causes the lowering in cholesterol levels in humans. The palm oil is essential to the making of products including the cosmetics and cleaning agents. It can also provide the solution to poverty as $3000 per hectare of returns is provided. Also, it is found that the negatives of palm oil production are it results in the destruction of rainforests due to deforestation, it can cause extinction of species with 50% of decreasing for the orang-utan population, and it raises social issues with the loss of income and the dependence of the large plantations
The author could have employed other methods of qualitative research such as, narrative analysis, grounded theory, discourse analysis, data display and analysis, content analysis and quantifying qualitative data and computer assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAPDAS) (Saunders et al., 2016). Nevertheless, these approaches seem cumbersome sometimes and take a long time to complete (Willig, 1999; Braun and Clarke, 2006 and Smith and Bekker,
The aim of this essay is to critically analyse a qualitative piece of an article using CASP tool, in order to attain a better understanding of the subject. A brief description about the qualitative and quantitative research methods and its’ importance in the nursing practice will be discussed. This essay also compares different types of evidence and the importance of that evidence in practice. Nursing research is the systemic inquiry designed to develop the knowledge about the issues that is important in the nursing practice and in the nursing education (Polit and Beck, 2006). In order to improve the standard of nursing care and to meet the health needs of the patient, all the nursing practice should be up to date and evidence based (Fowles,
Liamputtong, P. & Ezzy, D., 2005, Qualitative research methods, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, pp. 12-31.
Recklies, D (2001) ‘The value chain’, Recklies Management Project GmbH, http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/fisheries/docs/ValueChain.pdf accessed 12 Jan 2014
Sekaran and Bougie (2011) stated that each member of population has a known zero probability to be selected as sample subjects. For this study, researcher used a probability sampling method where all the respondents in population have a probability to be chosen as a subject.