An Analysis of Improvisation of Internal Control and the use of Quantitative Methodology

An Analysis of Improvisation of Internal Control and the use of Quantitative Methodology Research Methodology Quantitative Study Kothari (2004) defined primary research as the first-hand collection of data by a person investigating something. One of the main merit of primary research is that the data collected having specific to the research since the researcher full control over the methods used. This research will use the employees of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. Borouge as the primary research subjects. The study will seek the views of the employees concerning improvisation of internal control. This study will utilize the quantitative methodology in investigating the analysis of improvisation of internal control. Kothari (2004) questionnaires are considered to be a cheap and effective way of collecting information from a big number of respondents. They can be prepared and administered in short periods of time since different respondents in different places can fill them at the same time. As the commonly used tools of data collection, there is an amount of reasons to study a topic with a questionnaire survey. First, questionnaires are anonymous, and researchers can more easily collect precise data with carefully drafted questions. Secondly the data collected can be quantified easily, hence making comparisons becomes easy. In addition, questions from questionnaires are designed for theoretical reasons, and the author can easily control what should be included. Questionnaires usually start from a known theoretical position and proceed to test the unknown position (Kumar, 2010). The questions are designed to conform to an existing research question and are hence fixed. The structure of a questionnaire is such that the researcher does not need to construct new questions. Consequently, a well-designed questionnaire can help the author gather information effectively not only on the overall performance of the test organization, but also to collect data for specific reasons in related enterprises. Pathak (2008) added that the Questionnaire is applied in the study in order to obtain information from the employees in Borouge. It consists of three main sections with the first section intended to address the idea of improvisation of internal control in business organizations. Given the wideness of the topic, it is intended that most respondents have an idea of how improvisation of internal control can be used as a business strategy in the current global market. The first part is, therefore, considered to be the identified aspect of the idea of improvisation of internal control. In the second portion, the opinions of the respondents concerning improvisation of internal control is evaluated. This section also attempts to determine the ability of Borouge to perform effectively. The last section is intended to collect biometric data from the respondents. The collected data will be the main tool for analyzing the test sample to see whether it is a representative of the larger Borouge i n the UAE and world population. The questionnaire uses closed-ended questions. Pathak (2008) explains that closed questions are advantageous since the results can be quantified easily. The data collected will be analyzed through data summary methods through percentage calculation. Background about Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. – Borouge Borouge has a high production capacity. In 2010, the company through its management team management tripled their products in the main manufacturing plant in Abu Dhabi to 2 million tones product. The 2014 production projection is expected to rise to 4.5 million tones. Borouge and Borealis are expected to increase their annual production to 8 million tons of polymers. The company is engaged on expansion plans across the Middle East and Asia market. Apart from the production process, the company in devising ways of addressing the water and sanitation problems affecting the people on a global perspective. The company engages in various corporate social responsibilities. According to Abdulaziz Alhajri, the CEO, Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd (Borouge), the company embarks on measures does not only cater to their customers, but also extends their care to the community and other stakeholders. For sustainability, the company ensures that they carry out activities that are environmentally friend ly and that promote the wellbeing of the natural environment (The National, 2013). Improvisation of internal control of Borouge will require understanding of the number of employees the organization has in the workforce. The Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd has a total of more than 500 employees who work in the manufacturing plant for the petroleum products in the company. The research will collect information on the improvisation of the internal control of the organization. The population in the organization is comprised of majority male employees who take a population of approximately 87% of the sum of employees in the organization with women comprising of 13%. This population is crucial in the running of the study in the organization. The respondents will represent a sample of the entire population. Understanding the Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Limited internal control will enhance recommendation internal organization improvements. Borouge has tried to ensure equity in the workforce (Michael Adewale, 2010). Borouge has maintained an attractive positive image in the entire UAE region. With a high number of applications, the recruitment has been slow taking up to six months due to poor technical and contact with the candidates. This has been the case even after a massive expansion program taking place in all the branches. Such problems discourage many of the applicants who may have expansive experience in their fields of work, leaving the company lacking the best team to work with. It affected the company greatly by making some gaps in the workforce that reduced the output of the company. This reduced the production potential of the company and left the other employees exhausted due to overwork. This influenced the morale of the employees in such a situation negatively. Workforce planning refers to a well-organized move that involves the determination of the total number of employees required by the organization and critical understanding of their talents and abilities that are important for the company to realize its set objectives. It also involves preparing for action plan schedule to ensure that the objectives of the company are met as expected within the required duration of time. Sample Size and Selection Selection of the sample size is crucial in the research study due to enhanced ability to collect non-biased data from the respondent. The sample size selected for the study of the improvisation of internal control of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd is 100 questionnaire. The questionnaire will be used as the method of collection primary data in the study due to its easy application and design. In addition, the data analysis using the questionnaire is simpler in the quantitative research. The sample selection will be determined by probability sampling technique will be applied for this study due to its ability to incorporate non-biased data gathering and processing. This is effective due to easiness in calculating the required sample from a population. The selection process is also improved to ensure that the data collected is diverse and encourages the generalization of the sample size to represent the population (Wayne Stuart, 2004). Weng Ding (2013) argued that probability sampling is important due to its inclusive nature that provides a sample that is a representation of the total population. With a high population of employees at Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd, the probability sampling method would facilitate representation of the entire population of over 1200 in the operation plant. The sampling process comprises of a number of steps to reach the desired sample size. The first step comprises of the definition of the population. In this research, the population type is considered to be the entire workforce at Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. This comprises of all employees who work in the organization. The second step comprises of the specification of the sampling frame that consist of a set of items or events that are possible to measure in the research. In this case, the objective of this research is to determine the improvisation of internal control of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd. The analysis comprises the study on the internal control in the organization that analyzes on its strength, weaknesses and opportunities for development to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the operation. Following the definition of the item being studied, Weng Ding (2013) added that the sampling process then involves the specification of the right method of sampling. In this cases, random sampling is selected where the population has equal chances of being selected as a sample for this study. This ensures uniformity and identifies the ground for analyzing that the sample used is a representation of the whole population. Having identified all the sampling concerns for the sample, the researcher may decide to determine the appropriate sample size for the research where in Borouge the sample size selected was 100 respondents. In addition, the determination of the sample plan is set for the selection of the sample in the workforce that will ensure the universality of the data collected for this research. Finally, the sampling method requires sampling integration in the research and data collection. The sampling method used is also reviewed to ensure that any possibility of bias is seale d. Data Collecting Tools The research on improvisation of internal control of Abu Dhabi Polymers Company Ltd will be dependent on two types of data that is crucial to this research. The primary and secondary data are important in research to ensure that there is verification of primary research results with secondary findings. The two types of data are important to the research since they reduce the possibilities of producing biased data thus presenting false evidence in the research findings. The primary data will be collected through a well-designed questionnaire that will gather all the primary data essential for the research. This paper will use some theories such as management and systems science, human resource management, core competency, and comparative advantage for analyses risks and development improvisation of internal control at Borouge, which is a manufacturing industry. The main methods used in the literature review in the relevant fields of manufacturing firms are quantitative, and qualitativ e empirical data from previous research (Herbert et al., 2006). This project intends to identify current and future trends in the improvisation of the internal control in an organization in the manufacturing industry through examining the past research, investigating ongoing trends and drawing conclusions on the possible future of improvisation in Borouge manufacturing company. The literature review in this research will give an overview of research done by the previous researchers and then compare those findings from the questionnaires used to present day academic work. The second section identifies the several large scale, and current, research findings analyzed to enhance understanding of the current state of internal control improvisation and its impact on the manufacturing industry. From these explorations, there is a discussion on the trends and movement in the global economy, especially in the manufacturing industry in United Arab Emirates. According to Adà ¨r Mellenbergh (2008), an exploratory study is used to clarify the understanding of a problem, to find out, what is happening; find a new insight; ask questions and evaluate phenomena in a new way‟. There are three principal ways to do exploratory research. Conduct a literature research; Conduct interview with experts in the subject or through questionnaires; conduct interviews to focus groups. As mentioned earlier, it will focus on the topic of risk assessment in HR outsourcing in the Chinese manufacturing industry. The research will conduct exploratory research in order to investigate the research questions. The research will be concentrated on both literature review and questionnaires, and combine them with the theory in order to provide an in-depth understanding of our research questions. At the same time, the research will use an explanatory study in order to answer our research questions more clearly. Firstly, after reading a numbers of literature about improvisation of internal control in an organization in the manufacturing industry in UAE, it is important to understand and analyze the question of (What is current risks of improvisation of internal control of the manufacturing industry?) And another question (What is the current trends in the development of the internal control improvisation in Borouge manufacturing industry?). This will help in collecting data and carrying an effective data analysis in subsequent sections.