Research Hypotheses And Questions Research Proposals Example

Introduction

This is a research proposal made to study the impact of the changing business environment on management accounting. The main issue that is dealt in this research is to know how management accounting is affected or developed since a decade due to the globalization of the business environment. It is the advancement of technology, globalization of the business market and high increment in competition that has lead to the change of the business environment which has further affected management accounting in the business. This has led to change in organization structure of the businesses and has led to the need of efficient management for the business to grow in this changing environment. It has been seen that since 1980, the business environment has drastically changed and this has affected the management accounting policy of the businesses all across the globe ('17Th Conference On Accounting And Management History'). At the beginning the magnitude of external changes were overlooked by the management that lead to a little alteration of the policy of training and education system, but later on with the drastic change that was felt in the business, the management system changed to meet the requirement of the changing environment.

Background

Objective and aim
The main objective and aim of this research is to understand the impact of changing environment of the business on management accounting. It is important to know what led to the emergence of management accounting in the business and how management accounting help the business to growth in the globalized market. Without knowing the reason for importance of management accounting in today’s business environment, it is useless to implement the field of study in daily business world. Hence, this research study helps to know the impacts of the changing business environment on management accounting and how management accounting has proved its importance in supporting the business in the globalized and competitive world. This study also aims at providing knowledge on how management accounting helps the managers to take decision regarding the business.

For conducting the research study it is important to plan a hypothesis that will help to provide outcome of the research. With the hypothesis the dissertation is completed by backing it with evidences like methodology, literature review, results and outcomes, discussion of the analysis and conclusion of the report. To conduct a research it is important to develop some research questions that help to conduct the hypotheses in the research. Therefore the research questions that will be used in this research study are given in the points below:

Does management accounting helps to take managerial decisions by providing proper information?

Have any changes being made in the training and education system of management accounting to support the changing business environment?
What advances has been noticed in management accounting to support the role of decision making in the advance business environment?
What advance techniques and tools are introduced to management accounting to support the changing business environment?
What are the impacts of changing business environment on management accounting?
The impact of changing business environment on management accounting is beneficial or harmful for the economy?
Can changes in training and education system meet the needs to advancement of management accounting in the growing market?
Literature review
Literature review explains the existing literature and to analyze, evaluate and synthesis the findings and theories of the previous researchers. This helps to know how management accounting plays a conventional role in the growing business all across the globe. The changing business environment plays an effecting role in development of management accounting ('Special Issue Of Management Accounting Research On Strategic Management Accounting'). This revolution was started in the year 1960, prior to which cost accounting was the only solution for the management to help businesses develop in the market and solve its problems. With the advancement of the business environment it was found that there is a need of a broader field of study that will help to solve the increasing problem of the globalized business market. This gave rise to the need of management accounting in the year 1980 and the revolution began with the changing globalized environment of the business. Along with the commencement of management accounting and growth of it, some significant changes were also evident in the field of training and education that helps people to become generalized with this field of knowledge and study (Anderson, St. Pierre and Benke). This modified the accounting system and restructured the meaning of accounting in the modern world that was limited in the previous age up to only financial statements.

Management accounting and its traditional role

Management accounting plays an important role since 1960 after its evolution. During that period the traditional role of management accounting was to help the business by providing information for decision making. It is said by many researchers that since that period the demand for management accounting started to grow and in present day it has become an efficient part of any business. CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) shared this claim and management accounting started playing an important role in the traditional period ('Contents Of Journal Of Management Accounting Research Vol 20'). Its service demand started growing and it became an important aspect or element that needed to be considered for decision making (Busco, Quattrone and Riccaboni).

Advancement in management Accounting

Management accounting started advancing with the developing and growing globalization of the market. With the change in the market and advancement of technology, management accounting also changed significantly to support the growth of the business in this changing market. New rules and fields were developed in this study and new technologies and tools were added to support this advancement (Burns and Vaivio). As it was found that this was the most suitable method for helping in decision making for any business to grow and meet the need of the changing market. The growing demand of this system led to high advancement of the management accounting system. Business started changing its policies and strategy to make decision and this method was implemented to support the change.

Needs for changing decision making and other responsible factors

Methodology
Research design
Research design is the blueprint of any research report that shows how the research has been conducted and presented to the readers for proper understanding. This research has been conducted by using a survey by presenting questionnaires to people of managerial level. This also helps to collect primary data for the research and the collected data are analyzed using statistical analysis. The report is presented in a descriptive method that helps to provide all information collected and drawn will conducting the research (Jha). The descriptive method of research design helps to provide concrete data and information to support the hypotheses of the research and support the study with enough evidences.

Data collection

Data collection is an important aspect of conducting a research. Two methods are used to collect data for conducting a research. The first and the most important method of data collection is the primary data collection method that helps to collect data from the primary sources by direct interviews and questionnaires through surveys. The second method is the collection of data from the secondary sources that involves collection of data by reading and observing books, journals and articles from printed or internet sources (Kothari). Here in this research both methods are implemented to collect data and information to complete the research study. For collecting the primary data 20 people of the managerial level will be asked questions in the form of questionnaires and the feedbacks collected from them will help to complete the research.

Literature survey

Literature survey is the collection of data and information from the secondary sources by studying the prior researches made by other researchers. It helps to compare the findings and results of the research with the findings of other researchers and helps to complete the study. Several articles and journals are chosen to be study to complete the literature of the research and a review will be presented by observing the literatures.

Data analysis

Data analysis is the most important and difficult task for any researcher. It helps to complete the hypotheses of the research and provides the outcomes and results of the research. Here in this research different methods have been used to conduct the hypotheses (Newman and Benz). Descriptive statistics method and inferential statistics method will be used to conduct the analysis of the research. In the descriptive analysis method the data and variables are analyzed with the help of frequency distribution, bar charts, tabulations, measures of central tendency, histograms, measures of dispersion and other statistical analysis. In the inferential statistical method, the data collected will be compared with the sample selected for the hypothesis from the population (Kumar).

Time constraint

It is important to consider the major limitation of a research study that is the time boundary that must be maintained to complete the research study appropriately. There are many other limitations that are unknown in nature and can be only known while conducting the research. The time constraint of the research is presented with the help of a Gantt chart that is presented below:

Expected Results

It can be understood while making the proposal that management accounting has developed with the change in the business environment. With the implement of the technological development and globalization, there has occurred advancement in management accounting that has helped a lot in decision making ('Management Accounting Research'). The results of the research will be presented in statistical form as well as in descriptive manner and proper discussion of the analysis will be presented to support the research outcomes and findings. The data collected from the feedback in the form of primary research will be compared with the literature and a proper outcome will be presented to support researchers for further study. The results and outcomes of the statistical analysis will be presented in form of tables and graphs to make it easier to understand compare the data collected for the hypothesis.

Conclusion

The changing business environment has several impacts on the management accounting since 1980. It has led to the advancement of the management accounting system since that period. Several changes have been noticed in the training and education system that supports the development of management accounting in the present day’s situation. Management accounting has become an important part of any business to seek growth in the globalized and competitive market. Hence it is important to study the impact of the changing business environment on management accounting to recommend proper solution to implement management accounting in businesses for the survival and growth of the business.

References

'17Th Conference On Accounting And Management History'. Accounting History 16.4 (2011): 489-490. Web.
Anderson, William T, E. Kent St. Pierre, and Ralph L Benke. Essays On Accounting Education. Harrisonburg, Va.: Center for Research in Accounting Education, School of Accounting, James Madison University, 1986. Print.
Burns, John, and Juhani Vaivio. 'Management Accounting Change'. Management Accounting Research12.4 (2001): 389-402. Web.
Busco, Cristiano, Paolo Quattrone, and Angelo Riccaboni. 'Management Accounting'. Management Accounting Research 18.2 (2007): 125-149. Web.
'Contents Of Journal Of Management Accounting Research Vol 20'. Management Accounting Research20.4 (2009): I. Web.
Jha, N. K. Research Methodology. Chandigarh: Abhishek Publications, 2008. Print.
Kothari, C. R. Research Methodology. New Delhi: New Age International (P) Ltd., 2004. Print.
Kumar, Ranjit. Research Methodology. London: SAGE, 2005. Print.
'Management Accounting Research'. Accounting, Organizations and Society 28.4 (2003): 414. Web.
Newman, Isadore, and Carolyn R Benz. Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1998. Print.
Nixon, Bill, and John Burns. 'Strategic Management Accounting'. Management Accounting Research23.4 (2012): 225-228. Web.
Schwartz, Bill N, and Anthony H Catanach. Advances In Accounting Education. Bingley, UK: Emerald, 2009. Print.
'Special Issue Of Management Accounting Research On Strategic Management Accounting'.Management Accounting Research 20.3 (2009): 222-223. Web.
ETHICS CHECKLIST FOR STUDENT RESEARCHERS
This checklist is designed to alert you to your ethical obligations when you conduct research involving human subjects. These questions must be answered when a research project is proposed and before a research project is implemented. Attach the completed checklist to your final research proposal in week 12.
Please circle your answers:
1) Will the human subjects be informed of the nature of their involvement in the collection of data and of features of the research that reasonably might be expected to influence willingness to participate? Yes No
2) Will the human subjects be told that they can discontinue their participation at any time? Yes No
3) Will the human subjects in your study be aware that they are the targets of research? Yes No
4) If the subjects are underage, will their guardians be asked to sign the consent form? Yes No N/A
5) Is the confidentiality of the human subject’s identity positively ensured? Yes No
6) In cases where there is a possibility that the human subject's identity can be deduced by Yes No someone other than the researcher, is the subject's right to withdraw his/her data respected?
7) Will the researcher fulfill all the promises made to the human subjects including providing Yes No the summary of the findings upon request?
8) Will all necessary measures be taken to protect the physical safety of Yes Nothe human subjects from dangers such as faulty electrical equipment, poor grounding, lack of oxygen, falls, traffic & industrial accidents, possibility of hearing or vision loss etc.?
9) Will the human subject be debriefed (told the true nature of the study) after Yes No the data has been collected?
10) In cases in which the human subject is dissatisfied or a complaint about the researcher or Yes No procedure, will the researcher explain to the human subject that he or she may express this complaint to the Subject Coordinator?
11) Does the study involve concealment from and/or deception of the human subject? Yes No
12) Will deception be used in order to obtain agreement to participate? Yes No
13) Will the study involve human subjects who are legally or otherwise not in a position to give their valid consent to participate such as children, prison inmates, and mental patients? Yes No
14) Will information on your human subjects be obtained from third parties? Yes No
15) Will any coercion be exerted upon subjects to participate? Yes No
16) Will the study involve physical stress to the human subjects such as might Yes No result from heat, noise, electric shock, pain, sleep loss, deprivation of food and drink, drugs, alcohol?
17) Will the study cause any mental discomfort to the human subjects such as fear, Yes No anxiety, loss of self-esteem, shame, guilt, embarrassment etc.?
18) Could publication of the research results possibly interfere with strict confidentiality? Yes No
19) Could publication of the research results possibly harm the human subject - either directly or through identification with his/her membership group? Yes No20) Are there other aspects of the study that may interfere with the protection of the Yes No well-being of the human subjects?
If you have selected NO for any of the questions 1 to 10 and/or you have selected YES for any of the questions 11 o 20, please provide comments to clarify your choice (use additional pages if necessary).
Comment:
I have answered N/A in Question 4 because the human subjects used in my study are not minors but are people of managerial post.
APPROVED: _______________________________________ Date: __________________ Signature of Subject Coordinator