LUẬN văn THẠC sĩ (KINH tế) the perceptions of post work placement students from DBS, DIT and WIT towards their work placement experience

ListofTables/Illustrations...4 Acknowledgements...5 Abstract...6 Chapter1:Introduction...7 1.1 Background to thisresearch...8 1.2 Objectivesofthisresearch...9 1.3 ResearchStructure...10

Theperceptionsofpostworkplacementstu dentsfromDBS,DITandWITtowardstheir

UniversityinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsfortheawarddegreeofMastersofBusinessAdmin istrationinFinanceunderthesupervisionofMr.MichaelMcKeon.

ListofTables/Illustrations 4

Acknowledgements 5

Abstract 6

Chapter1:Introduction 7

1.1 Background to thisresearch 8

1.2 Objectivesofthisresearch 9

1.3 ResearchStructure 10

1.4 Recipientsofthisresearch 11

1.5 Scopeand limitationstotheresearch 11

Chapter2:LiteratureReview 13

2.1 1Introduction 14

2.2 Toascertain thestudents’levelofsatisfactionwiththewholeexperience 15

Conclusion 17

2.3 To ascertainifthestudentsaccruedbenefitsbydeveloping careerorientedskillsandifsowhichskills? 17

Conclusion 18

2.4 Toascertain whethertheexperiencehaschangedthestudents’attitudesto andexpectationsoftheworkplaceand importantemploymenttraits 19

Conclusion 20

2.5 Toascertain thestudents’currentstatusandcareeroutcome 20

Conclusion 21

Literaturereviewconclusion 22

Chapter3:ResearchMethodsand Methodology 23

3.1 1Introduction 24

Figure3.01Saunders’ResearchOnion 25

3.2 TheResearchPhilosophy 25

3.3 TheApproachesLayer 27

Figure3.02:Researchapproach 29

3.4 TheStrategiesLayer 29

3.5 TheChoicesLayer 31

3.6 TheTimeHorizonsLayer 32

3.7 DataCollectionandDataAnalysis 33

3.7.1 SecondaryDataCollection 33

3.7.2 PrimaryQualitativeDataCollection 33

3.7.3 PrimaryQuantitativeDataCollection 34

3.7.4 DataAnalysis 37

3.8 PopulationandSample 38

3.9 Ethicalissuesindatacollection 39

3.10 LimitationstotheResearch 39

Chapter4:DataAnalysis&Findings 40

4.1 1AnalysisofPrimaryQuantitativedata 41

4.1.1 Demographics&workplacementdetailsofquestionnaireparticipants 41

4.1.2 Objective1:Toascertainthestudents’levelofsatisfactionwiththeoverall experience 43

4.1.3 Objective2:To ascertainifthestudentsaccruedbenefitsbydeveloping careerorientedskillsandifsowhichskills? 49

4.1.4 Objective3:T o ascertain whethertheexperiencehaschangedthestudents’ attitudestoandexpectationsoftheworkplaceand importantemployment traits 50

4.1.5 Objective4:To ascertain thestudents’currentstatusandcareeroutcome 52

4.2 2AnalysisofPrimaryQualitativedata 53

4.2.2 ResearchObjective1 53

4.2.3 ResearchObjective2 55

4.2.4 ResearchObjective3 57

4.2.5 ResearchObjective4 58

Chapter5:Conclusions&Recommendations 59

5.1 1Introduction 60

5.2 ConclusiononObjective1 60

5.3 ConclusiononObjective2 62

5.4 ConclusiononObjective3 63

5.5 ConclusiononObjective4 64

5.7 ConclusiononResearchQuestion 65

5.8 ResearchersRecommendations 66

5.9 Suggestedtopicforfutureresearch 66

Chapter6:Self-Reflectionon Own Learning&Performance 67

6.1 1Introduction 68

6.2 MyPersonality Type 68

6.3 Whatislearning? 68

Figure6.01:TheHoney&Mumford Learning Cycle 69

6.4 Skillsidentifiedand acquired during thelearning process 70

6.5 Mylearning stylepreference 71

Figure6.02:TheHoney&Mumford Learning CycleandStyles 71

Figure6.03:CharacteristicsofaReflectorandaTheorist 72

6.6 HowcanIcontinuetobecomeamoreeffectivelearner? 72

Figure6.04:Tabletoaddressmyunder-utilizedlearningstyle 73

6.7 Conclusion 74

Figure6.05:ExtractfrommyPersonalDevelopmentPlantodevelop under-utilised learningareas 74

Reference &Bibliography 75

Books: 76

ReferencesforLiteratureReview 77

Figure3.01: S aunder s’ Resear ch Onion .25

Figure3.02:Researchapproach 29

Figure3.03:QuestionDesign Cycle 35

Figure4.01:Area of study: 42

Figure4.02:Durationofplacement 42

Figure4.03: Paid orunpaid? .43

Figure4.04:Level ofsatisfaction 43

Figure4.05:Clearly outlined expectations 44

Figure4.06: Complexity oftasks .45

Figure4.07:Significanceof tasks .45

Figure4.08:Personalinitiative 45

Figure4.09:Feedback 46

Figure4.10:Opportunitiesto learn 46

Figure4.11:Determinate of field ofinterest .47

Figure4.12:Supervisor support .47

Figure4.13:Exposure to otherpartsof thebusiness .48

Figure4.14:Admirationof the organisation .48

Figure4.15:Improvementordevelopmentofskills 49

Figure4.16:Clarificationofcareerintentions 50

Figure4.17:Influenceonsignificanceof employmenttraits 51

Figure4.18:Perceived advantageoverotherstudents 51

Figure4.19:Enhancedemployability 52

Figure6.01:Honey and MumfordLearning Cycle 69

Figure6.02:Honey andMumfordLearning Cycleand Styles 71

Figure6.03:Characteristicsof a Reflectorand a Theorist .72

Figure6.04:Table to adress my under-utilisedlearning style .73

Figure6.05:Extractfrommy PersonalDevelopmentPlan to develop under-utilised learning .74

Iw o u l d l i k e t o e x p r e s s mygratitudet o allt h o s e w h o gavem e s u p p o r t andencouragementduringthecompletionofthisdissertation

TomyfriendsandfamilyfortheirpatienceandsupportoverthecourseoftheMBAandt o mysupervisorMichaelMcKeonforhisdirectionandguidance

Theaimo f t h i s r e s e a r c h paperi s t o u n d e r s t a n d h o w beneficialworkplacementexperienceistothosestudentsthatparticipateinit.Thereismuchresearchintothebenefitsofinternshipsbutscantresearchexaminingthestudents’levelofsatisfactionw i t h their placementandthereis alsoscantresearcho nthe careeroutcomes ofthes t u d e n t saftertheyhavecompletedtheirworkplacement.Thereisalsolittleresearchs c r u t i n i z

i n g internshipswherethefindingsareempiricallybased

Researchd a t a wast a k e n fromano n l i n e s u r v e y carriedo u t o n s t u d e n t s t h a

t hadcompleteda workplacementi n t h e l a s t r o u n d o f placementsfromD B S , DITandWIThighereducationalinstitutes Fourone-to-

oneinterviewswerealsocarriedoutw i t h s t u d e n t s t h a t hadc o m p l e t e d placements.T o strengthent h e r e s e a r c h , variousjournalsandliteratureoninternshipswerereviewed

Theresearchf o u n d t h a t workplacementsa r e veryb e n e f i c i a l t o t h e s t u d e n t s w

h o participatei n t h e m T h e m a j o r i t y o f s t u d e n t s a r e satisfied.T h e y a r e affordedt h e o p p o r t u n i t y todeveloptheir skills Theirattitudesandexpectationsarealso alteredbyt h e placementwhichensurest h e i r careerintentionsarec l a r i f i e d andt

h a t t h e y haveclearexpectationso f t h e workplace.T h e y feeltheyh a v e ana d v a n t a

g e overt h o s e thathavenot completed aworkplacementprogramme

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1Backgroundto this research

Thetitleof thisresearchis‘Theperceptionsof post workplacementstudents

inDBS,DITandWITtowardstheirworkplacementexperience’

Workplacementsarenotanewconceptincollegecourses.T h e y havebeenpresentinhighereducationforoveracenturywiththefirstcollegeendorsedemploymentprogramappearingas

e a r l y as1 9 0 6 (ThielandH a r t l e y ascitedi n Gaultetal,2 0 0 0 ) W o r k placementshavelongbeenassociatedwithvarioustypesofapprenticeshipsparticularlyi n fieldss u c h associalworkandm e d i c i n e throughouttheU S A , C a n a d a andEurope.Overt he yearst h i s t

y p e o f wo rk ba se d l e a r n i n g approachh a s b e c o m e m o r e andm o r e prevalentin

HigherEducationInstitutes(HEI’s)inIreland.Workplacement is nowakeypartofthirdleveleducationthathelpsstudentstobetterprepareforfutureemployment.Areportp u b l i s h e d byR E A P (Roadmapf o r Employment-

AcademicP a r t n e r s h i p s ) i n 2 0 1 1 identifies411coursesinIrelandthatincludeaworkplacementelementamong23HEI’swithover10,577studentsundertakingplacementsonanannualbasis

Workplacementshavebeendefinedinanumberofwaysbutalldefinitionsincludethei d e

a thatplacementsinvolve‘gainingexperienceonthejob’.Coco(2000)suggestedthatworkplacementsarea‘plannedtransitionfromtheclassroomtothejobandareanaturalbridgebetweenc o l

l e g e andt h e workw o r l d ’ T h e workcanb e paido r unpaid.W o r k placementsshouldhelpstudentsfocustheircareerchoices,honetheirjobsskills,p e r s o n a l l y focustheirworkvaluesanddecreasetheiranxietyaboutthejobsearch(Hall1 9 7 6 , Kane etal.,1992ascitedin Knouseetal, 1999)

Inrecentyears,theglobaleconomicdownturnhasplacedanevengreateremphasisone m p l

o y a b i l i t y andtransferableskillsalongwithincreasingawarenessofthoseattributeswhichm o s t benefitgraduatess e e k i n g employment.A s neweconomica n d competitivechallengesa r e faced,workplacementse n a b l e s t u d e n t s t o gainvaluablelearningexperience.Asaresult,theresearcherfeelsworkplacementsareanincreasinglytopicalareaandonewhichdeserves to bestudiedfurther

Thevalueofworkplacementshasbeenwidelytoutedbyacademicsbutitisnotunusualf o r theirworthtobequestioned.Blackwelletal(2001)surmisedthatworkexperienceitselfdoesnothaveintrinsicvaluebutratheritisthelearningthattheindividualderivesfromtheexperiencethatisimportant,pointingt o theneedtoascertainifstudentsdevelopcareero r i e n t e d s k i l l s

o n placement.Althoughworkp l a c e m e n t s aren o w commonplace,surprisinglyl l i t t l eempiricalevidencehasbeencarriedoutonthem.Furtherdatadrivenstudieshavebeencalledforbyresearchersinrelationtotheoutcomesofinternshipsandworkplacementsandtheirrelationshipbetweenentry-

levelsuccesses.D’Abateetal(2009)p o s i t s t h a t satisfactioni s t h e keyt o successfulinternshipsthat willbenefitallinvolvedbut alsop o i n t s t o t h e n e e d toempiricallyevaluatethissatisfaction.Theresearcherthereforeaimstoascertainifstudentsdevelopcareerorienteds k i l l s , whethertheyperceivet h a t workplacementenhancest h e i r employmento p p o r t u n i t i e s , t h e i r careero u t c o m e s alongw i t h t h e i r levelo f satisfaction

1 Toascertainthestudents’levelofsatisfactionwith theoverallexperience

2 Toascertainifthestudents accruedbenefitsbydevelopingcareerorientedskills andif sowhichskills?

3 Toascertainwhethert h e experienceh a s c h a n g e d t h e s t u d e n t s ’attitudest o andexpectationsof theworkplace andimportantemploymenttraits

4 Toascertainthestudents’currentstatusand careeroutcome

w e r e ( 1 ) T o ascertainthes t u d e n t s ’ levelofs a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h

t h e overallexperience(2)Toascertainifthestudentsaccruedbenefitsbydevelopingcareerorientedskillsandifsowhichskills?(3)

Toascertainwhethertheexperiencehaschangedthestudents’a t t i t u d e s

t o andexpectationsoft h e workplaceandimportantemploymenttraitsand(4)

Toascertainthestudentscurrentstatusandcareeroutcome

Chapterthreeistheresearchmethodologysectionwhichprovidesdetailsoftheresearchapproachfollowed,t h e datacollectionm e t h o d u s e d , t h e typeo f analysisb e i n g performed,thevalidityoftheresearchandthe population used

Chapterfour,thedataanalysissectioniswherethefindingsofthisresearcharehighlightedanddiscussed

Chapterfive,t h e c o n c l u s i o n section,i s wheres u m m a t i o n s andconclusionsarem a d

e basedontheliteraturereviewalongwiththeinformationcompiledinthedataanalysissection.Recommendationsare alsomadein thissection

Chaptersixistheself-reflectivelearningsectionwhichreflectsonthelearningthathasoccurredthroughoutthisdissertationprocess.Thissectionw i l l

i n c l u d e referencet o specificeventswhichserveasameasureofthelearningthathasoccurred,andwillbeu s e d tomeasurewhetheraparticularstyleoflearninghasevolvedthroughoutthisprocess

ResourcessuchasthequestionnaireusedandtranscriptsoftheinterviewsareincludedinAppendices1 to 3

1.4 4Recipients ofthis research

Theintendedaudiencefor thisresearcharethethreemainstakeholdersinaworkplacementprogram,thestudentswhoparticipate,thecompanywhohiresthem andthehighereducationinstitutethat the student is enrolled in.Theresearchcanbeofinteresttoallinvolvedinprogrammedesign,placementcoordination andcommunicationbetweenhighereducationandworkplacesgenerally.Itaimstofocusonthestudents’perspectiveo f workplacementandt h e i r perceptionso f t h e experience.Theser e s

u l t s w i l l b e o f o b v i o u s interesttostudentswhoareconsideringparticipatinginavoluntaryworkplacementprogramorwhosecoursesubscribestomandatoryworkplacement.Theresearchwillalsobeofinteresttoorganisationsthatemploystudentsonworkplacementastotheirperceptions oftheprocess.Itwillhelptoinformtheseorganisationsofareasinwhichtheycanimprovetheirapproachtoplacementsandsoensurebetterrelationshipsw i t h theirinternsandalsowiththeeducationalinstitutes.Additionally,theresearchwillb

e o f relevancet o t h e educationali n s t i t u t e s themselves.A p o s i t i v e workplacementexperiencef o r t h e s t u d e n t benefitst h e instituteasi t m a y e n s u r e t h e s t u d e n t become

h e questionnairec o u l d reacht h e researcher’sp o p u lation.Theresearcheru n d e r t o o k

a censuso f t h e s t u d e n t s t h a t hadparticipatedinthepreviousroundofworkplacementsinDBSandWITandthestudentsfromt h e R e t a i l andS e r v i c e s Managementc o u r s e i

n DITt h a t h a d participatedi n t h e previousr o u n d o f w o r k placements.T h e p o p u l a t i

o n sizewas1 8 4 , andt h e datab e i n g analysedi s basedona 3 9 % responserate.Givent h e amounto f s t u d e n t s t h a t n o w

alargersamplewouldhavebeenpreferablehowevergiventherestrictionsduetoconfidentialityandeaseofaccessthiswasnotpossible

Anotheri s s u e t h a t a r o s e fromthislackofaccess to studentdetailsmeantthatt h e researchersimilarlyhadnoaccesstopostworkplacementstudentsfromDBS,WITandDITinordertoconductthequalitativepartoftheresearch.Tocounteractthisproblem,t h e researcherattacheda finalquestiont o t h e questionnairea s k i n g f o r w i l l i n

g participantstoconductaninterviewwith.Iftheparticipantswereagreeabletothis,theyw o

u l d leavetheiremailaddressforfurthercontact.Theresearcherthencontactedtheses t u d

e n t s andtheinformationthattheyhadprovidedpreviouslyinthequestionnairewasremovedfromthepoolofresponsesin order to avoid askewedsample

Asa result,t h e researcherc h o s e t o

conductsemi-structuredinterviewsw i t h 4 p o s t placementstudentsfromeitherDBS,DITorWITasthequalitativeresearch.Theaimoft h e s e interviewswastofurtherunderstandtheexperiencesofworkplacementstudents,givingt h e s e intervieweesa chancet o e x p l a i n m o r e i n depthaboutt h e i r experiences.U s i n g the informationgatheredfromt h e s e interviewsa l o n g withinformationgatheredfromt h e questionnaires,t h e researcherwasablet o gainani n d e p t h knowledgeof th e workplacementexperience

Chapter 2: LiteratureReview

2.1 Introduction

Thereh a s beens c a n t e m p i r i c a l l y b a s e d l i t e r a t u r e e x a m i n i n g workp l a c

e m e n t s W h a t empiricallybasedliteraturethathasbeencarriedouthasbeendonesoinrelativelysmallnumbersconsideringthecurrentprominenceofworkplacementsandtheirusetoenhanceexperientiallearningparticularlyintheUnitedStates.Gaultetal(2000)reportedt h a

t i n t h e U S , 9 o u t o f 1 0 f o u r yearcollegeprogramsparticipatedi n aninternshipand1outof every3four yearcollege attendeesworkedasan internduring t h e i r studies.M o

s t o f t h e literaturet h e researcherreviewedh a s b e e n b a s e d o n studiescarriedoutoninternsattendingjustoneeducationalinstitutionintheUSandusuallyinj u s t oneacademicdiscipline,posingthequestionofwhethertheresearchcarriedouthasbeenbroadenoughto

accuratelyrepresentworkplacements

Firstly,theresearcherwillclarifywhatismeantbyworkplacementsasthreetermsarec o m

m o n l y u s e d i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y t o describehighereducationp r o g r a m s i n v o l v i n glearningthroughemployment.Cooperativeeducationreferst o s t u d e n t s w h o workf u l l t i

m e andarepaidfortheworkwhichtheydo.Theusualparticipantsarestudentsintheengineering,manufacturingorientedandtechnicalfields.Incontrast,internshipsrefertopartt i m e

p o s i t i o n s wheret h e s t u d e n t u s u a l l y c o n t i n u e s t h e i r studiessimultaneously.T h e y e n c o m p a s s a b r o a d varietyo f d i s c i p l i n e s andcompensationf o r wor

kd o n e i s optional

(Gaultetal,2000)Thesesubtledifferencesmeanthetwotermsareoftenusedinterchangeably.Additionally,t h e te rm workplacementcanb e use d t o d e s c r i b e eithercooperativeplacementorinternships.T h e wordinternshipi s commonlyu s e d i n t h e U n i t e d Statesandasmostoftheliteraturereviewedhailsfromthere,thewordinternshipi s almostexclusivelyused.However,theresearcherfeelsforthepurposesofthisresearch,theprogramsaresimilarenoughintheircharacteristicstoincludeintheresearchs o fromh e r e ont h e researcherw i l l u s e b

o t h internshipandw o r k placementi n t e r c h a n g e a b l y o r s i m p l y placement.W h e

n referringt o t h o s e w h o partook,t h e researcherwilluse both thetermstudentsand intern