Guys, I know this is a bit of a long shot, but, I thought Id try anyway...
Im currently doing my dissertation for university. I am concentrating on the planning process that professional traders use within their firms, and how they manage their staff. I am defining a professional trader as business owners such as joiners, electricians, mechanics etc. Basically anything which takes 3-4 years to serve an apprenticeship in!
So far I have conducted 5 interviews with different owners, but to be honest I could do with a few more to try and beef up my evidence. Each interview has lasted between 30 - 45 minutes.
I need to look at companies who employ staff, not including themselves or other family members.
No personal questions are asked, and the questions are quite straightforwards. A few examples include:
What were the main motivations for you going into business?
In what ways do you analyse your competitors?
Do you undertake any performance evaluation with your staff and how do you do it?
etc etc.
I think its a pretty interesting topic and the concerns of professional traders are often neglected in most research papers. I know a lot of you guys will probably struggle to attract staff etc so hopefully it might help get a better understanding of a business which is extremely common in the UK.
I know this probably wont work, but it is difficult to get people to take part. If anybody would consider helping me, would it be possible to send a PM. I can be pretty flexible with regards to interview times and I am willing to travel anywhere in the Edinburgh area. I need to really do the interviews over the next 2 weeks though.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers for reading this!
Im currently doing my dissertation for university. I am concentrating on the planning process that professional traders use within their firms, and how they manage their staff. I am defining a professional trader as business owners such as joiners, electricians, mechanics etc. Basically anything which takes 3-4 years to serve an apprenticeship in!
So far I have conducted 5 interviews with different owners, but to be honest I could do with a few more to try and beef up my evidence. Each interview has lasted between 30 - 45 minutes.
I need to look at companies who employ staff, not including themselves or other family members.
No personal questions are asked, and the questions are quite straightforwards. A few examples include:
What were the main motivations for you going into business?
In what ways do you analyse your competitors?
Do you undertake any performance evaluation with your staff and how do you do it?
etc etc.
I think its a pretty interesting topic and the concerns of professional traders are often neglected in most research papers. I know a lot of you guys will probably struggle to attract staff etc so hopefully it might help get a better understanding of a business which is extremely common in the UK.
I know this probably wont work, but it is difficult to get people to take part. If anybody would consider helping me, would it be possible to send a PM. I can be pretty flexible with regards to interview times and I am willing to travel anywhere in the Edinburgh area. I need to really do the interviews over the next 2 weeks though.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers for reading this!
