Action Research
Action research is normally done by individuals or by a team of colleagues. Action research is defined as the process of uncovering solutions through progressive problem solving activities. The outcome of action research is often intended to address issues and improve practices. Action research, as a process, involves investigative activities rather than theoretical responses. Generally, action research aims at assisting the actor in improving or refining his actions. The practitioners who carry out action research usually find it to be an empowering experience. This type of research has such a positive impact for a number of reasons. Most importantly, action research is often relevant to the participants. Relevance is always guaranteed because the focus of each research project is determined by the researchers, who are often the main consumers of the outcome of the research.
Steps in Action Research
Selecting a Focus
Typically, action research starts with a serious reflection that is directed toward identifying a topic that is worth the precious time. A topic is only relevant if it meets the incredible demands of today’s business research.
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Clarifying Theories
This step involves identifying the beliefs, values and the theoretical perspectives the researchers hold in relation to their focus. If the researchers believe that trainings can help empower the working class to be entrepreneurial, then they can develop effective training programs that can help in achieving the objectives of the research
Identifying the Research Questions
This step involves generating a set of personally meaningful research questions that will be useful in guiding the investigation.
Collecting Data
This step involves collecting the data that will provide meaningful information relating to a given topic. The action researchers should avoid relying on any single source of data in order to ensure that reasonable validity and reliability of data is achieved. Data collection is an important part of action research.
Data Analysis
At this particular stage, the action researchers can adopt relatively user-friendly procedures that can help in identifying the trends and patterns in action research data. The action researchers should methodically sort, rank, sift, and examine the data collected.
Reporting Results
After the results are determined, the action researchers proceed to report the findings of the research.
Taking an Informed Action
The information obtained from the action research can be used to plan and implement the appropriate action. The main objective of action research is to assist the actors in improving or refining their actions or processes.
Problem Statement
Having an empowered working class with the ability to venture into new businesses of their choice is a great thing. It is important to have a working class segment with the confidence and knowledge to branch out. Many working class individuals have the potential to be great entrepreneurs who can earn a lot of money. Therefore, there is need for working class individuals with entrepreneurial minds.
Currently, there are many working class people who desire higher salaries and desire to be entrepreneurs. However, they lack confidence and knowledge to branch out on their own. This is a major problem because lack of entrepreneurial minds in the society could deter economic development. If the problem is ignored, many people who would have otherwise been great entrepreneurs. This may further deepen the economic problems currently being experienced such as unemployment. This is because the more the entrepreneurs, the more the employment opportunities in the economy.
The research will utilize action research to determine the effectiveness of entrepreneurial training programs in empowering would-be entrepreneurial working class individuals.
Background of the Problem
Entrepreneurial Skills
Generally, many entrepreneurs, as well as motivated professionals recognize the importance of investing in themselves. They are focused on building valuable skills and improving their strengths over time (Bedwell et al., 2014). Entrepreneurial-minded individuals often possess a distinct set of skills that result in great leadership and ideas. Entrepreneurs require confidence and knowledge necessary to run businesses successfully, particularly in competitive settings (Gill, 2014). They should always excel in not only managing themselves but also in managing others. Entrepreneurs also need to be good analytical problems solvers (Gundry et al., 2014). Analytical problem solving ensures that entrepreneurs make appropriate and thoroughly informed decisions.
Lack of Entrepreneurial Skills and Knowledge
Lack of entrepreneurial skills is a setback for many economies around the world, particularly in Europe. For instance, if Europe is to tackle unemployment more effectively, young people should be taught entrepreneurial skills (Kammerevert, 2015). The world economic forum has identified high unemployment and underemployment as the second largest global risk. Therefore, there is need for an increased focused in developing the entrepreneurial skills of individuals. This is because the lack of entrepreneurial skills has remained a serious challenge for the EU community (Kammerevert, 2015). Entrepreneurial skills can open up a much wider horizon of job opportunities for graduates. Individuals who undertake entrepreneurial courses could be more likely to launch their own business successfully.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training on improving the entrepreneurial skills of the working class individuals. There is need for empowerment of working class individuals in terms of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge. Most of the working class individuals lack the confidence and knowledge to launch their own businesses.
Significance of the Study
Although there is a large body of literature on entrepreneurship, little research has been done on the effectiveness of entrepreneurial training programs in providing the working class individuals with the confidence and knowledge to start and run their businesses. Therefore, this study will provide important knowledge that will inform the right initiatives that can be carried out to empower working class individuals to be entrepreneurial-minded.
References
Kammerevert, P. (April 20, 2015). Lack of Entrepreneurial Skills is Blunting Europe’s Competitive Edge. The Parliament Magazine , https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/opinion/lack-entrepreneurial-skills-blunting-europes-competitive-edge
Gill, R. (2014). ‘If you’re struggling to survive day-to-day’: class optimism and contradiction in entrepreneurial discourse. Organization, 21 (1), 50-67.
Gundry, L. K., Ofstein, L. F., & Kickul, J. R. (2014). Seeing around corners: How creativity skills in entrepreneurship education influence innovation in business. The International Journal of Management Education, 12 (3), 529-538.
Bedwell, W. L., Fiore, S. M., & Salas, E. (2014). Developing the future workforce: An approach for integrating interpersonal skills into the MBA classroom. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 13 (2), 171-186.
