Potential Practical and Empirical Obstacles

An obstacle that may exist in the study is obtaining comprehensive and accurate data from respondents comprised of workers of Nestle in China. Obtaining data from a representative sample of managers and employees could give rise to the problem of scheduling. As much as the researcher would like to interview every respondent to derive richer data, this may not be possible since this could cause inconvenience and disrupt operations.

The researcher have to coordinate with the human resource management of Nestle in China to determine the best means of scheduling or having the questionnaires answered by employees and managers that would be within their convenience to ensure that the questions are thoroughly considered and well answered before being returned. B. Conceptual and Theoretical Problems and Difficulties A conceptual difficulty that could arise in the course of the study is the differing perspectives of the managers and employees of what cultural diversity is and the manner that this occurs in the organization.

Differences in views, perceptions and attitudes towards cultural diversity based on the questions posed in the questionnaire could result to highly divergent answers. Although diversity in opinion is welcomed to draw opinions from a wide spectrum of employees and managers, there needs to be a common ground that would constitute the basis in analyzing the answers. The questionnaire needs to be well-developed to precisely cover all aspects to be studied and clearly stated to provide a point of understanding the questions in relation to the objectives of the research.

Ethical Issues An ethical issue that deserves consideration is the derivation of valid and reliable data. A valid data is something that represents the truth, which in this case is the opinion and actual cultural diversity experiences of employees and managers of Nestle China. Reliable data constitutes information or interpretation of data in a manner that allows repeatability. Valid data is ensured by informing all respondents about the purpose of the research and the participation expected from them before obtaining their freely-given consent as participants.

To achieve their consent and ease any concerns about the possible effect of their participation to their employment, confidentiality of their answers and their anonymity will be assured. Reliable data is ensured through a clear and precise data gathering tool and objective interpretation and analysis of data. Moreover, the research also involves accountability to the company and other business firms as well as the academe so that the study will be open to firms seeking knowledge on cultural diversity and the academe for peer review.

Position as a Researcher in a Political Field and Reflections on the Impact to the Study As a political agent, it is inevitable for researchers to influence the course of the research in terms of the direction and pace depending on the perspective of the researcher as well as the respondents according to the interaction with the researcher. Researcher bias occurs in all researches. This can be minimized by taking an objective approach by aligning all actions with the research objectives.

However, adherence to the objectives should also be balanced with adjustability and flexibility to accommodate new and important information as these arise. Objective judgment should be exercised throughout the course of the research to ensure rigor. Conclusion A consideration of all factors such as problem determination, significance, theoretical framework and methodology all support the feasibility of this study on cultural diversity of Nestle in China to derive important insights on this issue.

Specific topics arising in the course of the research, not covered by the thesis questions, will be added as these arise.

Bibliography

Au, K 1999, Intra-Cultural Variation: Evidence and Implications for International Business, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 799-812. Cox, T 1994, Cultural Diversity in Organizations: Theory, Research and Practice, Berrett Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, C. A. Cox, T 2001, Creating the Multicultural Organization: A Strategy for Capturing the Power of Diversity, Jossey-Bass, New York. http://www.nestle.com/