Investigation, case study and consulting research are important carrier forms between academic research and enterprise practice, which are conducive to forming a virtuous circle between them, accelerating the transformation from tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, and connecting the cycle from enterprise practice to theory and practice.
Grasp the general trend and new phenomena
The premise of doing responsible research and serving the society is to choose research topics that are valuable to enterprises, which can be a universal problem faced by China enterprise groups or a personalized problem of an enterprise. This point can't be grasped without the dimension of China's national conditions and the general trend of official Industry-University-Research.
1. Write a research report on land in China.
The development of enterprises in China has gone through the process from following to leading. Many management experiences have China characteristics and are rooted in China and the historical and cultural background of reform and opening up. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the situation in China.
When answering the fundamental questions of "for whom" and "for what", we need to constantly sum up China's management experience, improve China's management theory, establish a discourse system of China's management, and solve the practical problems of China's enterprise management.
2. Have a macro vision of the great era.
To study enterprise management, we should not only go deep into the enterprise, but also jump out of the enterprise and management itself, and be good at analyzing the essence of management from the judgment of macro trends. Enterprise is the micro-subject in economic development, and its growth direction and rhythm are influenced by many external factors such as policy, industry and technology, and the development and changes of enterprise management research are also carried out under the background of the great era.
Practitioners who are interested in this can grasp the general trend according to the dimensions in PEST model.
First, the field of policy reform; Second, macroeconomic and industrial development; Third, social culture; Fourth, technological change.
The changes of these factors are profound and have obvious guiding significance for management practice. For example, in the development and application of a new generation of information technology, great changes have taken place in business model, organization model, employment model, enterprise system and leadership culture. Understanding the background of the great era is the basic premise of management research and the starting point of valuable research propositions.
Of course, this is not a passive response to macro trends and the environment, but a calm face and focus on this, even under the premise of mastering sufficient resources, influencing and designing macro trends.
3. Determine the appropriate research direction and field.
Management research involves the vast world of enterprises, and it is difficult to cover everything. Writing a research report requires a clear research direction and field. It should be emphasized that compared with the research in academic circles, the research fields outside academic circles can be broader. Therefore, to determine a general research direction, it is best to learn one more major. Dobo is to have the consciousness and macro vision of the great era; One specialty is to continue to exert strength in a certain direction and do a thorough research in a certain field.
At the same time, it is necessary to constantly verify and optimize a problem between macro environment and micro enterprises. For example, to study the growth of enterprises, we should not only look at the growth rate of macro-economy and the stage of industrial development, but also look at the development strategies and ideas of specific enterprises.
4. Pay attention to new phenomena and put forward new ideas.
In the process of research, it is particularly important to pay attention to new phenomena. On the one hand, the new phenomenon is the latest "symptom" in enterprise management, and the data is often insufficient, but it will become a social hotspot. At the same time, it is easy to get relatively extensive attention in time by using appropriate publishing methods to explain new problems and phenomena, which can enhance the value of the research proposition itself.
On the other hand, the basis of China's management discourse power is to put forward the concept of China management first, and then analyze and demonstrate it, form a system model in theory and give a solution. The development of enterprises in China is changing with each passing day, which is a good opportunity to innovate from increment and develop China's management theory.
How to get valuable information
The raw materials of management research are all kinds of information. No matter what research paradigm, it is necessary to extract valuable information from complicated materials and further study. In the era of information explosion, the forgery, fragmentation and pulverization of information have become dominant features, but it is not easy to get rid of the information cocoon, and the cost of obtaining valuable information may increase. Therefore, we should be goal-oriented and effectively screen useful information around the research direction.
1. Keep paying attention to authoritative information.
There are usually the following ways to obtain management information: official release, official media interpretation, relevant research and enterprise interviews. The first two methods are emphatically analyzed here.
The first way is official publication, which is an authoritative and effective first-hand source of information, not only the first choice, but also the basis for researchers to independently judge and output valuable opinions. Pay attention to the official release and continuity. Only in this way can we grasp the general trend of the industry. This process is not easy, not only to understand the published content, but also to understand the meaning behind the published content. There are several types of official releases. First, the important documents published regularly by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council can fully reflect the characteristics and patterns of China's economic and social development in a period. Second, important policies and data released by relevant ministries and commissions can reflect the overall macroeconomic situation. Third, all kinds of data and reports released by authoritative organizations are very instructive and important for grasping the general trend of government, industry and education.
The second way is the official media interpretation. It is difficult to deeply understand the profound meaning behind official documents only by literal meaning, and it is often necessary to interpret them with the help of official media in order to accurately and clearly understand the policy orientation and intention. These usually appear in the commentary articles of official media such as CCTV and Xinhua News Agency.
2. Choose enterprise long-term tracking from two dimensions.
Starting from enterprises is the basic essence of applied management research. Whether it is to determine valuable research propositions or to obtain high-quality research information, it is a necessary choice to track enterprises for a long time, which can be started from two dimensions.
One is the time dimension. That is, according to the research direction, select those enterprises that can be tracked for a long time. For example, Chen Chunhua chose Baosteel, Huawei, Lenovo, TCL and Haier in the investigation of leading enterprises in China, and made a follow-up investigation plan for 30 years.
The second is the comparative dimension. From the external factors such as technology, policy, social culture and so on. , select those fields that can grow new enterprises, new formats and new models, or classic enterprises in the industry, and select at least two enterprises for comparative tracking research. For example, compare Lenovo and Huawei, Tencent and Ali, FAW and SAIC.
The choice of specific enterprises should be typical, such as being big enough, living long enough and innovative enough. In this regard, we can refer to the eight-character model of enterprise growth proposed by Yang Du-taking scale, growth, profitability, structure, sustainability, competitiveness, innovation and sociality as dimensions.
In the process of enterprise growth, the appearance of success or failure is not important, but the logic behind it. In the process of tracking enterprises, it is certainly good to obtain first-hand data through in-depth research and interviews. If there are no conditions, just be a bystander and closely observe the trend of enterprise practice.
△ Simplify the complex, see the essence through the phenomenon, and find the vitality of research in the practice of economic and enterprise development.
Various research forms and writing
1. Survey
The importance of investigation and study is self-evident. "No investigation, no right to speak". It is not easy for most researchers to talk directly with practice, especially with business leaders, which requires a parallel discourse system, profound insight and strong viewpoint output, so investigation and research become a relatively easy path. Practically speaking, investigation and research is becoming a basic skill and routine work, and the ability of investigation and research should be paid enough attention.
(1) Investigation is the foundation and research is sublimation.
Generally speaking, to do a good job in investigation and research, we should do three combinations, namely, the combination of theory and practice, the combination of investigation and research, and the combination of analyzing and solving problems. Investigation is the basis of research, and research is the extension and sublimation of investigation.
The quality of the survey is very important.
○ First, we should have problem awareness and adhere to problem orientation, so as to put forward ideas and methods to solve problems.
○ The second is to dissect the enterprise and try to find out the ins and outs accurately, comprehensively and deeply. Interview or forum is a common way to analyze enterprises. The key lies in discussion and interaction, not just listening and speaking, and mastering the initiative of research activities.
Third, the choice of enterprises should be typical, and attention should be paid to the idea of classification. Differences in region, industry, scale, ownership and development quality can all be considered as classification.
Through in-depth practical investigation and study, a large number of fragmentary materials are removed from the rough and refined, and the false is removed and the true is retained. Through this and that, from the outside to the inside, we can sort things out systematically, grasp the essence of things, find out their internal laws, upgrade from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge, and make correct decisions on this basis.
(2) There are proper ways to write research reports.
Writing research report is the exhibition link of investigation and research. A research report generally consists of three parts, namely, preface, theme and ending. The preface follows the title of the investigation report, and before the text, it mainly briefly explains the purpose, significance, object, method and process of the investigation. The conclusion can be research enlightenment or suggestions on the application of research results.
The main body of the report is the focus and core, and usually consists of three parts.
○ The first part is the basic situation of the investigated problem, which consists of descriptive statements, supplemented by qualitative descriptions and quantitative data.
○ The second part is investigation and analysis, which is the main problems, main contradictions, main opportunities and challenges faced by the subject or object of investigation. Through a lot of investigation and analysis, we should find out the basic elements that constitute the problem, which are the main contradictions and which are the main aspects of contradictions, and then sort out and analyze the main reasons for the problems.
○ The third part is the investigation suggestion, which aims to analyze the existing problems and their causes, and put forward the ideas, methods and suggestions to solve the problems. This part is the focus and highlight of the whole research report, and it is also an important embodiment of the quality and value of the whole report.
A high-quality investigation report with information, questions, analysis and suggestions is the result of full investigation and in-depth thinking. Thinking is based on the frame system, which is also used to guide the whole report writing process. The framework system can follow several basic principles.
○ First, we must have a sense of the overall situation and analyze the problem from the perspective of the overall situation of the country and the industry.
○ Second, we should have logical power, such as induction and deduction, stratification and structure, individual and general, etc. Theory should interact with concrete practice, guide the writing of reports and draw rich theoretical nutrition from practice.
○ Third, we should have a time span, analyze practice dynamically and objectively with the time view of the past, present and future, and gain insight into the general trend and mainstream.
(3) The title of the report should have a sense of formal design.
The titles of basic situation, existing problems and suggestions are relatively procedural, but it is difficult to add subtitles to each part. Subtitles try to explain the titles comprehensively and accurately, and the number is generally 3 ~ 5. We should not only pay attention to the internal logic between the main points, but also pay attention to the sense of form in design.
The first is "four or six sentences", which pays attention to the continuity of form, not to the melody, but to duality or the proportion of words. For example, persist in reform and opening up, deepen cultural construction, enhance strategic coordination and strengthen partnership. This title is often used because of its clear logic and beautiful form. If the form of "four or six sentences" conflicts with the accuracy of the meaning of the question, the accuracy shall prevail.
The second is "digital combination", which summarizes the titles or contents of subordinates digitally. For example, building "four systems" and implementing "six major projects". This method is equivalent to creating appropriate pronouns, which is convenient for publicity and memory.
The third type is "one word to the end", and the titles at the same level are connected in series with the same verbs or adjectives. For example, adhere to the leadership of the party, adhere to the customer first, adhere to technological innovation, adhere to sustained growth, and adhere to self-change.
The fourth is "same-dimensional analogy", which uses analogy logic to realize the echo between titles. For example, identify the root cause of the loss and work hard on "stopping bleeding"; Increase policy support and work hard on "blood transfusion"; Adhere to customer orientation and work hard on "hematopoiesis". This title has clear context and clear purpose, and can convey the main idea in an easy-to-understand way.
2. Case study
Case study is a breakthrough to break the academic imprisonment and a form of close cross-interaction between internal and external research in academia. The case study based on vivid practice has been paid more and more attention by academic circles, and it is expected to be an "exquisite but aura" way to explore the current management phenomenon in China, complete the management research mission and form China's management theory. The following discusses how to make case studies produce various research results from three aspects and promote the establishment of research cycles inside and outside academic circles.
(1) Pay attention to the demand of enterprises for theoretical contributions.
Forming enterprise practice into theoretical thinking has become an important starting point for enterprise brand building and competitiveness improvement. The intention of case study is often based on the interest of researchers and the will of enterprises, and sometimes even the result of intentional promotion by the brand department and marketing department of enterprises.
Generally speaking, leading enterprises will devote themselves to formulating the technology, products and behavior standards of their industries in order to enhance their voice and influence. In the past few years, Haier has been one of the most concerned enterprises of China researchers. Haier's innovation in management has won high praise from the world management community, from the OEC management method of "daily affairs are completed, the sky is clear and the sun is high" to the ecological model of "one person and one person in one". Start-ups may be recognized by academic circles because of their business model, and affirmed by well-founded case studies of researchers, which is of great help to valuation financing and recruitment.
(2) Pay attention to case study and case display platform.
Case study and case display platform is an important bridge between theory and practice, academia and non-academia. Such as China Business Management Case and Qualitative Research Forum and China Management Case Research Center.
(3) Pay attention to the team building of case study.
Because of the heavy workload and hard work, a good team is needed to complete the case study. Team members should give full play to their respective advantages, play different roles and encourage each other. The results of case studies are widely exported. Only academic journals can produce multiple themes in a case. Case studies are also suitable for publication in internal reference, non-periodicals, books and other media. If the members of the research team have experience in publishing a variety of results, the heterogeneity of various publishing methods is more likely to spark.
3. Consulting research
Consulting research is often invited by enterprises. Starting from business needs and solving problems, the research process is often hidden in the whole consulting process. Consulting research is a comprehensive embodiment of researchers' ideological theory, excavation and refinement, and communication and expression. It is a research form with the strongest interaction with practice and the highest degree of test by practice, and it is all-round for improving research ability.
(1) Three stages of consulting service process
From the process of consulting service, it can be divided into three stages, and the corresponding document results are formed.
○ The first stage is to tap the real needs of customers and form bidding documents such as project proposal.
○ In the second stage, put forward the overall plan and schedule of the project, as well as work plans such as questionnaire survey, interview and benchmarking. Among them, interview is an important link to interact with customers and help them solve problems, which tests the communication ability and insight of researchers, especially the ability to grasp key information. The texts formed at this stage include questionnaires, interview outlines, benchmarking reports of excellent practices, etc.
○ The third stage is to form the consultation results and show the report links. The form of the outcome document generally includes the problems to be solved by the project, how to solve them, specific methods and paths.
(2) Methods and abilities of consultation.
Consulting needs specific methodology and ability. First of all, there should be a systematic framework and problem-solving methodology to guide the whole consultation process. Methodology can come from management theories and models, such as the widely used Boston matrix. It can also come from the summary of battle-hardened consulting experience, which is more popular in practice, such as McKinsey's seven-step analysis of business opportunities and pyramid thinking mode, and the "P+7" system model of knowledge-based consulting in the field of state-owned enterprise reform has been widely used.
Secondly, we must have the ability to summarize, refine and innovate quickly. Consultation often encounters brand-new topics, and it is not enough to rely on a few classic methods. The information obtained from the communication and interaction with enterprises is often trivial and disorderly. Consulting researchers should not only be good at guiding the relevance between information acquisition and projects, but also tap the value behind information.
Finally, we must have the ability to continuously optimize iterations. Compared with any other way, the enterprise practice contacted by consulting is more real, concrete and comprehensive. The ideas, methods and tools behind the accumulated case base are very valuable for academic research and practical guidance. Researchers should be good at using these thinking frameworks and methods and tools, and the process of consultation is often a process of growing together with client enterprises.