Questionnaire

A survey method is a very effective method to collect empirical data from large samples (McCelland 1994). Many scholars use questionnaires as a survey method for collecting data (Antony 2004; Akbaba 2006; Crott et al. 2008). Given the geographic distribution of the respondents in different hotels, the extent of the range of data required, and the need to collect accurate measures in a complex workplace, a personal questionnaire which is hand administered individually can be considered most suitable for this study.

In this thesis, the questionnaire is divided into six parts (See Appendix E). The four parts comprise some initial demographic questions, and four parts comprising the constructs (as described in Figure 3.1) of the proposed theoretical model : human culture, the antecedents of commitment, employee commitment and employee behaviour. A final section contains further demographic questions including age, gender and work position and questions related to work experience including tenure in the current position, number of working places, number of promotions, and number of training courses completed.

128 Specifically:

Part 1

Comprises 35 questions asking respondents to evaluate their individual cultural values. These questions reflect on human culture through the significance of human cultural values.

Part 2

Comprises 29 questions asking respondents to evaluate their attitude to the antecedents of commitment, and clarify the importance of antecedents to employee performance.

Part 3

Comprises 16 questions asking respondents to evaluate their feelings concerning employee commitment as it relates to the organisation, to career and to the customer. These questions reflect upon the three dimensions of employee commitment including affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment.

Part 4

Comprises 23 questions asking respondents to evaluate their performance, skills, loyalty, quality, attitude in service, organisational citizenship behaviour, and their intention to leave the organisation. This part reflects on employee behaviour.

Part 5

Comprises 8 questions asking respondents about their demography, including gender, age, nationality, marital status, income, educational background, working background, employee work position and tenure.

The first to fourth part of the questionnaire inclusive reflects the constructs of the model developed in the conceptual framework of Chapter 3. Likert scale is a scale used to measure attitude of respondents in particular question or statement (Burns & Grove 1997). Although most of previous studies have used a 5 point likert scale for

129 measurement, Chomeya (2010) found that a 6 points likert scale increases the validity Alpha Coefficient score providing higher reliability than the 5 point Likert scale. As the Likert scale increases in length the capacity to find increased variability in responses increases. However, a point is reached where the respondent can become confused if the scale is too long, and this can influence response accuracy. The cut-off found in the literature is 7 points with few studies using 7 and no studies extending beyond 7. A 6- point Likert type scale ranging from 1 to 6 is used here ranging from 1 (Totally unimportant) to 6 (Totally important) to measure human cultural (values), employee commitment and employee behaviour, with the exception of the attitude to antecedents of commitment which uses a scale ranging from 1 (Totally disagree) to 6 (Totally agree). Additionally, the survey provides eight demographic questions in a multiple choice frame.

Zikmund (2003, p.14) suggests that ―a general rule of thumb is that questionaries should not exceed six pages‖. This survey does not meet this general rule. For this study, all questions in this thesis including the cover letter are provided on only five pages, but the questionnaire is printed on both sides in order to reduce the impression of the survey being long. Furthermore, the wording used in this survey is kept simple and easy to understand, which is required to communicate with hotel employees with different educational backgrounds.

The questionnaire is pilot tested on a sample of hotel employees in four to five star hotels to identify any potential problems (see the following section on pre-testing).

4.4.1 Questionnaire Translation and Back translation

The survey is translated from English to Thai and back translated to maintain equivalence. The original translation is done by the researcher who is a native Thai speaker. Another qualified translator whose native language is Thai back translated the questions resulting in some small changes of expression to maintain equivalence. Back translation of questionnaires to achieve equivalence is use widely (Greco et al. 1987). Further translation equivalence of the questionnaire is evaluated through pre testing

130 prior to conducting the final survey with Thai respondents in order to analyse the validity and reliability of the translated questionnaire (Spielberger & Sharma 1976).

Hotel employees are invited to participate in the survey on a voluntary basis in the workplace with the permission of their employers (See Appendix A and B). A cover letter (See Appendix D) encourages respondents to complete the questionnaire, explained the aims of the study and assuring confidentiality and anonymity for participants, as well as providing the researcher‘s contact details.

4.5 Pre-Test

The pre-test is a process that aims to avoid problems related to questionnaire design. Pre testing involves a trail run with a group of participants to reduce unnecessary questions and to ensure that the questions are not ambiguous, unclear and that the questionnaire is comprehensive in the eyes of the respondent. Moreover, the pre-test process aims to clarify the instructions provided in the questionnaire, and the overall layout and design of the questionnaire.

4.5.1 Pre-Test Sampling Frame

The sampling frame for the pre-test consists of hotel employees who work in four to five star hotels located in both Thailand and Australia. This study uses a convenience sampling technique to collect data from 120 hotel employees for the pre-test procedure in Thailand and Australia, across each sector of hotel employment.

4.5.2 Pre-Test Stages

In the first stage, four hotel employees are chosen for personal interviews. The purpose of these interviews was to ask respondents to suggest any problems in regard to questionnaire format, wording and design and to provide any comments and suggestions. As a result of this procedure, it was suggested to change some words to simplify expression and to make the questionnaire easier to read. The questionnaires are then modified and edited before conducting the pre-test survey.

131 Table 4.6: Procedures Used in Pre-test

Procedures Target Reason this procedure used

1. Personal

interview

Four personal interviews with hotel employees.

Ask hotel employees to give their comments and suggestions regarding the questionnaire.

2. Data collection 120 Questionnaires distributed to

hotel employees.

Modify the questionnaire before conducting the final survey.

In the second stage, 120 questionnaires are distributed to hotel employees working in four to five star hotels in Thailand and Australia. The procedure was conducted during August 2012. To assess the reliability of the measure, Cronbach‘s coefficient alpha is calculated, the result showing that the scale items had high alpha scores exceeding 0.72 as the minimum.

Some minor changes to wording and layout are made to the instrument following the pre-test to enhance understanding and reduce the number of potential questions a respondent would likely ask the researcher. However, no major change was made to the instrument. A copy of the final survey instrument used for this thesis is provided in Appendix E.