THE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE

CITY CAMPUS

SUBJECT:
ADVANCE RESEARCH METHODS
ASSIGNMENT:
“DOWNSIZING”

SUBMITTED TO:
Mr. SALMAN SHABIR
SUBMITTED BY:
UMAIR ASGHAR
CLASS:
M S (MANAGEMENT)

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CONTENTS:
1. WHAT IS FEEDBACK?

2. WHY WE USE FEEDBACK?

3. HOWCAN I USE FEEDBACK

TO IMPROVE MY WORK?

4. IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

5. BARRIERS OF FEEDBACK

6. TYPES OF FEEDBACK

7. CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

8. CONCLUSION

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WHAT IS FEEDBACK?
a) “Feedback is the reaction of the receiver which indicates to the sender
that the message has (or has not) been successfully received,
understood and interpreted”.

b) Giving feedback simply means telling people how they’re going at

work. Two-Way feedback means also taking feedback – being
prepared to listen to what others tell you, without being defensive if
it’s not good news; listening for ways to improve your own
performance and/or the business.

c) Information gained by an individual or business in response to some

type of interaction, such as the sale of a product or service. Positive
feedback indicates satisfaction by the respondent, while negative
feedback signifies dissatisfaction and a need for improvement.

d) Feedback in the academic realm can take many forms, but each can be
used to improve your performance. Some of the different types of
feedback include:
• Written comments from your tutor, usually attached to your
assignments
• Verbal comments from your tutor associated with your work
• Generic feedback from tutors covering particular
strengths/weaknesses found in the work of a particular student
group
• Comments from other students about your work (peer
feedback)

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 • Your own comments and reflections on your work (self
assessment & feedback)

WHY WE USE FEEDBACK?

Imagine you have made a speech at a wedding or family event, how would
you know that you had done it well? Generally, people will tell you after
your speech whether they enjoyed it and which bits they enjoyed the most.
This is feedback, without it, it is difficult to judge your performance, with it
– you can identify both your strong and weak points, and importantly,
improve your performance for next time.

So, if you were then asked to make another speech, you could include the
aspects that people praised, and work to improve anything that people did
not enjoy. By using the comments and feedback from your first speech, your
next speech would be better.

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HOW CAN I USE FEEDBACK TO
IMPROVE MY WORK?

a) First of all, collect it! A large proportion of marked coursework is

never collected – this means you are missing out on a great
opportunity to get your tutor’s personalised advice and guidance
which is focused on you and your work. Remember, if your tutor
identifies any weak points in your work, these points are not about
you, but your work. Your tutor is simply trying to help you to improve
your performance.
b) Read the feedback in conjunction with your essay/assignment to see
how your tutor’s comments relate to your work, then:
• Highlight any strong points
• Make a note of any areas where the tutor has suggested
improvements
• Discuss with your tutor any elements of the feedback that you
are not clear about.
c) Having read the feedback from your last piece of work, you might
find it useful to ask yourself the following two questions:
• What did I do well in this assignment that I should continue to
do in my next piece of work?
• What one thing do I need to do to improve my future work?
d) The next step is to think about and plan how you will improve. You

could do this by talking to your lecturer or personal tutor, or perhaps

by doing some background reading on the subject/topic or by

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 attending a study skills workshop that focuses on the skills that you
need to improve, such as essay writing or referencing.

BARRIERS OF FEEDBACK
o Time constraints
o Wide variety of learners
o Lack of comfort (especially with “criticism”)

o Not used to giving it

o Little longitudinal contact
o Need to collect “data” to give feedback?
o Lack of knowledge
o Lack of interest
o Language Problem

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IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK
a) Feedback is vital to success in communication precisely because there
are so many potential barriers and breakdowns to guard against.
b) Learning is a process of communication between students and

teachers, and feedback is essential to that process. It helps you

identify your strengths and weaknesses, zero in on problem areas, and
devise strategies to improve your performance. It helps you recognise
variability and trends in your own performance, and where you stand
in regard to your peers. Feedback is not an end in itself, but a tool for
advancing the more important goal of learning.

c) We should get feedback about our efforts from several different

sources. Each source can provide a unique perspective that should be
taken under consideration.

Your Readers
Sometimes we get so busy writing articles that we want to share, and
giving our opinions about this, that, and the other things that we
seemingly forget about the people we actually write our blogs for, the
readers. Without someone reading your work, what would be the
point? To gather effective reader feedback try some of the following
methods.

o An onsite poll. Try using a poll on your wordpress blog

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 o Ask specific questions in your article. A fair number of people
will respond via comment with answers.
o Read conversations on other blogs to see what is being said
there. It will help give you some insight to your own
community.
o Send an email directly to the person with 3-5 questions on it.

Advertisers:
Advertisers have a vested interest in your blog doing well. They no
doubt also have an opinion about what is good and what is bad about
your blog. Ask them to spend 10 or 15 minutes on your blog and then
have them give you some feedback about what they observed, and
their impressions about it overall.

Friends and Family:

Sit them down in front of a computer and observe what they do. You
almost don’t even need to ask questions with this type of a feedback.
Watch what they click on, how often they click, is there anything they
go back to on a regular basis. Get 3 or 4 friends/family to do this for
you and you’ll start to see some patterns emerging.

WHY, WHEN, AND HOW OFTEN?

Nearly as important as getting feedback is knowning why you need it, when
you need it, and how often you need it. In this section I will take a quick
look at each of those questions individually.

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Why do I need feedback?

Feedback is necessary for the continued growth and well-being of

your blog or website because it is the simplest and most effective way
to put your finger on the pulse of your readers. It will allow you to
make adjustments as needed in order that you will continue to
improve and draw in more of an audience.
When do I need feedback?
Obviously you should be observing what goes on at all times, but I
say wait at least 2 months before you start eliciting feedback from
your readers. Reason being is that by the two month mark you should
have a fairly established reader base. I believe that an established base
is necessary for accurate and honest feedback. People who are just
passing through don’t tend to care one way or another.
How often should I get feedback?

I say once a month collect feedback, but try to always switch up the
method you use and definitely change the people you ask.
I hope this gives you some ideas about working with your readers,
friends, and family to get some feedback about your blog or website.
Do you ever ask your readers for their thoughts on any aspect of your
blog?

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 TYPES OF FEEDBACK

Feedback – the good news

Positive feedback, when you tell people they’ve done well, should be easy,
e.g.:

• Thanking people for a job well done.

• Commending them for taking the initiative and solving a problem for
you.
• Discussing with individuals where they’re going and what their career
opportunities might be, even if it’s not in your business or workplace.
• Discussing progress with teams.
• Celebrating the wins when everyone’s pulled together and things have
gone well.

This is the kind of feedback that everyone likes; the kind that motivates
people to perform well consistently. The reality seems to be that it isn’t
often done.

Feedback – the bad news

Of course we also have to deliver the ‘bad news’ but when we have to give
this kind of feedback we often end up criticising and distressing the person
or people concerned, however well-intentioned we are. Why does it
happen?.

A common reason is that we put up with things for too long because we
don’t know what to say or how to say it.

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And we remember what happened last time when the recipient of our ‘bad
news’ either cried, sulked, got defensive or started avoiding you. All of
which caused us enormous stress.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POSITIVE AND

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

POSITIVE FEEDBACK NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Action taken as requested
A letter/note/memo sent confirming
receipt of message, or replying to
question/invitation etc.
Accurate reading back of message
Smile, Nod, Murmur of agreement,
Thumbs up
No action, or wrong action taken
No written response at all, or written
request for more information,
clarification of message, repetition
etc.
Failure to repeat message correctly
Silence, Gesture or Sound of protest,
Blank look, Shrug

GUIDELINES FOR RECEIVING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK

1. Listen to it (rather than prepare your response/defence).

2. Ask for it to be repeated if you did not hear it clearly.
3. Assume it is constructive until proven otherwise; then consider and
use those elements that are constructive.
4. Pause and think before responding.
5. Ask for clarification and examples if statements are unclear or
unsupported.
6. Accept it positively (for consideration) rather than dismissively (for
self-protection).
7. Ask for suggestions of ways you might modify or change your
behaviour.
8. Respect and thank the person giving feedback.

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 CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Our customer feedback policy

Feedback from our customers gives opportunities to learn and
improve. We value feedback about our services and recognise the
right of our customers to make a complaint, compliment or suggestion
about our services. We are committed to using customer feedback to
improve our services and focus on the needs of our customers.
Customers, like our staff, are not cold statistics. We are all human
beings who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

WHO ARE OUR CUSTOMERS?

Our definition of a customer is: “If you contact us for any reason, or
you are affected by anything we do, you are one of our customers”.

OUR KEY AIMS

We will:
o Encourage easy access - customers can give feedback

online, in writing, in person, by fax, by Minicom, SMS

(text) message or by phone
o Record and analyse all complaints, compliments and
suggestions
o Use plain language in all communications
o Set and monitor targets for responding to feedback

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 o Contact the customer, where we cannot resolve a

complaint straight away, giving them a named contact

officer, phone number, e-mail address and target date for
a response Keep customers informed when we cannot
send them a response within our target time Inform
customers about their right to escalate a complaint when
dissatisfied with our response
o Review each piece of feedback carefully to establish
what lessons we can learn and if we can improve our
services as a result.

HOW DO WE PROMOTE EQUALITY OF ACCESS?

We are committed to making sure that everyone has equal access to

the customer
feedback scheme. To achieve this we will:
o Make sure that interpreters are available when they are

needed and cover the cost

o Communicate with customers in the language of their

choice and using the method of their choice

o Provide access to advocacy services
o Promote the customer feedback scheme so that all
sections of the community understand it and are
confident to use it
o Train our staff and councillors to be sensitive to the

needs of people from different cultures and communities

o Treat people with respect and be open to ideas about

how we can make access easier.

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WHO CAN ADVISE CUSTOMERS ON HOW
TO FEEDBACK ABOUT OUR SERVICES?

A customer can get advice from any

a) Employee
b) Any of the directorate Complaints Officers
c) Managers.

WHAT IS A COMPLIMENT?
A compliment is when a customer gives us feedback about how we
exceeded expectations in delivering a service or how an employee
has gone the “extra mile” to serve them.

We will record details and acknowledge receipt within 3 working days.

A senior manager will write to the local service manager or individual
employee to thank them for providing an excellent service to the
customer.

WHAT IS A SUGGESTION?
A suggestion is when a customer comments on how we can improve
our delivery of a service.

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HOW WILL BE DEAL WITH A SUGGESTION?
We will:

o Record details and acknowledge receipt within 3 working days.

o Send a response to the customer within 10 working days (up to
20 working days for a suggestion about the social care of an
adult or child) that either explains how we will implement the
suggestion, or that we will investigate it further, or why we are
unable to implement the suggestion
o Keep the customer informed about any delays

WHAT IS A COMPLAINT?

“Anyexpression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not,

about our services, employees, or policies”

A complaint could include one or more of the following

problems:
• We delay in providing a service
• We fail or refuse to provide a service
• We provide a poor quality service or make a mistake
• We provide an inappropriate service
• We remove or withdraw a service
• We charge an inappropriate cost for a service
• An employee’s behaviour causes upset
• A policy unreasonably disadvantages a customer
• We unfairly discriminate against a customer
• A customer is unable to access a service

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Stage 1: Local Resolution

The employee receiving the initial complaint will:

o Try to resolve the problem straight away
o Record details of the complaint If we cannot resolve the
complaint straight away,
o Contact the customer within 3 working days to tell them who is
dealing with the complaint and give them a deadline for our
response
o Respond to the customer within 10 working days (or a
maximum of 20 days for complaints about social care of an
adult or a child)
o If we have made a mistake, make sure we take action to put
things right
o Keep the customer informed about any delays
o Inform the customer about their right to complain to the next
stage if they are dissatisfied with our response

Stage 2: Service Investigation

A senior manager, who was not involved at the local resolution stage,
will arrange a review of a complaint when:
o A customer complains that they are dissatisfied with our local

resolution response
o We unreasonably fail to reply at the local resolution stage

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 o A senior manager requests a special investigation against

complaint about the social care of an adult or a child will always

be dealt with by an external or Independent Investigating
Officer who will undertake a full investigation and produce a
report.

The senior manager will:

o Record details and acknowledge the complaint within 3 working

days
o Respond to the customer within 25 working days (this

timeframe can be extended to 65 days for complaints about

the social care of an adult or a child. A customer will be notified
if this extension applies and the reasons for the extension)
o If we have made a mistake, make sure we take action to put
things right
o Keep the customer informed about any delays
o Inform the customer about their right to complain to the Chief

Executive if they are dissatisfied with our response.

o If the complaint is about the social care of an adult or a child the

customer will be advised of their right to a Review Panel

Hearing if they are dissatisfied with the report of the
Independent Investigating Officer

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Stage 3: Corporate Review
The Chief Executive (or Monitoring Officer on behalf of the Chief
Executive) will arrange a corporate review of the complaint,
independent of the service directorate, when:
o A customer complains when they are dissatisfied with a service
investigation
o We unreasonably fail to carry out a service investigation
o A senior manager requests an independent review against a
complaint about the social care of an adult or a child is subject
to a separate process and further guidance is available from the
directorate Complaints Officers.

The person carrying out the Corporate Review will:

o Record details and acknowledge the complaint within 3 working

days
o Respond to the customer within 30 working days

o If we made a mistake, make sure we take action to put things

right
o Keep the customer informed about any delays
o Inform the customer about their right to complain to the Local
Government

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WHAT ACTION CAN WE TAKE TO PUT
THINGS RIGHT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG?
If we make a mistake, we will apologise and try to take some practical
action to put things right. We may ask the customer to suggest what
they would like us to do. We will always try to put the customer back
to the position that he or she would have been in but for our mistake.

o We will also try to ensure that the same mistake does not
happen again.
o We may decide that one or more of the following can be done
to put things right:
o Provide or change a service to the customer
o Provide an explanation or information to the customer
o Review customer literature (leaflets, website, poster and
so on)
o Review a policy or procedure
o Arrange training or guidance for employees
o Take employee action (such as standards setting or
change of key worker)
o Give a refund in appropriate circumstances

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HOW DO WE DEAL WITH CUSTOMERS WHO
REMAIN DISSATISFIED AFTER WE HAVE
FULLY RESPONDED TO THEIR
COMPLAINTS?

We will advise any customer who has completed all stages of our
customer feedback scheme to contact the Local Government
Ombudsman. If the customer complains again about the same issue,
our Chief Executive may write to them informing them that we will not
respond to future correspondence about the complaint unless the
customer provides new evidence or makes a complaint about a
different issue.

CONCLUSION:

Each piece of feedback from the public will be reviewed carefully to

establish what we can learn and if we can improve our services.
Service managers and staff should make operational improvements
based on this feedback wherever possible. Learning from customer
feedback must be included on the agenda for Directorate
Management Team meetings.

We will monitor trends and performance in our handling of customer

feedback by producing regular reports for local and senior managers.
We will produce a regular report on the operation of our customer

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feedback policy for senior management, members and our
customers. The focus in this module has mainly been about giving
effective feedback to learners, but it is also helpful to think in a
structured way about how feedback might be received. You can help
to prepare learners (and yourself) for receiving feedback by providing
opportunities to them.

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