Program |
Diploma in Business |
Unit Number and Title |
Unit 11 Research Project Handicrafts Industry |
QFC Level |
Level 5 |
Title of the project: Adoption of technology in the Handicrafts Industry of UK
Objectives of Research: The main objectives of the research are:
The main reason behind this research project handicrafts industry research report is to identify the real condition of rural artisans and craftsperson in UK handicraft industry. This is to be done to develop a new business of handicrafts for the purpose of exporting it to other countries and to improve the conditions of rural and local artisans and craftsperson. The handicraft industry of UK needs a revival due to the emergence of globalization. The industry is losing its importance because of its lack in updation with the technology and lower revenues. It needs a revival to attract most of the consumers including the tourists and export businesses (Brata, 2011).
I am inspired to use this industry as the topic of my research because of my personal interest in this area and another reason is the losing importance of this industry in the country. The project requires the data for the research which will be collected through primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are the questionnaires and the interviews taken up from the craftsmen in the country and the consumers while the secondary sources are the articles, journals, newspapers, reports or any other publication which are used to gain information about the related subject (Golmeymi, et al., 2013).
The research is based on the development of new business in handicraft industry which needs to analyze the present situation of the handicrafts business. The main purpose of the research is to analyze and identify that how the adoption of technology can change the face of the handicrafts industry in UK. Technology, here, refers to the application of new machinery or devices for enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the workers and to provide them a suitable platform to showcase their skills or to get adequate prices for their efforts. This includes adoption of social media and online selling platforms for selling their products in the country and outside the country (Kuada, 2012).
The main aim of the research is to explore the opportunities of establishing a handicraft business in the UK market by using various technologies and digitization.
Research questions:
The main questions to be answered in this research are:
According to the report of Sir Mark Walport and Sir Richard Lapthorne, the future of handicrafts and art will be different than what it is today. But it will be only if the companies adopt the rapidly changing technologies and methods which make manufacturing faster and also when the businesses will response to the global markets to come closer to the customers (UKgovernment, 2013).A research report says that the craftsmen in UK will benefit from the age of digitization as they will get the opportunities to connect to the different clients and customers. They can also market their business through different sources (communitiesandculture, 2014). According to the report of British Museum (britishmuseum, 2011), craft is the language of material and it has a lot more importance than it is given in actual. Craft is something which has more potential and it is not recognized fully.
Some of the challenges which are faced by these industries are lack of finance, lack of marketing and outdated techniques. These challenges have to be met by the proper efforts made by the collaboration of government and the businessmen themselves (Naidu, et al., 2014). When handicraft business will get proper marketing and platforms to sell their products, the industry will flourish more than ever (Matsenjwa & Musiiwa, 2016).
Methodology is the key section of research program where all the techniques and methods used in the research will be mentioned.
Sequence |
Activities |
Duration |
Details |
A |
Planning of research |
1 week |
Here The plans of the research to be conducted will be made |
B |
Implementation of plans |
1 week |
The plans made will be implemented |
C |
Data collection |
3 weeks |
Data will be collected through secondary and primary sources |
D |
Analysis of data |
3 weeks |
Data collected will be analyzed with the help of percentage calculations and presented in the form of tables and charts |
E |
Conclusion |
1 week |
In the end, the conclusion is made on the basis of findings. |
Gantt chart
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Call us: +44 – 7497 786 317The resources which are required to conduct this research project are:
There are certain measures which are used for conducting the research, these measures are explained below:
Data is collated with the help of questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaire given below is the part of the research project “Adoption of technology in the Handicrafts Industry of UK”. This will help in taking out the findings of the research and make the recommendations. The data will be confidential about the respondent and the sampling size is 50 which are randomly selected.
Questionnaire:
Gender
Age
Increase in the production and consumption of machine made products has resulted into the depletion of handicraft industry of UK. How much do you agree?
How do you market your products?
Have you used technological advancements in manufacturing and marketing your products?
The future of handicraft industry is in dark. Do you agree?
Use of technology and digitization will bring a boom in the industry. How much do you agree?
Trading across borders is essential for the business of handicrafts.
Does government take any steps to promote the handicrafts of UK?
Shift of the trend of marketing through online channels has widened the scope for handicrafts.
Interview questions from businessmen:
There are various factors which affect the achievement of the research project. These are explained below:
The data collected should be analyzed and evaluated for taking out the findings which are ultimately used to make conclusions and to make recommendations. Below given is the analysis of the answers of the questions which are asked from the craftsmen of UK:
Analysis: It is clear from the above chart that Most of the craftsmen i.e. 34% highly agreed that the increase of the production and consumption of machine made products have resulted into the depletion of handicraft industry of UK while only 6% highly disagreed to the same. It shows that machine made products is the main reason for the downfall of the industry and is lowering the interests of people from the handmade products.
Analysis: It is clear from the above chart that 35% of the respondents are neutral on the statement that the future of handicraft industry is in dark. 25% of the respondents agree to the statement because the industry is slowly fading its popularity because of the lack of updation in technology. Only 10% of the respondents highly disagreed to the same. The craftsmen know that if they will be provided with sufficient resources and opportunities, the industries will flourish well and the industry will contribute a big amount to the overall profits of the nation and also in the GDP of the country.
Analysis: It is clear that 21% of the respondents highly agree and 25% agree to the statement that use of technology and digitization will bring a boom in the industry of handicrafts and only 14% highly disagrees. It shows that using the latest technologies increase the quality of products plus the productivity of the craftsmen.
Analysis: It is clear that most of the respondents i.e. 30% are neutral on the view that Trading across borders is essential for the business of handicrafts and 25% highly agreed on that. It shows that the craftsmen wants to export their products for getting higher exposure and profits for their work and talent.
Analysis: It is analyzed that government has taken many steps to promote the handicrafts of UK and 45% of the craftsmen said yes, government has taken steps while 40% of the craftsmen said that no, government has nothing for the promotion and development of handicrafts of the nation. 15% of the craftsmen do not have any knowledge on this matter.
Analysis: The results shows that 28% of the respondents are neutral on the statement that Shift of the trend of marketing through online channels has widen the scope for handicrafts while 23% are highly agreed. Only 12% of the respondents highly disagree on the same. This shows that people does not have any resistance from the online channels and they are ready to use the online channels for marketing their products.
Analysis of interviews: 5 businessmen are interviewed face to face for getting their responses on the questions asked from them. It is analyzed that businessmen are engaged in this industry from years and they are successfully trading within and outside the nations with the help of government. The emergence of online channels has widened the scope for their business but only few businessmen are fully utilizing these channels.
The businessmen agrees that yes, there is a downfall in the industry but the future of the industry is not in dark because there are lot of opportunities available and the loyal customers are still bring success to the businesses. By bringing innovations and adoption of latest technologies, the business can boom and can be profitable in the future times also.
After the research completion, it can be concluded that the future of the handicraft industry will not be in dark if the sufficient technology and innovations will be implemented regularly. It will not only maintain the interest of the consumers in the handicrafts but will also decrease the cost of the manufacturing.
The handicraft industry needs a change, it needs to have digitization and use of social media for having a wide reach among the customers. Social media and online channels will enable them to reach the customers of the nation plus the customers outside the borders directly. It is recommended for the government of UK to conduct the exhibitions and fairs at regular intervals for encouraging the artisans. These events should be organized at global level so that the talents from different places come together and showcase their talents. This would encourage art and handicrafts of different nations. Exchange of knowledge and skills will take place which will enhance the capabilities of the artists.
For the new business development, it is recommended to hire the artists and pay them well which would encourage them to give their best for the business. This would bring fine excellence of the artists and will also help the company to sell the best products in the industry. The business is recommended to develop websites and use social media to promote their products in different countries. Different technologies from different countries should be adopted to increase the productivity of the artists and to decrease the costs of manufacturing.
Areas for further research:
There are some areas for further research consideration, these are:
Brata, A.G. 2011, "SOCIAL NETWORKS AND INNOVATION (HANDICRAFT INDUSTRY IN BANTUL, YOGYAKARTA)", Economics, Management and Financial Markets, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 106.
britishmuseum. (2011). What is the role and value of crafts today? Retrieved 10 28, 2016, from https://blog.britishmuseum.org/2011/08/17/what-is-the-role-and-value-of-crafts-today/
communitiesandculture. (2014). Rural Crafting Communities in the Digital Age. Retrieved 10 28, 2016, from http://www.communitiesandculture.org/projects/rural-crafting-communities-in-the-digital-age/
Golmeymi, M., Mirvaisi, M., Maleki, B. & Shirzour Aliabadi, Z. 2013, "An empirical study on the effect of WTO membership on Iranian Handicraft industry: A case study of Persian carpet", Management Science Letters, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 1375-1380.
Hughes, J. 2012, SAGE internet research methods, Four-Volume Set edn, SAGE, Los Angeles.
Kuada, J. 2012, Research methodology: a project guide for university students, 1st edn, Samfundslitteratur, Frederiksberg C [Denmark].
Kumar, R. 2011, Research methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, 3rd edn, SAGE, Los Angeles
Mamtora, J. 2015, Research Methods Guide.
Matsenjwa, G.N. & Musiiwa, E. 2016, "The globalization of the rural Swazi weaver: Lavumisa women in the commercial handicraft industry, 1981-2013", Journal of International Women's Studies, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 102.
Naidu, S., Chand, A. & Southgate, P. 2014, "Determinants of innovation in the handicraft industry of Fiji and Tonga: an empirical analysis from a tourism perspective", Journal of Enterprising Communities, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 318.
Pickard, A.J. & Childs, S. 2013, Research methods in information, Neal-Schuman, Chicago.
UKgovernment. (2013). Future of manufacturing: a new era of opportunity and challenge for the UK - summary report. Retrieved 10 28, 2016, from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-manufacturing/future-manufacturing-a-new-era-of-opportunity-and-challenge-for-the-uk-summary-report
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