This study shall adopt a quantitative design, attempting to provide the general factors that may be used in order to determine the current status and future of the American healthcare industry and the way it manages its supplies. In the same manner, this could also help in determining the appropriate measures that is needed to ensure that supply management practices of the healthcare sector would no longer lag behind that of the other industries.
The use of a quantitative style is advantageous in such a way that it can standardize the varying nature and perceptions of the members of the American healthcare industry with regard to their supply management practices. In a study which is quantitative in nature, the researcher intends to gather data so that a valid conclusion may be arrived at regarding the outcomes of broadly comparable experiences. An objective or positivist approach is adopted by those who utilize this design which is applicable in this paper.
The main principle underlying this approach is that knowledge and facts are measurable and that complicated problems may be comprehended more effectively if they are broken down into less complicated parts. Moreover, this approach becomes more potent in the quest for universal laws which explain reality – and which lend themselves to observation. The quantitative approach has several advantages – among them is the fact that they have clearer boundaries with regard to data gathering.
While it is an advantage in itself, it does not come without weaknesses. For this approach to yield valid conclusions, the tool that is used for data gathering has to have acceptable psychometric properties. The construction of the research tool must be subjected to rigor and careful analysis. One other limitation for quantitative methods is the need to use a substantially large sample to be able to garner more valid results.
In this study, the quantitative portion shall be carried out through the administration of survey questionnaires to one hundred and fifty (150) respondents who are members of the American healthcare industry. This would help the researcher in determining the factors the help in the adoption of practices concerning supply management in the said sector. Moreover, this survey would help in finding the current status of supply management in the said industry, its problems, and the factors that characterize an SCM, as determined by the members of the healthcare sector.