The Rationale for MBDA research
In order to serve the community, any national agency must ensure the fulfillment of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices. Income inequality between different populations, lack of minority inclusion, and absence of diversity in the working communities have been recognized as pertinent problems for the US (Telford, 2019). These issues have the potential to significantly diminish the well-being of the nation, resulting in instances of poverty, especially in minorities (Maxwell et al., 2020). To reduce this gap, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) initiated DEI practices, thus promoting inclusion, income equity, and diversity.
Although originally, the MBDA program was operated by the executive branch of the US government, its execution has recently been delegated to Congress. As Congress sets US fiscal and budgetary policy, its control over MBDA can significantly improve society’s well-being (Maxwell et al., 2020). Nevertheless, it is necessary to conduct empirical research to examine how employment and diversity issues are being handled and whether DEI practices are being incorporated efficiently. While some sources report that beneficial policies aimed at increasing inclusion and diversity are being implemented, others suggest that such initiatives are too local and do not address the origins of the historical problem (Doucerain et al., 2018; Maxwell et al., 2020). From this perspective, a comprehensive evaluation of MBDA could be advantageous for determining its current impact on the target populations. In this study, entrepreneurs from various minority groups are defined as the unit of analysis.
Data Collection Procedures
The needed data are connected to the consequences of MBDA becoming a statutory agency and the last two presidential administrations’ impacts on the MBDA’s implementation and funding. To collect this information, interviews with the experts in DEI programming and MBDA administrative staff members will be conducted. The participants of interviews will be selected depending on their status in the MBDA and their expertise in DEI (Khandker, 2009). The experts will be contacted personally or via emails, telephone, and digital communication platforms, such as Skype or Zoom. Another data collection strategy is to analyze official websites that offer information about the laws and orders upheld by the MBDA. As the main focus is to evaluate how the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump influenced the MBDA’s implementation and funding, official documents released by these administrations will be evaluated. Furthermore, scholarly and journalist sources will be of tremendous help to examine MBDA’s performance and development under the control of these presidents.
Finally, the effectiveness of DEI implementation will be estimated by conducting a survey among minority groups’ representatives. A questionnaire with multiple-choice and open questions, as well as rating scales, will be distributed. The sample will be selected via the application of a stratified sampling technique, where the given population will be divided into strata to apply simple random sampling among entrepreneurs within these strata (Babbie, 2020). Each stratum will represent a minority group, while the subgroups will include people of different races, ethnicities, and physical abilities. From this perspective, the current research utilizes a mixed research methodology, using both quantitative and qualitative research methods to gather and analyze the data.
However, an issue with collecting the necessary data should be noted. The reliability problem could become a significant obstacle for this study, as the gathered information might not accurately represent the target population and create complications for the results’ generalization (Berry-James, 2018). However, as minority entrepreneurs from various groups will be included in the study, it is possible that they will represent most average case examples. In addition, as both quantitative and qualitative methodologies are being used, the obtained data must be appropriately organized and assessed, requiring a high degree of proficiency in these frameworks.
Data Analysis
To analyze the gathered data set, mean values of the gained answers will be calculated, with ranking and modes created for the answers on multiple-choice and open questions. In order to eliminate extreme views and present a synthesis of the most frequently expressed ideas, modes can be tremendously useful (Babbie, 2020). Therefore, when assessing the answers to open questions, multiple-choice questions, and interviews, the most often mentioned concepts, namely modes, will be detected. As for the results of the inquiry into official documents from websites and credible agencies, these data will be graded according to several criteria. First of all, the content of the law or order related to the MBDA will be established, clarifying the law or order’s relevance to the study. After that, the number of regulations on the MBDA issued by the administrations of Barak Obama and Donald Trump will be calculated, determining which administration has released a higher number of MBDA changes.
Based on the retrieved data and analysis results, it will be possible to draw conclusions about the research questions, providing relevant answers. The impact of MBDA becoming a statutory agency under Congress will be established, clarifying the changes in its regulation by the executive branch. The modes from the experts’ interviews and the public questionnaire will be especially useful for this task. Finally, Obama and Trump’s administrations’ influence on MBDA performance will be determined, with findings from official documents and scholarly sources being the primary sources of knowledge for the conclusions.
References
Babbie, E. R. (2020). The practice of social research. Cengage AU.
Berry-James, S. T. G. and R. (2018). Why research methods matter. Melvin & Leigh, Publishers.
Doucerain, M. M., Amiot, C. E., Thomas, E. F., & Louis, W. R. (2018). What it means to be American: Identity inclusiveness/exclusiveness and support for policies about Muslims among US‐born whites. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 18(1), 224-243.
Khandker, S. R. (2009). Handbook on impact evaluation: Quantitative methods and practices (1st ed.). World Bank Publications.
Maxwell, C., Hamilton, D., Perry, A. M., & Solomon, D. (2020). A blueprint for revamping the Minority Business Development Agency. Center for American Progress.
Telford, T. (2019). Income inequality in America is the highest it’s been since Census Bureau started tracking it, data shows. Washington Post, 26. Web.