Assignment:
Post 1
Data Analysis Method
The process I will use for data analysis is the thematic analysis process. I have chosen this method because it is known as a foundational method for qualitative analysis (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2015). According to Saunders et al. (2015), thematic analysis can be used to comprehend large amounts of qualitative data, integrate related data drawn from different transcripts, identify key themes or patterns, produce a thematic description of the data, develop and test explanations/theories, and draw and verify conclusions. The data analysis process consists of the following steps: becoming familiar with the data, coding the data, searching for themes, and finally refining themes and testing propositions (Saunders et al., 2015). Yin (2018) describes a similar process utilizing pattern matching, explanation building, time-series analysis, logic models, and cross-case synthesis.
Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students (7th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Unlimited.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Post 2
Annotated Bibliography: SMEs and Health Insurance
Tolos, H., Tan, S., &Manab, N. A. (2016). Employee benefits in small-medium enterprises (SMEs): practice and challenge. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-10.
Small business enterprises (SMEs) consider health insurance an indispensable benefit for their employees. Yet, evidence gathered over the past decade points to a decline in the number of SMEs willing to offer medical coverage to their employees. Historically, SMEs have always paid more compared to large corporations because these multinationals have greater leverage over insurance companies as they can negotiate to obtain better rates. By contrast, SMEs are limited by financial resources when it comes to offering comprehensive health insurance coverage to their employees. A study by Tolos, Tan &Manab (2016) established that one of the challenges facing SMEs around the world is the cost of employee benefits such as health insurance, wage policies, and other non-monetary benefits. The authors noted that historically, SMEs have always been enthusiastic about providing medical coverage to their employees because this is not only a competitive strategy but a technique to attract top talent. However, the rise in administrative costs and the dwindling options for self-funding of insurance coverage have seen more SMEs drop the option of offering health insurance to their employees.
Norman, M. C. (2018). Small-Business health insurance: A symptom of the diseased American health care system. . . what is the cure? Mercer Law Review, 69(2), 533-573.
Equally, an article by Norman (2018) explores health insurance among SMEs and strategies that can be adopted by small businesses to provide adequate coverage for their workers. Normal singles out the increasing number of legislations that entirely focuses on individuals and large corporations while overlooking SMEs. The author singles out the U.S health care system that is increasingly turning out to be burdensome not just for large companies, but also untenable and unrealistic for small businesses. Legislative acts such as the Affordable Care Act place an unrealistic burden to SMEs when it comes to providing medical coverage for their employees. Eventually, the rise is administrative costs associated with health insurance for employees drain the financial resources of most small business, which then opt to drop the option offering such benefits to their workers.
Bailey, J., & Webber, D. (2018). Health insurance benefit mandates and firm size distribution. Journal of Risk & Insurance, 85(2), 577-595.
Bailey & Webber (2018) also discuss the health insurance benefit mandate and its impact on firm size distribution. The authors point out that one of the reasons small businesses are downsizing and opting not to offer medical coverages to their employees is the prohibitive health insurance laws that increasingly require employers to cover certain additional services. These additional services consequently increase health premiums, which make it costly for small businesses to compensate their workers or provide comprehensive medical coverage. Besides, these additional mandates result in a distortion of firm size in the sense that large companies can self-insure and exempt themselves from such regulations while SMEs face an increased burden to insure their employees. Consequently, most of them end up spending additional financial resources meant for expansion and other strategic services on medical insurance.
References
Bailey, J., & Webber, D. (2018). Health insurance benefit mandates and firm size distribution. Journal of Risk & Insurance, 85(2), 577-595.
Norman, M. C. (2018). Small-Business health insurance: A symptom of the diseased American health care system. . . what is the cure? Mercer Law Review, 69(2), 533-573.
Tolos, H., Tan, S., &Manab, N. A. (2016). Employee benefits in small-medium enterprises (SMEs): practice and challenge. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1-10.