MAN 6300 Module 3 Data Analysis Written Assignment Example

Where the Silence Sits: Survey, Turnover, Deviation and Interview Data From a Contract Drug Manufacturer, Coded and Counted

Student Name

Master of Science in Management, Thomas Edison State University

MAN-6300: Management Capstone

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

Where the Silence Sits: Survey, Turnover, Deviation and Interview Data From a Contract Drug Manufacturer, Coded and Counted

Module 1 defined the problem at the composite Somerset County drug manufacturer Millstone Pharma Services as a post-acquisition decline in employees' willingness to raise quality concerns promptly, and Module 2 confirmed from the research that such a decline is a recognized and costly pattern. This assignment analyzes the site's own data to establish where the problem is concentrated, what is associated with it, what it costs and what the acquisition has improved. Four sources were used: the 2026 employee survey, human resources turnover records, the quality system's deviation log for January to August 2026, and eighteen confidential interviews.

Methods

The survey was completed by 312 of 480 employees, a 65 percent response rate. I analyzed the item on raising quality concerns without fear as the main outcome, reporting the percentage who agreed or strongly agreed, and computed correlations between it and three other measures: a three-item index of supervisor openness, perceived workload and length of service. Turnover and deviation figures came from system reports, with costs estimated from finance and HR records.

For the qualitative strand, I conducted eighteen semi-structured interviews of thirty to forty-five minutes with operators, quality staff, supervisors and engineers from all three shifts. Participants gave consent, names were removed, and recordings were deleted after transcription. I coded transcripts in two cycles, first openly and then into a codebook of eight codes grouped into themes, following established guidance on thematic analysis and coding cycles (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Saldaña, 2021). An HR business partner independently coded six transcripts with the same codebook, and we agreed on 84 percent of code assignments before discussing the differences.

Quantitative Findings

Agreement with the speaking-up item was 41 percent overall, but it varied sharply. By department, it was lowest in quality assurance and quality control, at 29 percent, compared with 46 percent in production, 44 percent in the warehouse and 52 percent in maintenance and engineering. By shift it fell from 49 percent on days to 38 percent on evenings and 31 percent on nights.

Among the correlations, supervisor openness was most closely associated with the outcome (r = 0.58), well ahead of workload (r = 0.31). Length of service had a small negative association (r = -0.12), meaning long-serving staff, who remember the old culture, were slightly less likely to feel safe. These are associations in a single survey and do not prove causation, but they match the research on leader openness reviewed in Module 2 (Detert & Burris, 2007).

Deviations rose from about 103 in 2023, when the site produced some 2,700 batches, to an annualized 176 on about 2,880 batches in 2026. Each investigation takes an average of twenty-two hours of quality staff time at a loaded cost of $68 an hour, so investigation labor alone grew from about $154,000 to $263,000 a year, before counting rework or rejected batches. Twenty-three of the seventy-four quality staff left in the past twelve months; at an estimated replacement cost of $38,000 each for recruiting and six months of training, that turnover cost about $874,000.

The acquisition's gains are also real. Overall equipment effectiveness rose from 58 to 66 percent, and output per labor hour increased 9 percent, largely because of the new compression suites and better maintenance planning. Any recommendation should protect these gains.

Qualitative Findings

Six themes emerged from the interviews. The most frequent was numbers over quality, raised in fourteen of eighteen interviews: participants described the morning meeting, the color-coded boards and the supervisors' output bonus as signals that output mattered most. Fear of blame for stopping the line appeared in twelve interviews, often with examples of supervisors asking "Can this wait until tomorrow?" Eleven participants said that a supervisor's reaction depended on how the day's numbers looked, which made speaking up feel like a gamble. Nine described the loss of familiar colleagues and the relationships that once made it easy to ask for help. Eight said that the parent company's stated values seemed sincere but were not lived on the floor.

The sixth theme was positive and appeared in ten interviews: appreciation for new equipment, training and clearer procedures. Several participants said they did not want the old, slower Millstone back; they wanted the new one to listen.

Evidence-Based Findings

Integrating both strands produces four findings. First, the problem is concentrated: it is most severe in quality functions and on the night shift, where speaking-up scores are lowest, turnover is highest and nearly half of late reports originate. Second, supervisor behavior is the strongest identifiable factor, both in the survey correlation and in the interview theme of reactions that vary with the day's numbers. Third, the incentive and measurement system sends a message that contradicts the espoused value of quality first; employees read the output bonus and the color-coded boards as the real priorities. Fourth, the problem has a measurable cost, about $1.1 million a year in investigation labor growth and quality-staff turnover, plus regulatory and client risk that is harder to price, while the productivity gains of the acquisition are worth preserving.

These findings answer the second research question from Module 1 and set up the third: the recommendations in Module 4 must change supervisor behavior and the reward system, focus first on quality functions and the night shift, and keep the productivity improvements.

Limitations

The survey is cross-sectional, and the 2023 comparison came from a different instrument used by the former owner. The interview sample is small and was chosen to cover departments and shifts rather than at random. The cost estimates rely on averages. These limits argue for treating the findings as strong indications to be monitored as changes are made, not as final proof.

References

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Detert, J. R., & Burris, E. R. (2007). Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), 869-884. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (4th ed.). SAGE.