STUDENT EXAMINATION NUMBER: Y1476274

MODULE NO: MAN00015C

MODULE TITLE: Qualitative methods for accounting and management

Module Tutor: Charlotte Smith

Essay Title: The effects of job losses on London Underground workers

Word Count: 3,072

Introduction and Background
In the following proposal I am going to analyze and discover the potential implications and reactions of the consumers as a result of the new plans for the London Underground to run weekend 24 hour services that also involve the closures of ticket offices resulting in up to a huge 750 job cuts. The plans have been put in place to ‘take the undergrounds to the next level’. Employees at the tube stations have stressed their anger about the proposed plans, and this has resulted in strikes. Furthermore I will discuss the relevant literature to my study and my research questions that will hopefully uncover the consequences of these plans. I will then propose what methodological approaches that I will pursue and the methods of data collection that I will be conducting throughout my proposal, before explaining the purpose and usefulness of the report.
A review of my literature relevant to my topic
The recent plans to for the London Underground to run weekend 24 hour services that also involve the closure of ticket offices resulting in up to a huge 750 job cut has lead to much controversy throughout customers of the undergrounds and especially the London underground employees. These plans have resulted in hundreds of angry employees and sceptical tube users, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union have said "We're clear that there'll be a job for everyone at LU who wants to work for us and be flexible, that we'll make these changes with no compulsory redundancies, and that we'll involve staff in our plans at every stage and support them through change.” (BBC, 2014). There are a number of conflicting views relevant to these new plans. As with everything, everyone has their own views and opinions on matters. Many people think that the new plans regarding 24 hour services is a great thing for tube users and the economy as it will generate a lot of income, also it allows people to of course use the tubes at far later and even earlier times which will help a vast amount of people who possibly work late at night and need the tubes to get back and forth. However, not everyone sees the new plans as a positive occurrence. The RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that "Not only are nearly 1,000 jobs on the line, but those left to pick up the pieces face the humiliation of having to re-apply for their own jobs.” (BBC, 2014). Also some tube users have stressed that by having less staff around the stations at night where they may be on their own could cause a lot of anxiety as the stations can be a fairly intimidation place at the best of times let alone at night. So if consumers think the new plans could possibly jeopardise their safety, they won’t go down very well. Crow also stated that “The mayor must believe he is some sort of magician if he thinks he can slash a thousand jobs and sill run safe services when everyone knows that staffing has already been cut to the bone while passengers demand continues to rise”. Crow reiterates the issue that consumers have about the job cuts, which is basically the safety of the tube users. To assure that all the data and information that I am presenting in this proposal is valid and creditable I will be analyzing and drawing data from certain literatures found in journal articles, books and websites. I will be extracting information from certain books like (Brannen. J, 2008) , (Saunders, 2012) and (Cassell, G.&.C. (2012). These books should give me greater knowledge on research methods and aid me with deciding on which ones are best suited to my proposal and the ones that essentially will acquire me the information that is needed. Additionally I will gain research through journal articles like ‘British