Jade Ferguson

Business Research Methods

Akron Children’s Hospital Case Study

1) What is the management-research question hierarchy for Akron Children’s Hospital?

a. Management Dilemma- Step 1 is identifying the management dilemma. The dilemma

that the hospital faces is how to increase the bed-occupancy rate and what can the
hospital do to gain more business than its competitors.

b. Management Question- Step 2 is how to differentiate itself and step out of the shadow
of its competitors.

c. Research Questions- Step 3 consists of defining the research questions The questions
focus on how to distinguish itself and convey its commitment to children and to the
highest-quality and most medically advanced care.

d. Investigative Questions- Step 4 consists of investigative questions such as “How do

parents come to a decision on where to bring their children?” and “How do we gain more
customers from surrounding counties?”

e. Measurement Questions- Step 5 consists of some questions with supplied answers that
range on a scale of 1 to 5 (bad to good). These questions can include those about distance
to home, comfort of leaving children in the hospital’s care, feelings of technology and
medical quality.

2) What are the advantages/disadvantages of an observation study for this research?

Advantages- The researcher can see first-hand the experiences of parents and children in
the hospital every step of the way. Researchers can instantly record their observances and
findings. Recordings of audio or video are hard evidence and there is not much room for
error in this method. Observation method can be done over a long period of time and
around the clock.

Disadvantages- Researchers will gain no knowledge of past experiences if they are just
watching the present. Equipment and staffing can be expensive. A researcher cannot
really gain opinions by this method. A lot of time can pass before a researcher can
actually observe something pertinent to the study. Subjects may act differently or be more
apprehensive if they know someone is watching and/or recording interactions. There can
be bias in the researchers mind about what is happening around them and it can be
opinionated.

3) What does the brand promise recommendation reveal about what researchers
experienced and concluded from their study?

The brand promise recommendation revealed that researchers saw that the staffs of the
hospital were fully invested into the well-being of their child patients. The researchers
saw state of the art technology, highly energetic staff, highly knowledgeable staff and full
compassion for the children. They saw a very strong desire by the entire hospital for the
children recover and be the best they can possibly be once leaving the hospital.

4) If you were designing such an observation study, what would you direct researchers to
record/look for/listen for? I would make sure that the researchers listened to what the
children had to say and how the children reacted to conversation with staff. I would also
have them observe the atmosphere as well as the interactions between staff members and
the children, interactions between staff and parents, and interactions between staff and
staff when not around the children. Negativity between staff can cause unnecessary issues
for the children and parents and can cause an uncomfortable atmosphere for the children.
I would have the researchers pay close attention to how comfortable the children and
parents were at all times.

5) What ethical issues would surface in hospital studies in general and in this study in
particular?

Some ethical problems could include confidentiality. Having a third party involved could
cause discomfort or embarrassment in the patients and/or parents. Something to also
consider is gaining informed consent from the children and parents to use the observation
methods for this study. All recorded audio and video observations must be signed off on
and accepted by patients and their guardians. Some medical devices and methods could
be proprietary or in patent-pending status in nature and the hospital must be aware that
their methods may be revealed to the general public.