Business Research

Part A: Question 1
Comment on the following statement: a) The best business researchers are prepared to rethink and rewrite their proposals.

The more elaborate a research paper, the more thoughtful and ultimately robust it is. Business researchers have to go through many rounds of revisits to their research proposals, always bettering the proposal and making the business study more convenient to tackle. Indeed, research proposal writing is an art. A process of creativity to the core; business research proposal writing seeks to maximize the benefits of research thus planned. At the same time, it takes into account the limitations confronted by the researcher. The most obvious limitation faced by the researcher, and which usually assumes responsibility for most of the revisits to the proposal, is the fact that the researcher has a budget to conduct research in a certain place within a specified period of time. The researcher may not be able to travel the world to collect data. Hence, he or she would select the most convenient and yet effective methods of data collection. The research method would take into account the place of data collection besides the participants in the study, i.e. those who would make it easier to answer the research questions. While conducting a marketing research, for example, the researcher must use the easiest research methods, based on his or her unique needs and beliefs about the easiest route to take for data collection. It is possible that the survey method might turn out to be easier, or an e-mail

2 interview would pour out more information for the research than the old-fashioned telephone based interview. All decisions at this point require a great deal of concentration, brainstorming, deep thinking, and planning; in addition to a firm commitment to complete the research on time, churning out the results required by the party that is sponsoring the research. Unsurprisingly, the entire process takes more than a few revisions to the research proposal itself.

b) The clients signature is an essential element of the research proposal.

A business research and consulting company is paid for its research services by small and big corporations that would like to find out how new products and services would fare in the market; how competing organizations are using new technology (via Competitive Intelligence Research);1 how to increase sales; how to strategically manage the organization; how to change the organizational culture; how to motivate employees, etc. Research that is carried out for business clients requires explicit agreements between the researchers and the clients. Certainly, a clients signature is required on the research proposal itself. Through this signature, the client grants authority to the business researcher to conduct a study on his or her behalf (or, on behalf of the organization represented by the client). The signature of the client is obtained only after the researcher has finalized the research proposal after many rounds of revisions. The research proposal mentions a definite deadline by which the researcher hopes to conclude the research and hand over the research report to the client,

Please see example of research proposal requiring the clients signature: Competitive Intelligence Project: http://academics.uww.edu/business/innovate/starting-competitive-intelligence-project.htm. (11 June 2007).

3 who would then be able to use the results to make informed business decisions. The researcher is responsible for handing over the research report on time to the client.

Question 2
What research design (surveys, observation, experiments, or secondary data studies) seems appropriate for each of the following studies and why: a) The manufacturer and marketer of flight simulators and pilot training equipment wishes to forecast sales volume for the next five years.

If the manufacturer and marketer of flight simulators and pilot training equipment is new in business, the appropriate way to forecast sales volume for the next five years is to use surveys, experiments, and secondary data studies at the same time. Surveys could be used to gather information from potential customers, as well as retailers, in an attempt to estimate the quantity of the new products that would be bought. Experiments could also be used with potential customers trying out the new products and informing the organization afterwards whether they could possibly buy the products in future. Secondary data studies could be used to gather the sales information of competitors to forecast the sales of the new business.

b) The Cancer Council Australia wishes to identify the demographic characteristics of individuals who donate more than $500.00 per year.

The Cancer Council Australia would have to rely on secondary data studies to identify the

4 demographic characteristics of such people. The government, especially the taxation department, would be holding information on the demographic characteristics of people that donate more than $500.00 each year. c) A shipping port manager notices that the number of customer complaints is increasing. The manager wishes to investigate this occurrence.

It would be best for the manager to use the survey method to inquire of the customers about their specific complaints. Once the complaints have been documented, the manager would use observations (of the employees work) to determine whether the complaints are true.

d) A financial analyst who wants to know whether load versus no-load mutual funds have higher yields.

The financial analyst would have to employ secondary data studies that tabulate the yields of load mutual funds alongside the yields of no-load mutual funds. Investment companies that deal in load and no-load mutual funds should be able to provide this information for the business researcher, probably for a fee.

e) A shipping company that wants to judge the quality of its graduate recruitment program.

The shipping company should use the survey method to analyze the quality of its graduate

5 recruitment program. All those who pass out and do not pass out of the program should be requested for feedback. This method would also allow the company to gather data on competing programs. f) An academic researcher at a College who wishes to determine if Australia is losing its competitive edge in world trade.

The academic researcher would gather information via secondary data studies that compare Australias foreign trade with that of other countries that used to be held in comparison to Australia aforetime. As a matter of fact, this method would allow the researcher to compare Australia with other countries on a number of economic variables and characteristics, e.g. GDP, the changing nature of products and services of Australia, etc.

g) A container terminal that wishes to examine whether its customers, e.g. shipping companies, shippers, etc. are happy with services it provides.

The container terminal management should send out a questionnaire (survey) to all customers. Gathering data thus, the management would also discover how customers would like improvements to be made to the services provided by the container terminal.

Question 3
Evaluate the statement of the business situation in the following situations: a) Our objective is to learn the most effective form of capitalization so we can maximize profits.

Capitalization refers to the sale of capital stock.2 This research statement is made by an investor or investing company that would like to know the special timings or signs for selling capital stock in order to maximize profits. The researcher may consult stock market reports (among the secondary data studies) also to find out about the new financial trends that would lead to profit maximization in the selling of capital stock.

b) Our aim is to determine the reasons why employees join the credit union, to determine members awareness of credit union services, and to measure attitudes and beliefs about how effectively the credit union is operated.

In order to market and sell its services better, the credit union would like to answer the above questions on behalf of the organization whose employees use its services. It would be best to use the survey method and get feedback from the employees of the organization, who are also members of the credit union.
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Dictionary definition: WordNet 2.1 Browser, Princeton University Cognitive Science Lab.

c) We have a problem: the TV programs ratings are low. We need to learn how to improve our rating.

The television program is not being watched by as many people as we would like. Marketers or sponsors are also losing out on profits. In order to increase the number of viewers, we would have to learn what it is about the program that the viewers do not appreciate. How shall we make the program more interesting? We may find out by surveying viewers of directly competing as well as other popular programs.

d) Our problem is to document the demographic changes that have occurred in recent decades in the lives of women and to put them in historic perspective; to examine several generations of American women through most of this century, tracking their roles as student, worker, wife, and mother, and noting the changes in timing, sequence, and duration of these roles, to examine at what age and for how long a woman enters various stages of her life: school, work, marriage, childbearing, divorce. This will be accomplished by analyzing demographic data over several generations from this perspective.

Although this study is not directly related to business, it is possible that the results of the study would later be used in marketing analysis to study certain trends in the lives of women. This is an anthropological and historical question, although sociologists and psychologists involved in longitudinal research may also be the researchers in question. In any case, this study requires the

8 use of secondary data studies to gather demographic information on generations of women.

e) The problem is to determine sales trends over the past five years by product category and to determine the seasonality of unit boat sales by quarters by regions of the country.

The organization needs to look over its sales records of the last five years in each product category, and put them in order if they are disorganized so they can be presented as part of the research report later on. If, according to the sales records of the last five years, it is clear that Good A is selling better than Good B; the company would be able to concentrate its marketing efforts on Good B. Another example of a sale trend would be Good B selling the most during Christmas. In order to determine the seasonality of unit boat sales, the company would have to gather the sales reports from all regions of the country. By considering sales data on boats from all regions of the country; the company may easily identify the seasons when boats are especially high or low in sales.

f) The purpose of this research is (1) to identify the market potential of the product, (2) to identify what desirable features the product should possess, and (3) to determine possible advertising strategies/channel strategies for the product.

In order to identify the market potential of the new product, the company should let the product go through field testing, which would expose the product to potential customers before the product

9 is officially launched in the market. This marketing experiment or field testing should be followed by interviews of the potential customers who have had the opportunity to use the new product during its field test. These interviews would allow the marketer to gather information about (potential) desirable features of the product. Lastly, the marketer would find out the costs of different media. The numbers of people that are exposed to each media would also be made available to the researcher. This information would help the researcher to determine the desirability of the chosen media in light of the products specialties. This would answer the final research question in this study.3

Question 4
You have been hired by a group of hotel owners, restaurant owners, and other business persons engaged in businesses that benefit from tourism in Tasmania. They wish to learn how they can
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A thorough discussion on media selection and marketing something new is presented as the solution to the next problem.

10 attract a larger number of college and university students to their state during summer break. Define the business research problem.

This is a marketing question, requiring the researcher to find out how to convey information about Tasmania to young people. Tasmania is an island off the southeastern coast of Australia. As the first step in conducing marketing research, the ultimate goal of which is to increase the number of college and university students that visit Tasmania; the business and marketing researcher would list all places near the island, and especially the main cities in Australia and New Zealand. Next, the researcher would collect information about the media in places where college and university students are expected to be in abundance, e.g. in Melbourne, where there are a huge number of Australian and international students. After gathering the above mentioned data, the researcher would analyze the choice of media to market the state of Tasmania as an exciting tourist resort. The researcher would have knowledge at this point about the types and names of media that especially attract young people. It is also essential in marketing analysis to know the prices of the different media. The choice of media would be analyzed in light of the respective prices of television, Internet marketing, etc. After viewing the costs against the benefits in the form of real and hypothetical, quantitative data that is prepared for presentation in the final research report the marketer would be in a position to answer the research question: What is the best way to sell tourism to the college and university students who do not yet know the joys of visiting Tasmania? In order to measure the costs of advertising against the benefits, the researcher would have to ask the persons, entities, or organizations that have requested the present research to provide hypothetical figures on the revenues they expect to make with increased tourism in Tasmania. The

11 researcher would have to have a figurative understanding of what to measure against the costs of advertising, promoting or marketing the state of Tasmania as a tourist destination for the young adults. Once projected figures (on tourism sales, or tickets to Tasmania) are made available, the researcher would be able to complete the study. After analyzing the choice of media, the researcher would be able to use the information to actually begin a marketing project, reaching out to the college and university students around the island and in big (college and university) towns of Australia and New Zealand. Through such marketing efforts, students would learn about Tasmania. It is expected that student tourism would increase in the state.

Part B
Case Study Turn to page 670 of your textbook and read Case 20, Canterbury Travels. Answer the two (2) questions in the case. 1. Critically evaluate the questionnaire.

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Canterbury Travels has developed an excellent questionnaire to answer the following research questions: (1) How much business does the new travel agency have the potential to conduct in Hometown, given the tastes or interests of the people with regard to travel?; and (2) Do enough people know about Canterbury Travels now; in other words, has the advertising of the new agency been effective or successful? It is expected that the new travel agency would send out the questionnaire along with the local newspaper to all households of Hometown. This would, of course, be another advertising, marketing, and/or PR effort on the part of the agency. While the survey developed by Freeman is convenient for the participants to answer, given that it is short and very easy to understand; one serious fault of the questionnaire is that it does not ask the householders of Hometown about the number of people living in their homes. By knowing the demographics in depth, the travel agency would be able to introduce promotions that are especially suited to the tastes of the group that is represented most heavily among the population. It may be that there are more children in Hometown than any other age group. If Canterbury Travels were to find out that the number of children is greatest, it would be good practice for the agency to especially promote and sell tourist spots that cater to children; for example, Disneyland. Another flaw in the survey appears with questions 6 and 7 only. These questions do not list the rank numbers, as in a clearly readable Likard scale. The blanks between the words Good and Bad, and Very Satisfied and Very Dissatisfied are confusing at best. The designer of the questionnaire should have either used numbers or descriptions over all blanks. For example, instead of Good ______ Bad _______ _______ ________ _________

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a clearer mode of questioning would be: Good __________ Fair -Ok _________ No Comment _________ Not good at all _________ Bad _________.

There is a better way, still, to answer question number 6. As a matter of fact, this question in particular must be changed in order for the questionnaire to better serve the research purpose. It is not clear how the objectives of the research would be served by asking whether a travel agency in a convenient location, for example, is good or bad for the potential customers. Naturally, it is best to visit a travel agency that is conveniently located. Moreover, it would have been best to reword the question thus:

Rate the following features of your (potentially) preferred travel agency in the order of importance. How important are the following qualities to you in your selection of a travel agency?

Very Important Free Services Convenient location, etc.

Important

Somewhat Important

Dont Care

Not Important

As already discussed in the first part of this paper, it is possible to continue revising this questionnaire until it begins to appear perfect to the designer. Revisions to research proposals, which usually include surveys of this sort, are always made with a special focus on the rhetoric that

14 is employed. Little mistakes in the use of language could make a big difference to the data that is eventually gathered through the survey, and the questions that are ultimately answered. For example, although Freeman had set out to answer the research question, How much business does the new travel agency have the potential to conduct in Hometown? the survey that was designed sought to answer instead, How much business does the new travel agency have the potential to conduct in Hometown, given the tastes or interests of the people with regard to travel, given the tastes or interests of the people with regard to travel? Hence, it would be best for Canterbury Travels to continue improving upon the survey until it can observe the agencys short term and long term interests reflected in the questions about to be posed to the residents of Hometown.

2. Will Canterbury Travels have the information that it needs once the survey has been conducted? To answer research question number 2, Do enough people know about Canterbury Travels now; in other words, has the advertising of the new agency been effective or successful?; the marketing researcher is correct to ask, Did you know that there is a new travel agency in Hometown? This question does not show that Canterbury Travels is the author of the survey. Protecting the privacy and integrity of the business in question the question is an apt and interesting one because it makes a subconscious connection between the resident of Hometown and the new travel agency. By seeking to answer research question number 1, that is, How much business could the new travel agency conduct in Hometown? the new travel agency would like to project its sales in its first year of operation, and in the following years. The agency also seeks to know how to serve the

15 interests of the potential customers in the best possible way. As previously discussed, the agency will miss out on some very important demographic information with this survey. For example, information about the age group representing the majority of the population could have definitely helped Canterbury Travels to focus its future marketing efforts on the interest group, i.e. the age group that is in majority. All the same, the research question number 1 is correctly answered through all the survey questions except for questions 5 and 8. Question number 5 on the survey is related to the second research question, in fact. By suggesting through the last question on the survey that Canterbury Travels must be the new travel agency in town for those who have learned about it through the agencys earlier advertising, of course question number 5 on the survey brings to mind that this new travel agency must be offering its services for free like all honest travel agencies should. Seeing that question number 8 on the survey is not close to question number 5 does not make a difference to the inference that would be made by the customer. As it is, by getting the resident of Hometown to think about travel agencies, the survey is allowing Canterbury Travels to be brought to mind. Furthermore, information that the participant goes through in his or her mind during question number 5 on the survey should be available to the participant in the long term memory. Thus, it would be possible to relate questions 5 and 8 to suggest that Canterbury Travels is the new agency in town that does not charge for its services. This, in fact, is an example of how advertising would also use subliminal messages that bank on the subconscious mind and long term memory of people. Although the research questions could have been answered in various different ways and the survey designed in a better way; the questionnaire developed by Freeman would allow her to easily

16 gather needed information. The research questions would, indeed, be answered through this survey.

BIBIOGRAPHY

Heath, AW 1997, The Proposal in Qualitative Research, The Qualitative Report vol. 3, no. 1. Overview of the Client-Based Project Process 2006, James Madison University, Retrieved 16 June 2007, from http://www.jmu.edu/cfe/sbci/studentoverview.shtml. Research Code of Conduct, Retrieved 16 June 2007, from http://www.justice.wa.gov.au/_files/Research_Code_of_Conduct.pdf. Research Proposals. Retrieved 16 June 2007, from http://www.cs.utah.edu/classes/cs7010/notes/reverse-outline-6.pdf. Starting a Competitive Intelligence Project 2005, Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, Retrieved 11 June 2007, from http://academics.uww.edu/business/innovate/startingcompetitive-intelligence-project.htm.

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