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Definition Some of the definitions of Research are: 1. Redman and Mory define research as a systematized effort to gain new knowledge. 2. Some people consider research as a movement, a movement from known to unknown. It is actually a voyage to discovery. Characteristics of Research a. Systematic Approach Each step must of your investigation be so planned that it leads to the next step. Planning and organization are part of this approach. A planned and organized research saves your time and money. b. Objectivity It implies that True Research should attempt to find an unbiased answer to the decisionmaking problem. c. Reproducible A reproducible research procedure is one, which an equally competent researcher could duplicate, and from it deduces approximately the same results. Precise information regarding samples-methods, collection etc., should be specified. d. Relevancy It furnishes three important tasks: It avoids collection of irrelevant information and saves time and money It compares the information to be collected with researchers criteria for action It enables to see whether the research is proceeding in the right direction e. Control: Research is not only affected by the factors, which one is investigating but some other extraneous factors also. It is impossible to control all the factors. All the factors that we think may affect the study have to be controlled and accounted for. For Example Suppose we are studying the relationship between incomes and shopping behavior, without controlling for education and age, it will be a height of folly, since our findings may reflect the effect of education and age rather than income. Control Must Consider All the factors, which are under control, must be varied as per the study demands All those variables beyond the control should be recorded Structure of Research Most research projects share the same general structure. You might think of this structure as following the shape of an hourglass. The research process usually starts with a broad area of interest, the initial problem that the researcher wishes to study. For instance, the researcher could be interested in how to use computers to improve the performance of students in mathematics. But this initial interest is far too broad to study in any single research project (it might not even be addressable in a lifetime of research). The researcher has to narrow the question down to one that can reasonably be studied in a research project. This might involve formulating a hypothesis or a focus question. For
Once the basic data is collected, the researcher begins to try to understand it, usually by analyzing it in a variety of ways. Even for a single hypothesis there are a number of analyses a researcher might typically conduct. At this point, the researcher begins to formulate some initial conclusions about what happened as a result of the computerized math program. Finally, the researcher often will attempt to address the original broad question of interest by generalizing from the results of this specific study to other related situations. For instance, on the basis of strong results indicating that the math program had a positive effect on student performance, the researcher might conclude that other school districts similar to the one in the study might expect similar results. Importance of Research in Management Decision The role of research has greatly increased in the field of business and economy as a whole. The study of research methods provides you with the knowledge and skills you need to solve the problems and meet the challenges of todays modern pace of development. Three factors stimulate the interest in a scientific research to decision making. i. The managers increased need for more and better information. ii. The availability of improved techniques and tools to meet this need. iii. The resulting information overload Application of Marketing Research Following are a number of examples on the applications of marketing research. They clearly bring out how marketing research has been helpful in resolving marketing problems or in identifying opportunities or the development of new products. 1. A pharmaceutical company3 carried out a study on the prescription behavior for a major brand on account of its declining sales. The study brought out interesting and even startling findings on a number of aspects such as the relationship between the sales and
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Role of Research in Important Areas Through research, an executive can quickly get a synopsis of the current scenario, which improves his information base for making sound decisions affecting future operations of the enterprise. The following are the major areas in which research plays a key role in making effective decisions. Marketing Marketing research is undertaken to assist the marketing function. Marketing research stimulates the flow of marketing data from the consumer and his environment to marketing information system of the enterprise. Market research involves the process of
This information goes to the executive in the form of data. On the basis of this data the executive develop plans and programmers. Advertising research, packaging research, performance evaluation research, sales analysis, distribution channel, etc., may also be considered in management research. Research tools are applied effectively for studies involving: 1. Demand forecasting 2. Consumer buying behavior 3. Measuring advertising effectiveness 4. Media selection for advertising 5. Test marketing 6. Product positioning 7. Product potential Marketing Research i. Product Research: Assessment of suitability of goods with respect to design and price. ii. Market Characteristics Research (Qualitative): Who uses the product? Relationship between buyer and user, buying motive, how a product is used, analysis of consumption rates, units in which product is purchased, customs and habits affecting the use of a product, consumer attitudes, shopping habits of consumers, brand loyalty, research of
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Materials The materials department uses research to frame suitable policies regarding:
buy? Human Resource Development You must be Aware that The Human Resource Development department uses research to study wage rates, incentive schemes, cost of living, employee turnover rates, employment trends, and performance appraisal. It also uses research effectively for its most important activity namely manpower planning. Solving Various Operational and Planning Problems of Business and Industry Various types of researches, e.g., market research, operations research and motivational research, when combined together, help in solving various complex problems of business and industry in a number of ways. These techniques help in replacing intuitive Business decisions by more logical and scientific decisions Government and Economic System Research helps a decision maker in a number of ways, e.g., it can help in examining the consequences of each alternative and help in bringing out the effect on economic
Descriptive Research Descriptive research as the name suggests is designed to describe something- for example, the characteristics of users of a given product; the degree to which product use varies with income, age, sex or other characteristics; or the number who saw a specific television commercial. To be of maximum benefit, a descriptive study must only collect data for a definite purpose. Your objective and understanding should be clear and specific. Descriptive studies vary in the degree to which a specific hypothesis is the guide. It allows both implicit and explicit hypotheses to be tested depending on the research problem. For Example: A cereal company may find its sales declining. On the basis of market feedback the company may hypothesis that teenage children do not eat its cereal for breakfast. A descriptive study can then be designed to test this hypothesis. Experimental Research Experimentation will refer to that process of research in which one or more variables are manipulated under conditions, which permit the collection of data, which show the effects. Thus, we can conclude that: involved in management decisions. Research lays the structure for decision-making.
- systematic, objective, reproducible, relevance, and control. has been briefly covered. The areas include marketing, production, banking, materials, human resource development, and government. -problem definition, research design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of results. All these steps have been explained in detail with their key elements. of research into - exploratory, and conclusive. hypotheses; they are tested for validity by the conclusive research. -descriptive, and experimental. the experimental research establishes in a more effective manner the cause and effect relationships among variables. Basic Research 1. The U.S. Bureau all of census is the worlds largest fact gathering agency. All its data are for use by others including market. 2. The research in an advertising agency studies the result of use of coupons versus rebate as demand stimulation tactics, but not in a specific instance or in relation to a specific clients purpose. 3. A study conducted by 2 professors measuring diff between high level & low performing sales representatives, relative to their job satisfaction & their job turnover. Resets were published in an article available to anyone with a problem to which findings were relevant. Applied Marketing Research 1. Hanes, Hosiery Company, found how to solve a longstanding industry problem: how to sell hosiery through super markets. Hanes conducted a series of marketing studies thank R & D with strategic insights into the required one-side product design, how to display and advertise. Result: the L Eggs brand that revolutionized marketing. 2. IBMs entry into PC. (Apple had moved into it earlier). This was IBMs biggest challenge. Q 1. Which market segment was best strategically? Q. 2. What is the ideal product? Q. 3. What is ideal dist for target market? Marketing research guided IBMs decision to these problems and they proved when the new PC captured major market share. Camp bell soup-They put their world favors red and white soup labels or cans for its whole life. They had periodic studies of consumer preferences. When the first sighs of the cans waving popularity cause in, camp bell accelerated consumer testing of its replacement. Plastic containers were perfected, which may be the way your soup is package.
Therefore, you can check the comprehensiveness of an information or descriptive report by iteratively asking: Who Does What to Whom? When, Where, How and WHY? Steps of Report Writing Preparing the Draft Preparation of reports is time consuming and expensive. Therefore, you, while writing your report should ensure that they are very sharply focused in purpose, content and readership. To control the final outcome of your product whether it is a research report, committee/consulting/administrative report or a student report I advise that you precede it with a proposal/draft and its acceptance or modification and periodic interim reports and their acceptance or modification by your sponsor. Your proposal should provide information on the following items: Descriptive title of your study Your name as the author and your background Nature of your Study Problem to be examined Need for the study Background information available Scope of study To whom will it be useful? Hypothesis, if any, to be tested Data Sources Collection procedure
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