A project report on

A study on Consumer Buying Behavior on Office automation and

administration of Schools and Colleges with reference to Digimkey system in
Mumbai

Submitted to

Savitribai Phule Pune University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

By

KEWAL MALDE

MBA

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Prashant Kalaskar

SINHGAD INSTITIUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

AND COMPUTER APPLICATION, LONAVALA

(2016-2018)
1
 DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the Project Report entitled “A study on Consumer Buying
Behavior on Office automation and administration of schools and colleges with reference to
Digimkey system in Mumbai” Written and submitted by me to the Savitribai Phule Pune
University, Pune in partial fulfillment of the requirement s for the award of degree of Masters of
Business Administration under the guidance of Dr. Prashant Kalaskar is my original work and
the conclusions drawn therein are based on the material collected by myself.

2
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project Report entitled “A study on Consumer Buying Behavior on
Office automation and administration of schools and colleges with reference to Digimkey
system in Mumbai” which is being submitted herewith for the award of the degree of Masters
of Business Administration of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune is the result of the original
research work completed by KEWAL MALDE under our supervision and guidance and to
the best of our knowledge and belief the work embodied in this Project Report has not formed
earlier the basis for the award of any degree of similar title of this or any other University or
examining body.

Dr. Prashant Kalaskar

Place: Lonavala

Date:
Research Guide

3
 INDEX

CONTENTS PAGE NO

Acknowledgement 5

List Of Tables 6

List Of Figures 6

CHAPTER I: Introduction & Objectives of the Study 7-13

CHAPTER II: Company/ Organization profile (including Organization 14-35

Chart).

CHAPTER III: Research Methodology (Statement of Problem, Hypothesis 36-44

(if any), Research Design.

CHAPTER IV: Data analysis, Data Interpretation & Hypothesis Testing &
Relevant activity charts, tables, graphs, diagrams, etc. 45-58

CHAPTER V: Suggestions & Recommendations 59-61

CHAPTER VI: Conclusions 62-63

CHAPTER VII: Questionnaire and Bibliography 64-68

4
 ACKNOWLDGEMENT

I take this opportunity and privilege to express my deep sense of gratitude to Professor
M.N.Navale, Honorable Founder President, Dr.(Mrs.) S.M.Navale, Founder Secretary, The
Sinhgad Technical Education Society, Pune and Dr. Sachin Borgave , Director SIBACA. They
have been a source of inspiration to me and I am indebted to them for initiating me in the field of
research.

I am deeply indebted to Faculty Member, SIBACA Dr. Prashant Kalaskar my research guide
at Sinhgad Institute of Business Administration & Computer Application, Lonavala with out
whose help completion of the project was highly impossible.

I take this opportunity and privilege to articulate my deep sense of gratefulness to the Managing
Director, and the staff of the DIGIMKEY of Company for their timely help and positive
encouragement.

I wish to express a special thanks to all teaching and non-teaching staff members of Sinhgad
Institute of Business Administration & Computer Application, Lonavala for their continuous
support. I would like to acknowledge all my family members, relatives and friends for their help
and encouragement.

Place: SIBACA, LONAVALA

Date: …………………………. (Kewal Dhirajlal Malde)

5
 LIST OF TABLES
Table No Title of the Table Page No
Table No 2.1 DIGIMKEY App 21
Table No 4.1 to 4.12 Detailed Analysis 47-58

The corresponding chapters to be written in the above mentioned table format

LIST OF FIGURES
Table No Title of the Table Page No
Figure No 1.1 Steps In Decision Making Process 10
Figure No 2.1 Overview of DIGIMKEY 19
Figure No 4.1 to 4.12 Detailed Analysis 47-58

6
 Chapter 1
Introduction

7
 Chapter 1
Introduction
Nowadays schools and colleges are looking forward for the software companies for processing of
their data and resources and to reduce the wastage of time, money and energy. There are many
companies in the market which provide software solutions to these schools and colleges. These
companies cater the need of solutions of schools and colleges to carry and help them to process
their work easily. Usually institutions are mostly stuck with the software problems may be it is
based on ERP or server. Problem like loading of data takes time, crashing of memory or server
getting down etc are usual problem institutes are dealing with. With the change in technology
every day, the companies are coming up with innovative solutions for the institutions too like
digital attendance, MIS reports, etc.

Recent trends in education management system is Cloud based system which enables a user to
store a data on cloud. The biggest advantage of the cloud system is that user can login from any
computer from any corner of the world. The only requirement is the Internet.

This study focusses on the working of the educational institutions and study the loopholes in their
existing software and providing them the ease of use system for their day to day working. The
study has been conducted in the target market of Mumbai. This study mentions the benefits offered
by the digimkey with its diversified modules at a reasonable package.

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 Consumer buying behavior
An overview

Consumer behavior is comparatively a new field of study which evolved just after the Second
World War. The sellers’ market has disappeared and buyers market has come up. This led to
paradigm shift of the manufacturer‘s attention from product to consumer and specially focused on
the consumer behavior.

The evaluation of marketing concept from mere selling concept to consumer oriented marketing
has resulted in buyer behavior becoming an independent discipline. The growth of consumerism
and consumer legislation emphasizes the importance that is given to the consumer. Consumer
behavior is a study of how individuals make decision to spend their available resources (time,
money and effort) or consumption related aspects (What they buy? When they buy?, How they
buy? etc.).

The heterogeneity among people makes understanding consumer behavior a challenging task to
marketers. Hence marketers felt the need to obtain an in depth knowledge of consumers buying
behavior. Finally this knowledge acted as an imperative tool in the hands of marketers to forecast
the future buying behavior of customers and devise four marketing strategies in order to create
long term customer relationship.

Consumer Behavior

It is broadly the study of individuals, or organizations and the processes consumers use to search,
select, use and dispose of products, services, experience, or ideas to satisfy needs and its impact
on the consumer and society

Consumer decision making process

The most important environment in which firms operate is their customer environment because
the basic belief of marketing oriented company – that the customer is the centre around which the
business revolves. Therefore, marketing people need to understand the processes that their
customers go through when making decision.

9
The consumer decision making process involves series of related and sequential stages of
activities. The process begins with the discovery and recognition of an unsatisfied need or want. It
becomes a drive. Consumer begins search for information. This search gives rise to various
alternatives and finally the purchase decision is made. Then buyer evaluates the post purchase
behaviour to know the level of satisfaction. The process is explained below with the help of
diagram.

Figure No 1.1
1. Need Recognition

When a person has an unsatisfied need, the buying process begins to satisfy the needs. The need
may be activated by internal or external factors. The intensity of the want will indicate the speed
with which a person will move to fulfill the want. On the basis of need and its urgency, forms the
order of priority. Marketers should provide required information of selling points.

2. Information Search

Identified needs can be satisfied only when desired product is known and also easily available.
Different products are available in the market, but consumer must know which product or brand
gives him maximum satisfaction. And the person has to search out for relevant information of the

10
product, brand or location. Consumers can use many sources e.g., neighbors, friends and family.
Marketers also provide relevant information through advertisements, retailers, dealers, packaging
and sales promotion, and window displaying. Mass media like newspapers, radio, and television
provide information. Now a days internet has become an important and reliable source of
information. Marketers are expected to provide latest, reliable and adequate information.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives

This is a critical stage in the process of buying. Following are important elements in the process
of alternatives evaluation

a) A product is viewed as a bundle of attributes. These attributes or features are used for evaluating
products or brands. For example, in washing machine consumer considers price, capacity,
technology, quality, model and size.

b) Factors like company, brand image, country, distribution network and aftersales service also
become critical in evaluation.

c) Marketers should understand the importance of these factors to consumers of these factor to
consumers while manufacturing and marketing their products.

4. Purchase Decision

Outcome of the evaluation develops likes and dislikes about alternative products or brands in
consumers. This attitude towards the brand influences a decision as to buy or not to buy. Thus the
prospective buyer heads towards final selection. In addition to all the above factors, situational
factors like finance options, dealer terms, falling prices etc., are also considered.

5. Post- Purchase Behavior

This behavior of consumer is more important as for as marketer is concerned. Consumer gets brand
preference only when that brand lives up to his expectation. This brand preference naturally repeats
sales of marketer. A satisfied buyer is a silent advertisement. But, if the used brand does not yield
desired satisfaction, negative feeling will occur and that will lead to the formation of negative
attitude towards brand. This phenomenon is called cognitive dissonance. Marketers try to use this
phenomenon to attract user of other brands to their brands. Different promotional-mix elements
can help marketers to retain his customers as well as to attract new customers.

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Models of Consumer Buying Behavior

Howard-Sheth model (1969)

It is one of the most comprehensive models of consumer buying behavior and it uses the concept
of stimulus-response in order to explain buyer’s brand choice behavior over a period of time.

The four major components of the model are

-Perceptual constructs and Learning constructs.

Input variables: The input variables are the stimuli come from the environment. The input variables
consist of informational cues about the attributes of a product or brand (i.e. quality, price,
distinctiveness, service and availability).Significant Stimulies are the actual elements constituting
a brand that the buyer onfronts.EG.price, quality, service, availability. They influence the
consumer directly through the brand's attributes. Symbolic Stimulies are created by manufacturer
representation of their products in symbolic form. advertisement, publicity. They derive from the
same factors as they are portrayed in the mass media and by salespeople, influencing the consumer
in an indirect way. Social stimuli’s are created by the social environment. eg. reference group,
social classes. These are influences that are internalized by the consumer before they can affect
the decision process.

Output variables: The five output variables in the right hand portion of the model are buyer's
observable responses to stimulus inputs. They are arranged in order from Attention to Actual
Purchase. The purchase is the actual, overt act of buying and is the sequential result of the attention
(buyers total response to information intake), the brand comprehension, brand attitude (referring
to the evaluation of satisfying potential of the brand) and the buyer intention (a verbal statement
made in the light of the above externalizing factors that the preferred brand will be bought the next
time the buying is necessitated.

Hypothetical constructs: Hypothetical constructs have been classified in two groups – perceptual
constructs and learning constructs. The first deals with the way the individual perceives and

12
responds to the information from the input variables, accounting for stimulus ambiguity and
perceptual bias. The second deals with the stages from the buyer motives to his satisfaction in a
buying situation. The purchase intention is an outcome of the interplay of buyer motives, choice
criteria, brand comprehension, resultant brand attitude and the confidence associated with the
purchase decision. The motives are general or specific goals impelling to action, impinging upon
the buyer intention are also the attitudes about the existing brand alternatives in the buyer's evoked
set, which result in an arrangement of an order of preference regarding brands. Brand
comprehension and the degree of confidence that the buyer has about it, choice criteria and buying
intentions, converge upon the intention to buy

Exogenous variables: The model also includes some exogenous variables which are not defined
but are taken as constant. They can significantly affect buyer decisions. Some major exogenous
variables included in the model are importance of purchase, personalty variables, culture, social
class, financial status.

Nicosia model

This model was developed in 1966, by Francesco Nicosia, an expert in consumer motivation and
behavior. The Nicosia model tries to explain buyer behavior by establishing a link between the
organization and its (prospective) consumer. The model suggests that messages from the firm first
influences the predisposition of the consumer towards the product or service. Based on the
situation, the consumer will have a certain attitude towards the product. If the above step satisfies
the consumer, it may result in a positive response, with a decision to buy the product otherwise the
reverse may occur.The Nicosia model groups the above activity explanation into four basic areas-
fields one has two sub areas–the consumers attribute and firms attributes. Depending on the way,
the message is received by the consumer, a certain attribute may develop. This newly developed
attribute becomes the input for area two. The second area or area two is related to the search and
evaluation, undertaken by the consumer, of the advertised product and also to verify if other
alternatives are available. In case the above step results in a motivation to buy the product /service,
it becomes the input for third area. The third area explains how the consumer actually buys the
product. And area four is related to the uses of the purchased items. This fourth area can also be
used as an output to receive feedback on sales results to the firm.

13
 Chapter 2

Company profile

14
 Chapter 2
Company profile
School/College Management System

Education is a backbone of the human society. So, it is important to provide the elegant, strong
and quality education to every youth of the generation to make sure that their personality is
developed in a better way.

These young fellows are the future of their nations. This technological era can play a crucial role
by giving the students, teachers, and parents a single but scalable and efficient platform.

It consists of the modules such as registration of students, keeping the academic records,
generating timetables, generating report card of the students etc.

Why do we need it?

In the offline system, it is an overhead to keep the records related to faculty, student, parents and
other school staffs on the papers.

Everything related to their progress in the system is marked manually. E.g. A report of a
student’s attendance is generated monthly is shown to his / her parents.

Now, a regular student, going to the school every day, is marked absent for a day by mistake. It
is a burden to take out the register and view the records.

As you can see, it is a very time-consuming process and it costs much.

School Management System Objective

Computerization - All the details regarding school, whether it is small or big, will be
computerized.

15
No Redundant Data – As this management system will be centralized, the chances of the
duplicate data in the system are close to nil.

Automation – The automation feature of this management system will mitigate the task of
writing the papers. E.g. there is no need to write the Bonafide of the students on the paper by the
pen.

It is simply can be done online on the system, and can be forwarded to the students and their
parents.

Easy Interaction – In today’s rush hour of the life, it is difficult for a parent to go to the school
of his / her child every time a teacher calls.

By this management system, it will easier for a parent and a teacher to be in touch every day. As
a matter of fact, it will be easier for each individual person who is associated with the system to
be in touch as per needed.

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DIGIMKEY- DIGITAL TECHNOSYS PVT LTD.

DIGIMKEY, a product of Digital Technosys Pvt Ltd, is an IIT Bombay Initiative which focusses
on complete management of administrative activities of an schools and colleges. A start up
founded by 4 founders viz. Kunwar Javed, Kunwar Rizwan, Venkat Anumollu and Nazeeb
Ahmed. Established in the year 2016, this start up is based in Andheri, Mumbai as well as in Lajpat
Nagar, Delhi.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

CA KUNWAR RIZWAN, DIRECTOR (Co-Founder)

Qualifications: Chartered Accountant

A Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India having a professional

experience of over 10 years. A Tech-savvy Chartered Accountant with a diverse background with
exposure to Finance, Fund Raising, Budgeting, MIS, Secretarial work, RBI, Taxation, T.D.S.,
Payroll and Customs. KR with his global exposure in education management has been the
visionary on whose ideology the organization treads along today; ready to step into the new era of
rendering professional services of the highest standards globally. He has lead from the front,
playing a key role in the strategic growth of the organization. As well as his management
responsibilities, he continues to take personal responsibility for a number of the organisation's
long-standing clients.

17
NAZEEB AHMAD,DIRECTOR (Co-founder)

Qualifications: B.Tech - IIT BOMBAY

Experience: Entrepreneur by heart, writer by passion having experience of around 2 years, worked
at ziffi.com and billdesk, technical as well as business consultant for many startups. Expert in
payment gateways and virtual wallet systems. Have done various projects on Artificial Intelligence
of global standards under assistance of Google. NA with his steady personality serves as the center
pole, leads-from-front all activities at DigiMkey.His basic belief of 'creating win-win situation for
all' is the ideology of all 'work-flows at DigiMkey' and 'its products'.

VENKATSAI ANUMOLU,DIRECTOR (Co-Founder)

Qualification: B.Tech - NIT WARANGAL

Experience: Creative mind, software development experience of around 3 years as

consultant,freelancing and full time. Worked at ziffi.com, currently helping around 3 company's
technical and product part where one is in USA. Worked with vast range of technologies. Sound
knowledge of machine learning with many USA projects.VS technology evangelist in true sense,
brings in his all-round expertise with software systems. It is with his stronghold that DigiMkey has
incorporated all latest internet & mobile technologies for achieving the tag of 'complete Institute
management solution'.

KUNWAR JAVED, DIRECTOR ( Co- Founder)

Qualification: MBA – Delhi

KJ with experience of 3 years in the education sector and with the help of intense and diverse
research of software as service required by the schools and colleges, founded the idea of Cashless
campus and automation of educational institues. He is the masterind behind the idea of the
DIGIMKEY System.

18
Overview of Digimkey

DIGIMKEY is a paperless Education Management automation solution for 21st Century schools
and colleges. DIGIMKEY provides facility to carry out all day to day activities of the schools and
colleges, making them fast, easy, efficient and accurate.

DIGIMKEY is a cloud-based Communication & Transaction Platform for Institutions. The

DIGIMKEY platform provides a secure online environment for managing institution data along
with a comprehensive analytics dashboard.

Why Digimkey?

DIGIMKEY is a well-designed intuitive and user

friendly GUI interface for Web and Mobile App. It
is an effortless ready to use solution with no
installation.

It is a modern proficient, competent and economical

well organised solution to make Institute staff and
parents more productive and effective, by saving
their time from non valuable activities.

Figure No 2.1

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 Vision

To Provide accurate analysis about the child to their parents on mental, academic and creative
growth through data. Also to help parents decide their child’s career through curated learning
process and statistics provided.

Mission

To on board as many students as we can by using our SAAS and retail model to collect useful
data. And use machine learning to make personalized learning process to predict the child
interests and career. Child safety is also our concern in the process.

20
DIGIMKEY APPS
We would like to introduce most advanced and robust App DIGIMKEY for Parents and Teachers
of your institution for a better communication along with Complete Campus Management
Software to cater all aspects of campus administration.

Information which an institute wants to communicate with stake holder parents can be done
effectively using our App, interestingly in OFFLINE mode where data can be stored, creating real
value for the parents and helps in Institutes Brand Building, all admin activities can be processed
using our smart integrated management software making institution paperless.

PARENTS APP TEACHERS APP SCHOOL ERP

1. Child’s Attendance 1. Attendance

1. Mark Attendance
2. Fee Details 2. Exams Module
2. Home Work
3. Academic Performance 3. Fee Management
3. Leave Applications
4. Assignments 4. Payroll Management
4. Manage Syllabus
5. Notices 5. Student & Staff
5. Send Notices Information
6. Messages
6. Assignments 6. Admission Register
7. Real Time Child Tracking
7. Own Attendance 7. Certificate & ID Card
8. Online Fee Payments Print

8. Syllabus Planning

9. Report Generation

Table No 2.1

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DIGIMKEY-PARENT:
DIGIMKEY-Parent is Parent Mobile app for effective
communication with the institution. Parent can view their child
attendance records, assignment / homework, important messages Key Features:
and notifications from the institution. Parent can also apply for a User-Friendly
leave that is sent directly to the faculty with reason, time span and
Platform Independent
attachments.
Easy access
In mere future Parent will be able to track their child in the bus. Real-time information
Parent will also be able to pay fees online, securely.
Secure Transactions
Web and Mobile based
Affordable Pricing

22
 Parent Interface

 Get notified on real-time basis

 Check home-work/assignments via mobile
 Track your child anytime, anywhere
 Pay fees online
 Receive Online Mark sheet
 Send Leave Application

23
DIGIMKEY-TEACHER:

DIGIMKEY-Teacher is a Teacher Mobile app for effective

management of the institution. Teacher can manage different
classes and mark attendance in a few clicks. Teacher can send Key Features:
assignment / homework to students and parents. Teacher can send User-Friendly
important messages and notifications to students and parents.
Platform Independent
Teacher can view leave applications for students sent directly by
Easy access
the parents.
Real-time information
Secure Transactions
Web and Mobile based
Affordable Pricing

24
 Teacher Interface

 Attendance
Key Features:
 Send Assignments
User-Friendly
 Leave Applications
Platform Independent
 Manage Exams Easy access
 Send Notification Real-time information

 Syllabus tracking Secure Transactions

Web and Mobile based
Affordable Pricing

25
DIGIMKEY-TRANSPORT:

DIGIMKEY- Transport is Mobile app for transport facility for schools, enhancing safety and
security of students. Parents can track their child/children as to when and where did the child board
the bus and alight the bus, on a real time bases through GPS. Parents can also pay the fees online.
Simultaneously, institute can keep a track of daily bus activities and fees.

26
 Transport Interface

 Real-time Bus tracking system for students

 Automated attendance of students via IOT
 Transport module also keeps a track of all routes

27
DIGIMKEY-STUDENT:

DIGIMKEY-Student is Mobile app for students and their

effective communication with the institution. Students can view
Key Features:
their attendance records, assignment / homework, important
User-Friendly
messages and notifications from the institution along with
Platform Independent
attachments. Students can also pay their fees online.
Easy access
Real-time information
Secure Transactions
Web and Mobile based
Affordable Pricing

28
 Student Interface

 Track Attendance
 Send Leave Applications
 Track Progress
 Exam Reports
 Receive Assignments
 Get Notified

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MODULES

1. Admission Module:
Gone are the days where admission management was the most
tedious job in schools/colleges. Our admission module can reduce
clerical & repetitive work, wherein students can fill admission form
online. No more waiting in queue for fees payment while taking
admission, parents can pay fees online via their mobile phone,
desktop or laptop. Administrator can get a gist of admission process
with just a click. Admission process goes on for a long period of time
due to the manual work. But with DIGIMKEY one can save the
process time up to a greater extent.

2. Automated Attendance Tracker:

Monotonous task of taking attendance at school can
be performed easily with the help of DIGIMKEY-
TEACHER APP. Attendance reports can be
generated with just a few clicks.
Administrator/principal can track everyone's
attendance on daily/weekly/monthly basis.

30
3. Online Fees Payment
Helps office staff in managing students fees, also helps in keeping
track of accounts in just one glance. Parents can pay fees online via
their mobile phone, desktop or laptop. Fee reports of your institute
can be generated according to your own criteria’s.

4. Online Assignments:
Teachers can notify parents regarding
assignments/homework, which in turn help them track
their child's performance at school. Students can also
receive the notification regarding their own assignments
with a certain dead line set by the teacher.

5. Transport module:

Real-time bus tracking system, with an Add-on feature of child

tracking for their safety and security. Parents can check whether the
child is inside the bus or not. Students' boarding and alighting time is
also marked with the help of our IOT device.

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 6. Syllabus tracking:

Syllabus tracker is a tool which can used to track which topics

are already covered in a particular subject in a class. Also it helps
students to keep a track of which topics they have.

7. Online Leave Application:

Parents can send leave application via mobile app to the respective
teacher seeking permission for their child. Missed at school/college.

8. HR Management:
Staff management expertise can lead to a sustainable results in
performance. HR management is the source to manage your
staff effectively and efficiently without any major efforts.
Administrator can pay salaries online, track staff's attendance,
also can analyze their performance. This system not only helps
in managing staff, will also help you take administrative
decisions more quickly and effectively.

32
9. Automated Time-Table:
Generate time-table for entire school/college without any
brainstorming. System will generate all the lectures according to
conditions given by user.

10. Exam Management:

The most complex part which is rather very difficult to maintain
and record are exams. Our system helps you create, manage and
update exam reports with ease.

11. Library Management:

Library management is a sub-discipline of institutional
management that focuses on specific issues faced by libraries
and library management professionals. Library management
encompasses normal managerial tasks, as well as intellectual
freedom and fundraising responsibilities.

33
12. Event Management:
Add, delete, update and manage all your events with event
manager module. Get notifications about the upcoming
events and send notifications to others.

34
Competitors:
DIGIMKEY is a start up by the alumni of IIT Bombay and NIT Warangal, is having tough
competition in the education market. Though there are many other companies globally, DigiMkey
strives to strike a chord with its distinctive features and competitive edge.

35
 Chapter 3

Research Methodology

36
 Chapter 3
Research methodology
3.1 Meaning of research

Research refers to a search for knowledge. Research is an art of scientific investigation. The
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research As, “a
careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge”.

3.2 Objectives of research

1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it. (exploratory or
formulative research studies).

2. To describe accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group.

(Descriptive research).

3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with
something else. (Studies with this object known as diagnostic research).

4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables. (such studies are known as
hypothesis testing research).

3.3 Types of research

It is imperative that a marketer has to have a broad understanding of the various types of research,
in general. There are eleven types of research depending on whether it is primarily “fundamental”
or “applied” in nature. They are as follows:

1. Applied research, also known as decisional research, use existing knowledge as an aid to the
solution of some given problem or set of problems.

2. Fundamental research, frequently called basic or pure research, seeks to extend the boundaries
of knowledge in a given area with no necessary immediate application to existing problems.

37
3. Futuristic research: Futures research is the systematic study of possible future conditions. It
includes analysis of how those conditions might change as a result of the implementation of
policies and actions, and the consequences of these policies and actions.

4. Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. It tries to
discover answers to the questions who, what, when and sometimes how. Here the researcher
attempts to describe or define a subject, often by creating a profile of a group of problems, people,
or events. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists
at present

5. Explanatory research: Explanatory research goes beyond description and attempts to explain
the reasons for the phenomenon that the descriptive research only observed. The research would
use theories or at least hypothesis to account for the forces that caused a certain phenomenon to
occur.

6. Predictive research: If we can provide a plausible explanation for an event after it has occurred,
it is desirable to be able to predict when and in what situations the event will occur. This research
is just as rooted in theory as explanation. This research calls for a high order of inference making.
In business research, prediction is found in studies conducted to evaluate specific courses of action
or to forecast current and future values.

7. Analytical research: The researcher has to use facts or information already available, and
analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

8. Quantitative research: Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount.

It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.

9. Qualitative research: It is concerned with qualitative phenomenon (i.e.) phenomena relating to

or involving quality or kind. This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and
desires, using in depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of such research are word
association test, sentence completion test, story completion tests and similar other projective
techniques. Attitude or opinion research i.e., research designed to find out how people feel or what
the think about a particular subject or institution is also qualitative research.

38
10. Conceptual research: Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It
is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing
ones.

11. Empirical research: It is appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect other
variables in some way. Evidence gathered through experiments or empirical studies is today
considered to be the most powerful support possible for a give hypothesis.

3.4 The research process

Several authors have attempted to enumerate the steps involved in the research process, however,
In conclusive. Nevertheless, the research process broadly consists of the following steps and
predominantly follows a sequential order as depicted in figure 1.1.

1. Problem formulation

2. Development of an approach to the problem

3. Research Design

4. Selection of Data collection techniques

5. Sampling techniques

6. Fieldwork or Data Collection

7. Analysis and interpretation

8. Report preparation and presentation

3.5 Sampling design

A Sample Design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given population. It refers to the
technique to the procedure adopted in selecting items for the sampling designs are as below:

3.1.1 SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size has been 50 Educational Institutions (based on leads received). Conclusions
had been arrived at using the response of the questionnaire.

39
3.1.2 SAMPLING METHOD

In this marketing research project, I am using Purposive Sampling Method.

3.1.3 SAMPLE TYPE

Area Sampling, and the area of sampling is Mumbai ( Including Thane, Kalyan and Dombivli).

3.1.4 POPULATION

The target is meeting the Decision Making Authority of the schools and colleges in Mumbai.

3.6 Sources of data collection

3.2.1 Data Collection Method

- Primary data means data that are collected by different techniques like
questionnaire, Depth interview, Survey, Schedules etc.

In this project, primary data has been collected by the means of Questionnaire.

- Secondary data means data that are already available i.e.: they refer to the
data which have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. Usually published data are
available in: Various publications of the central, state/local governments or foreign governments,
technical and trade journals etc.

The secondary data involved in this project has been gathered from the educational journals,
literatures and internet.

3.7 Methods of data analysis and statistical techniques

Data Analysis Concept

Data analysis is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful information
can be extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is key to understanding
what the data does and does not contain. There are a variety of ways in which people can approach

40
data analysis, and it is notoriously easy to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain
conclusions or agendas. For this reason, it is important to pay attention when data analysis is
presented, and to think critically about the data and the conclusions which were drawn.

Raw data can take a variety of forms, including measurements, survey responses, and observations.
In its raw form, this information can be incredibly useful, but also overwhelming. Over the course
of the data analysis process, the raw data is ordered in a way which will be useful. For example,
survey results may be tallied, so that people can see at a glance how many people answered the
survey, and how people responded to specific questions.

In the course of organizing the data, trends often emerge; modeling the data with the use of
mathematics and other tools can sometimes exaggerate such points of interest in the data, making
them easier for the researcher to see. Charts, graphs, and textual writeups of data are all forms of
data analysis. These methods are designed to refine and distill the data so that readers can glean
interesting information without needing to sort through all of the data on their own.

Data Analysis process

Once the necessary data collected, the next task is to aggregate the data in a meaningful manner.
A number of tables are prepared to bring out the main characteristics of the data. The researcher
should have a well thought out framework for processing and analyzing data, and this should be
done prior to the collection.

It includes the following activities:

I. Editing

The first task in data processing is the editing. Editing is the process of examining errors and
omissions in the collected data and making necessary corrections in the same.

II. Coding

Coding is necessary to carry out the subsequent operations of tabulating and analyzing data. If
coding is not done, it will not be possible to reduce a large number of heterogeneous data into
meaningful categories with the result that the analysis of data would be weak and ineffective, and
without proper focus.

41
III. Tabulation

Tabulation comprises sorting of the data into different categories and counting the number of cases
that belong to each category. This is also called universal tabulation. The analysis based on just
one variable is obviously meager. Where two or more variables are involved in tabulation, it is
called vicariate or multivariate tabulation.

IV. Analysis

After the all three above steps, the most important step is analysis of the data.

Research Design for study:

A study on Consumer Buying Behavior on Office automation
Title: and administration of Schools and Colleges with reference to
Digimkey system in Mumbai

Type of Study: Descriptive Research

Primary Data: Structured Questionnaire

Type of Data: Secondary Data: Company Website and catalogue, Articles and
Books

Sample Size: 50

Sampling Technique: Purposive Random Sampling method

Data Analysis: Graphical and Tabulation Method

42
3.8 Title, Objectives, Scope and Limitations of the study

Title

A study on Consumer Buying Behavior on Office automation and administration of schools and
colleges with reference to Digimkey system in Mumbai

Objective of the study:

1. To study the administrative environment of schools and colleges

2. To study the market potential of administrative software in educational institute.

3. To study about the current administrative management in schools and colleges and problems
faced by them.

4. To understand the factors considered related to administrative software by educational institute

before selection.

Scope of the study

The scope of the study involves administrative environment of the schools and colleges, nature of
work, and culture of schools and colleges. The study is conducted in Mumbai regions schools and
colleges. The scope will help out to perform smoothly all the hurdles that come in schools and
colleges. This also involves removal of most of the paper work in the schools and colleges and
bringing transparency in the working of the institutes.

Limitation of the Study

authenticity of their statements can’t be verified too.

43
Chapter Scheme:

Chapter 1: Introduction:

The chapter elaborates about the concept of consumer buying behavior. What are the main factors
that are considered by the consumer while making a purchase of any product/service, their usage
and the purpose is explained. This explains the various stages an consumer goes through while
purchasing a product.

Chapter 2: Profile of the company:

Digimkey is a start-up based in Andheri ( Mumbai ) dealing in SAAS product ( Software as a

Service ). The company is dealing with cloud based system of administration of schools and
colleges providing a platform to reduce the workload as well as improving teacher-parent
communication.

Chapter 3: Research methodology:

This chapter describes the method of conducting research, research design, tools and techniques
used to collect data and data interpretation. The research type is descriptive research and data is
collected primarily with help of structured questionnaire

Chapter 4:

All the data collected through questionnaire, are analyzed and interpreted and presented in the
graphs and pie charts. The data is presented in a tabular format and present in the form of graphs.

Chapter 5: Suggestions and Recommendations

After analyzing the data, the findings are linked with objectives so as to arrive at proper conclusion.
There are some suggestions for the company to improve more on product side and gain more
market share.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

The finding has led to final conclusion of the project making understand the complete scenario of
school/college management system and the perspective of the decision making authority.

44
 Chapter 4

Data Analysis And Data Interpretation

45
 Chapter 4
Data Analysis And Data Interpretation
Data Analysis Concept

Data analysis is a practice in which raw data is ordered and organized so that useful information
can be extracted from it. The process of organizing and thinking about data is key to understanding
what the data does and does not contain. There are a variety of ways in which people can approach
data analysis, and it is notoriously easy to manipulate data during the analysis phase to push certain
conclusions or agendas. For this reason, it is important to pay attention when data analysis is
presented, and to think critically about the data and the conclusions which were drawn.

Raw data can take a variety of forms, including measurements, survey responses, and observations.
In its raw form, this information can be incredibly useful, but also overwhelming. Over the course
of the data analysis process, the raw data is ordered in a way which will be useful. For example,
survey results may be tallied, so that people can see at a glance how many people answered the
survey, and how people responded to specific questions.

In the course of organizing the data, trends often emerge; modeling the data with the use of
mathematics and other tools can sometimes exaggerate such points of interest in the data, making
them easier for the researcher to see. Charts, graphs, and textual write-ups of data are all forms of
data analysis. These methods are designed to refine and distill the data so that readers can glean
interesting information without needing to sort through all of the data on their own.

46
Detailed analysis
1. Table showing software system in the organization

Are you aware about the office administration software used for
automation and efficient work in office?
Options Responses Percentage
Yes 33 66%
No 17 34%
Total 50 100%

Table No 4.1

34%

66%

Yes No

Figure No 4.1

Interpretation:

The schools and colleges are mostly using the software system for their administrative activities.
66% of the respondents are mostly aware of the softwares or the system whereas 34% are unaware
about any system/software. Regardless, some of schools/colleges don’t even know are they using
any system or not.

47
 2. Table showing importance of generating reports.
How will you rate on importance of automatic generation of
required reports?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Important 13 26%
Important 21 42%
Average 11 22%
Less Important 5 10%
Not at all important 1 2%
Total 50 100

Table No 4.2

Figure No 4.2

Interpretation:

Reports are most important documents required in the institutes for better analysis.
Therefore, its importance is also the topmost priority for them. 42% of the sample feel
important for generating reports automatically as it saves time and energy. Where there are
some institutes which give very less or no importance for the reports viz. 10% and 2%.

48
 3. Table showing problems faced by existing systems to generate reports.

How often you get stuck with your Existing system in generation
of reports?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Often 22 44%
Often 17 34%
Sometimes 10 20%
Rarely 01 2%
Never 00 NIL
Total 50 100

Table No 4.3

Figure No 4.3

Interpretation:

The above pie diagram represents the data analysis of the respondents who gets stuck while
generating reports through their existing system. 44% of the most of the respondents often get
stuck while hardly 2% of the respondents rarely find any problem. This is because of using of
latest techniques and tools for generating reports.

49
 4. Table showing Service provided by existing software provider.
How will you rate the system support service for your existing
software?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Good 12 24.5%
Good 15 30.6%
Average 15 30.6%
Poor 6 12.2%
Very Poor 1 2%
Total 50 100

Table No 4.4

Figure No 4.4

Interpretation:

The system service defines the service maintenance and updating of software by the system
administrator or provider. 30.6% of the audiences are finding good as well as average
service from its provider while 24.5% respondents are happy with its existing software
service provider. Only one respondent is finding it very poor at the service level.

50
 5. Table showing the different function to add on existing system.
Which are the different functions you look your existing system to work on?

Options Responses
Digital Attendance 48
Exam Management 37
Forms and Slip Management 45
Report Generation 27
Others 10

Table No 4.5

Digital Attendance

20%
Exam Management
54% 96%

Forms and Slip

Management

90% Report Generation

74%

Others

Figure No 4.5

Interpretation:

There are still many functions which respondents would like to add in their existing system.
From the analysis and interpreting the data, we came to know that schools using softwares
are lacking some features or they want some extra features to be added further. 96% of the
respondants need digital attendance to curb out the proxy in the institutions. Whereas
admin departments asked for forms and slip such as automatic generations of id cards,
bonafide etc. 74% of the respondents comprised who are looking for exam management
start with exam schedule to exam report.

51
 6. Table showing cost of existing system.

How will you rate the cost of your existing system?

Options Responses Percentage
Very costly 3 6%
Costly 19 38%
At Par 14 28%
Less Costly 10 20%
Not at all costly 4 8%
Total 50 100

Table No 4.6

Figure No 4.6

Interpretation:

Cost is an important factor when it comes into consideration for buying any new
product/service. From the above pie chart, 38% of the respondents find their existing
system costly due to its high annual maintenance charges. 28% of the respondents find the
cost of the system at par and reasonable. 8% and 6% of the respondents are just finding it
less costly or not at all costly due to their self-development of the system.

52
 7. Table showing the type of system used for managerial work
Which type of system do you use for managerial works?
Options Responses Percentage
ERP Based 18 36%
Server Based 19 38%
Cloud Based 07 14%
None of the above 06 12%
Total 50 100%

Table No 4.7

Figure No 4.7

Interpretation:

Among all the respondents, 38% are based on server based software while 36% are
dependent on ERP which is basically traditional. 14% are into cloud based system and rest
12% do not use any computerized system for its administrative work.

53
 8. Table showing recording of attendance
How is the system to record the attendance of students?
Options Responses Percentage
Manual 27 54%
Electronic/automatic 20 40%
Both 03 06%
Total 50 100%

Table No 4.8

Figure No 4.8

Interpretation:

40% of the schools and colleges are preferring automatic attendance with the help of ID
scan or RFID cards or attendance through apps. 54% of the respondents prefer manually
taking attendance on registers or passing the attendance sheet. Remaining 6% of the
respondents are using both systems to record the attendance.

54
 9. Table showing management of fees and its communication to parents.
Does your system allows you to manage the fees & communicates the
same to their parents?
Options Responses Percentage
Yes 25 50%
No 22 43.8%
May Be 3 6.3%
Total 50 100%

Table No 4.9

Figure No 4.9

Interpretation:

From the above pie chart, 50% of the respondents are finding it easy to manage its fees and
its communication with its parents whereas 43.8% are not able to manage its fees and
accounts of its educational institutions whereas the 6.3% of the respondents are unsure
about the fees management and communication.

55
 10.Table showing the importance of system integration and website.
How much important do you think the system integration & the
institute website is?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Important 11 22%
Important 25 50%
Average 8 16%
Less Important 6 12%
Not at all important 00 Nil
Total 50 100

Table No 4.10

Figure No 4.10

Interpretation:

Integration of Institute website and System is one of the important thing that an
school/college should take care of. In this survey, 50% of the respondents finds it important
and 22% finds it very important to integrate. The integration will help the users to fetch the
data easily and update anything in no time. For example, integrating the admission module
through system to website, whenever student fill up the online form, the data will directly
get feed into system. 12% are those who find it less important as they are not aware much
about technology.

56
 11. Table showing the functioning of Exam Management.
How is your system working well with Exam Management?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Good 10 20.4%
Good 23 46.9%
Average 11 22.4%
Poor 4 8.2%
Very Poor 1 2%
Total 50 100

Table No 4.11

Figure No 4.11

Interpretation:

Exams are one of the important function that a system should have. Generating results,
promoting students, etc. should be designed in such a way to make user to use in a easy
way. From the pie chart, we come know to that 46.9% of respondents have good system
that works well with exam management whereas 22.4% are finding their system as average
and 8.2% are finding it poor to manage. 20.4% are the respondents who are happy with its
current system of managing exam.

57
 12. Table showing the management of staff.
How well your system provides ability to manage staff in your
system ( their profile, their salary, their employment policy etc)?
Options Responses Percentage
Very Good 9 18.8%
Good 20 41.7%
Average 14 29.2%
Poor 4 8.3%
Very Poor 1 2.1%
Total 50 100

Table No 4.12

Figure No 4.12

Interpretation:

Human Resource is one of the important asset in the organization. Therefore, to manage its
database and its salary structure, HR policies, etc should be defined well in the system. There are
many softwares which provide excellent HR management software to handle all the HR activities.
From the above pie, 41.7% have the system of HR which they find it good. 18.8% of the
respondents are very happy with its HR management module and they are not expecting any
change in it. 8.3% of the respondents are finding it poor to handle its HR system.

58
 Chapter 5

Suggestions And Recommendations

59
 Chapter 5

Suggestions And Recommendations

Findings:

School management system is one of the important system that every school or college needs. A
diversified and extensive research has to be conducted for purchasing the school management
system as it’s a huge investment and all the confidential data is feed in the system. Also a great
care and referring to proper reviews from the users should be taken into consideration.

The survey was conducted in the form of interview and there were many questions asked and many
things came forward in the form of knowledge and improvement. Following are the findings from
the above study relating to objectives:

Objective 1. To study the administrative environment of schools and colleges.

From the Question no. 1,3, & 7 in the Questionnaire, it has been found out that there are nearly
52% of the institutes are using software in order to carry out administration in the premises or
campus. There are still many people who have no clue about software due to lack of knowledge,
improper training, illiteracy etc. That counts arounds 32% and remaining are confused whether
they are using any software or system. This includes who are trustees and Management which are
least concerned about the working.

Objective 2. To study the market potential of administrative software in educational

institute.

From the Question no. 2,5, 7, 8, 10, 11, & 12 in the Questionnaire it has been found out that many
institutes are looking for the technological development in their organization and smooth of
communication and reducing the workload on the staff. Therefore, for the software services,
potential in the market is reasonably good.

Objective 3. To study about the current administrative management in schools and colleges
and problems faced by them.

60
From the Question no. 3, 4, 5, & 6 in the Questionnaire it has been found that many problems like
crashing of the system, no technical support, lack of computer knowledge, fees management, exam
management, etc. are faced by the institutes. To overcome the problem, they are looking for the
software services which can cater their needs.

Objective 4. To understand the factors considered related to administrative software by

educational institute before selection.

From the Question no. 4, 6, in the Questionnaire, Various important factors like Cost, the most
important one, is looked into consideration to purchase the software. Technically, the cost is
quite high and it requires checking out the various features or analyzing the modules carefully
before selection. Therefore, institutes opt for free trials so as get satisfied.

Suggestions

 It is suggested for the company to continually improvise and update the mobile applications.
 The company should constantly look out for the other innovative modules which can add
advantage in its system.
 The company should provide better services (after sales service) so the client do not opt for
competitors.
 The company is having less number of executives in sales, they should increase the number of
sales executives to cater the area in short span of time.
 It is suggested that focus more on digital marketing for global reach to mass audiences.

61
 Chapter 6

Conclusion

62
 Chapter 6
Conclusion

The study was conducted at the Schools and Colleges in Mumbai, India and there are many things
that came into light like mismanagement, no communication and no website or no records. People
are slowing realizing the value of automation and digital India Concept preached by the
Government. As the demand for digital management increases, many companies and start ups are
coming forward with innovative solutions to provide excellent services to educational institutions.
Schools and colleges are understanding the importance of MIS reports for analysis and deriving
at Optimum solution.

Slowly, education sector in India is realizing the importance of Virtual Reality (VR) and gathering
steps to implement the same.

Lastly we can conclude that most of the paper work will be eliminated by automating the working
of the organization.

63
 Chapter 7

Appendix and Bibliography

64
 Chapter 7
Appendix and Bibliography
MARKET RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE SAMPLE
Objective: To study on Office automation and administration of schools and
colleges with reference to Digimkey system

Name of the Organization: _____________

Name of contact person: _____________

Q1 Are you aware about the office administration software used for automation and efficient
work in office??
A. YES
B. NO

Q2-How will you rate on importance of automatic generation of required reports?

A. Very Imp
B. Imp.
C. Average
D. Less Important
E. Not at all Important

Q3 How often you get stuck with your Existing system in generation of reports
A. Very Often
B. Often,
C. Sometimes
D. Rarely
E. Never

65
Q4 How will you rate the system support service for ur existing software
A. Very Good
B. Good
C. Average
D. Poor
E. Very Poor

Q5 Which are the different functions you look your existing system to work on?
A. Digital Attendance
B. Exam Management
C. Forms and Slips Management
D. Report Generation
E. Others _________

Q6 How will you rate the cost of your existing system?

A. Very Costly
B. Costly
C. At Par
D. Less Costly
E. Not at all Costly

Q7 Which type of system do you use for managerial works?

A. ERP based
B. server based
C. Cloud based

Q8 How is the system to record the attendance of students?

A. manual
B. electronic/automatic
C. Both

66
Q9 Does your system allows you to manage the fees & communicates the same to their parents?
A. yes
B. no

Q10 How much important do you think the system integration & the institute website is?
A. Very Important
B. important
C. Average
D. Less important
E. Not at all important

Q11 How is your system working well with Exam Management?

A. V Good B. Good C. Average D. Poor E. Very Poor

Q12 How well your system provides ability to manage staff in your system ( their profile, their
salary, their employment policy etc)?
A. Very Good
B. Good
C. Average
D. Poor
E. Very Poor

67
Bibliography
Reference Books
Marketing Management, Philip Kotler 14th Edition
Research Methodology, C. R. Kothari Second Edition
Consumer Behavior- Concepts , applications and Cases, M.S.Raju, Dominique
Xardel
Consumer Behavior ( Fourth edition )- David L.Loudon and Albert J.Della
Bitta
International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4, Issue 9,
September 2014

68