PROJECT REPORT

ON

“A STUDY ON PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

IN LUDHIANA TOWARDS BUSINESS NEWSPAPERS”

Submitted To:-
Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.
In partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration

(2008-2011)

Submitted By:-
Amit Kumar
(University Roll No: 81501320022)
 DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
PUNJAB COLLEGE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, LUDHIANA

Certificate
This is to certify that the research project entitled “A study on perception of management
students in ludhiana towards business newspapers” submitted by Amit Kumar student of
Punjab College of Technical Education (P.C.T.E.), Ludhiana, for the partial fulfillment of
the course BBA and final project for the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration
has been approved by the student’s advisory committee after an oral examination of the
same, in collaboration with an external examiner.

_______________________
_______________________

Ms. Anshu Singh External Examiner

(Major Advisor)
Faculty, Punjab College of Technical Education,
Ludhiana.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

No work is accomplished without the help of people and this project is no

exception. Many people have contributed effectively towards the preparation
of this report. I take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude towards
all of them.

I would be failing in my duty if I do not thank management of the P.C.T.E.

which directs our projects to success. I am also thankful to our honorable
director Dr. K.N.S. Kang, who provided me an opportunity to carry out this
project.

I am thankful to Miss Anshu Singh for providing me valuable guidance,

inspiration encouragement and co-operation during the project.

Last but not least I would like to acknowledge all those who are directly or
indirectly involved in this project.

(Amit Kumar)
 PREFACE

Project Research work in the college infuses among students a sense of

critical analysis to apply of real managerial situation, to which they will be
exposed later on. It gives them an opportunity to apply their conceptual,
theoretical and imaginative skills to the real life situation and to evaluate the
results there after.

I was lucky to have got an opportunity to get the project of my interest. I

worked on the research project for around three months and prepared my
project on the topic “Study on Perception of Management Students towards
Business Newspapers”

This report is a written account of what I learnt, experienced and explored

during my research.
 i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Contents Page No.

1. Chapter 1: Introduction 1-13
 Market Overview
 Indian Entertainment and Media Industry
 Current status of the industry and its growth
potential
 Print Media
 Introduction to Newspapers
 A brief history of Newspapers

2. Chapter 2: Review of Literature 14-16

Objectives of study 17
3. Chapter 3: Research Methodology 18-19
4. Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Interpretation 20-31
5. Chapter 5: Results and Findings 32-34
Conclusion
6. Bibliography 35
7. Annexure 36-39
 ii
LIST OF TABLES

Table No. Contents Page No.

4.1 Showing the No. of respondents belonging to a 20
Management Course
4.2 Showing the name of the course pursued by the students. 21

4.3 Showing the name of the institution of the students 22

4.4 Showing the no. of respondents utilizing the various 23
sources of knowledge & awareness regarding Management
Education.

4.5 Showing the no. of respondents reading business 24

newspapers
4.6 Showing the no. of respondents reading different business 25
newspapers

4.7 Showing amount of time spent on reading newspaper per 26

day

4.8 Showing opinion of respondents regarding importance of 27

Business newspapers
4.9 Showing Importance of various factors influencing the 28
choice of a Business Magazine
4.10 Showing the response of students to mentioned reasons for 29
preferring the Business newspapers

4.11 Showing Preferences of Students Regarding Contents of 30

Business newspapers.

4.12 Showing the general problems that students face with the 31
preferred Business newspaper.
 iii
LIST OF FIGURES

Fig No. Contents Page No.

4.1 Showing the No. of respondents belonging to a 20
Management Course
4.2 Showing the name of the course pursued by the students. 21

4.3 Showing the name of the institution of the students 22

4.4 Showing the no. of respondents utilizing the various 23
sources of knowledge & awareness regarding Management
Education.

4.5 Showing the no. of respondents reading business 24

newspapers
4.6 Showing the no. of respondents reading different business 25
newspapers

4.7 Showing amount of time spent on reading newspaper per 26

day

4.9 Showing Importance of various factors influencing the 28

choice of a Business Magazine
4.10 Showing the response of students to mentioned reasons for 29
preferring the Business newspapers

4.11 Showing Preferences of Students Regarding Contents of 30

Business newspapers.

4.12 Showing the general problems that students face with the 31
preferred Business newspaper.
 iv
CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Indian Entertainment and Media Industry

The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry has out-performed the Indian economy and
is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. It is rising on the back of economic growth
and rising income levels that India has been experiencing in the past years. This is
significantly benefiting the entertainment and media industry in India as this is a
cyclically sensitive industry and it grows faster when the economy is expanding. An
added boost to the entertainment and media industry in India is from the demographic
point of view where the consumer spending is rising due to increasing disposable
incomes on account of sustained growth in income levels and reduction of personal
income tax over the last decade.
 1
The current size of the industry as a whole is estimated at US$ 7 billion in 2004 and is
expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent to US$ 13 billion by 2009. The Filmed
Entertainment and Television segment dominate the industry followed by the Print, Radio
and the Music segments.
 2
Other than the demographic and economic impetus provided by the Indian economy that
is helping the entertainment and media industry to grow at this rapid face, there are
several other factors, which are contributing to this high growth rate.

Some of these are:

Low Media Penetration in lower socio-economic classes
Table below gives the media penetration in various segments of the E&M Industry today.
As would be evident, the media penetration is varied across segments and across the
socio-economic classes. A common factor, however, across the segments is the fact that
though the media penetration is lower in lower socio-economic classes, in terms of
absolute numbers, the penetration is much higher in these classes. Hence, efforts to
increase the penetration even slightly in these lower socio-economic classes are likely to
delivery much higher results simply due to the higher numbers.

Low Ad Spends
Indian Advertising spends as a percentage of GDP is only 0.34 per cent, which is way
below the percentages for both developed and developing countries. This provides an
immense potential for growth in since advertising revenues are key to every segment in
the Indian entertainment and media industry. Even if India were to reach the global
average, the advertising revenues generated would almost be equal to the current
advertising revenues, which are estimated at about US$ 2.5 billion for 2005 fiscal.

3
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Today India has probably one of the most open liberal investment regimes among the
emerging economies with a conducive FDI environment. The entertainment and media
industry has significantly benefited from this liberal regime and most segments of the
entertainment and media industry today allow foreign investment. Recently FDI was
permitted in the two important sectors of Print Media and Radio. Films, Television and
other segments are already open to foreign investment. In the print media segment, 100
per cent FDI is now allowed for non-news publications and 26 per cent FDI is allowed
for news publications. Printing of facsimile editions of foreign journals are now also
allowed in India. This policy is helping the foreign journals save significant costs of
distribution them to service the Indian market audiences more effectively. The FM radio
sector too was opened for foreign investment recently with 20 per cent FDI being
allowed. The FM radio sector itself has expanded by opening 330 licenses for private
investment, which currently is underway. As a result, the radio sector is expanding
rapidly with forecasted growth rates of 22 per cent per annum.
4
Summary of Guidelines for FDI in the Indian Entertainment and
Media Industry

Advertising: - FDI is permitted upto 100 per cent through the automatic route.

Films: - FDI in all film-related activities such as film financing, production, distribution,
exhibition, marketing etc. is permitted upto 100 per cent for all companies under the
automatic route.

TV Software: - 100 per cent FDI permitted subject to:

• All future laws on broadcasting and no claim of privilege or protection by virtue of
approval accorded.
• Not undertaking any broadcasting from Indian soil without Government approval.

Cable Networks: - FDI limit upto 49 per cent inclusive of both FDI and Portfolio
Investment. Companies with a minimum 51 per cent paid up share capital held by Indian
citizens are eligible for providing cable TV services under the Cable Television Network
Rules, 1994.

Direct-to-home: - Maximum 49 per cent foreign equity includes FDI/ NRI/FII. Within
the foreign equity, FDI component should not exceed 20 per cent.

5
FM Radio:- Total foreign investment including FDI by OCB/NRI/ PIO etc., portfolio
investments by FIIs (within limits prescribed by RBI) and borrowings, if these carry
conversion options, is permitted to the extent of not more than 20 per cent of the paid up
equity in the entity holding a permission for a radio channel subject to the following
conditions:
• One Indian individual or company owns more than 50 per cent of the paid-up equity
excluding the equity held by banks and other lending institutions
• The majority shareholder exercises management control over the applicant company
• Has only resident Indians as directors on the Board
• All key executive officers of the applicant entity are resident Indians

Print: - FDI upto 100 per cent is permitted in publishing/ printing scientific and technical
magazines, periodicals and journals. In the news and current affairs category, for instance
newspapers, FDI has been allowed upto 26 per cent subject to certain conditions:
• The largest shareholder must hold at least 51 per cent equity
• Three-fourth (3/4) of directors and all executive and editorial staff has to be resident
Indians.

6
Current status of the industry and its growth potential

The Indian economy continues to perform strongly and one of the key sectors that
benefits from this fast economic growth is the E&M industry. This is because the E&M
industry is a cyclical industry that grows faster when the economy is expanding. It also
grows faster than the nominal GDP during all phases of economic activity due to its
income elasticity wherein when incomes rise, more resources get spent on leisure and
entertainment and less on necessities. Further, consumption spending itself is increasing
due to rising disposable incomes on account of sustained growth in income levels, and
this also builds the case for a strong bullish growth in the sector. The size of E&M in
India is currently estimated at INR 353 billion and is expected to grow at a compounded
annual growth rate of 19 percent over the next five years. The television industry
continues to dominate the E&M industry by garnering a share of over 42 percent, which
is expected to increase by a further 9 percent to reach about 51 percent. The share of the
film industry, which currently stands at 19 percent, is not expected to change materially
over the next five years. Print media, which stands at over 31 percent, is projected to

7
Print Media

• Current size: Rs 19,500 crore

• CAGR: 12%

A booming Indian economy, growing need for content and government initiatives that
have opened up the sector to foreign investment are driving growth in the print media.
With the literate population on the rise, more people in rural and urban areas are reading
newspapers and magazines today. Also, there is more interest in India amongst the global
investor community. This leads to demand for more content from India. Foreign media
too is evincing interest in investing in Indian publications. And the internet today offers a
new avenue to generate more advertising revenue

Advertising is heavily skewed towards newspapers and television which are

relatively much larger businesses in India. A combination of various data sources
generates the following from India’s total Rs95bn (US$2.1 bn) advertising

8
The segment hence provides for several opportunities as listed below:
1) Tapping the reading population
As per the latest readership survey NRS 2005, the reach of the print media (dailies and
magazines combined), as a proportion of the reading population (i.e. 15 years and above)
is only 27 per cent. The global average readership is estimated to be over 50 per cent.
This highlights the significant potential of the print media market in India. Further, as
literacy (as measured in the NRS) grows by nearly eight points and even higher in the
rural areas, the potential of the print media assumes a significant proportion. This can be
illustrated from the fact that one of the reasons that Dainik Jagran, India’s leading daily
has been able to retain its leadership position for the last three years is because the
number of literates in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand (strong Dainik Jagran markets)
has grown explosively.

2) Build a pan-India presence

Due to low levels of literacy and India’s marked regional diversity, the print media
segment is characterized by a large number of players dominating specific geographies
(See Table below). Vernacular news dailies thus dominate the market with a 49 per cent
share. Regional dominance is not just typical of only vernacular papers- even English
news dailies have managed to gain dominance only in specific pockets

3) Leveraging a fragmented market

The print media market today is highly fragmented with most publishers being family
owned. These publishers hence had low access to capital and information and thus
concentrated only in the geographical location in which they were the leaders.
However this trend is now changing and publishers are looking to expand their market
though both organic and inorganic routes. With an added push of foreign investment
being allowed in the print media segment, this segment thus offers significant investment
opportunities.

9
Introduction to newspapers

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising, usually

printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. It may be general or special interest, most
often published daily or weekly.

Types of newspaper:

A daily newspaper is issued every day, often with the exception of Sundays and some
national holidays. Saturday, and where they exist Sunday, editions of daily newspapers
tend to be larger, include more specialized sections and advertising inserts, and cost
more. Typically, the majority of these newspapers' staff work Monday to Friday, so the
Sunday and Monday editions largely depend on content done in advance or content that is
syndicated.

Weekly newspapers are also common and tend to be smaller than daily papers.

As English has become the international language of business and technology, many
newspapers formerly published only in non-English languages have also developed
English-language editions.

Newspapers are usually printed on inexpensive, off-white paper known as newsprint.

Since the 1980s, the newspaper industry has largely moved away from lower-quality
letterpress printing to higher-quality, four-color process, offset printing. In addition,
desktop computers, word processing software, graphics software, digital cameras and
digital prepress and typesetting technologies have revolutionized the newspaper
production process. These technologies have enabled newspapers to publish color
photographs and graphics, as well as innovative layouts and better design.

Online- newspapers

With the introduction of the internet, web based newspapers have also started to be
produced as online only publications, like Southport Reporter. To be a Web-Only
newspaper they must be web published only and must not be part of or have any
connection to hard copy formats. To be classed as a Online Only Newspaper the paper
must also be regularly updated at a regular time and keep to a fixed news format, like a
hardcopy newspaper.

10
Business Newspapers

Business Standard
Major financial newspaper.

Economic Times
Daily business paper from the Times of India group.

Express India
News portal publishing several major Indian newspapers.

Financial Express
Provides financial and industrial news, stock market reports.

Hindu
National daily newspaper, based in Madras.

Hindustan Times
Major daily newspaper from Delhi.

India Daily
News, primarily aimed at foreign and expatriate audience.

Indian Express
Delhi based daily.

Telegraph
Calcutta-based national daily.

TOI
Quality national daily from Delhi.

11
History of Newspapers

The history of newspapers is an often-dramatic chapter of the human experience going

back some five centuries. In Renaissance Europe handwritten newsletters circulated
privately among merchants, passing along information about everything from wars and
economic conditions to social customs and "human interest" features. The first printed
forerunners of the newspaper appeared in Germany in the late 1400's in the form of news
pamphlets or broadsides, often highly sensationalized in content. Some of the most
famous of these report the atrocities against Germans in Transylvania perpetrated by a
sadistic veovod named Vlad Tsepes Drakul, who became the Count Dracula of later
folklore.

In the English-speaking world, the earliest predecessors of the newspaper were corantos,
small news pamphlets produced only when some event worthy of notice occurred. The
first successively published title was The Weekly Newes of 1622. It was followed in the
1640's and 1650's by a plethora of different titles in the similar newsbook format. The
first true newspaper in English was the London Gazette of 1666. For a generation it was
the only officially sanctioned newspaper, though many periodical titles were in print by
the century's end.

Early History:

In Asia (China): - Block print since the 6th century- Movable type since 1040/48
In Europe: - Block print since the 12th century (Marco Polo)- Movable type since the
15th century (Gutenberg)- In 50 Years, printing processes spread all over Europe (Italy,
England, France, Netherlands)

First Newspapers: 1609 - earliest known one-page-newspapers

England: America:- Weekly News (1622-1641)- Daily Courant (1702)- The Times
(1785)- Daily Telegraph (1855), after abolition of the taxes- 1690 in Boston: suppressed
by the (British) government- 1706 "Boston News-Letter"- Increased 400% from 1750 till
1755- Support the cause of independence

Difficulties of the first newspapers: transport, control, no advertising mechanisms, non-

literacy, censorship and taxes

Evolution of the printing business: Before the 19th century: publisher = printer =
bookseller

12
After the 19th century: (printing machine, Friedrich König), Division of the work tasks

Expansion of US newspapers: Country expanded westward, newspaper circulation

enhanced, technological advances, production cheaper paper, development of rotary press
to substitute the traditional flatbed press.

First News Agency: Six New York papers joined together, organization called Associated
Press (AP). After the American Civil War the AP expanded serving different newspapers
with different political views. It presented news in an objective way.

Papers founded: Great number of publishers/ editors, New York Herald founded, widely
read newspaper, with emphasis on scandalous news, coverage of foreign news.

Yellow Journalism: Newspapers began containing advertisements, different type of

journalism developed by Pulitzer, transformed newspapers with sensational news, used
drawings and comic strips.

20th Century: Dominated by the British Press, Daily Mail launched in 1896, first
newspaper based on advertising income. Daily Mirror released in 1903, targeted for
woman, after World War I, converted into the first tabloid newspaper, usually half the
size of a normal newspaper, condensed reports, a greater number of illustrations.

Ownership: It grew after World War I, the circulation of newspapers grew in the UK,
first promotional offers, proprietors used their papers to further their political aims.

After the II World War: Newspaper circulation decreased reasons are: competing papers,
television or other media, more news agencies.

Circulation: In the UK the largest selling paper is the Sunday tabloid news with 5 million
copies a week, market is very competitive. In the US, the largest selling paper is the Wall
Street Journal with 1.9 copies sold daily.

Organization and Activities: Major newspapers have specialized staffs in all major
departments, such as circulation and advertising. To cope with the competition of radio
and television, provide more information.

Newspapers still aimed: Size and circulation changed, newspapers still contain something
to appeal men, women and children.

Trends and Developments: Technological advance in the last two decades, huge clacking
machines and set lines have disappeared, instead electronic typesetting systems have been
introduced and the reporters and editors are "the typesetters".

13
Chapter II
1
Review Of Literature
In this chapter an attempt has been made to present in brief a review of selected, which
have been direct or indirect relevance to the subject. It gives an overview of the findings
of the academic researchers who have followed the path which study intends to trend. So
it is necessary and important to review of literature of that particular field related topic.

The Pew Research Center for the people & the press (2009) states that the internet,
which emerged this year as a leading source for campaign news, has now surpassed all
other media except television as an outlet for national and international news. Most
people say they rely mostly on the internet for news than cite newspapers (35%).
Television continues to be cited most frequently as a main source for national and
international news, at 70%.

Konstantinos Saltzis, Roger Dickinson in their paper Inside the changing newsroom:
journalists' responses to media convergence (2008) offer valuable insights into the
news production processes operating in British national media organizations and the
ways journalists are adapting to, and are likely to continue to adapt to, changes in
production technologies and changed systems of working. The research was designed to
investigate the impact on the working practices of journalists of the process of production
convergence – the trend towards news reporting in more than one medium in formerly
single-medium organizations.

Dickinson (2008) also recommended the data which also shows that while multimedia
news is becoming well established, the multimedia journalist has been slow to arrive.
This is because of the pressures that multi-media working adds to the journalist's daily
routine and a concern over the impact on the quality of output. Tandon (2002) reported
that majority of respondents had a positive attitude towards business magazines in
general. They have cleared indicated that magazines has a useful role to play in the
society. On the other hand they also consider business magazines in India to be poor
taste, exaggerative and taking undue coverage of social and other events.

Dobhal (2007) stated that the media had traditionally played little part in influencing
decisions, but today there is growth and shift from print to television. Print is a cerebal
medium. It is meant for the super literate (the wholly Indian tactics of classifying people
as literate if they can read and sign and prevents us from using the word without a
qualification). Television images in contrast, completely bypass the cognitive process.
They offer bit sized packages that can be easily consumed.

14
Mark (2007) concluded that news and information about the local community have the
highest interest levels among those interviewed. But readers are less satisfied with the
magazines coverage in these categories. Stock prices are also looked into the Business
Magazines but mainly the once with huge investments.

Wilkinson (2007) brought out the reasons why there is an overall decline in youth
readership, magazines want to get more intimate with their potential youth audiences, but
are uncertain to go about it. Of utmost importance is understanding their media habits,
interests, and desires, and in particular how technology and proliferation of media have
changed the typical youth media diet. The industry is also struggling to measure the
results of existing programs designed to reach out to this audience and to develop
innovative new ways to start a magazine reading habit among young people.

David (2007) found that where magazines were once threatened by the explosion of
television screens, today they face the newer obstacle: the Internet and a general lack of
interest among the Century’s youth. He concluded in his survey that as few as one in 10
university students read a magazine daily. Forty percent said that they never read one at
all and 20 percent said that they read a magazine only once in a week.

Batra (2006), research has found that magazines are intended for general readers, usually
serve a geographic region, and may also be oriented towards a particular ethnic, cultural,
cultural, social or political group. Business magazines preserve the collected thoughts of
many minds, they reflected moral, cultural, educational, and political development more
broadly than do the isolated thoughts of an individual’s correspondence or diary.

Brown(2005) conducted a study on preferred knowledge source and found that even as
paid circulation declines, especially in larger cities, readership in growing due, in part, to
increasing numbers of pass along readers, which now account for 14% of the total. Home
delivery customers want their magazine delivered earlier.

Khan (2005), showed that of the respondents aged 18-24, 72 % said they read the
classified ads at least once in the past week. This compares to 58% in the 35-49 age
group and 31% of those 65 and older. The believability of advertising differs greatly
among the various media. Weekly magazines followed closely by weekly magazines and
shoppers, are the most believable, according to the respondents. Direct mail advertising is
the least believable by a wide margin.

Kottak (2004), stated that readership increases with affluence, consumer knowledge
about a financial implications may be limited, making their ability to process information
from business magazines little tedious. This situation would make them particularly
responsive to argument focused appeals, expert source and other interactive and
explanatory framed messages from electronic media.

15
Pechmann (2004) argued that direct comparative ads could enhance consumers’
perception of the advertised brand by associating it with comparison brands and
simultaneously differentiate the brands by lowering consumer perception of the
comparative brand on the featured attribute is typically of the category.

Khan (2003) showed that the respondents aged 18-24, 72 % said that they read the
classified ads at least once in the past week. This compares to 58% in the 35-49 age
group and 31% of those 65 and older. The believability of advertising differs greatly
among the various media. Daily newspapers, followed closely by weekly newspapers and
shoppers, are the most believable, according to the respondents. Direct mail advertising is
the least believable by wide margin.

Brown (2002) conducted a study on preferred knowledge source & found that even as
paid circulation declines, especially in larger cities, readership is growing due, in part, to
increasing numbers of pass along readers, which now account for 14% of the total.
Home delivery customers want their morning newspaper delivered earlier. 75 % of the
respondents said they would be satisfied with the delivery by 5.30 a.m., while only 30%
would be satisfied if the newspaper were delivered by 7 a.m.

Batra Rajiv (2002) research has found that print media included newspapers &
magazines are intended for general readers, usually serve as a geographic region, and
may also be oriented towards a particular ethnic, cultural, cultural, social or political
group. Business magazines preserve the collected thoughts of many minds, they reflected
moral, cultural, educational, and political development more broadly than do the isolated
thoughts of an individual’s correspondence or diary.

16
 Objectives Of The Study

 To Study factors affecting the choice of management students regarding business

newspapers.

 To Study the perception of management students regarding benefits of business

newspapers.

 To Study the expectations of students regarding business newspapers so as to

enhance their sales among management students.

17
CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHDOLOGY

Research Methodology

Reearch Methodology is Logical and Scientific technique to solve a problem. When we

talk of research methodology, we not only talk of research methods adopted to get
desired results but we also consider logic behind these methods. All possible efforts were
made to gather information in a natural way to achieve objectives of research.

Research is an original contribution to existing stocks of knowledge making for its

advancement in research for knowledge through objectives and systematic method of
finding a solution to problem, is research. Research refers to systematic methods
consisting of enunciating the problem, forming a hypothesis, collecting facts or data,
analysis of facts and reaching certain conclusion either in the form of a solution towards
concerned problem in certain generalization for some theoretical formulation.

3.1 Research Design

Research Design is required to facilitate smooth sailing of various research operations,

thereby making research as effective as possible and yielding maximum information with
minimum efforts, The research has a Descriptive research design.

3.2 Data Collection

Both Primary and Secondary Data has been used for this research study. Primary data has
been collected by questionnaire method. For data collection survey method has been used
i.e. researcher will be personally contacting our samples or respondents and hence forth
gathering information from them through personal contact and with help of a well
structured Questionnaire.

3.3 Sample Design:

The Components of sample design are:

3.3.1 Universe: The Universe is the specific group of people, Firms, Conditions,
activities etc. which form the pivotal point of research project.

In my Study All Students Of Management Course form a Universe.

18
3.3.2 Population: The Population is the Specific group of people, firms, conditions,
activities etc. which is the Pivotal point of research Project. For developing and using a
sample, it becomes primary duty of researcher to define the population from which to
draw the sample. In my Study All students of PG & UG Management Course in Ludhiana
forms population.

3.3.3 Sample Unit: Sample Unit is a basic thing for the project which means who is to be
surveyed in simple simple words.

In my Study A student of PG/UG management course studying in Ludhiana.

3.3.4 Sample size: Sample size means how many units to be surveyed. The research has
been Conducted on a Sample of 100 management students studying in PG/UG
management courses in Ludhiana.

3.3.5 Sampling Technique

Stratified Random Sampling has been used for the purpose of the sampling. All the four
institutions offering a post –graduate Degree in Management were selected for the
survey. Students from the Management Institutions including Punjab College of
Technical Education, Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, Department
of Business Studies (Punjab Agriculture University), Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of
Management and Technology.

19
 DATA & INTERPRETATION

Table 4.1 Showing the No. of respondents belonging to a Management Course.

Response No. of respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 100 100

No 0 0
Total 100

Fig 4.1 Showing the No. of respondents belonging to a Management Course.

No. of respondents

120
100
80
No. of
60
respondents
40
20
0
Yes No

Interpretation:- From the above table it is clear that all the respondents belong to
management course students.

20
Table 4.2 Showing the name of the course pursued by the students.

Name of the course No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

MBA 80 80
BBA 20 20
PGDM 0 0
Total 100 100

Figure 4.2 Showing the name of the course pursued by the students

No. of Respondents

100
80
60 No. of
40 Respondents
20
0
PGDBM
MBA

BBA

Interpretation: From the above table it is clear that 80% of respondents belong to MBA &
20% of them belong to BBA i.e. Under Graduates.

21
Table 4.3 Showing the name of the institution of the students.

Name of the institution No. of Respondents Percentage (%)

PCTE 25 25
GGNIMT 25 25
GNIMT 25 25
PAU 25 25
Total 100

Figure 4.3 Showing the name of the institution of the students.

%AGE OF STUDENTS

30
%age OF STUDENTS

25

20

15 %AGE OF STUDENTS

10

0
PCTE GGNIMT GNIMT PAU
NAME OF INSTITUTE

Interpretation: The above table shows that 25% quota is assigned to each institute i.e.
PCTE, GGNIMT, GNIMT, PAU.

22
Table 4.4 Showing the no. of respondents utilizing the various sources of knowledge
& awareness regarding Management Education.
 Source No. of respondents utilizing the source (n=100)

Business Newspapers 86
General Newspapers 67
Journals 24
Television 54
Internet 78

Figure 4.4 Showing the no. of respondents utilizing the various sources of knowledge
& awareness regarding Management Education.

No. of respondents utilizing the source (n=100)

100
90
No. of Respondents

80
70
60
No. of respondents utilizing the
50
source (n=100)
40
30
20
10
0
s
s

et
er

s
er

io
al

rn
ap
ap

is
n

te
ur

v
sp
sp

le

In
Jo
ew
ew

Te
N
N

al
ss

er
ne

en
si

G
Bu

Source

Interpretation:
About the various sources being utilized by the students of a management course, 86
respondents read business newspapers for enhancement of their knowledge. With the
advent of IT age, Internet was also being used by the respondents. 78 respondents surf
internet for enhancement of their knowledge. After that television, general newspapers,
course books were also being used to increase the knowledge about the environment.
23
Table 4.5 Showing the no. of respondents reading business newspapers
 Particulars No. of respondents Percentage (%)

Yes 96 96%
No 4 4%

Figure 4.5

Interpretation: - It is clear from the above data that 96% of respondents read business
Newspapers. Rests 4% are not reading Business newspapers.
 24
Table 4.6 Showing the no. of respondents reading different business newspapers

Business Newspapers No. of Responses

Economic Times 96
Financial Express 74
Business Standard 45
Times Of india 65

Figure 4.6 showing the no. of respondents reading different business newspapers

No. of Respondents

120
100
80 No. of
60
40 Respondents
20
0
rd
s
es

ia
s

da
re

nd
m

xp

n
Ti

fi
ta

O
lE
ic

S
m

es
ia

ss
no

nc

im
e
in
co

T
us
in
E

Interpretation: - 96 respondents read Economic Times, 74 respondents read Financial

Express, 45 respondents read Business Standard while 65 respondents
are reading Times of India.
 25
Table 4.7 Showing amount of time spent on reading newspaper per day.

Time Spent No. of Responses Percentage (%)

Less than 1hr 57 59

1-2 hr 33 35
2-3 hr 6 6
More than 3 hr 0 0

Figure 4.7

Interpretation:
As the results show, 59% of the respondents read newspapers for less than an hour
regularly while 35% of the respondents spend about 1-2 hr daily. Only 6% of the
respondents read magazines for 2-3 hr daily. Not a single respondent was reading a
magazine for more than 3 hr.
 26
Table 4.8 Showing opinion of respondents regarding importance of Business
newspapers (n=96)

Statement Mean Response

Score

Knowledge about current business affairs helps in better decision 4.375 Agree
making.

Newspapers do not add to one’s knowledge of management. 2.063 Disagree

To succeed in interviews, one does not need to prepare with 2.115 Disagree
current affairs.

Reading Business Magazine is essential for a management 4.344 Agree

student.

Interpretation:
As the mean score show, the respondents agreed that knowledge about business affairs
influences decision making and reading a Business newspaper is essential for them. At
the same time, they also indicate the importance of Business newspapers by disagreeing
strictly to statements such as magazines not adding to one’s knowledge and lack of
particularistic content for management students in Business newspapers. They also
believe that magazines are quite necessary for preparation of interviews.
 27

Table 4.9 Showing Importance of various factors influencing the choice of a

Business Magazine. (n=96)

Sr. No. Factor Mean Score Level of Importance

i) Coverage 4.233 Important

ii) Quality of Printing 3.844 Important

iii) Brand Name 3.744 Important

iv) Physical Appearance 3.633 Important

v) Price 2.955 Moderate

Figure 4.9

Interpretation:
Among the various factors, the extent of coverage and quality of printing got the highest
amount of importance while influencing the choice of Business newspapers. Other factors
such as Brand Name and physical appearance also got the higher amount of importance
after that. The respondents have given lower preference to incentives like price.
 28
Table 4.10 showing the response of students to mentioned reasons for preferring the
Business newspapers

Sr. Reasons No. of Respondents

No. (n=96)
i) Enhancing Knowledge of Business & Management 68
Concepts
ii) Keeping me updated with Business Researches & 42
Innovations
iii) Regular Supplements on Management 34
iv) Supplementing Course Preparation 33
v) Enhancing Practical Application of Management 36
Concepts

Figure 4.10 showing the response of students to mentioned reasons for preferring
the Business newspapers

80
68
70
60
Responses

50 42
34 33 36
40
30
20
10
0
Enhancing Keeping me Regular Supplementing Enhancing
Knowledge of updated with Supplements Course Practical
Business & Business on Preparation Application of
Management Researches & Management Management
Concepts Innovations Concepts
Reasons

Interpretation:-The above table and diagram shows that 68 respondents preferred a

particular Business newspaper as it helped in enhancing their knowledge of business and
understanding of new management concepts. Another major reason got preference was
that the newspapers helped in keeping the students updated with new researches and
innovations in the field of business.
29
Table 4.11 Showing Preferences of Students Regarding Contents of a Business
newspaper.

Sr. No. Contents No. of Responses

i) Political 51
ii) Mergers and Acquisitions 62
iii) Company Results 46
v) Stock Prices 39
vii) International Events 26
ix) Researches and Surveys 39
xi) Weekly Columns 22
Figure 4.11

70 62
60
51
Responses

50 46 46
43
39 39 39
40
30 26
22 22
20
10
0
s
s

ts

ts
ey
n

ts
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ns
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s
es

ke
ls

v
ve
ui l

w
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um
cq a

ur
si

ria
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em
ric

ar
A itic

ie

S
rv

ol
M
R

to

al

pl
ol

d
te

C
di
y

ck

n
ity
P

up
an

In

a
tio

ly
d
to

S
nd

es

ek
p

o
a
S
m

al
m
rn
a

e
ci
m
o

W
rc
te
s

pe
er

a
In

se
g

S
er

e
R
M

Contents

Interpretation:
Contents like mergers and acquisitions, company results, political, editorials enjoy the
high preference of the readers. 22% respondents read the mergers and acquisitions
content in Business newspapers. Such type of information is always beneficial while
preparing for job interviews The recent upheaval of the stock markets has also attracted a
lot of attention with about 13% respondents follow the content of stock prices content
like special supplements, weekly columns enjoyed a low readership as only 8%
respondents read this
30
Table 4.12 showing the general problems that students face with the preferred
Business newspaper.

Sr. General problems No. of Responses

No.
i) Inadequate sequencing and placement of news 41
ii) Excessive number of advertisements 61
iii) Expensive price 13
iv) Large number of pages 31
v) Lack of additional special supplements 15
vi) Lack of other general news apart from business 21
news

Figure 4.12
No. of Res pondents(n=90)

70
60
No. of Respondents

50
40
No. of Respondents(n=90)
30
20
10
0
supplements
Large number
Expensive price
advertisements
sequencing and

business news
Lack of other
additional

general news
placement of

Lack of
Excessive

special
Inadequate

number of

apart from
of pages
news

Pr oble m s

Interpretation:-As the table and the figure above show, maximum problem faced by
the students was regarding excessive number of advertisements. 61 respondents said that
they face the problem of excessive number of advertisements. Readers pointed out that
the problem of large no. of ads was particularly common with special supplements where
large sized ads often captured excessive space. Inadequate sequencing and placement of
news was another constraint in front of students. 41 respondents said that they face the
problem of inadequate sequencing and placement of news.
31
Chapter: V
RESULTS AND FINDINGS

 80% of respondents belong to MBA & 20% of them belong to BBA i.e. Under
Graduates.

 86 respondents read business newspapers for enhancement of their knowledge.

With the advent of IT age, Internet was also being used by the respondents. 78
respondents surf internet for enhancement of their knowledge. After that
television, general newspapers, course books were also being used to increase the
knowledge about the environment.

 96% of respondents read business Newspapers.

 96 respondents read Economic Times, 74 respondents read Financial

Express, and 45 respondents read Business Standard while 65 respondents are
reading Times of India.

 59% of the respondents read newspapers for less than an hour regularly while
35% of the respondents spend about 1-2 hr daily. Only 6% of the respondents
read magazines for 2-3 hr daily. Not a single respondent was reading a magazine
for more than 3 hr.

 Respondents agreed that knowledge about business affairs influences decision

making and reading a Business newspaper is essential for them. At the same time,
they also indicate the importance of Business newspapers by disagreeing strictly
to statements such as magazines not adding to one’s knowledge and lack of
particularistic content for management students in Business newspapers. They
also believe that magazines are quite necessary for preparation of interviews.

 Extent of coverage and quality of printing got the highest amount of importance
while influencing the choice of Business newspapers. Other factors such as Brand
Name and physical appearance also got the higher amount of importance after
that. The respondents have given lower preference to incentives like price.

 68 respondents preferred a particular Business newspaper as it helped in

enhancing their knowledge of business and understanding of new management
concepts. Another major reason got preference was that the newspapers helped in
keeping the students updated with new researches and innovations in the field of
business.
32
 62 respondents read the mergers and acquisitions content in Business newspapers.
Such type of information is always beneficial while preparing for job interviews
The recent upheaval of the stock markets has also attracted a lot of attention with
about 39 respondents follow the content of stock prices content like special
supplements, weekly columns enjoyed a low readership as only 22 respondents
read this.

 61 respondents said that they face the problem of excessive number of

advertisements. Readers pointed out that the problem of large no. of ads was
particularly common with special supplements where large sized ads often
captured excessive space. Inadequate sequencing and placement of news was
another constraint in front of students. 41 respondents said that they face the
problem of inadequate sequencing and placement of news.

33
 Conclusion

From the results and analysis of data, it can be summarized that Business Newspapers
have been able to largely satisfy the requirements of students of a management course.
Newspapers are the most popular sources of information and knowledge enhancement for
students of a management course. But over the years, TV and Internet have also fast
emerged as alternatives for knowledge enhancement among the various factors, the extent
of coverage and quality of printing got the highest amount of importance while
influencing the choice of a Business Newspapers. The students have given lower
preference to incentives like price and schemes etc. Thus it can be seen that students pay
special attention to content while choosing a business newspapers. Contents like mergers
and acquisitions, political, interviews of business personalities, company results, stock
markets enjoy the preference. Among other common problems were the excessive
numbers of advertisements. Large number of pages was also the common problem among
the respondents.

34
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

• Research methodology – C.R. Kothari

Web-Resource:

• www.scribd.com

• www.google.com

• www.yahoo.com
 35
QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Respondent,

I am conducting a research on the topic“a study on perception of management

students in ludhiana towards business newspapers”. Please spare a few minutes out of
your busy schedule to fill this questionnaire. I will be highly thankful to you for your
valuable response.

Q.1) Are you a student of management course?

Yes NO

Q.2) Please mention the name of your course?

MBA BBA
Any other (Please specify) _________________________

Q.3) Please mention the name of your institution

PCTE _____

GNIM _____

GGNIMT _____

PAU _____

Q.4) to enhance your knowledge and general awareness regarding management

Education, what sources do you generally utilize? (You may tick more than one)
i) Business Newspapers _______
ii) General Newspapers _______
iii) Journals _______
iv) Television _______
v) Internet _______
vi) Books _______
 vii) Others _______

36
Q.5) Do you read business newspapers?

Yes___ No_______

Q.6) which newspapers do you read?

1) Economic Times _______

2) Financial Express _______
3) Business Standard _______
4) Times of India _______
5) Others _______

Q.7) How much time do you spend on an average on reading newspaper each day?

Less than 1 hr
1 – 2 hr
2 – 3 hr
More than 3 hr

Q.8) Please indicate your response to the following statements regarding newspapers.
Strongly Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

i) Knowledge about current business affairs helps ______ _____ _______ ______ _______
In better decision making.
ii) Newspapers do not add to one’s knowledge of ______ _____ _______ ______ _______
Management.
iii) To succeed in interviews, one does not need to ______ _____ _______ ______ _______
Prepare with current affairs.
vi) Reading Business Newspaper is essential for a ______ _____ _______ ______ _______
Management student.
 37

Q.9) Please Indicate the following factors on level of importance which influence your
Choice of a Business Newspaper.

Factors Very Important Moderate Less Not at all

important Important important
i) Coverage
ii) Quality of printing
iii) Setting and
placement of
articles
iv) Physical
appearance
v) Price
vi) Brand name

Q.10) what are the reasons for reading a Business Newspaper. (May tick more than
One)

i) It helps in enhancing my knowledge of business and understanding of new

management concepts.
ii) It keeps me updated with new researches and innovations in the field of
business.
iii) It provides special supplements on field related to management such as
economy, advertising etc.
iv) It enhances my application of management principles to the real world.
 38
Q.11) What content do you regularly follow in your Business Newspapers? (May tick
More than one)

i) Political
ii) Mergers and Acquisitions
iii) Company results
iv) Stock price
v) Weekly Columns
vi) International Events
vii) Researches and surveys
viii) Others

Q.12) what are the general problems that you face with your preferred Business
Newspapers? (May tick more than one)

i) Inadequate sequencing and placement of news

ii) Excessive number of advertisements
iii) Expensive price
iv) Large number of pages
v) Lack of additional special supplements
vi) Lack of other general news apart from business news

Q.13) what are the suggestions that you would like to give to improve to
You’re Business Newspaper?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________
Respondent Name _____________________
39