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McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Business Research Methods, 10e Copyright 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Research
in Business

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Mental Challenge
A man and his son are
involved in an automobile
accident. The man is killed
and the boy, seriously
injured, is rushed to the
hospital for surgery. But
the surgeon takes one
look at the boy and says, I
am sorry, but I cannot
operate on this boy. He is
my son.


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What is your decision?
A group of children were playing near two
railway tracks, one still in use while the other
disused. Only one child played on the disused
track, the rest on the operational track. The train
came, and you were just beside the track
interchange. You could make the train change
its course to the disused track and saved most
of the kids.

However, that would also mean the lone child
playing by the disused track would be sacrificed.
Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision
we could make................

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Four Sources of Information
Decision
Making
Authority Experience
Research
Intuition





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The secret of success is to
know something nobody
else knows.

Aristotle Onasis

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Understand . . .
What business research is and how it differs from
business decision support systems and business
intelligence systems.
Trends affecting business research and the
emerging hierarchy of business decision makers.
The distinction between good business research
and research that falls short of professional quality.
The nature of the research process.

Learning Objectives

Research
Research is a
process through
which new
knowledge is
discovered.
A systematic and
organized effort to
study a problem/
opportunity that
needs a solution.
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What is not Research?
Just collecting facts or information with no
clear purpose;
Re-assembling and re-ordering facts or
information without interpretation;
As an esoteric activity with no or little
relevance to everyday life;
As a term to get your product or idea
noticed and respected.

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Business Research Defined
A process of determining,
acquiring, analyzing,
synthesizing, and
disseminating relevant
business data, information,
and insights to decision
makers in ways that mobilize
the organization to take
appropriate business actions
that, in turn, maximize
business performance.

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Why Study Business Research?
Business
research
provides
information to
guide business
decisions

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Research Should Reduce Risk
The primary
purpose of
research is to
reduce the
level of risk
of a decision

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Whats Changing in Business
that Influences Research
Critical
Scrutiny of
Business
Computing
Power &
Speed
Battle for
Analytical
Talent


Factors
Information
Overload
Shifting
Global
Economics
Government
Intervention
Technological
Connectivity
New
Research
Perspectives


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Interest in research methods
1. Information Overload
Quality and credibility of information
Ubiquitous access to information
2. Technological Connectivity
Changes in work pattern
Changes in relationships
Geography is no longer a barrier
3. Shifting global centers
Rising Asia
Demographic shifts
Knowledge of suppliers, talent pools, business models, and
infrastructures
Research design that can accommodate different norms,
values, technologies and languages

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Interest in research methods
4. Increasing scrutiny of big business
IT makes easier for stakeholder participation
Interconnection of suppliers, producers and
customers
5. More government intervention
Protection of consumers, rules and regulations,
laws
6. Battle for analytical talents
Mathematical model for complex decisions
Need more knowledge workers
Strong analytical skills


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Interest in research methods
7. Greater computing power and speed
Lower cost for data collection (ICT)
Better visualization tools
Powerful computations
More integration of data (electronic store houses)
Real time access
8. New perspectives on research
methodologies
Older tools replaced with newer ones
More variety of decision making

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Why research is important?
1. Collect more information before making a
decision (Collector)

2. Conduct high quality research (Processor)

3. Understand research designs (User)

4. Evaluate and correct current management
dilemma (Evaluator)

5. Make research a career

Use of Social Media Del Monte
Invited 300 dog levers
Ask them questions
What does your dog eat for breakfast?
Would you buy more treats for your
dog if they contained vitamins &
minerals?
Dogs preferred egg and bacon
Food rich in omega3,
antioxiddants and vitamins
Shaped like fried eggs and bacon
strips
It took only six weeks to get to the
market.
www.snausages.com

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Information Sources
Decision Support
Systems
Numerous elements of
data organized for
retrieval and use in
business decision making
Stored and retrieved via
Intranets
Extranets
Real time
Business Intelligence
Systems
Ongoing information
collection
Focused on events,
trends in micro and
macro-environments

Should we do business research?

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Sources of Business Intelligence

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Hierarchy of Business Decision Makers


Visionaries
Intuitive Decision Makers
Standardized
Decision Makers

Visionaries
Experience based
Decision supported by
secondary data
Some research based
Tested methods
Limited access
All research based
Develop own method
Access to the whole company

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Two Categories of Research
Applied
Basic (Pure)
Applied Research
Evaluate opportunities
Improve a current situation

Basic Research
Solving theoretical problems
No direct impact to actions,
performance or policy
decisions

Comparison
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Four Types of Studies
Reporting
Explanatory Predictive
Descriptive
Provide a summation of data, often recasting
data to achieve a deeper understanding or to
generate statistics for comparison.
Tries to discover answers to the questions who,
what, when, where, and, sometimes, how.
Attempts to explain the reasons for the
phenomenon that the descriptive study only
observed
Attempts to predict when and in what situations
an event will occur. Studies may also be described
as applied research or basic research.

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Reporting
You work for Classic Toys, a corporation that is
considering the acquisition of a toy manufacturer. The
senior vice president for development asks you to head
a task force to investigate six companies that are
potential candidates. You assemble a team composed
of representatives from the relevant functional areas.
Pertinent data are collected from public sources
because of the sensitive nature of the project. You
examine all of the following: company annual reports;
articles in business journals; trade magazines, and
newspapers; financial analysts assessments; and
company advertisements. The team members then
develop summary profiles of candidate firms based
on the characteristics gleaned from the sources.
The final report highlights the opportunities and
problems that acquisition of the target firm would
bring to all areas of the business.

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Descriptive
You are the business manager for MedImage, a large group of
physicians specializing in diagnostic imaging (MRI, nuclear, tomography,
and ultrasound). A prominent health insurance organization has
contacted you to promote a new cost-containment program. The
doctors committee to which you will make a recommendation will have a
narrow enrollment window for their decision. If they choose to join, they
will agree to a reduced fee schedule in exchange for easier filing
procedures, quicker reimbursement, and listing on a physicians referral
network. If they decline, they will continue to deal with their patients and
the insurance carrier in the current manner. You begin your
investigation by mining data from patient files to learn how many are
using this carrier, frequency of care visits, complexity of filings,
and so on. You then consult insurance industry data to discover how
many potential patients in your area use this care plan, or similar care
plans with alternative insurance carriers, and the likelihood of a patient
choosing or switching doctors to find one that subscribes to the
proposed program. You attempt to confirm your data with information
from professional and association journals. Based on this information,
you develop a profile that details the number of patients, overhead,
and potential revenue realized by choosing to join the plan.

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Explanatory
MoreCoatings, a paint manufacturer is having trouble maintaining
profits. The owner believes inventory management is a weak area of the
companys operations. In this industry, many point colors, types of paint,
and container sizes make it easy for a firm to accumulate large
inventories and still be unable to fill customer orders. You look into the
present warehousing and shipping operations and find excessive sales
losses and delivery delays because of out-of-stock conditions. An
informal poll of customers confirms your impression. You suspect the
present inventory database and reporting system do not provide prompt,
usable information needed for appropriate productions decisions.

Based on this supposition, you familiarize yourself with the latest
inventory management techniques. You ask the warehouse manager to
take an inventory, and you review the incoming orders for the last year.
In addition, the owner shows you the production runs of the last year and
his method for assessing the need for a particular color or paint type. By
modeling the last year of business using production, order, and
inventory management techniques, you choose the method that
provides the best theoretical profit. You run a pilot line using the new
control methodology. After two months, the data show a much lower
inventory and a higher order fulfillment rate. You recommend that the
owner adopt the new inventory method.

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York College
You work for the York Colleges Alumni
association. It is eager to provide a strong
stimuli to encourage increased donations
and to induce older, nontraditional
students to return to supplement
enrollment. The presidents office is
considering a retirement community
geared toward university alumni and asks
your association to assess the
attractiveness of the proposal from an
alumni viewpoint. Your director asks you to
divide the study into 4 phases.

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Characteristics of Good Research


Clearly defined purpose
Detailed research process
Thoroughly planned design
High ethical standards
Limitations addressed
Adequate analysis
Unambiguous presentation
Conclusions justified
Credentials

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Characteristics of Good Research
1. Clearly Defined Purpose
Must contain problem, decision to be
made, scope, limitations and definition
of key terms
Ch 4 and 5


Research Problem
Existing problem that requires solution
Complaint of harassment by senior officers
Specific areas in the organization requiring improvement
When policy about harassment exist but genuine
complaint still occur
Theoretical or conceptual issue that needs tightening up
What is meant by harassment?
Research questions that basic researcher needs to
answer empirically
Impact of harassment on performance

Sources of Research Problems
Journal, article, etc.
Personal interest and experiences
Deduction from theory
Experts
Conversation with colleagues or at
professional conferences.
Observation
Literature reviews.
Replication of studies


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Characteristics of Good Research
2. Detailed research process
Each step must be detailed with the
sources of data clearly explained
Acquiring participants, sampling method
and representativeness
Or else the confidence related to the
recommendations will be lower
Ch 4, Appendix A

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continued
3. Thoroughly planned design
Sampling and observations must be
accurate and carefully designed
Objective data instead of recollection
Personal bias
Ch 3,4,5, 6 - 14

4. High Ethical standards
Must make sure respondents do not
experience physical or emotional
pressure
Ch 2, 20

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continued
5. Limitations addressed
There is no perfect research
Ch 6, 14, 15, 20

6. Adequate analysis
Validity and reliability is checked
Presentation in a way can be
understood be the readers/users
Ch 15 -20

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continued
7. Unambiguous
presentation
Style of presentation,
language and terms must be
simple and concise
Overgeneralization
Ch 15 - 20

8. Conclusions justified
Conclusions must be based
on evidence and not
experience
Ch 15 - 20

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continued
9. Credentials
Experience and credentials of the
researcher plays a role
Ch 20


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Characteristics of Bad Research

Fishing Trip
Plagiarizing others work
Falsifying data
Presenting information which
is not true
Misleading respondents


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When to do research?
Is there
enough
time for
research?
Are
available
information
Sufficient
for making
decision?
Is the
decision
strategic
or tactical?

Is the
value of
the
information
more than
the cost?
Do the
Business
research

Time
Constraint
Availability
data
Type of
decision
Cost vs
benefit
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Business research should not be undertaken

No No No No

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Limitations in doing research
Time constraint
Availability of data
Type of decision to be made
Cost and Benefit
Payback
Improve quality
Use of resources

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What is Important in this Chapter?
Definition
Why research is important?
Benefits of research knowledge
Characteristics of good and bad research
When research is not feasible?