A

Research Report On

“PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER - A STUDY OF KATNI CITY”

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2007-2008)

GUIDED BY- SUBMITTED BY- Prof. Jay Kumar Dewangan Sanjeevani Shesh

MBA 2ND SEM ROLL NUMBER-5053607087

DISHA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY RAIPUR (C.G)

DECLARATION

I here by declare that research report entitled “PEOPLE

PERCEPTION TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER” is a genuine

work done by me and all information collected is authentic to the

best of my knowledge and is result of my own research work and

the same has not been previously presented in this University.

PLACE: Raipur NAME:-

DATE: SANJEEVANI SHESH

MBA-2ND SEM

SECTION ‘C’

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

During the course of my project, there are several people who have directly

or indirectly co-operated and guided me whenever and where ever it was

necessary and shared our hardship. Without there help this project would not

have come in to existence.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank form the depth of my heart,

each and everyone .

I acknowledge my sincere gratitude to Prof Jay Kumar Dewangan faculty

of DIMAT Raipur who guided me to conduct this study. I would also like

to thank him for his valuable guidance, cooperation and support at each and

every stage of this research project.

My heartiest gratitude to all my Teachers for helping me, and developing

my skills by encouraging me all the time for study and project work.

I thank all my respondents, and my friends who were kind enough to provide

necessary data required for the study. I also thanks my parents who helped

for successfully completion of this project.

Place: Raipur Date:

3

PREFACE

Today the business environment is rapidly changing in this

competitive environment the popular trend is also striving for

maintaining its positions therefore it become essential for the

companies that they should know about their preference & taste.

Regarding a particular product it is of almost necessary to know

the level of customers satisfaction to the value offered by the

company in case of dissatisfactory result it is essential to as certain

whether the dissatisfaction is for entire product or part of it is and

what value do the customers expect from it?

The research will provide the relevant information to the

organization about people perception towards branded water

purifiers.

The research work is sincere effort to find out the ultimate

requirement of customer for the betterment of research as well as

the organization.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4

CERTIFICATE I DECLARATION II ACKNOWLEGDEMENT III PREFACE IV

CHAPTER (I) Introduction1

1.1 What is Water Purifiers? 2

1.2 Consumer’s Behavior 21.3 Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior 3

1.3.1 Social And Cultural Influence 4 1.3.2 Specific Social Influence 4

CHAPTER (II) Research Methodology11

2.1 Review of Related Literature 132.2 Statement of the Problem 132.3 Purpose of the Study 132.4 Objectives 142.5 Universe 142.6 Sample 152.7 Sampling Method 152.8 Data Collection 162.9 Questionnaire 162.10 Statistical Technique 162.11 Delimitation 17

CHAPTER (III) Analysis and Interpretation of Data 18CHAPTER (IV) Findings and Limitations 32

SUGGESTIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

5

CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

6

1.1 WATER PURIFIERS

According to Indian mythology, human body is made up of air,

water, fire, earth and sky. But, the thing on which the human being

is most dependent, after air is water.

Water is that essential element in the absence of which existence of

life is not possible. Although 78% of earth is occupied with water

but the amount fit for consumption is very little.

In today’s world of globalization and industrialization, the

pollution of water is a very dangerous aspect haunting the

mankind. So, after many years of scientific research, many

institutions came with an innovation called water purifiers.

Water purifier’s usage is rapidly increasing in big cities, towns,

educational institutions, hospitals, heavy industries etc.

7

So, to conduct a research on the usage and effect of branded water

purifiers is inevitable, as frequent assessment is a much-needed

thing for more innovations and inventions.

1.2 CUSTOMER BEHAVIOUR

Behaviour is a mirror in which every one shows his or her image.

Behaviour is a process of responding to stimuli. Consumer

behaviour is to do with the activities of individuals in obtaining

and using the goods and services. It encompasses the decision

making process that precedes and determines purchases. In the

words Prof. C.G. Walter and Prof. G.W. Paul it is “The process

where by individuals decide whether, what, when, where, how and

from whom to purchase goods and services”.

Consumer or Customer behavior is all the psychological, social

and physical behavior of potential customers as they become aware

of evaluate, purchase, consume and tell others the products or

services.

8

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The liberalization and globalization of Indian economy has taken

place almost a decade ago, the focus point in any organization is

“Customer satisfaction”. The phase such as “Customer is king in

our business”, “service to customer is service to god” are no more

a myth but turned out to be a reality. Customer satisfaction is the

base of any business expansion because of the stiff competition

prevalent in the market.

Whether the buyer is satisfied after the purchase depends on the

offer’s performance in relation to the buyer’s expectation. In

general; satisfaction is a person’s feeling of pleasure or

disappointment resulting from comparing a product’s perceived

performance ( or outcome) in relation to his or her expectation.

As this definition makes clear, satisfaction is a function of

perceived performance and expectation. If the performance falls

short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If the

performance matches the expectations the customer is satisfied.

IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING

CUSTOMER MOTIVE

“Management is the specific and distinguishing organ of any

and all organization. There is or there must be one right

9

organization. The organization that fits the task is to lead people

and the goal is to make productive the specific strength and

knowledge of each individual”.

- Peter Drucker.

The process of mobile liberalization bought the issue of

customer focus to the fore front towards getting closer to the

customer in the identified market segment with well defined

characteristics, operators are establishing strategic business units.

We are able to witness attempts by public as well as private sector.

Now a day there is a need for customer focus. The customer

choice and awareness has been increasing tremendously during this

decade. The development of information technology and media

revolution, besides hectic competition for services provided by

operators, as market became increasingly competitive customers

can now immediately go else where if they don’t get what they

want. Continuous improvement gaining the competitive edge

increased market share, higher profits none of these things is

possible unless business can find new ways of maintaining the

loyalty of existing customers. Customer focus is the ability to

provide predictably positive experiences that consistently meet or

10

exceed the customer’s expectation. Customer focus should be

managed by “moments of truth”.

A “moment of truth” refers to any episode or any incident

when a customer comes into contact with any aspects of the

service offered and on the basis of the contact forms an opinion

about quality of the service and the quality if the product offered.

Customer behavior can be formally defined as; the acts of

individuals directly involved in obtaining and using economic

goods and services including the decision processes that precede

and determine these acts. The underlying concepts of this chapter

from a system in which the individual is the core, surrounded by an

immediate and wider environment that influences his or her goals.

These goals ultimately satisfied by passing through a number of

problem solving stages leading to purchase decisions. The study

and practice of marketing draws on a great many sources that

contribute theory, information, inspiration and advice.

1.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER

BEHAVIOUR

1.3.1 Social and Cultural Influences

Culture is learned behavior that has been passed down over time,

reinforced in our daily lives through the family unit and through

11

education and religious institutions. Culture influences, therefore,

are powerful ones and if the company does not understands the

culture in which the particular market operates it can not hope to

develop products and market them successfully.

It is important to recognize that culture although immensely

powerful is not fixed forever. Change in culture tends to be slow

and not fully assimilated until a generation or more has passed.

1.3.2. Specific social influences

Social class

This is the most prominent social influence. Traditionally, one of

the chief determinants of social class was income. Since pay

structures have altered a great deal in terms of the lower C2, D,

and E categories moving more towards levels previously enjoyed

by higher A, B and C1 categories over the past 30 years or so,

classification of consumers on the basis of lifestyle is becoming

more meaning today.

Reference groups

12

This can be described as group of people whose standards of

conducts of mould an individual’s dispositions, beliefs and values.

This group can be small or large. Reference groups can range from

the immediate family to the place of work. They can also be found

in a person’s social life. An individual is unlikely to deviate too far

from the behavioral norms led down by the members of a club or

hobby group. Reference group, but it does state that individualism

cannot exist within a group, but it does suggest that even rigid

independent thinkers will at least be aware of what is considered

‘normal’ within a group.

Motivation

Marketers are interested in motivation when it relates to

purchasing behaviour. This behaviour relates to the motive for

wishing to posses the goods or services in question, and it has been

termed ‘goal-related behaviour’. It can, therefore, be seen that a

number of motives might be at play when making a purchaser

decision – some motives stronger than others – and the final

decision might be a compromise solution.

Perception

13

Unlike motivation that requires a reaction to a stimulus, perception

relates to the meaning that is assigned to that stimulus as marketers

are interested in how buyers perceive and react to products in

relation to such matters as quality, aesthetics, price and image,

since products not only exist in partial terms but also how they are

perceived by consumers in relation need satisfaction. This

perception by buyers is affected by the nature of the product itself,

by the circumstances of the individual buyer and by the buyers

innate situation in terms of how ready they are to make the

purchase in terms of needing it at a particular point of time .

Attitude

Our strongest basic attitudes are implanted in our formative years

and these come largely from the influence of our close family

group and other social interaction. More refined attitude develops

later. In marketing terms, the sum total of our attitudes can be

regarded as a set of cognitions that a potential buyer has in relation

to a potential purchase or purchasing environment. This is why

certain stores or companies go out of their way to engender

favorable attitude and it is why manufacturer seek to induce loyalty

towards their particular brand or product.

14

Learning

In the context of marketing, learning is a result of information

received through advertising or other publicity or through some

reference group or other. In order to have an effect on motives or

attitudes, marketing effort should associate the product with

positive drives and reinforcing messages.

CHAPTER – 2

RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

15

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to solve systematically the

research problem. In it, the researcher studies the various steps that

are generally adopted in studying research problem along with the

logic behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to design his

methodology for his problem as the same may differ from problem

to problem. Thus, when a researcher talks of research

methodology; he not only talks the of research methods but also

considers the logic behind the methods he uses in the context of his

research study and explains why he is using a particular method or

technique and why he is not using others so that research results

are capable of being evaluated either by the researcher himself or

by others.

The research methodology adopted in this project is as

follows:-

1. Defining the research objectives.

16

2. Preparing the research designing.

3. Implementation of research design.

4. Data collection.

5. Preliminary data.

2.1 REVIEW OF RELATED LITRATURE

Review of related literature means researcher should

undertake extensive literature survey connected with the problem.

For this purpose, the abstracting and indexing journals and

published or unpublished bibliographies are the first place to go to.

Academic journals, conference proceeding, government reports

books etc. must be tapped depending on the nature of the problem.

In this process, it should be remembered that one source will lead

to another. The earlier studies, if any, which are similar to the

study in hand, should be carefully studied. A good library will be a

great help to the researcher at this stage.

Humans have been storing and distributing water for

centuries. Before, when people lived as hunters/ collectors, river

water was applied for drinking water purposes. When people

17

permanently stayed in one place for a long period of time, this was

usually near a river or lake. When there were no rivers or lakes in

an area, people used groundwater for drinking water purposes.

This was pumped up through wells.

When the human population started growing extensively, the water

supply was no longer sufficient. Drinking water needed to be

extracted from a different source.

About 7000 years ago, Jericho (Israël, figure 1) stored water in

wells that were used as sources. People also started to develop

drinking water transport systems. The transport took place through

simple channels, dug in the sand or in rocks. Later on one also

started using hollow tubes. Egypt used hollow palm trees and

China and Japan used bamboo strunks. Eventually one started

using clay, wood and even metal.

In Perzia people searched for underground rivers and lakes. The water went through holes in rocks into the wells on the plains.

Around 3000 B.C., the city of Mohenjo-Daro (Pakistan) used a very extensive water supply. In this city there were public bathing facilities with water boiler installations and bathrooms.

In ancient Greece spring water, well water, and rainwater were used very early on. Because of a fast increase in urban population, Greece was forced to store water in wells and transport it to the people through a distribution network. The water that was used was carried away through sewers, along with the rainwater. When

18

valleys were reached, the water was lead through hills under pressure. The Greek where among the first to gain an interest in water quality. They used aeration basins for water purification.

In 1827, the Englishman James Simpson built a sand filter for drinking water purification. Today, we still call this the number one tribute to public health.  

2.2 – STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

“Perception of people towards Water Purifier- a Study of Raipur City”

2.3-PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

To Study the Perception of people towards Water Purifier in the city of Raipur

2.4 - OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

i. To find out the awareness regarding water purifier among

the people

ii. To find out the most important source through which

people came to know about the water purifier.

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iii. To find out the most preferred of water purifier in Raipur

city.

2.5 UNIVERSE.

Population refers to the total of items about which

information is desired. The attribute that are the object of study are

referred to as characteristics and the units possessing them are

called as elementary units. The aggregate of such units is generally

described as population. Thus, all the units in any field of inquiry

constitute universe and all elementary units constitute population.

The population can be finite and in finite. The population is said to

be finite if it consists of a fixed number of elements so that it is

possible to enumerate it in its totality. An infinite population is one

in which it is theoretically impossible to observe all the elements.

The population is specific group of people, firms, conditions;

activities etc. which forms the pivot of research for developing and

using a sample. It becomes primary duty of a researcher to define

the population from which he draws the sample.

Population – To achieve this objective, the city of Raipur

was selected.

2.6 SAMPLE.

The sample is the representative unit of population. The researcher

has taken the consumer as sample for this research. Since in this

20

research the researcher has collected the sample according to his

own convenience, so the sample is convenient sample (i.e. non

probability sampling) and the sample size of the research is 100.

2.6.1 Size of Sample

This refers to number of items to be selected from the

universe to constitute a sample. The size of the sample should

neither be excessively large, nor too small. It should be optimum.

An optimum sample size is one which fulfills the requirements of

efficiency, representative ness, reliability, and flexibility.

2.7 SAMPLING METHOD.

Convenient Sampling Method was adopted by the researcher.

In this method the sample units are chosen primarily on the basis

of convenience to the investigator. In this type of sampling, items

for the sample are selected deliberately by the researcher; his

choice concerning the items remains supreme. In other words,

under this sampling, the organizers of the inquiry purposely choose

the particular unit of the universe for constituting a sample on the

basis that the small mass that they so select out of a huge one will

be typical or representative of the whole.

2.8 DATA COLLECTION.

21

The task of data collection begins after a research problem

has been defined. Researcher should keep in mind two types of

data, primary data and secondary data. The primary data are those

which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to

be original in character. The secondary data, on the other hand, are

those which have already been collected by someone else and

which have already been passed through the statistical process.

Both primary data and secondary data were used in

accomplishment of objective of the research.

2.9 QUESTIONNAIRE.

The term questionnaire refers to a self-administered process

whereby the respondent himself/herself reads the questions and

records his/her answers without assistance of an interviewer.

Although the instrument is essentially question asking and data

gathering tool. A questionnaire is more structured and

standardized. The questionnaire consists of a number of questions

printed or typed in a definite order on a form or a set of forms. This

method of data collection is quite popular in case of big enquiries.

2.10 STATISTICAL TECHNIQUE.

Statistical Method & Technique of Central Tendency was used by

the researcher in the analysis of the data in his research.

Percentage refers to a special kind of ratio. Percentages are used in

making comparisons between two or more series of data.

22

Percentages are used to describe relationships. Percentages can

also be used to compare the relative terms, the distribution of two

or more series of data.

Measures of Central Tendency tell us the point about which items

have a tendency to cluster. Such a measure is considered as the

most representative figure for the entire mass of data. Measure of

Central Tendency is also known as ‘Statistical Average’.

2.11 DELIMITATION

There is some specific delimitation in the study. They are:-

1. The generalization of data is subjective to the population of

Raipur city.

2. The generalization of finding is subject to the accuracy of

data provided by the respondents

3. Close ended questions used in the questionnaire were

answered comfortably by the respondents.

23

CHAPTER – 3

24

DATA ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

1. GENDER

GENDER NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

MALE 46 46%FEMALE 54 54%

25

Interpretation:- Majority of the respondent’s i.e., 54% are females.

2. MARITAL STATUSMARITAL STATUS

NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

MARRIED 77 77% UNMARRIED 23 23%

26

Interpretation:-Majority of the respondent’s i.e., 77% are married.

3. EMPLOYMENT STATUSEMPLOYMENT STATUS

NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

EMPLOYED 67 67% UNEMPLOYED 33 33%

27

Interpretation:- Majority of the respondent’s i.e. 67 % are employed which depicts the income level.

3. NATURE OF FAMILYNATURE OF FAMILY

NO. OF RESPONDENTS

PERCENTAGE

NUCLEAR FAMILY

84 84%

JOINT FAMILY 16 16%

Interpretation:-Majority of the respondents i.e., 84% have nuclear family.

4. Awareness of the people about the water purifiers.

Awareness No. Of respondents

Percentage

Yes 92 92%No 8 8%

28

Interpretation:- Majority of the respondent’s i.e., 92% are aware about the Water purifiers.

5. Awareness People of about the different varieties of water purifiers.Awareness about varieties

No. Of respondents

Percentage

Two 66 66% Four 23 23% More than four 2 2% Don’t know 9 9%

29

Awareness about different varieties

Interpretation: - Majority of the respondents i.e. 66% are aware of two brands of water Purifiers.

6. Perception of people about the price of the water purifiers

30

Interpretation:-

Majority of the respondents i.e. 45% feel that the price Is reasonable

7. Most preferred water purifier

MOST PREFERRED BRAND

NO. OF RESPONDENT

PERCENTAGE

AQUA GUARD

42 65%

ZEROB 11 17%OTHERS 12 18%TOTAL 65 100%

31

010203040506070

no. of responden

t

aquaguard zeroB others

brands

brand prefred

prefered brand

no. of respondent

Interpretation:-Majority of the respondents i.e. 65% prefer aquaGuard water purifier.

32

CHAPTER – 4

CONCLUSION

33

Findings The female respondents as per the data collected is 54% who

prefer water purifiers for safe drinking water in order to protect their family from diseases.

The employed percentage i.e. 67% is more compared to unemployed, which shows the income level and the high usage of purifiers.

Nuclear families use water purifiers the most as compared to joint families. Joint families use traditional way of water purification i.e. boiling the water. But nuclear families are more time conscious thus use water purifiers.

Awareness of people towards safe and pure drinking water is 92% .so this shows the work of media which has created an environment for safe drinking water.

As per this study Aqua guard, Eureka Forbes, aqua fresh, Zero B, Kent, Wipro, are the preferred purifiers. Amoung these aqua guard is most preferred by 65%

As per the study water purifiers gain more importance after 1995, when the economic development took place and people grew more conscious about the health.

34

Preference of people towards branded purifier is more but many a times due to cost or high price of brands, the usage of purifiers are neglected.

Age group from 15-45 yrs has responded in the same manner, as per their response pure, safe water is necessary for children as well as for adults.

LIMITATIONS

Limitation of time

35

I have completed the research in time inspite of all the difficulties,

if the time is short ,it is quite possible that one cannot collect

sufficient data and have to depend upon the secondary data whose

reliability is some time doubtful.

Limitation of consumers’ behavior

Very often consumers do not express their true feelings. In such

cases their habits preference practice cannot be assessed correctly.

Limitation of economic conditions

Earnings of customers in Raipur is comparatively low, people do not prefer use of branded purifiers and thus to search for users was a very difficult task.

SUGGESTIONS

36

There are still efforts needed to make people aware about the

water purifier.

More varieties of water purifier should be introduced in the

city so that the people may get a chance of option to choose.

Water Purifiers Companies must provide after sale service to

their customers.

Companies shall introduce or increase the range of their

product in respect of price so that a lower middle class people

may also afford to have water purifier.

There should be a temperature control device in the purifiers.

Media must attempt to make rural areas aware about the

water purification.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Kotler Philip, Marketing Management , edition 11th

37

2. Kothari C.R , Research Methodology , edition 2005

3. www.eurekaforbes.com

Appendix

38

Questionnaire

Dear Sir/Madam, I am conducting a survey entitled “Perception of People towards Water Purifiers – A Study of Raipur City” which is a part of my academic curriculum. I need your help in this study. Kindly provide me your valuable opinion by filling this questionnaire. The information obtained by this questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential and will be used for academic purpose.

Sanjeevani Shesh

MBA-2nd Sem. Disha Institute Of Management and technology

Raipur (C.G)PART-A

1. Ageo 15-25 o 25-35o 35-45o 45& above

2. Gender: Male [ ] Female [ ]3.Marital Status: Married [ ] Unmarried [ ] 4. Educational Qualification:

i. HSC [ ]ii. Graduate [ ]

iii. Post Graduate [ ]iv. Others (Specify)_____________.

5. Employment Status:i. Employed [ ]

ii. Unemployed [ ] 6. Monthly Income:______________________________7. Nature Of Family:

i. Joint Family [ ] ii. Nuclear Family [ ]

39

PART-B

1. Are you aware about Water Purifier?Yes [ ] No [ ]

2. About how many of water purifiers do you know?(Please Tick) i. Two ii. Four iii. More than four iv. Don’t Know

3. Do you use water purifier?Yes [ ] No [ ]

4. Which brand of water purifier do you have in your home?

Specify______________________________________5. Which year did you purifier

o 1950-1965o 1965-1980o 1980-1985o 1995 till today

6. How did you get your water purifier?i. By Cash [ ] ii On EMI [ ] iii. By Gift [ ] iv Any other way [ ]

7. What do you feel about the price of the product?i. Excessive [ ] ii. Reasonable [ ] iii. Difficult to say [ ]

8. What is the performance of your product?i. Excellent [ ] ii. Good [ ] iii. Satisfactory [ ] iv. Poor [ ]

9. Would you suggest others to purchase the brand of water purifier which you have purchased?Yes [ ] No [ ]

10.What features do you think should be added for further improvement in the water purifiers?

…………………………………………………………………… THANK YOU

40

A

Research Report On

“PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER - A STUDY OF RAIPUR CITY”

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2007-2008)

GUIDED BY- SUBMITTED BY- Prof. Jay Kumar Dewangan Seema Samaddar

MBA 2ND SEM

ROLL NUMBER-5053607093

DISHA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY RAIPUR (C.G)

41

DECLARATION

I here by declare that research report entitled “PEOPLE

PERCEPTION TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER” is a genuine

work done by me and all information collected is authentic to the

best of my knowledge and is result of my own research work and

the same has not been previously presented in this University.

PLACE: Raipur NAME

DATE: Seema Samaddar

MBA-2ND SEM

SECTION ‘C’

A

42

Research Report On

“PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER - A STUDY OF RAIPUR CITY”

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2007-2008)

GUIDED BY- SUBMITTED BY- Prof. Jay Kumar Dewangan Shraddha Shrivastava

MBA 2ND SEM

ROLL NUMBER-5053607095

DISHA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY RAIPUR (C.G)

DECLARATION

43

I here by declare that research report entitled “PEOPLE

PERCEPTION TOWARDS WATER PURIFIER” is a genuine

work done by me and all information collected is authentic to the

best of my knowledge and is result of my own research work and

the same has not been previously presented in this University.

PLACE: Raipur NAME

DATE: Shraddha Shrivastava

MBA-2ND SEM

SECTION ‘C’

44