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What is Research? Research is the process of finding solutions to a problem after a
thorough study and analysis of the situational factors.
Managers in organizations constantly engage themselves instudying and analyzing issues and hence are involved in someform of research activity as they make decisions at theworkplace
Sometimes managers make good decisions and the problemgets solved.
Sometimes managers make poor decisions and the problempersists.
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What is Research? The difference between making good decisions and
poor decisions, lies in how managers go about the
decision-making process. Good decision making fetches a yes answer to
the following questions:
1. Do managers identify where exactly the problem
lies?2. Do they correctly recognize the relevant factors in
the situation needing investigation?
3. Do they know what types of information are to begathered and how?
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What is Research?4. Do they know how to make use of the
information so collected and draw appropriate
conclusions to make the right decisions.5. Do they know how to implement the results
of this process to solve the problem?
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What is Research? This is the essence of research and to
be successful manager it is important
for you to know how to go aboutmaking the right decisions by beingknowledgeable about the various steps
involved in finding solutions toproblematic issues.
This is what our text book is all about.
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The Excitement of Research Modern technology has made research an exciting
and a relatively smooth process.
Personal computer with any means to an Internetconnection places one within easy reach ofknowledge of what is happening in the globalmarkets and how the world economy is impacting on
business. Decision making is merely a process of choosing
from among alternative solutionsto resolve aproblem and research helps to generate viable
alternatives for effective decision making.
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Business Research Business research can be described as a
systematic and organized effort to investigate
a specific problem encountered in the worksetting, that needs a solution.
Business research comprises a series ofsteps designed and executed, with the goal
of finding answers to the issues that are ofconcern to the manager in the workenvironment.
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Business Research Steps of business research:
To know where the problem areas exist in the
organization.To identify as clearly and specifically as
possible the problems that need to be studiedand resolved.
Gather information, analyze the data, anddetermine the factors that are associatedwith the problem and solve it by taking thenecessary corrective measures.
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Research and the Manager The managers encounter big and small
problems on a daily basis, which they
have to solve by making the rightdecisions.
In business, research is usually
conducted to resolve problematic issuesin the areas of accounting, finance,management, and marketing.
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Research and the Manager Problems in Accounting:
- Budget control systems
- Inventory costing methods
- Depreciation
- Time-series behavior of quarterly earnings
- Transfer pricing
- Taxation methods
Problems in Finance:
- The operations of financial institutions
- Optimum financial ratios- Mergers and acquisitions
- Leveraged buyouts
- Intercorporate financing
- Yields on mortgages
- The behavior of the stock exchange
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Research and the Manager Problems in Management:
- Employee attitudes and behaviors
- Human resources management- The impact of changing demographics on managemen
practices
- Production operations management
- Strategy formulation
- Information systems
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Research and the Manager Problems in Marketing:- Product image
- Advertising- Sales promotion- Product distribution- Product packaging
- Product pricing- After-sales service- Consumer preferences- New product development
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Types of Business Research Research can be undertaken for two
different purposes:
1. To solve a current problem faced by themanager in the work setting. Such researchis called applied research.
2. To generate a body of knowledge about
how to solve problems that could beoccurred in organizations. This is calledbasic research or fundamental research. Itis also known as pure research.
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Examples ofApplied
Research Apples iPod sales increased by 200% from
2001 to 2008. but the sales decreased by
6% in 2009. What is the reason for thisdecrease?
The question is: what will apple do about thisproblem?
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Examples of Applied Research
Xerox is insular and isnt ready for the
increasingly competitive, high-tech
world. Xerox still relies on old-fashionedand slow-selling analog copiers formore than half its revenue and despite
its double-digit growth in digitalproducts and services, its sales rose just4%.
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Examples of Applied Research
In the Xerox situation, it needs to lookinto the efficacy of the analog
technology used in copiers and examinewhat should be done to increaseefficiency and promote its sales.
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Examples ofBasic Research
University professors engage in basic research in aneffort to understand and generate more knowledgeabout various aspects of businesses, such as:
- How to improve the effectiveness of informationsystems.
- How to integrate technology into the overall strategicobjectives of an organization.
- How to increase the productivity of the employees.- How to increase the effectiveness of small
businesses.
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Examples ofBasic Research
These findings later become usefulfor application in businesssituations.
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Distinction Between Applied andBasic Research
The main distinction between applied andbasic business research is:
- Applied research is specifically aimed atsolving a currently experienced problem.
- Basic research has a broader objective ofgenerating knowledge and understanding ofphenomena and problems that occur in
various organizational settings.- Both types of research follow the same
steps of systematic inquiry to arrive atsolutions to problems.
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Managers and Research
Managers with knowledge of researchhave an advantage over those without.
With the ever-increasing complexity ofmodern organizations, and theuncertainty of the environment they
face, the management of organizationalsystems has become one of constanttrouble shooting in the work place.
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Managers and Research
Knowledge of research and problem-solving process helps managers to
identify problem situations before theyget out of control.
Minor problems can be solved by the
manager, major problems wouldwarrant the hiring of outsideresearchers or consultants.
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Managers and Research
The manager who is knowledgeable aboutresearch can interact effectively with the
researchers. Knowledge about research process also helps
managers to become discriminating recipientsof the research findings presented, and to
determine whether or not the recommendedsolutions are appropriate for implementation.
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Managers and Research
When managers understand theresearch reports about their
organizations handed to them byprofessionals, they will be equipped totake intelligent, educated, calculatedrisks with known probabilities attached
to the success or failure of theirdecisions.
Research then becomes a useful
decision-making tool.
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Internal Versus ExternalConsultants/Researchers
Internal Consultants or Researchers:
Some organizations have their own research
department, which might be called:- The management services department
- The organization and methods department
- R & D (research and developmentdepartment)
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Internal Versus ExternalConsultants/Researchers
Such a department within theorganization serves as the internal
consultant if it face certain problemsand seek help.
This unit would be useful in several
ways
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Advantages of InternalResearchers
The internal researchers have better chance of beingreadily accepted by the employees.
The team would require much less time tounderstand the structure, the philosophy and climate
and work system of the organization. They would be available for implementing their
recommendations after the research findings areaccepted.
The internal team might cost considerable less thanthe external team.
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Disadvantages of InternalResearchers
They might have less fresh ideas and perspectives thatmight be needed to correct the problems.
There is scope for certain powerful groups in theorganization to influence or misrepresent certain facts.
There is a possibility that the internal researchers are notperceived as experts by the management, and hencetheir recommendations do not get the consideration and
attention they deserve. Certain organizational biases of the internal research team
might make the findings less objective and less scientific.
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Advantages ofExternalConsultants
They have a wealth of experience fromhaving worked with different types of
organizations that have had the sameor similar types of problems.
They might have more knowledge of
current sophisticated problem-solvingmodels through their periodic trainingprograms.
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Disadvantages of ExternalConsultants
The cost of hiring an external research teamis usually high.
They need a considerable time to understandthe organization to be researched.
They seldom get a warm welcome, nor areaccepted by employees.
They charges additional fees for theirassistance in the implementation andevaluation phases.
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Ethics and Business Research
Ethics in business research refers to acode of conduct of behavior while conducting
research. Ethical conduct applies to the organization
and the members that sponsor the research,
the researchers who undertake the research,and the respondents who provide them withthe necessary data.
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Ethics and Business Research
The members that sponsor the researchshould do it in good faith, pay attention towhat the results indicate, and pursueorganizational rather than self-interest.
Ethical conduct should also be reflected inthe behavior of the researchers who conductthe investigation, the participants whoprovide the data, the analysts who providethe results, and the entire research team thatpresents the interpretation of the results andsuggests alternative solutions.