Masters of Business Administration. MBA Semester-3. Assignments

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1 Summer 2014 Exam Oct/Nov 2014 Masters of Business Administration MBA Semester-3 MB0050 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Assignments Q1. How would you distinguish between a management decision problem and a management research problem? Answer. Differences Management Decision Problem- A problem that needs to make a decision about something. It relates with a problem that is faced by the management or decision maker. It asks what the decision maker needs to do. The management decision problem is action oriented. It is concerned with the possible actions the decision maker can take. Hence a Management Decision Problem is whereby when a situation arises, and management of a company needs to make a decision which requires research and hence starts the research process. There is no actionable guidance. It is simply a statement of the issue that management is dealing with, and there must be restatement in the research terms. Management Research Problem-Research Problem is the information that the market research needs to provide in order to solve the problem. Sometimes known as the objectives. So it might be to find out - the appeal of the product, who does it appeal to? What price would they feel that it is good value for money? The research would feed this information back to management and management could then work out if the potential take up and price would ensure profitability. Page 1

2 The difference between both of them clearly shown in the below figure: Management- Decision Problem Marketing Research Problem Should a new product be introduced? Should the advertising campaign be changed? Should the price of the brand increased? What can sabaru do to expand its automobile market? To determine consumer preferences and purchase intentions for the proposed new product. To determine the effectiveness of the current campaign. To determine the price elasticity of demand & the impact on sales and profit of various levels of price changes. To determine the various needs of the automobile users and the extent to which those needs were being satisfied by the current product offering. Explanation The decision problem faced by management must be translated into a market research problem in the form of questions that define the information that is required to make the decision and how this information can be obtained. Thus, the decision problem is translated into a research problem. For example, a decision problem may be whether to launch a new product. The corresponding research problem might be to assess whether the market would accept the new product. Example For example, a decision problem may be whether to launch a new product. The corresponding research problem might be to assess whether the market would accept the new product. "Should we launch a new product?" "Would it be profitable" and "bring in new customers". Page 2

3 Q2. How is research designs classified? What are the distinguishing features of each? Differentiate by giving appropriate examples. Answer. Meaning of Research Design Ask of defining the research problem is the preparation of the research project, popularly k o as the esea h desig. A research design is a logical and systematic plan prepared for directing a research study. It is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions. A research design is the program that guides the investigator in the process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. It specifies the objectives of the study, the methodology and techniques to be adopted for achieving the objectives. It constitutes the blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. Classification and features There are a num e of u ial esea h hoi es, a ious ite s ad a e diffe e t lassifi atio schemes, some of which are: 1. Sample surveys, field studies, experiments in field settings, and laboratory experiments (Festinger and 2. Exploratory, descriptive and experimental studies (Body and Westfall) 3. Exploratory, descriptive and casual (Green and Tull) 4. Experimental, historical and inferential designs (American Marketing Association). 5. Exploratory, descriptive and causal designs (Selltiz, Jahoda, Deutsch and Cook). 6. Experimental and expost fact (Kerlinger) 7. Historical method, and case and clinical studies (Goode and Scates) Page 3

4 8. Expe i e tal, uasi-experimental designs (Nachmias and Nachmias) 9. True experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental designs (Smith). 10. Experimental, pre-experimental, quasi-experimental designs and Survey Research (Kidder and Judd) These different categorizations exist, because, research design is a complex concept. Research Design for Studies in Commerce and Management The various research designs are: 1. Research design in case of exploratory research studies The main purpose of such studies is that of formulating a problem for more precise investigation or of developing the working hypothesis from an operational point of view. Exploratory research studies are also termed as formularize research studies. The major emphasis in such studies is on the discovery of ideas and insights. 2. Research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research studies The studies concerning whether certain variables are associated are the example of diagnostic research studies. As against this, studies concerned with specific predictions, with narration of facts and characteristics concerning individual, group of situation are all examples of descriptive research studies. Most of the social research comes under this category. 3. Research Design in case of Hypothesis-Testing Research Studies Hypothesis-testing research studies (generally known as experimental studies) are those where the researcher tests the hypothesis of causal relationships between variables. Such studies require procedures that will not only reduce bias and increase reliability, but will permit drawing inferences about causality. Usually, experiments meet these requirements. Hence, when we talk of research design in such studies, we often mean the design of experiments. Page 4

5 Q3. Discuss with the help of examples the four key levels of measurement. What mathematical operations/statistical techniques are and are not permissible on data from each type of scale? Answer. Meaning of Measurement scales Different definitions of measurement have been offered by different authors. Ca p ell defi es easu e e t as the assig e t of u e s to ep ese t p ope ties.. A o di g to te e s, easu e e t is the assig e t of u e als to o je ts o e e ts a o di g to ules. A simple example of assignment of numerals according to a rule is described below Suppose a survey is conducted to study the applicants of an MBA program and one of the objectives of the study is to find out the sex-wise break-up of applicants. In this case, we may assig the u e to ale appli a ts a d the u e to fe ale appli a ts. Thus numbers may be used to label individuals, events or things. Levels of Measurement Measurement may be classified into four different levels, based on the characteristics of order, distance and origin. 1. Nominal measurement The nominal scale of measurement only satisfies the identity property of measurement. Values assigned to variables represent a descriptive category, but have no inherent numerical value with respect to magnitude. The number of cases under each category is counted. Nominal measurement is therefore the simplest level of measurement. It does not have characteristics such as order, distance or arithmetic origin. Gender is an example of a variable that is measured on a nominal scale. Individuals may be classified as "male" or "female", but neither value represents more or less "gender" than the Page 5

6 other. Religion and political affiliation are other examples of variables that are normally measured on a nominal scale. 2. Ordinal measurement The ordinal scale has the property of both identity and magnitude. Each value on the ordinal scale has a unique meaning, and it has an ordered relationship to every other value on the scale. In this level of measurement, persons or objects are assigned numerals which indicate ranks with respect to one or more properties, either in ascending or descending order. Example An example of an ordinal scale in action would be the results of a horse race, reported as "win", "place", and "show". We know the rank order in which horses finished the race. The horse that won finished ahead of the horse that placed, and the horse that placed finished ahead of the horse that showed. 3. Interval measurement The interval scale of measurement has the properties of identity, magnitude, and equal intervals. A perfect example of an interval scale is the Fahrenheit scale to measure temperature. The scale is made up of equal temperature units, so that the difference between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit is equal to the difference between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. However, it does not have an origin or a true zero. This implies that it is not possible to multiply or divide the numbers on an interval scale. 4. Ratio measurement This is the highest level of measurement and is appropriate when measuring characteristics which have an absolute zero point. This level of measurement has all the three characteristics order, distance and origin. Examples Page 6

7 Height, weight, distance and area. Since there is a natural zero, it is possible to multiply and divide the numbers on a ratio scale. Apart from being able to use all the statistical techniques that are used with the nominal, ordinal and interval scales, techniques like the geometric mean and coefficient of variation may also be used. Mathematical operations/statistical techniques Analytical Study: It is a system of procedures and techniques of analysis applied to quantitative data. It may consist of a system of mathematical models or statistical techniques applicable to numerical data. Hence it is also known as the Statistical Method. It aims at testing hypothesis and specifying and interpreting relationships. Remaining answers are available in the full assignments... For full assignments contact us Naveen kumar: smuassignment2014@gmail.com Website: Note: Paid assignments will be in word format as per SMU s new guidelines without any watermark. Page 7