Research for Marketing Decision - Assignment Example

1. Introduction One of the key objectives of this in market research is to elaborate and detail the various methods and protocols followed inresearch. The purpose of this assignment is to aid in a practical application of various methods of data analysis. It also helps in understanding how to evaluate information from various sources to arrive at an overall conclusion. The key aspects of this assignment are Qualitative An understanding the various transcription protocols and assessing a sample transcription for accuracy Evaluation of the specific questions asked during the interview keeping in mind the overall objective of the research Analyzing the interview to give a summary of the broad findings which are relevant for the research questions to be answered Quantitative An analysis of the data A presentation of the data in a tabular and graphical format Development of a hypothesis based on two variable and A discussion on the results of the analysis to compare the findings The quantitative part of this paper deals with the following information areas Company size Ranking of factors responsible for success of businesses Rating of factors which help in being successful managers Age of the respondent 2. Examination and analysis of the data A. Qualitative The style of the interview was an informal and free flowing. The research question was approached indirectly and there were some other questions asked which were not directly related to the research question. The transcription protocol used the guidelines laid down by Gumperz and Berenz (1993) and Langford (1994). Their use of '=' for continuation of speech and the timing was mentioned in brackets. The transcription also used all the specific protocols to be followed like ':' for elongated pronunciation of words etc. The general research question was 'Which factors have a significant effect on generating successful managers and successful businesses and organizations'. Summary of findings a) General issues faced by a service industry are Staffing The total number of employees required is low Also there is a need to employ the right kind of candidate for specific managerial posts, which is lacking at times due to paucity of trained people High staff turnover Infrastructure requirements Up gradation of systems and software is always an issue and to keep up with the fast pace of the IT industry, upgrading regularly is essential to keep abreast with competition Training Continuous training for the managers is a must to provide motivation, leadership skills and 'on job' skills b) Factors critical for successful business / organizations - These factors can be grouped under five main critical factors Employee management Training of staff regularly so that they may update their skills based on the latest technologies available Hiring the right people for the right job profile. This is essential because at times the qualified people have skills to achieve a job but may not have the right attitude and the mindset. Also transferable skills and number skills are extremely pertinent for managers There needs to be clarity in the chain of command and issues between management and staff need to be sorted out as amicably as possible. Infrastructure and investments Having the latest technology and the systems is extremely critical in the age of today. Efficiency of the workers is dependent upon the efficacy of the tools that they have been provided and better efficacy at work leads to loyal customers and therefore, profits Re investments of profits is required to keep up with the changing times and to be able to react quickly to the market changes and trends. Leadership A visionary leader which has foresight and can aid his managers in forward thinking is a must for a business which has a desire to grow rapidly Regular training for the managers is essential for them to learn and imbibe skills like leadership Marketing of services It is important to market the services to the customer not only through the right medium but also with the right message. Customer management Last but, arguably the most important factor which lends itself to the success of a business or organization is customer management. There is a need to be in touch with the customer at all times, during purchase and also later to ensure satisfaction. Some companies rely on loyalty for customer retention while the new entrants need to build that confidence before they can gain loyal customers. For this one needs to deliver service within budget and time constraints. Constant monitoring of the issues and complaints of the customers has to be ensured. Regular surveys need to be conducted to understand the perception that the consumers have towards the business. Lastly, it is essential to understand that it is not enough to provide the best cost to the customer. The need of the hour is to provide the customer with a 'balanced value' - the best service at the best price. c) Factors critical for becoming successful managers - to become successful managers, one needs to possess acquired and in born traits Acquired skills Proficiency in numbers and the ability to interpret them Transferable skills Multitasking Personality Perseverance and persistence Foresight Positive thinking Confidence to lead Timely decision making Vision d) Certain guidelines to reduce staff turnover - high staff turnover can at times become an issue and may become an obstacle for an organization to achieve its goals. Especially when the turnover takes place at peak times, low staffing may result in non-timely and/or bad service to the customer, which results in loss of revenue. The turnover of the staff can be reduce by ensuring Adequate facilities for the staff Constant motivation and positive feedback to achievers Regular and standard holiday breaks Good payment structures Bonuses at peak times Empowerment Promotions for those who work hard and show signs of graduating to a higher level of responsibility, irrespective of qualification; a chance to rise up the ranks. Overall, the need is to have an 'internal marketing approach' B. Quantitative The data provided in the data file was complete with no missing value for the variables that are being examined under the scope of this research report, mainly size of the company, ranking of factors in order of importance for business success, influence of certain factors on making successful managers and the age of the respondent. A reliability test offers us the ability to understand how accurate, on an average, the sample data would be to the population score and how free from experimental error the data is. A 'Guttman split half' reliability test was carried out on the following variables and the results are given below. The reliability co-efficient for the ranking on factors influencing business success was (0.97) and that for the factors influencing successful managers was 0.67. While checking validity, we check whether the data is unbiased and relevant. We need to establish Content validity - this is assessed by understanding whether the data has been collected from 'known groups'. In this case since the data has been collected from senior managers on the success factors of a business and becoming a good manager, the content validity is not an issue. Criterion validity - In this case study, since we do not have an external criterion against which scaling results can be matched, criterion validity does not apply Construct validity - By looking at data from two sources, we are ensuring that we understand the construct validity of the questionnaire. After matching the qualitative findings with the data collected from the quantitative survey, we shall have verified the construct validity. (Green, Tull & Albaum, 1995) a) Given below are a summary of the findings 1. Size of the business - The size was obtained from the respondent in terms of small, medium, large businesses. The sample profile was Most of the businesses were medium in size with an annual turnover of approximately 1 to 2.5mn pound. Small and large businesses formed 25% each of the sample. 2. Factors effecting success of business / organization Re-investment Computer technology Sustainability Eff. department comm. High Quality staff Rapid uptake of ideas Median - 50% of sample rated below this value 4.0 3.0 4.0 2.0 4.0 4.5 The median gives us the value of the response which divides the frequency of the distribution into exactly 2 halves. A lower median indicates a higher choice / rank overall. Therefore, the most important criterion for success in business was considered to be 'Efficient communication between departments', followed by 'major shift to computer technology'. 'Rapid uptake of new ideas', 're-investment' and 'sustainability' were less important. 3. Factors which influence being a successful manager Degree level education Communications skills Risk taking ability Strong personality Delegation skills Mean 6.34 6.64 4.95 5.38 3.14 Median 7.0 7.0 5.0 6.0 3.0 Mode 10 10 5.0 6.0 1.0 The data reflects that 'communication skills', 'degree level education' and a 'strong personality' are important in the making of good managers. 'Delegation skills' are not considered to have a large influence. 4. Age of the manager - the age variable was grouped into age brackets to understand the age profile of the respondents in the survey. The break up that was selected was a. 18-20 years b. 21 - 30 years c. 30- 40 years d. 41 - 50 years e. 51 - 60 years f. 60 years + b) Hypothesis Testing The general research question - Do the factors which influence the making of a successful manager differ based on the size of the business. Therefore, are different skill sets required to become a successful manager in a large firm as against a medium or a small one To understand the variance in 'factors that influence successful managers' with the size of the organization, a cross tabulation of the two variables was done. A summary of the results is given below. Very large influence % Small business Medium business Large business Base 32 57 29 Degree level education 15.6 29.8 17.2 Communication skills 18.8 26.3 20.7 Risk taking ability 0 1.8 0 Strong personality 6.3 5.3 10.3 Delegation skills 3.1 1.8 3.4 Mean Small business Medium business Large business Base 32 57 29 a b c Degree level education 5.7 6.6 a 6.6 a Communication skills 6.2 6.9 ac 6.6 a Risk taking ability 4.6 4.7 5.9 ab Strong personality 5.2 5.4 5.4 Delegation skills 3.3 3.1 3.0 Significance testing was done on the mean scores (at 95% confidence interval) for the influence of factors for becoming a good manager. The alphabet in front of the means core indicates that the mean score is higher than that of the column indicated by the alphabet. For example, a mean score of 6.6 a for degree level education for medium business is significantly higher than 5.7 for small businesses. The above tables show that there are differences in factors which influence the making of a good manager for small, medium and large companies. 'Degree level education' is more important in aiding good managers for medium and large businesses as compared to small businesses. 'Communication skills 'are more critical for medium businesses as compared to large and small ones, though for large businesses it is more critical to have 'communication skills' to become a good managers as compared to small ones. 'Risk taking ability' is more important in large businesses as compared to small / medium businesses. A chi-square test was attempted between the variables size of the business and each factor influencing success of managers, but it could not be carried out due to low frequencies in the cell (requires at least a frequency of 5 in each cell) General hypothesis - There is no difference in the factors that influence being a successful manager between small, medium and large businesses. Null hypothesis - The influence of degree/communication skills/ risk taking ability/personality/delegation is equal among small, medium and large businesses. 3. Discussion The two broad areas of exploration which were common among the qualitative and quantitative data collection were Factors which ensure business success and Factors which influence becoming a successful manager The key take out for the factors which influence business success are QUALITTATIVE QUANTITATIVE Employee management - training, hiring the right people, clarity in chain of command Infrastructure and investments - latest technology, re-investments of profits Leadership - forward thinking, regular training on skills required Marketing of services / product and customer management Inter departmental communication Adoption of computer technology Sustainability Leadership and the role of the people did not come through in the quantitative as much as it was harped in the qualitative. This was probably because the qualitative interview that was analyzed was of a chief manager from a service company wherein the human resources are far more important that any other asset. The need for the latest computer technology was mentioned prominently in both the studies. Sustainability, in a way was mentioned in the qualitative interview by mentioning the need for retention and training of the key staff personnel. A degree is more important in medium and large businesses and The key success factors towards becoming a good manager were identified as QUALITTATIVE QUANTITATIVE Acquired skills - number ability, multitasking Personality traits - perseverance, foresight, positive thinking, confidence, decision making Communication skills Degree level education Strong personality Personality traits were mentioned as a key requirement to become a good manager during the qualitative phase of the project. However, the quantitative data showed that communication sills and a degree level education was also required to make it to the managerial cadre. There data seems to have content and construct validity since the findings are generally similar. Given that the interview that was analyzed, it shows a clear service industry opinion. The overall opinion, however, is based on a mix of service, marketing, tourism and other industries captured in the survey. The questionnaire is a self-completion questionnaire that is simple and direct. The interview style is indirect and captured the required information to answer the research question in an indirect way. 4. Conclusion The objective of the survey was to understand the key success factors for the growth of a business and understand what takes to become a good manager. The key findings are that one needs to have the latest computer technology, recruitment of the right kind of people to ensure leadership skills among the managerial staff, communication skills and employee management. The characteristics of a good manager range from a degree to communication skills and a strong leadership personality. These aspects of a person are of different levels of criticality depending upon whether the business being managed is large, medium of small. For example, a strong personality and delegation skills are more critical for large businesses. References Green, Paul E., Tull, Donald S.& Albaum, G. (1995). Research for Marketing Decision. (5th Edition). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India. Gumperz, J.J. & Berenz, N. (1993). Transcribing Conversational Exchanges, in Edwards, J.A. & Lampert, M.D. (Eds.) Talking Data: Transcription and Coding in Discourse Research. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaurn Associates Langford, D. (1994). Analyzing Talk. 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