Statistical Technique and Justification - Comp R US - Research Proposal Example

Title: Course: Course Code: Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Executive Summary Comp R US is a company that deals with the manufacture and repair of computers. The company launched a new department the CompleteCare division to deal with the customer needs. The department experienced three major problems that necessitated the research they include lack of enough technical operators, hiccups in scheduled distribution service and the company having insufficient spare parts to meet their customer needs. The research employed five hypotheses to answer the questions proposed by the management. The findings from the research include: Current level of customer satisfaction differs from management’s goal of 6 out of 10 Male customers derive additional satisfaction from the decrease in response time when compared to the female customers. There exists no significant difference between the members of the five age groups. Customers receive added satisfaction when the response time is reduced when compared to communication with staff and management. Decrease in response time does improve customer satisfaction when compared to any other initiative. Introduction Comp R US is a company that deals with the manufacture and retailer of computers. The company has had an incredible development and with time, decided to perfect the services that it offers to its customers. According to Mackay and Wilmshurst, (2012) customers are the driver of the organisation and when an organisation handles their needs efficiently, they will be drawn to them. Indeed, the management of the company has understood this concept and hence has decided to launch the Complete Care division to provide after-sales services to their clients. In every single organisation, challenges arise when implementing a new organisation structure. The Comp R Us is no different, and the division of the company has faced the following issues in its institution into the company. The first one is that the department is inefficient due to lack of enough technical operators to answer the customer inquiries. Therefore, the customers are forced to hold their calls for a long time while waiting to be served, and this aspect does waste their time. The second problem deals with the company having hiccups in scheduled distribution service that leads to the customers not receiving their orders when they have requested them. Thirdly, their customers complain about the lack of enough spare parts to repair their computers. Indeed, this problem inconvenienced the customers since it took a very long time for them to have their computers up and running. The customer complaints reached the managed and necessitated the preparation them to organise the department to conduct research on the intensity of the problem. The Company prepared 500 questionnaires which it presented to its clients out of this 420 questionnaires were answered. The data from this research forms a basis for the preparation of this report and is geared to address the following objectives. However, apart from dealing with the issue, the report is supposed to propose suitable recommendations that will address the issues adequately. The research objectives are: To determine whether the current level of customer satisfaction differs from management’s goal of 6 out of 10 To establish if there does exist differences between the satisfaction of male and female customers with the new loyalty rewards program at Computers R Us To investigate whether there are differences in the overall customer satisfaction across the following age groups: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 To determine the existence of some difference in customer satisfaction between responses to the initiatives of ‘increasing the level of advice Complete Care staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’ and ‘the loyalty rewards program at Computers R Us.' To indicate if any influence exists in overall satisfaction of Computers R Us customers. Particularly, regarding the following changes employed by the management: ‘decreasing response times in the CompleteCare division’, ‘the level of advice CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’, ‘the level of communication with staff and management’ and, ‘new loyalty rewards program’ Research Design According to Burns and Grove (2003), research design refers to the structure employed in the evaluation of the different parts of the research study and integrating them into one to resolve the research problems. The research plan engaged in the study is the cross-sectional survey design that involves conducting a study within a specified time. In our case since this is a pertinent issue the aspect of time was taken into consideration. In the Comp R Us study, the primary data was employed in the collection of the data through the use of a closed questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into three sections that tackled the various aspects of the research issues. The sections in their respective order include; Section 1-Personal information, Section 2- Current customer satisfaction, and Section 3- Determinants of customer satisfaction. Random sampling was used to determine the number of customers to be involved in the research study. On this 500 customers were selected and were provided with the questionnaire through their emails. Out of all these questionnaires that were sent out, only 420 questionnaires were returned. The response rate for that was received from the questionnaires accounts to 84%. According to Render, Stair, and Hanna, (2009), the response rate of 50% is adequate for analysis and reporting; a rate of 60% is good, and a response rate of 70% and over is excellent. In our case, the response rate of 84% will provide conclusive data for analysis. The ethical aspect cannot be ignored in any research analysis. Ethics forms the backbone of any research study that is being conducted. The essence of integrating ethics is to ensure that the recommendations proposed by the study are authentic. Wallace, and Sheldon, (2015) proposed some steps to be employed in ensuring that ethical practices are employed in the collection and analysis of the data. The steps they proposed will also be used in this report, and they include: Ensuring the confidentiality of the respondent when collecting data. The researchers should utilise the data collected when carrying out an analysis to ensure that they get objective results. The researchers are prohibited from interacting with the respondents on a personal basis. Hypothesis Development Hypothesis refers to formulating variables that can be tested by the theoretical research of a particular study. Research hypothesis falls into two categories the alternate hypothesis denoted by HA and the null hypothesis denoted by H0 (Render et al2009). In the Comp R Us research study, the five research questions stated as research objectives in the introduction will be used in designing the hypothesis. Question 1 Does the current level of customer satisfaction differ from management’s goal of 6 out of 10? Null hypothesis (H0): Current level of customer satisfaction equals management goals of 6 out of 10 Alternate hypothesis (HA): Current level of customer satisfaction does not equal the management goal of 6 out of 10 Question 2 “Is there any disparity in the satisfaction of female and male clients with the new loyalty rewards program at Computers R Us?” Null hypothesis (H0): there is no difference between the satisfaction of male and female customers with the new loyalty rewards program at Computer R Us Alternate hypothesis (HA): there exist differences between the satisfaction of male and female customers with the new loyalty rewards program at Computer R Us Question 3 Are there any differences in the overall customer satisfaction across the following age groups: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5? Null hypothesis (H0): The total satisfaction in the following age groups 1,2,3,4 and 5 is similar µ1=µ2=µ3=µ4=µ5 Alternate hypothesis (HA): There exist some disparity in the satisfaction levels of the age groups 1,2,3,4 and 5 Question 4 “Is there any difference in customer satisfaction between responses to the initiatives of ‘increasing the level of advice CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’ and ‘the loyalty rewards program at Computers R Us?” Null hypothesis (H0): there is no difference in customers’ satisfaction in response to the initiatives of increasing the level of advice Complete care CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’ and ‘the loyalty rewards program at Computers R Alternate hypothesis (HA): there is a difference in customers’ satisfaction in response to the initiatives of increasing the level of advice Complete care CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’ and ‘the loyalty rewards program at Computers R Question 5 Do any of the initiatives of ‘decreasing response times in the CompleteCare division’, ‘the level of advice CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’, ‘the level of communication with staff and management’ and ‘new loyalty rewards program’ influence the overall satisfaction of Computers R Us customers? Null hypothesis (H0): there exists no linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and decreasing response times in the CompleteCare division Alternate hypothesis (HA): there exists a linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and decreasing response times in the CompleteCare division Null hypothesis (H0): there exists no linkage between the overall levels of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and ‘the level of advice CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services. Alternate hypothesis (HA): there exists a linkage between the overall levels of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and ‘the level of advice CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services. Null hypothesis (H0): there exists no linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and the level of communication with staff and management. Alternate hypothesis (HA): there exists a linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and the level of communication with staff and management. Null hypothesis (H0): there exists no linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and the new loyalty rewards program. Alternate hypothesis (HA): there exists a linkage between the overall level of Computers R Us customer satisfaction and the new loyalty rewards program. Statistical Technique and Justification In hypothesis one, the one sample t-test was employed. The one sample t- test was used since the sample size chosen for the study is small. The test is used to determine the difference between two means which are the predetermined and the variable mean (Zikmund, Babin, Carr and Griffin, 2013), p.520). In the Comp R Us case study, the dependent variable mean is the customer satisfaction level which is compared with the predetermined mean of 6 that has been selected by the management. In the second hypothesis, the independent t-test is used to provide a conclusive approach to the analysis. The independent t-test focuses are suitable since it is used to establish the disparity between two mutually exclusive variables. In the Case of Comp R Us, the two variables that are being measured are the contradicting customer satisfaction levels between male and female customers. In the third hypothesis, the analysis of variance commonly referred to as Anova Test was used. The ANOVA test is suitable for determining the existence of statistical significance between more than three means of unrelated groups (Zikmund et al., 2013, p. 534).In our third hypothesis, we are comparing the existence of customer satisfaction in more than three groups that are independent on age groups. In the fourth hypothesis, the dependent t-test also known as the paired sample test is used to carry out the analysis. The dependent t-test is used in the comparison of two means that are derived from similar related aspects or units. The main aim of using the method is to determine the existence of statistical evidence where the difference in the mean of the paired samples has an outcome that differs from zero (Zikmund et al., 2013, page, 539). In the last hypothesis, the multiple regressions are used to determine the values of the dependent variable through the use of two or more independent variables. In our case, there are four independent variables that are used to determine the proportion of variance in the dependent variable the multiple coefficients of determination is often used in the computation to get conclusive answers (Zikmund et al., 2013, page, 586). The dependent variable in the Comp R Us case study is the customer satisfaction, while the four independent variables include; reduction in the customer response time, improvement of the level of advice provided to the CompleteCare staff, improvement of the communication levels between the Comp R Us staff and the management, and finally the provision of new loyalty rewards program. Results, and Statistical and non-statistical interpretation Hypothesis 1 Table 1 Statistical Interpretation: The null hypothesis needs to be less than 0.05 for it to be true. In our case the mean is 5.9 while the P value is 0.165 this value is less than the value 0.05 hence making the hypothesis that current level of customer satisfaction equals management goals of 6 out of 10 true. Non-statistical Interpretation: In the calculation the customer average satisfaction is 5.9 which are less than 6 by 0.1. According to the figure we can conclude that the customer satisfaction is within the management’s scope. Since the difference in the two figures is minute. Hypothesis 2 Table 2 Statistical Interpretation: The P value in this case nears 0 which is smaller than the value 0.05; this does negate the null hypothesis from being considered. In this case the alternate hypothesis is considered that is there is a distinctive difference between the satisfaction of male and female customers with the new loyalty rewards program at Computer R Us Non-statistical Interpretation: the total male satisfaction recorded a mean of 7.196 and there total number was 183. On the other hand the mean of the female is 5.763 and there total number is 237. An indication that the male easily get satisfied with the products and service offered by Comp R Us compared to their female counterparts. Hypothesis 3 Table 3 Statistical Interpretation: The P value is 0.115 the figure is greater than 0.05 this therefore leads to the negation of the null hypothesis and the acceptance of the alternate hypothesis. The alternate hypothesis states that there exist some disparity in the satisfaction levels of the age groups 1,2,3,4 and 5. Non-statistical Interpretation: Customers satisfaction levels are different in each age group .In age group 1 the satisfaction is 5.72, in age group the recorded figure is6.046, age group 3 that has the highest figure of 6.098, and age group 4 has the least figure of 5.5 and finally age group 5 that has a figure of 5.916. Hypothesis 4 Table 4 Statistical Interpretation: the P-value in this case is 0.0463 which is less than 0.05 therefore the null hypothesis is negated while the alternate hypothesis is accepted. The alternate hypothesis states that there is a difference in customers’ satisfaction in response to the initiatives of increasing the level of advice Complete care CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and services’ and ‘the loyalty rewards program at Computers R. Non-statistical Interpretation: The initiative to increasing the level of advice Complete care CompleteCare staff provide on Computers R Us products and that of providing the customers with the loyalty reward program has a mean of 6.388.The figure is higher an indication that both initiatives will reduce the response time taken to handle the customer inquiries. Hypothesis 5 Table Statistical Interpretation: According to the F test the value for P is 0 which is minimal when compared to the significant value of 0.05. The interpretation is that among dependent variables there is one that is interlinked with the independent variable. It also clearly shows that there is a positive correlation between the dependent and independent variable. The decrease in response time and the initiation of the loyalty program have a P value which is less than the significant value of 0.05.This therefore means that their alternate hypothesis is expected While for the other two the P value has a higher value when compared to the significant value of 0.05 which therefore indicates that the alternative hypothesis are negated, and their null values are accepted. Non-statistical Interpretation: the regression coefficient of customer satisfaction is positive on the independent variable. This is an indication that the customer satisfaction is easily increased through decreasing the response time in CompleteCare division. Analysis and Summary of the statistical results The first hypothesis was geared towards responding to the first research question. According to the data derived from the study, the current overall customer satisfaction level that is expected by the management falls closer to the 6 out of 10 expected value. The customer satisfaction level attained s 5.88 an indication that more needs to be done by Comp R Us for them to satisfy their customers. The second hypothesis revealed that the male customers derived more satisfaction (7.196) compared to their female counterparts (5.76) when it came to the decrease in the response time at the CompleteCare division. This is an indication that more needs to be done to ensure that both genders are satisfied since the male are more satisfied by the initiative. The third hypothesis revealed that the people in the 20s age group have higher satisfaction levels to the initiatives employed by Comp R Us. On the other hand the ones below the age of 20 and above 40 have low satisfaction levels that fall below the expected level of 6 out of 10 set by management. The fourth hypothesis revealed that the company employing the decreasing response time and communication with staffs and management has a positive and higher correlation with customer satisfaction. Though they have different levels, the customers prefer a decrease in response to the communication with the staffs and management. In the last hypothesis, the decreasing response time and loyalty program have a significant relationship with the improvement in customer satisfaction levels. Though there exist some negative relationship between the customer satisfaction and response time, there is an indication that more needs to be done. Recommendations The management needs to deliver the products and services within the predetermined time to ensure their customers are satisfied. More research needs to be carried to determine what the female counterparts would like to see changed to draw them to the company. The company needs to employ more technical operators to reduce the time taken before the customer inquiry is taken into consideration. The company needs to employ an intensive distribution network that will ensure that their customers will get spare parts where they need them. References Burns, N., Grove, S. K. (2003). The practice of nursing research: Conduct, critique and utilization. Toronto: WB Saunders. Mackay, A., & Wilmshurst, J. (2012). Fundamentals and Practice of Marketing. Routledge. Render, B., Stair, R, M. and Hanna, M. (2009), Quantitative Analysis for Management, 10th ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ Wallace, M, & Sheldon, N, (2015). Business research ethics: participant observer perspectives. Journal of Business Ethics, May, 128(2), 267-277 Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., & Griffin, M, (2013). Business Research Methods, 9th edition, South-Western, Cengage Learning.Page 520-587. Read More