Similarities between Formal & Business - Research Proposal Example

? Individual Research Proposal of the PART I Formal Research & Business Proposal The terms ‘formal research’ and ‘business proposal’ are often intermingled in the field of research. Some people often use it interchangeably, but in reality they are actually referring to two different types of professional documents. A formal research report is basically produced to evaluate whether proposed project will succeed or not. On the other hand a business proposal is formulated for the principal purpose of starting a new business. Once the business proposal is drafted, potential investors evaluates the viability of the business. Interestingly, despite being different documents, both can be used together. The practical as well as the theoretical differences are highlighted below: - Practical Differences A formal research has large differences from a business proposal. The funding structure of formal research and a business proposal are completely different. The funds for a formal research are usually procured from a learning institution, government, or even public bodies. The findings are therefore expected to add value to the pool of knowledge. The business proposal is funded by various firms when it comes to notice that certain problems are contributing negatively towards the achievement of organizational objectives. Although, both the documents may seem to be similar, there are several critical differences between the two in terms of the overall goals, purposes, sections and uses. Identification of these discrete differences allows the researchers to come up with an effective business proposal and formal research. The differences between the two factors are discussed in details in the subsequent section. The formal research is modeled in such a way that can be imitated and aimed at building on the researches carried previously about the subject of concern. The business plan is however aimed at finding the optimal solution to the problem that is being faced by the organization. In addition, business proposals do not allow experiments, but surveys and experiments are allowed by formal research. The source from which data is collected for both the research papers also has major differences. While creating business proposals, researchers usually consider industry reports or authentic electronic sources. In addition, the data used for the formulating the business plan are mostly up-to-date. Formal research usually encompasses latest scholarly articles or books (Finch, 2013). Theoretical Differences A formal research report provides fundamental information and statistics about a particular field or industry. However, it is purely dependent upon the focus of the company. For example, a company may study about the demand of a particular product by researching about the demands of similar products already existing in the market. In addition, the study can be also about the sales figures and values of similar products. Finally, these findings will reveal whether the market for the product being examined is highly saturated, moderately saturated or offers a ripe business opportunity. On the other hand, a business proposal is also a research document that is usually completed for the principal rationale of suggesting a method for completing a particular task in the near future. A business proposal usually describes about the task to be completed, a section to illustrate the approach of the task, the time frame in which the task is to be completed, and outlining the resources and fund required to complete the project. The task which is being highlighted here is usually the launch of a new business. The formal research can be used in many cases, but business plans are usually formulated when a new venture is supposed to be launched. Another striking difference between the two factors is that the formal research paper is principally developed for the purpose of evaluating whether a company should consider development of another products or service. This report is mainly used by financial analysts and product developers. On the contrary, business plans are used to determine the most effective way of entering the market, after the product has been developed or the product line has been finalized (Kuiper, 2009). Similarities between Formal Research & Business Proposal Although there are large differences between the two terms, there are some commonalities as well. The similarity mainly arises in terms of the scope of the two research documents. Both formal research and business proposal are meant for finding solutions of a particular problem or a particular topic. A formal research tries to make the company aware about certain areas or certain filed of business and similarly a business plan generally has limited scope of solving issues of a business. The second similarity can be found in the components of both the models. Both the documents have some common structural components such as the introduction (that provides an overview of the issues to be studied or the subject of concern), objectives (which gives a clear note on the aims and goals of the research) and solution or conclusion (this section is responsible for providing the final verdict and is often regarded as the solution section of the study). In addition to the structural similarities, some elements or contents of both the documents greatly resemble. For example, the resources required for the project, the time line and schedule of activities and also the budget section. Lastly, both the approaches are reader centered in order to ensure the particular problem that prompted the study can be efficiently dealt. Figure 1 – Research Process (Source: Sekaran & Bougie, 2010, p.68) Therefore from the above discussions, it is evident that formal research & business proposal share several commonalities as well as differences. PART II A statistical hypothesis is a technique by which the validity and authenticity of a statement is tested. On the basis of the results, decisions are made. In this section, the validity of a statement will be tested and to do this the method to be applied will be hypothesis testing. However, this study will not involve any kind of statistical calculation or numerical data. Rather, the hypothesis will be tested purely on the basis of the secondary data. The statement to be tested in this context is as follows: - Is collaborative technology in virtual business teams a facilitator of corporate globalization? A comprehensive review of literature about the aforementioned topic will be carried out so as to accept a hypothesis and simultaneously reject the alternate. The null and alternate hypothesis which can be formed from the statement is as below: - H0- collaborative technology in virtual business teams a facilitator of corporate globalization. H1: - collaborative technology in virtual business is not a facilitator of corporate globalization. Literature Review With the advent of technology, the distance between countries is continuously reducing. The use of technology is visible in almost every sector. Business houses have also started to implement technology in their system of operation for the sake of increasing the efficiency of the organization and bringing speed. Technology is also playing a crucial role in fostering faster communication within the organization. Technology has also enabled business houses to set up virtual teams so that business activities can be carried out throughout the globe. The employment of collaborative technologies, net forums and meetings, and video and teleconferences has allowed business houses to globalize. The collaborative technologies on the other hand has also reduced the business operations and communication cost. For example, the emergence of video conferencing and “same time chat” has reduced the communication cost to a great extent. Frequent travelling to other parts of the world for business meeting have also reduced, which in turn saved the travelling cost. According to Pauleen (2004) virtual teams are able to work independently with the team members irrespective of the location of work. As a result of that organizational boundary and time has become more flexible. In the similar way Rao & Krishna (2009) also stated that working independently or working virtually also improves the performance of the employees. Buckly et al. (1998) put emphasis on the fact that virtual teams also contributes heavily towards corporate globalization. The author also mentioned that people using different technologies are highly globalized citizens and represents a varied culture. Beyerlein et al. (2002) in this context have pointed out that employment of collaborative technologies fosters globalization, especially because of the drastic improvement of speed. Collaborative technology in virtual business has played a crucial role in reducing the wastages of the firms and that in turn facilitated companies to focus more on growth. In the opinion of Caprio (2012), superior communication has been one of the corner stone of globalization for the business houses, which is being strong promoted by collaborative technologies. Similarly, Sorli & Stokic (2009) also highlights that through the use of collaborative technologies, people in virtual teams gets the opportunity to interact at a rapid pace and that too in real time. However, it is also essential for collaborative technology to be effective in virtual businesses that a boundary should be set so as to determine who are in the group. Therefore from the above discussion it is evident that collaborative technologies are crucial for facilitator of corporate globalization and hence the null hypothesis holds true for the study. References Caprio, G. (2012). Handbook of Key Global Financial Markets, Institutions, and Infrastructure. San Diego: Academic Press. Finch, B. (2013). How to Write a Business Plan (4th ed.). London: Kogan Page Publishers. Kuiper, S. (2009). Contemporary Business Report Writing (4th ed.). Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Pauleen, D. (2004). Virtual Teams: Projects, Protocols and Processes. New Delhi: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Rao, V. S. P. & Krishna, V. H. (2009). Management: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Sekaran, U. & Bougie, R. (2010). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach (5th ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Sorli, M. & Stokic, D. (2009). Innovating in Product/process Development: Gaining Pace in New Product Development. Berlin: Springer. Read More