The Impact of Valentine's Day on International Economy - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Title: The impact of Valentine’s Day on international economy Abstract This research proposal discussed the impact of Valentine’s Day on the economy of various organizations. From the research which has been conducted, it has been determined that many organizations in the hospitality industry tend to experience more results. The research will use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to collect the research data. The primary data will be collected using the questionnaire while the literature review will help to collect the secondary data. The secondary sources of data which will be used should be the sources which meet the standards like the sources which are not more than twelve years old. In addition, the researcher will use both qualitative and quantitative research methods to conduct the research. This research proposal also discussed that the researcher will analyze the data using tables and graphs. The ethical standards which should be employed by the researcher include honest, respect and integrity. This will help to improve the reliability of the research findings. Table of Contents Abstract 2 1.0 Introduction to the research 3 1.2 Research aim 4 1.3 Research question 4 2.0 Literature review 5 2.1 The concept of Valentine Day 5 2.2 Market factors that influence the effectiveness of the Valentine’s Day 5 2.3 Impact of Valentine day on global economy 6 2.4 Conclusion 8 3.0 Methodology 9 3.1 Type of investigation 9 3.2 Data collection 9 3.3 Sampling technique 10 3.4 Method of research 10 3.5 Accessibility of the respondents 11 3.6 Research approach 11 4.0 Data analysis 12 5.0 Ethical considerations 12 1.0 Introduction to the research Valentine day is an international day which is celebrated globally. Most of the people globally spend their time on vocations since Valentine Day is considered as a day for appreciating the loved ones. There are various ways in which the people celebrate the Valentine Day globally. However, in most cases it is considered that valentine day is only meant for the lovers. But Valentine Day has more impact than it is determined. The global economy has been influenced by Valentine Day since there are many business activities which take place. In some culture it is considered to be one of the holidays (The Ups store 2015). The main aim of this research is to determine the impact of Valentine Day on the international economy. Many business people plan effectively on market strategies that will be applied during the Valentine Day so that the needs of the market can be met effectively. There are arguments that Valentine Day influences the international economy as well as the domestic economy. The business activities which are conducted during Valentine Day include buying and selling but most of the economies do not account for the benefits which are reaped from the business activities conducted during the valentine day. This means that it is important to account for the economic benefits from the business activities during Valentine Day. In this effect, this research proposal will discuss the impact of Valentine Day to the global economy so that it will be possible to understand the impact of Valentine Day on global economy. 1.2 Research aim The main of this research is to determine the impact of Valentine Day on the global economy specifically the Australian economy. This means that the researcher will only be limited to the impact of Valentine Day on the global economy and will not focus on other concepts that contribute to the global economy. 1.3 Research question This research proposal will be guided by the following question; i. What is the concept of Valentine Day? ii. Which market factors influence the effectiveness of Valentine’s Day? iii. What is the impact of Valentine Day on the global economy? 2.0 Literature review 2.1 The concept of Valentine Day Valentine Day is the feast which is celebrated on February of every year. The feast is not a public holiday in most countries but it is celebrated globally. The feast was founded by Saint Valentinus. The day was first recognized for romantic love and was celebrated globally to remember the love of Valentinus. The day is celebrated by sending out flowers to the loved ones to appreciate their love (Smart Company 2013). However, in the current world the Valentine Day has taken a different dimension and it is considered as a romantic day. The day is always celebrated globally every 14th day of February every month. The loved ones buy and send out flowers to the loved ones and this means that business activities are involved during the valentine day. 2.2 Market factors that influence the effectiveness of the Valentine’s Day There are various market factors which influence the effectiveness of the Valentine’s Day. The first factor is marketing and promotions which are applied by organizations. This is because the tourists only visit the areas they are aware off. Most of the families during valentine day do not spend at their homes instead they spend their time in vocations. In this way, the hospitality organizations should market their organizations by providing necessary information for the clients during the valentine day (McDonald & Wilson 2011). Therefore, knowledge about the hospitality organizations will help to enable the clients globally to visit the places they want. On the other hand, the other market factor that can influence the effectiveness of the valentine day is forecasting on the demand. During the valentine day, the demand for the hospitality services increases steadily and this means that those organizations should be able to focus on the demand and develop strategies to meet the demand of the customers (McDonald & Wilson 2011). For instance, the hospitality facilities should be renovated so that they can serve the demand of the customers during the festive season. This will help organizations to meet the demand of the clients in the global markets and this will help to improve the effectiveness of the valentine day. In addition, the other market factor that influences the effectiveness of the valentine day is the technology developments. Due to technological developments, the clients in the tourism industry are able to improve communication with the potential organizations since they can even make their booking without visiting the physical location of the premises (Bischoping 2009). In this effect, there will be effective communication between the clients and the management of organizations in the hospitality industry which means that the customers can be able to search for the places where they can spend their valentine day. In this regard, market factors can help to influence the effectiveness of the Valentine’s Day. 2.3 Impact of Valentine day on global economy There are various impacts to the global economy as a result of the valentine day. Valentine day is a Christmas day but it is celebrated globally. The first impact of the Valentine’s Day is that there are increased sales of flowers among the business people. This is because valentine is considered as the day of lovers and this implies that the rate at which the flowers are bought increases (Bischoping 2009). For instance in the US, it is estimated that the average expenditure for each individual for flowers and dinner is about 130 dollars per person. This implies that sales during Valentine’s Day increase and this helps to influence the economic activities globally. In order to ensure market effectiveness, the sales people focus on the demand and develop appropriate strategies that can help to meet the needs of the customers during the festive day. This influences the global economy. In addition, the restaurants during the valentine day are filled up to maximum. This is because o most of the people spend their time outside their homes during valentine. From the research that has been conducted, it has been determined that about 40% of the people spend their dinner outside their homes. This means that the hospitality industry gains a lot from the benefits of the valentine day. This adds up to the global economy because the tax is paid to the government. In this effect, the managers in the hospitality industry plan effectively because they forecast on the demand and take appropriate measures to meet the demand for the services in the hospitality (The Ups store 2015). This improves the economic performance of the organizations in the hospitality industry which in turn influence the global economy. On the other hand, the valentine day helps to improve the economic activities because the business activities involving the jewelry also increase. The research that was conducted in Australia indicates that the sale of jewelry during the Valentine’s Day increases steadily when the season for the valentine approaches. The customers for the jewelry include both domestic and global customers (Mullins et al 2009). This means that the business activities which are conducted during the valentine day help to improve the performance of the sales of jewelry to both the domestic and the global markets. The benefits of increasing sales are that the government will be able to increase its revenues and also opening the global market for the domestic products. The other impact of Valentine’s Day is that the tourism activities increase during the festive season. In most countries, the tourism activities increase during Valentine’s Day and other various sectors of the economy. The increase in the tourism activity is that the government will earn foreign exchange hence increasing the collection of the revenue for the projects of the governments. This means that the governments should be able to develop appropriate measures to manage the demand during the festive season like infrastructure (Mullins et al 2009). This will improve global trade because there are many tourists who travel from one economy to another. In this concept, tourism influences the global economic activities. 2.4 Conclusion From the findings of this research, it has been determined that Valentine’s Day has great impacts on the global economy. The researcher found out that Valentine’s Day is celebrated every year in the month of February. The day is concerned with sending out love objectives to the loved ones as a way of appreciating the loved ones. On the other hand, the literature review can indicate that Valentine’s Day plays an important role in the global economy. The first impact is that Valentine’s Day helps to develop the tourism industry because there are many tourists visiting the tourist sites during the festive season. In addition, the hospitality industry also benefits during Valentine’s Day and also there is increase in the sale of flowers. In this effect, Valentine’s Day plays an important role in the global economy as it helps to integrate the global people with various industries thus opening the local industries to the global markets. In this effect, the management in various industries should be able to forecast on the demand and develop appropriate strategies to improve the market efficiency. 3.0 Methodology This section will discuss the research methods that will be used by the researcher to conduct the research. In particular, the research methodology will discuss the data collection methods, data analysis and sampling technique that will be used. 3.1 Type of investigation The aim of this research is to determine the impact of Valentine’s Day on the global economy. In this effect, appropriate data will be collected regarding Valentine’s Day and analyze how it impacts on the global economy (Berg 2008). As a result, the researcher will use discursive type of investigation so that appropriate data can be collected and analyzed to answer the research question appropriately. The researcher will discuss with the respondents regarding the impact of Valentine’s Day. 3.2 Data collection The researcher will use both primary and secondary data so that the research aim can be achieved. The primary data will be collected using the questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed in a way that only the relevant data can be collected from the respondents. For instance, the questionnaire will collect data regarding the recorded sales during the valentine day and the impact of the businesses and global economy (Berg 2008). The questionnaire will also be designed in that the demographic details can be collected while the second section will collect the data regarding the research aim. The advantage of using the questionnaires is that large amount of data can be collected and it will help the respondents to provide some explanation regarding the research questions. However, the sample size for the questionnaires should not be too complex for the respondents to respond since this can affect the reliability of the data collected. In addition, the secondary data will also be collected to help in answering the research question (Bischoping 2009). The researcher will use the literature review to collect the secondary sources to collect the information about the impact of Valentine’s Day on the global economy. However, the sources of secondary data collected should be reliable which means that they should not be more than 12 years old and should have bibliography for further research. In this effect, the researcher will be able to collect adequate and sufficient data to answer the research questions. 3.3 Sampling technique The sampling technique that will be used by the researcher is stratified random sampling technique. This technique is selected because it will help the researcher to select the sample with appropriate skills to respond to the research questions regarding the impact of Valentine’s Day on the global economy. This technique will be done by first sampling the respondents and then grouping them according to their skills and levels of education (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008). Simple sampling technique is then used to select the respondents from the sample. In this effect, the sample will be effective and will provide appropriate response to the research questions. The sample size that will be used is 50 respondents. The respondents include the business people and the customers. 3.4 Method of research In this research, the researcher will use both qualitative and quantitative research. This means that the researcher will use quantified and non quantified data. The aim of using the both qualitative and quantitative research methods is that the researcher will be able to describe the research issues which cannot be quantified and quantify the data that can be quantified. In this effect, the researcher will be able to collect and analyze the data effectively and make appropriate analysis (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008). In addition, the researcher will be able to make comparisons so that the findings of the research can be relied upon. 3.5 Accessibility of the respondents In any research, it is important for the researcher to ensure that the respondents can be reached so that they can respond to the research questionnaires. In achieving this, the researcher will have to consult the respondents ad identify the willing respondents before issuing the questionnaires. The researcher will be able to identify the respondents and identify self and the aim of the research so that the respondents will be feeling free to provide their data (DeMarrais & Stephen 2010). In this way, the researcher will be able to ensure higher percentage from the respondents hence data results will be reliable and they will help to reflect the opinions of the target population. In this way, the researcher will be able to get timely response from the respondents which can be reliable. 3.6 Research approach Careful planning is the key concept that can help to achieve better results during the research. The process of research will starts by identifying the research topic which is appropriate and can be researched on. The process in the research is design the research questionnaire that can be used to collect the data from the respondents. The research questionnaire should be then be approved by the supervisor so that it will contain the necessary section and questions that can help to improve the research findings (Bischoping 2009). The researcher will then be conducted and the collected data will be analyzed effectively. In this effect, careful planning is important in improving the validity and reliability of the research findings since the researcher will be able to collect appropriate research data required to analyze the impact of Valentine’s Day on the economic conditions of various organizations. 4.0 Data analysis Data analysis is the concept that helps to understand the findings of the research study which has been conducted. This is because there are manager who do not have adequate time to go through the complete document and this means that they should concentrate on the most important part which is the data analysis section. In this effect, the researcher will analyze the data using the tables and graphs as well as content analysis. The qualitative data findings will be analyzed using content analysis because the data cannot be quantified hence the judgment will be based on the opinions and the behavior of the employees (Bischoping 2009). On the other hand, the quantified data will be analyzed using the tables and graphs so that the data collected will be meaningful to the reader. The data will be analyzed based on the age, gender and the skills of the respondents. This means that the researcher will be able to analyze the data effectively and this will lead to better results. 5.0 Ethical considerations The researcher should be able to embrace research ethics so that the data can be collected effectively and analyzed so that the findings can be relied upon. In the first place, the researcher should be able to ensure that biasness has been eliminated. This is important for any research because the researcher will be able to collect data which is reliable (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008). This is because the researcher will not be bias when collecting the data or when selecting the respondents. The end result is that the researcher will collect effective data that can be used to answer the research question effectively. On the other hand, the researcher should embrace respect when collecting the data. This is because by respecting the respondents, cooperation from the respondents will be guaranteed. For instance, the researcher should respect the respondents like the gatemen so that he will be allowed to access the premises and the respondents (DeMarrais & Stephen 2010). This is because the researcher will be identified and it will be possible to get access to the premises and the respondents. Integrity should also be employed. The researcher must be able to respect and be honest when collecting and analyzing the data. This is important because the researcher will not manipulate the data to suit the personal opinions. In this way, the researcher will manage to analyze the data reliability since the data will not be manipulated to fit the researcher’s opinions (DeMarrais & Stephen 2010). In this regard, the researcher will be able to collect and analyze the data effectively to answer the research objectives. References Berg, B 2008, Qualitative research methods for the social sciences. 7th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Bischoping, K 2009, Review of Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches, 5th ed. Palgrave Macmillan. DeMarrais, K. B & Stephen D. L 2010, Foundations for research: Methods of inquiry in education and the social sciences. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. Eriksson, P & Kovalainen, A 2008, Qualitative Methods in Business Research, 1st ed, London: SAGE Publications Ltd. McDonald, M & Wilson, H 2011, Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them, 5th Edition, John Wiley and Sons. Mullins, J., Walker, O., C & Boyd, H., W 2009, Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision- Making Approach, 7th Edition, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Smart Company 2013, Hospitality industry smitten on Valentine’s Day as Australians ditch products for experiences, retrieved on 8th may 2015 from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/growth/economy/30280-hospitality-industry-smitten- on-valentine-s-day-as-australians-ditch-products-for-experiences.html# The Ups store 2015, The economic impact of valentine’s day in 2015, retrieved on 8th May 2015 fromhttp://smallbiz.theupsstore.com/blog/small-business-blog/2015/02/12/the-economic- impact-of-valentines-day-in-2015 Read More