Rise in the Demand for Smartphones in the Global Market - Essay Example

? Samsung: Research Proposal Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Research Design and Methods 9 Focus Group 10 Uses of the Survey and the Interview 12 Timbale Gantt chart 12 Budget 14 Reporting and Presentation Requirements 14 Biography of the Team 15 Work Cited 16 Appendix 19 Name of the Student Name of the Professor Course Number Date: Samsung: Research Proposal Introduction The researcher intends to make a research proposal on the company, Samsung. The company is a multinational one that is based in South Korea. Being establish long back in 1938, the company provides various types of technological gadgets, semiconductors, petrochemicals, skyscrapers and finance (“Intel and Safaricom Unlock Kenya’s Smartphone market”). It has been analyzed that the company has a high driving force to expand its business in the future. Thus, the researcher has decided to formulate a research proposal revolving around the scope of business expansion for Samsung through its Smart Phone Products in the global market (Dibb 166). Rational of the Research The states of business affairs for the modern multinational corporations have become highly complex after globalization of the world economy. In this epoch, the corporate firms must try to incorporate modern strategies in their business to effectively exploit the growing market demand for luxuries and comforts. This would help the firms to widen their economic surplus. With the rise in the living standard of the individuals in the global economy and a significant increase in the usage of internet media, the demand for smartphones in the contemporary business world has significantly increased. It is highly rational on behalf of the researcher to choose this situation as the primary issue of the research proposal (Snowdon and Vane 155). This is because when the demand for smartphones in the global market is significantly increasing and therefore, a growth oriented company like, Samsung, should frame efficient business strategies to increase its smartphones sales in the market (Abideen and Saleem 60). Figure 1: Rise in the demand for Smartphones in the global Market (Source: “AFP”) The above graph shows that in the world market, the demand for smartphones have increased. Considering the smartphone products of Samsung, the essay will focus on the secondary research method to analyze the precise nature of Samsung smartphones in the industry. For conducting this analysis, the researcher would elaborate on the SWOT and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis of the company, in view of the concerned product lines. SWOT Strengths The smartphones produced by Samsung are highly innovative in terms of design and technology. This is a unique strength of the company and helps the organization to maintain its high brand value in the market. With its quality products and good services, as recorded in 2012, the company has managed to generate a profit of 23.845 billion in the global market. The company enjoys a large share of market demand for its products and thus, has the benefit of economies of scale in production. This has helped the company to manufacture products at low costs. Figure 2: Rising Profit of Samsung (Source: “About Samsung”) As stated in the above graph, the increasing revenue of the company can be efficiently utilized to explore new business opportunities in future. Weaknesses Samsung does not have its own operating system. So, it needs to acquire an operating system from other companies. This in turn increases its cost of production to some extent. The company tries to increase its revenue by focusing on the improvement of all its products. This is not a strategic business decision. Opportunities The company should capture the growing market demand for smartphones in the emerging economies like, India and China. It will be able to obtain more business patents by making new acquisitions. It should take the advantage of the growing mobile advertising business industry. Threats High competition in the smartphone industry, have saturated the market demand of this segment of Samsung phones. The rapid changes in the state of technology and a high level of competition, in form of price wars, do possess a threat for the business of Samsung (Scruggs and Mastropieri 134). The BCG matrix would help to analyze the relative market share and demand for the products of Samsung. Relative Market Share High Low Market Growth Rate High Television Smartphones Low Semiconductors Financial Services Star: The Samsung televisions, both general and with LED configurations generate a high market growth rate in demand and enjoy the highest market share in the industry. Question Mark: Considering the increasing market demand for smartphones, the company should try to introduce new business strategies with the help of which it can grasp the opportunities of earning larger revenue. Cash Cow: Samsung is a big supplier of semiconductors in the industry but the growth in market demand in this segment is relatively low. Dogs: The financial services in the company are not one of the primary services provided by the organization. Thus, the primary objective of the research work is to find ways in which Samsung can increase its gross sales of smartphones and exploit the opportunities to aid its growing market demand (Wolk and Tearney 46). Research Objectives The four objectives that the researcher would encompass in the context of the research work are: 1) To find ways in which Samsung can increase the sales of its smartphones in the emerging economies of the world. 2) To formulate further business strategies that can be used by the company to augment its smartphone popularity in the market. 3) To enumerate ways which the company can integrate in order to reduce its manufacturing cost of smartphones. 4) To reduce the competition faced by the company in the market of smartphones. It is found in the recent years that after the emergence of globalization and liberalization, the growth rates and the per capita income levels of developing nations like India, China and Russia have increased (Tucker 127). The demand for luxurious products like, smartphones, in these economies has also increased significantly (OECD 55). Thus, it is highly rational for Samsung to carve ways to augment its business of smartphones in these particular nations. It would not be possible for Samsung to increase its sales of smartphones, if it does not adopt efficient business strategies to mitigate the obstacles in the way of its desired objective. A reduced cost of production can help it to not only increase its profit margin, but also lower the price of its smartphones. A fall in the price of its products would help the company to enjoy a higher market demand. The company needs to enhance its brand value and worth in the market and should also reduce the threat of its competition in the global market. This would allow the company to enjoy a higher share of market demand for smartphones (Collen 27). Research Design and Methods The entire research methodology would be based on data collected from secondary sources. The sources for collection would be authentic websites. The researcher would use quantitative as well as qualitative data for the analysis. The qualitative approach would provide the theoretical perspective of analysis and the quantitative approach would help to empirically prove the theories discussed in the context of the essay. The researcher would concentrate on the observational research technique. It was not possible to make the analysis on the basis of experimental research method because that would require more resources. Moreover, the sample is too large to be used for the purpose of an experimental research. This is because the researcher aims to conduct the analysis based on the contemporary incidents in the business environment and not by assuming a hypothetical business environment (Bryman and Emma 111). According to the researcher, the target population for the company should be the young generations of the emerging market economies. This is because smartphones are a form of modern technological gadgets which mostly attracts the youth. Moreover, the proportions of young individuals in these emerging economies are quite high. The per capita income levels of the individuals originating from these nations are also increasing overtime. Thus, firstly the company should try to capture the growing market demand for smartphones which is generated by this targeted group of individuals. A suitable questionnaire survey with at least twenty questions can be used by the researcher for analyzing the underlying driving forces determining the market demand for smartphones in the given situation (Bogdan and Biklen 79). However, it is not possible to make any quantitative or qualitative analysis with a large population. So, the researcher has adopted the method of estimation for the analysis. Estimation is the process that aims to predict an idea about the population parameters on the basis of the sample observations. A sample is a subsection of the entire population which is used in a research. The researcher has decided to make a purposive random sampling in the context of the research work. This is because the researcher purposely tries to analyze the factors which determine the demand generated by the young individuals from these budding economies of the world (Denzin and Lincoln 145). The questionnaire survey can be designed on the basis of ethnographic method of qualitative research. The researcher would introduce a closed ended questionnaire survey for the purpose of the quantitative analysis. Since it is ethnographic in nature, the questionnaire survey would aim to analyze the cultural and social aspects that articulate the demand for smartphones by the youth in these economies. The data collection process that the researcher would employ for the questionnaire survey would be online media. This is because the young individuals who can be the potential buyers of the expensive smartphones of Samsung are literate people. In the modern world, most of the literate individuals use internet as a common source of networking. Thus, by circulating the questionnaire survey through internet, the company can lower the time and cost required for the research. Internet can also help the company to reach out to a wide range of individuals. According to the researcher, the company should try to appoint some market research analysts who would execute the process of data collection and analysis for the organization (Anderson and Srinivasan 132). Focus Group The researcher would attempt to find ways for Samsung to expand its business of smartphones, thereby capturing the opportunity for a higher profit by tapping the growing market demand of the same. The researcher would analyze the ways in which Samsung can boost its sales of smartphones in the emerging world economies. The context of the research work would also discuss the various new business strategies that would help the company to reduce its market competition, lower its manufacturing costs and devise ways to augment its brand value in the industry. In order to make a more detailed analysis, following the open ended questionnaire, the researcher should introduce many closed ended focus group (a team of 12 members) interviews which would facilitate the achievement of the desired objectives efficiently. The focus group interviews can be undertaken either by the process of duel moderator focus group or by a Dueling Moderator Focus Group. The first method would help the company to address the various consumer requirements through the phase of smooth interview and the second one would allow the company to address the various perspectives through both optimistic and pessimistic point of views. These two techniques would help the company to work towards the desired objectives (Bhattacharyya 185). For the purpose of the focus group interviews, the company may recruit a group of twelve affluent young consumers from the emerging economies. It also needs to recruit a team of efficient modulators who would execute the session of the focus group interviews (Donald and Schindler 135). Another team of individuals who would address to the closed ended questionnaire survey would also have to be recruited by the company. The company should ensure that the tasks are executed with minimum time and cost (Eisner 66). The focus group interview would help the company to understand the perceptions of these individuals regarding the smartphones of Samsung. However, it should be noticed that the results that are summarized from a single session of a focus group interview would differ from one another. The company can decide on twenty different sessions of focus group interviews. Each session can be conducted over a period of an hour. However, it should be considered that each group of individuals selected for the purpose of the focus group interview should belong to the emerging economies (where the aggregate demand for smartphones is increasing with time). Uses of the Survey and the Interview The questionnaire survey and the focus group interview would be used by the company for the purpose of the quantitative analysis. The ultimate aim of the company is to analyze the future opportunities with the help of which it can expand its business. The closed ended session of questionnaire survey would help the company to analyze the underlying driving forces determining the consumers’ demand for smartphones. However, the open ended session would help the company to recognize the factors which are needed to be worked upon for improving its quality of products and services (Crilly, Moultrie and Clarkson 560). This would in turn assist the company to tap the growing market demand for smartphones in different economies. It is an open ended interview which would allow the analysts of the company to frame innovative ways to design and plan new programs. The evaluation of the existing programs can also be done with the benefit of focus group interviews. This would help the company to develop new business strategies for mitigating the obstacles on the way of reaching its desired business goals (Bernard 156). Timbale Gantt chart The timbale Gantt chart would provide a precise and formatted structure for the tasks that Samsung needs to execute to expand its scope of opportunity for achieving a higher sales for its smartphone segment. At first, the recruiting session should be executed which would include the officials who would conduct and organize the questionnaire survey and the focus group interviews for the purpose of the research. Following this, the interview and the survey sessions would be held in the company (Anderson and Sullivan 135). Budget Tasks Expenditure ($ in Thousands) Recruiting Staffs 2050000 Interview and Survey Sessions 13456 Planning and Programming 15622 Implementation of the Plans and Programs 287300 Evaluation of the success of the Implemented Programs and Plans 23440 The budget of the company would facilitate efficient allocation of the resources for the purpose of mitigating the obstacles on the path of meeting the desired objectives. Reporting and Presentation Requirements The reporting and the presentation of the research work would be done in an efficient and professional manner by the researcher. The researcher would use Microsoft Office tools to enumerate the various types of theories, methodology, data analysis and recommendations which are required for the purpose of the research work. In order to summarize the key factors and analysis made in the research work, the researcher would use PowerPoint presentation. For the purpose of the quantitative analysis, the researcher would employ efficient statistical tools of analysis (Coldwell and Laxton 52). Biography of the Team According to the researcher, the officials who would carry out the research work and analysis on behalf of the company should be educated professionals from diverse fields of business and commerce. They should also possess higher educational knowledge which they would be able to implement while formulating the analysis and the strategies. Work Cited “About Samsung.” Samsung, 2013. Web. 7 November 2013. Abideen, Zain-Ul and Salman, Saleem. “Effective advertising and its influence on consumer buying Behavior”. European Journal of Business and Management, 3.3 (2011): 55-65. Print. AFP. Samsung tips record Q3 profit of $7.3 bln. Thenewstribe. 5 October 2012. Web. 7 November 2013. Anderson, Eugene and Mary, Sullivan. “The antecedents and consequences of customer satisfaction for firms”. Marketing Science, 12.2 (1993): 125-143. Print. Anderson, Rolph and Srini, Srinivasan. “E-satisfaction and e-loyalty: a contingency framework”. Psychology and Marketing, 20.2 (2003): 123-138. Print. Bernard, Hurvey, Russel. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications, 2000. Print. Bhattacharyya, Dipak, Kumar. Research methodology. New Delhi: Excel Books India, 2009. Print. Bogdan, Robert and Sari, Knopp. Biklen. Qualitative research in education: An introduction to theory and methods. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998. Print. Bryman, Alan and Emma, Bell. Business research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Coldwell, David and Dennis, Laxton. Business research. Cape Town: Juta and company, 2004. Print. Collen, Arne. Systemic change through praxis and inquiry. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 2003. Print. Crilly, Nathan, James, Moultrie and John, Clarkson. “Seeing things: consumer response to the visual domain in product design”. Design Studies, 25.6 (2008): 547-577. Print. Denzin, Norman and Yvonna, Lincoln. The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. London: SAGE, 2011. Print. Dibb, Sally. Marketing Concepts and Strategy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. Print. Donald, Cooper and Pamela, Schindler. Business research methods. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print. Eisner, Elliot. The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991. Print. OECD. OECD Regions at a Glance 2009. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2009. Print. “Intel and Safaricom Unlock Kenya’s Smartphone market.” Intel,2 March 2013. Web. 7 November 2013. Scruggs, Thomas and Margo, Mastropieri. Applications of Research Methodology. West Yorkshire: Emerald Group Publishing, 2006. Print. Snowdon, Brian and Howard. R. Vane. An Encyclopedia of Macroeconomics. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2002. Print. Tucker, Irvin. B. Macroeconomics for Today. Connecticut: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print Wolk, Harry I., and Michael G. Tearney. Accounting Theory: A Conceptual and Institutional Approach. 4th ed. Ohio: International Thompson Publishing, 2000. Print. Appendix Questionnaire Survey Questions: 1. What is your idea and knowledge about Smartphones? 2. What percentage of your disposable income you are ready to spend for purchasing a Smartphone? 3. How are the features of a Smartphone useful to you? 4. According to you who are the leading manufacturers of Smartphones in the industry? 5. Do you already use a Smartphone? 6. If ‘yes’, then it is of which company? 7. If ‘no’, then why didn’t you purchase a Smartphone? 8. If ‘no’ in questions 7, then do you intent to purchase it in future? 9. If ‘yes’ in question 6, then what is your conception about Samsung Smartphones? 10. Are you aware of the latest model of Smartphone launched by Samsung? 11. Do you know about the features of the latest models of Smartphones introduced by Samsung? 12. According to you how Samsung Smartphone are different from the one you possess? (If the individual does not have a Samsung Smartphone). 13. If you are already a user of Samsung Smartphones then what is your experience from the use of the phone? 14. Are you not contented with some of the features of the Samsung Smartphones used by you? 15. According to you what are the changes that the company should make in its Smartphones? 16. Do you think that change is feasible? 17. If ‘no’, then why? 18. Do you believe on the brand value of the company? 19. If you are contented with your Samsung Smartphone, what according to you are the ways in which the company can enhance over the quality of its Smartphones? 20. Do you think that the prices charged for the Samsung Smartphones are worth its quality? Read More