Chandra Beasley
Liberty University
BUSI 600
7.6
NCR Corporation, known as a world leader in ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) retail checkout scanners, and check- in kiosks at airports, announced in June 2009 that it would move its world headquarters from Dayton (OH) to Duluth (GA), a suburb of Atlanta, after more than 125 years. An employer of 1,200 mostly high-salaried, profes- sional workers in Dayton, NCR was enticed to move by Georgia’s offer of more than $56.9 million in tax credits; its fast-growing, educated 25- to 34-year-old population cohort; international offices for 10 European state govern- ments; and the busiest international airport (Atlanta) in the world. a What qualitative research might NCR have done to reach this decision? b NCR will use its move to Georgia to downsize its world headquarters workforce. What qualitative research could help NCR determine which of its 1,200 employees will be offered positions in Duluth? Qualitative research is the type of research people use to gain insight into a problem, issue or theory. Qualitative research is an in-depth exploration of what people think, feel or do and, crucially, why. If you want to know identify human behavior and what barriers there may be to their changing that behavior, you would use qualitative research to explore those issues. Qualitative research does not give statistically robust findings.
In the case of NCR and their decision to move, focus groups I think would have been utilized to form this decision. This method would have reduced the risk of researcher’s bias. A focus group is basically research that organizations do to gather information about person’s perspectives and opinions about new ideas. Focus group participants are asked questions in an interactive setting and are encouraged to discuss thoughts freely with other participants. The open and free discussions typically generate ideas and can provide a wealth of information for the
References: Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business Research Methods. (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Frances, R., Coughlin, M., & Cronin, P. (2009). Interviewing in qualitative research: The one-to-one interview. International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 16(6), 309-309.