Business Research and Purpose Business research can be defined as an organized analysis that provides information to guide business decisions (Cooper & Schindler, 2006). In simpler terms, business research is the implementation of planned, controlled, merited and experienced based controls. Business research, based upon this interpretation, plays various roles in a company's decision-making process. In business research, a plan is formulated. It is the job of management in a company to get things done by the most efficient use of people, time, technology, etc. The purpose of research is to either create or test a theory (Cano, nd). Research is the apparatus used to test whether a theory is good or not. It is the process by which data is gathered to generate a theory or used to test a theory. Business research and its purpose will be defined in this paper along with business problem that Wal-mart was faced with which includes the parties conducting the research and methods used in the research.
Wal-mart Overview Wal-mart discount store was established in 1962 in Bentonville, Arkansas, by Sam Walton. In 1998 Wal-mart introduced the concept of one-stop shopping by opening Wal-mart super centers which combined full grocery line, general merchandise, vision centers and etc under one roof. Today Wal-mart employs 1.8 million associates worldwide, including 1.3 million in the