Concept Application of Concept in Scenario Reference to Concept in Reading
Methods of research
1.) Focus Groups
2.) Random Sample While attempting to identify a new product USA World bank made use of two different methods of conducting research. The VP of Marketing Jim Wilson, used focus groups of 40 small business owners to identify their needs and spending habits, while Mary Monroe, VP of New Product Development, used a random sample of 140,000 respondents to an online survey. Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2004
Levels of Measurement
1. Nominal: No distinguishable advantage from one to another
2. Ordinal: Can be ranked but the distances between the rankings vary
3. Interval: Means there is a constant standard of measurement but zero has no true meaning
4. Ratio: Has a constant standard and zero is an absolute. During the board meeting, new member and statistician Bea Hansen pointed out that the data collected from the focus groups and online surveys must be sorted and arranged in an appropriate manner. Lind, Marchal, & Wathen, 2004
Sampling Error Mary’s survey looks to be useless because of the huge sample size that is not truly random and is not a true representation of the population. Cooper & Schindler, 2003
Invalid Questions Board members noticed the phrasing of some of the questions in the online survey may have been unclear, which could have led to results that have little analytical value. Cooper & Schindler, 2003
Types of research
1. Primary research is information that is obtained specifically for the company for a specific task such as focus groups, surveys, field tests, etc.
2. Secondary research is information that has been gleaned from previously completed studies. The type of research USA World Bank used was primary research, which is used to achieve a specific purpose or answer questions specific to a project or goal. Both the surveys and the focus groups were conducted on the behalf of USA
References: Cooper, D. R., Schindler, P.S. (2003). Business Research Methods; Introduction to Business Research. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. Eighth Edition. Lind, D. A., Marchal, W.G., Wathen, S.A. (2004). Statistical Techniques in Business & Economics. The McGraw Hill, 12th Edition University of Phoenix. (2008). Week one: Scenario one. Retrieved February 16, 2008, from University of Phoenix, Week One, rEsource, Scenario One, USA World Bank. MBA510 Managerial Decision Making Course Web site.