Research in Business

1. Research in Business

2. Introduction to Research • Research is simply the process of finding solution to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. • Managers in organizations constantly engage themselves in studying and analyzing issues and hence are involved in some form of research activity as they make decisions at the workplace.

3. Introduction contd. • As is well known, sometimes managers make good decisions and problems get solved, sometimes they make poor decisions and the problem persists, and on occasion they make such colossal blunders that the organization gets stuck in the quagmire. • The difference between making good decisions and committing blunders lies in how managers go about the decision making process

4. Crucial Questions • Do managers identify where exactly the problem lies? • Do they correctly recognize the relevant factors in the situation needing investigation? • Do they know what type of information are to be gathered and how? • Do they know how to make use of the information so collected and draw appropriate conclusions to make the right decisions? and • Finally, do they know how to implement the results of this process to solve the problem?

5. Questions (Contd.) • To be a successful manager it is important that we know how to go about making the right decisions by being knowledgeable about the various steps involved in solving problematic issues. • Identifying the critical issues, gathering relevant information, analyzing the data in ways that would help decision making, and implementing the right course of action are all facilitated by understanding business research.

6. Business Research • Business research can be described as a systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem encountered in the work setting, that needs a solution. • It comprises a series of steps designed and executed , with the goal of finding answers to the issues that are of concern to the manager in the work environment

7. Business Research • To know where the problem areas exist in the organization, and to identify as clearly and specifically as possible, the problems that need to be studied and resolved. • To gather information, analyze the data, and determine the factors that are associated with the problem and solve it the necessary corrective measures.

8. Business Research • This entire process by which we attempt to solve problems is called research. • Thus, research involves a series of well-thought-out and carefully executed activities that will enable the manager to know how organizational problems can be solved.

9. Definition contd. • Research is an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific enquiry/investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it.

10. Data/Statistical Information • Data can be quantitative (as generally gathered through structured questions) or • qualitative (as generated from the broad answers to specific questions in interviews, from responses to open ended questions in a questionnaire, or through observation, or from already available information gathered from various sources.

11. Purpose of Research • Research can be undertaken for two different purposes. • Applied Research: to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution, For example, a particular product may not be selling well and the manager might want to find the reasons for this in order to take corrective action. • Basic research: to generate a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations can be solved.

12. Research in Business • To day’s managers have a growing need to understand scientific findings and incorporate them into the decision making process. • They also need to understand better how research is conducted and how good research can be identified. • Finally, they should be prepared to carry out research in a more scientific manner.

13. Characteristics of Good Research • Purpose clearly identified. • Research process detailed. • Research design thoroughly planned. • High ethical standards applied. • Limitation frankly revealed. • Adequate analysis for decision maker’s needs. • Findings presented unambiguously. • Conclusions justified. • Researcher’s experience reflected.

14. Types of Research • Business research is a systematic inquiry that provides information to guide business decisions. • It includes reporting as well as descriptive, explanatory and predictive studies. Emphasis is placed on applied rather than pure research

15. Types of Research • i) Reporting; • ii) Descriptive; • iii) Explanatory; and • iv) Predictive

16. Reporting • A reporting study may be made only to provide an account or summation of some data or to generate some statistics. • A reporting study calls for knowledge and skill with information sources and gatekeepers of information sources. • Such a study usually requires little inference or conclusion drawing

17. Descriptive • A descriptive study try to discover answers to the questions who, what, when, where, and sometimes how. • The researcher attempts to describe or define a subject, often by creating a profile of a group of problems, people, or events. • Such studies may involve the collection and description of data. • They may involve relating the interaction of two or more variables

18. Explanatory • An explanatory study attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon that the descriptive study only observed. • The researcher uses theories or at least hypotheses to account for the forces that caused a certain phenomenon to occur.

19. Predictive • If we can provide a plausible explanation for an event after it has occurred, it is desirable to be able to predict when and in what situation the event will occur. • A predictive study is just as rooted in theory as explanation.

20. Exploratory • When no information exists on some phenomena, surveys are undertaken to find about the various facets of the problem. • Survey-based research