Introduction - Class 1

Some interesting observations through market research:

• People in team functions best if they can do some work collaboratively and some privately
• Privacy and security concerns have deterred many physicians from using online services
• The higher the intended level of achievement, the higher the level of performance
• Customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction are closely linked (Ryder and Ryder found a high correlation between the way employees viewed and organization and the way customers think about it)

Busniess / Market / Organizational Research

Definition: Systematic and objective process of generating, recording and analyzing information to aid in business decision (Definition is as per American Marketing Association)

Interpretation from the definition:

• The Research information is neither intuitive nor haphazardly gathered
• Non business decisions are not covered here
• To analyze the above data, the researcher must be objective & he/she should be detached or impartial rather than engaging in a biased attempt to prove preconceived ideas
• The research process facilitates the managerial decision making process for all aspects of business (Finance, marketing, personnel etc.), It is an aid to managerial decision and not a substitute for it

It is a function that relates the consumer, customer & public to the decision maker through information which helps to -

• Identify opportunities and issues
• Evaluate & refine business performance
• Improve business understanding

Business research helps decision makers shift from intutive information gathering system to systematic and objective investigation.

Why Called as Business Research: Because all rsearch techniques are applicable to business settings.

Basic and Applied Research

Basic / Pure Research: It is conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory or to discover more about a certain concept.

It is a research that is intended to expand the boundaries of knowledge itself or to verify the acceptability of a given theory.

In basic research, first testing the conceptions and hypothesis and then making inferences and conclusions about the phenomenon lead to establishment of general laws about the phenomenon.

Applied Research: It is conducted when a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem. Example: An organization aiming a paperless office and a networking system for the company’s personal computers may conduct research to learn the amount of time it spend at personal computers in an average week.

Basic Research	Applied Research
Generates broad based decisions	Generates focussed decision
Conducted less frequently (in 2-3 years)	Conducted more frequently
Contains immense information, hence, becomes difficult to know how much and when to take action	Aims at specific decision at specific point in time & addresses that decision only
Example: Setting up of chewing gum factory in Iran (Has to know political stability in Iran, feasilbity of setup at a location etc)	Example: Flavor / colour of gum (what customer wants in his / her gum based on market research)

Managerial Value of Business Research: Reduces uncertainty by providing information that improves the decision making process.

Research at Chrysler Corporation - No Sweat at Jeep: Chrysler Corporation, Jeep’s parent company asked about 380 paint line workers who wash, wipe and prepare Jeep-Cherokees (an SUV) for painting to stop using the antiperspirants as part of the company’s total quality management effort.

The market research showed that antiperspirants worn the workers flaked and fell onto the paint. Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zinc-zirconium that can damage paint. The paint flows away from a fallen flake of these chemicals, causing a depression about a size of a baby’s fingertip.

Management is trying to persuade the workers to switch to deodorants, which control odor but do not stop sweating.

Bible Statement of RM: Every stage is linked. Equal weightage should be given to steps in a research process. No stage of the research should be given importance at the cost of other stages.

No more than 5 objectives should be present in a research project.

Conditions before doing the Research

• Whether time available is sufficient ?
• Whether information available (secondary data) is sufficient for a decision ?
• Is the decision of high strategic / tactical information ?
• Does value / benefit of research overweighs Cost of Research ?

Conduct research (only if the above 4 criterion is fulfilled)

The sign off from client needs to be taken first (official signoff on papers), post which the task of the Research should start

ESOMAR – European society for Opinion and Marketing Research