BRM lecture chapter #1 Introduction.pptx

Business research chapter 1

1. Research Methods for Business Lecture 01: Introduction to Research Methods: Basic Concepts Dr. Ghulam Dastgeer 0333-5111469 [email protected] Air University, Islamabad

2. Why do we need Research?

3. Whereas a calculator on ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps only 1.5 tons. The Popular Mechanics March 1949

4. I can think of no conceivable reason why an individual should wish to have a computer in his own home - Kenneth Olsen, Chairman, Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

5. Duration taken to double knowledge Year Duration taken to double knowledge 1500 1500 years 1800 300 years 1900 100 years 1940 20 years 1970 7 years 2020 72 days American Society of Training and Development http://astd2007.astd.org/PDFs/Handouts%20for%20Web/SU402.pdf

6. Over 90% of the relevant literature in many technical fields, such as biotechnology, astronomy, computers and software, and environmental sciences, produced from 1985 - 2000. J B Quinn (2001)

7. Why Study Research? The primary purpose is advancement of human knowledge Research provides you with the knowledge and skills needed for the fast-paced decision-making environment

8. What is RESEARCH Research is the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. Enquiry is aimed at understanding a thing or phenomenon or solving a problem Research is an art of scientific investigation.

9. What is Business Research Business research method is a systematic and scientific procedure of data collection, compilation, analysis, interpretation, and implication pertaining to any business problem. Business research is an organized systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or solutions to it. Research provides the needed information that guides managers to make decisions to successfully deal with problems.

10. Business Researchers Business researchers systematically collect, compile, analyze, and interpret data to provide quality information based on which a decision maker will be able to take a decision in an optimum manner.

11. Fields Where Business Research is Often Used – (1) General Business Conditions and Corporate Research Short- & Long-Range Forecasting, Business and Industry Trends Global Environments Inflation and Pricing Plant and Warehouse Location Acquisitions Financial and Accounting Research Forecasts of financial interest rate trends, Stock,bond and commodity value predictions capital formation alternatives mergers and acquisitions risk-return trade-offs portfolio analysis impact of taxes research on financial institutions expected rate of return capital asset pricing models credit risk cost analysis Management and Organizational Behaviour Research Total Quality Management Morale and Job Satisfaction Leadership Style Employee Productivity Organizational Effectiveness Structural ssues Absenteeism and turnover Organizational Climate

12. Fields Where Business Research is Often Used – (2) Sales and Marketing Research Market Potentials Market Share Market segmentation Market characteristics Sales Analysis Establishment of sales quotas Distribution channels New product concepts Test markets Advertising research Buyer behaviour Customer satisfaction Website visitation rates Information Systems Research Knowledge and information needs assessment Computer information system use and evaluation Technical suppot satisfaction Database analysis Data mining Enterprise resource planning systems Customer relationship management systems Corporate Responsibility Research Ecological Impact Legal Constraints on advertising and promotion Sex, age and racial discrimination / worker equity Social values and ethics

13. Types of Business Research Classification # 1 Descriptive Research Explanatory research Exploratory Research Classification # 2 Basic Applied Classification # 3 Qualitative Quantitative Classification # 4 Cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies

14. Exploratory Research An exploratory study is undertaken when not much is know about the situation at hand, or no information is available on how similar problem or research issues have been solved in the past. An exploratory study is a valuable means of finding out ‘what is happening; to seek new insights; to ask questions and to assess phenomena in a new light’ (Robson 2002:59). In such cases, extensive preliminary work needs to be done to gain familiarity with the phenomena in the situation. Some qualitative studies where data are collected through observation or interviews, are exploratory in nature. When data reveal some pattern regarding the phenomenon of interest, theories are developed and hypotheses formulated for subsequent testing. 29/9/2012

15. In exploratory studies, the researcher is basically interested in exploring the situational factors so as to get a grip on the characteristics of the phenomena of interest. Doing a study for the first time in a particular organization does not make the research exploratory in nature… There are three principal ways of conducting exploratory research: • a search of the literature; • interviewing ‘experts’ in the subject; • conducting focus group interviews. 29/9/2012

16. Descriptive A descriptive study is undertaken in order to ascertain and be able to describe the characteristics of the variable of interest in the situation. The object of descriptive research is ‘to portray an accurate profile of persons, events or situations’ (Robson 2002:59 ). It is necessary to have a clear picture of the phenomena on which you wish to collect data prior to the collection of the data. 29/9/2012

17. Examples: What is incidence of project failure in Pakistan? Describe what is going on or exists. Description of characteristics of a group of employees, like, the age, educational level, job status, and length of service, nationality etc. A study of a class in terms of the percentage of members who are in their senior or junior years, sex composition, age groupings, number of semesters left until graduation etc. Descriptive studies are undertaken when the characteristics or the phenomena to be tapped in a situation are known to exist, and one wants to be able to describe them better by offering a profile of the factors.

18. Explanatory Research Studies that establish causal relationships between variables may be termed explanatory research. The emphasis here is on studying a situation or a problem in order to explain the relationships between variables. Explanatory research answers why and how of the phenomenon through hypotheses and theories Uses theory Much of the research published in journals is explanatory . 29/9/2012

19. Example: Impact of job satisfaction on performance of projects You may find, for example, that a cursory analysis of quantitative data on manufacturing scrap rates shows a relationship between scrap rates and the age of the machine being operated. You could go ahead and subject the data to statistical tests such as correlation in order to get a clearer view of the relationship. Alternatively, or in addition to, you might collect qualitative data to explain the reasons why customers of your company rarely pay their bills according to the prescribed payment terms

20. Applied research Is to solve a current problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution. This research is done with the intention of applying the results of the findings to solve specific problem currently being experienced in an organization. Example : Should a corporation adopt a paperless office environment ? Should McDonalds add Italian pasta dinners to its menu? Should Procter & Gamble add a high-priced home teeth bleaching kit to its product line? Research showed Crest Whitestrips would sell well at a retail price of $44

21. Basic research (fundamental, pure) Is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations can be solved. The findings of such research contribute to the building of knowledge in the various functional areas of business . Generally not related to a specific problem and its findings cannot be immediately applied. Purpose is to generate more knowledge and understanding of the phenomena of interest and to build theories based on the research results. Mostly performed by academics Example: A MS/PhD student research How does motivation affect employee performance ? Is executive success correlated with high need for achievement?

22. Quantitative Vs Qualitative Quantitative Qualitative Research questions: How many? When? Where? Strength of association? Research questions: What? Why? How Test theory Develop theory Hypothesis Research questions Measurable Interpretive Report statistical analysis. Basic element of analysis is numbers Report rich narrative, individual; interpretation. Basic element of analysis is words/ideas. Reasoning is deductive Reasoning is inductive Uses instruments Uses communications and observation

23. Cross-sectional studies are carried out once and represent a snapshot of one point in time Longitudinal studies are repeated over an extended period

24. Case Studies Case studies involve in depth, contextual analyses of similar situations in the other organizations, where the nature and definition of the problem happen to be the same as experienced in the current situation. Case study, as a problem solving technique, is not often undertaken in organizations because such studies dealing with problems similar to the one experienced by a particular organization of a particular size and in a particular type of setting are difficult to come by.

25. Manager and Research Why is it important for managers to know about research? Solve problems Decision making tool Competition Risk Investment Hire researchers and consultants more effectively

26. The Scientific Research Scientific Research focusing on solving problems and pursues a step by step logical, organized and rigorous method to identify the problems, gather data, analyze them and draw valid conclusions there from. It can be applied to both basic and applied research.

27. Why Scientific Research? This research is not based on hunches, experience and intuition. It is purposive and rigorous. Enables all those who are interested in researching and knowing about the same or similar issues to come up with comparable findings when data are analyzed. Findings are accurate and confident. Apply solutions to similar problems. It is more objective.

28. What is Good Research? The main distinguishing characteristics of scientific research are: Purposiveness Rigor Testability Replicability Precision and Confidence Objectivity Generalizability Parsimony

29. Purposiveness T he manager has started research with a definite aim or purpose. Example: The focus is on increasing the commitment of employees to the organization.

30. 2. Rigor A good theoretical base and sound methodological design would add rigor to the purposive study. Rigorous involves good theoretical base and thought out methodology. These factors enable the researcher to collect the right kind of information from an appropriate sample with the minimum degree of bias and facilitate suitable analysis of the data gathered.

31. 3. Testability: Scientific research lends itself to testing logically developed hypotheses to see whether or not the data support the hypotheses that are developed after a careful study of the problem situation.

32. 4. Replicability It means that it can be used again if similar circumstances prevails. Our hypotheses have not been supported merely by chance, but are reflective of the true state of affairs in the population.

33. 5. Precision and Confidence Precision Precision refers to the closeness of the findings to “reality” based on a sample. It reflects the degree of accuracy and exactitude of the results of the sample. Example: If a supervisor estimated the number of production days lost during the year due to absenteeism at between 30 and 40, as against the actual of 35, the precision of my estimation more favorably than if he has indicated that the loss of production days was somewhere between 20 and 50 .

34. Confidence Confidence refers to the probability that our estimations are correct. That is, it is not merely enough to be precise, but it is also important that we can confidently claim that 95% of the time our results would be true and there is only a 5% chance of our being wrong. This is also known as confidence level

35. 6. Objectivity: The conclusions drawn through the interpretation of the results of data analysis should be objective; that is, they should be based on the facts of the findings derived from actual data, and not on our subjective or emotional values. Example : If we had a hypothesis that stated that greater participation in decision making will increase organizational commitment and this was not supported by the results, it makes no sense if the researcher continues to argue that increased opportunities for employee participation would still help!

36. 7. Generalizability It refers to the scope of applicability of the research findings in one organization setting to other settings. Example : If a researcher’s findings that participation in decision making enhances organizational commitment are found to be true in a variety of manufacturing, industrial and service organizations, and not merely in the particular organization studied by the researcher, then the generalizability of the findings to other organizational settings in enhanced. The more generalizable the research, the greater its usefulness and value.

37. 8. Parsimony Simplicity in explaining the phenomenon or problems that occur, and in generating solutions for the problems, is always preferred to complex research frameworks that consider an unmanageable number of factors. For instance , if 2 or 3 specific variables in the work situation are identified, which when changed would raise the organizational commitment of the employees by 45%, that would be more useful and valuable to the manager than if it were recommended that he should change 10 different variables to increase organizational commitment by 48%.

38. The Building Blocks of Science in Research Deduction and Inductions Answers to issues can be found either by the process of deduction or the process of induction, or by a combination of the two.

39. Deduction Deduction is the process by which we arrive at a reasoned conclusion by logical generalization of a known fact. Example: we know that all high performers are highly proficient in their jobs. If John is a high performer, we then conclude that he is highly proficient in his job

40. Deductive Reasoning Using deductive reasoning, one starts with a given theory as the basis for which we develop hypotheses and then confirm these with specific data acquired using observation or experimentation (Is our theory valid or not?) Theory Hypotheses Observation Confirmation

41. Induction Induction is a process where we observe certain phenomena and on this basis arrive at conclusions. In other words, in induction we logically establish a general proposition based on observed facts.

42. Inductive Reasoning Using inductive reasoning, one starts with a specific observation as the basis for which we develop a general pattern and tentative hypothesis as the foundation of a theory Observation Pattern Tentative Hypothesis Theory

43. Major Steps in Research Process