DY, Kim G.

9:00-10:30 am (MW) BA109N November 14, 2012

BUSINESS RESEARCH
I. Definition of Business Research: The success of a business lies on the good decision making of a company. And to be able to make good decisions, a company relies on the use of business research. Research is a discerning pursuit of truth. Literally, research (research) means to search again. The term connotes patient study and scientific investigation wherein the researcher takes another, more careful look at the data to discover all that is known about the subject. (Zikmund, Babin, Carr & Griffin, 2012) Through research, questions regarding key strategies, tactics and operations of a business are answered. Business research seeks to predict and explain phenomena that, taken together, constitute the ever-changing business environment. Thus business research is a truth seeking function that gathers, analyzes, interprets, and reports information so that business decision makers become more effective. (Hair, Celsi, Money, Samouel & Page, 2011) Within an organization, business research may be referred to as a marketing research, organizational research, a director of financial or economic research, or one of many other titles. Although business researchers are often specialized, the term business research encompasses all of these functional specialties. (Zikmund et al., 2012) Business research is intended to find out things about business in a systematic way. In short, it is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth

about business phenomena. The research information should also be (1) scientific; not intuitive or haphazardly gathered (2) objective (3) impersonal. Managers can use business research in all stages of decision-making process to define problems, identify opportunities, to diagnose casual factors and to clarify alternatives. Research is also used to evaluate current programs and courses of action, to explain what went wrong with managerial efforts in the past and to forecast future conditions. (Coldwell & Herbst, 2004). For managers, the purpose of business research is to provide knowledge regarding the organization, the market, the economy, or another area of uncertainty. One useful way to describe research is based on the specificity of its purpose. Applied business research is conducted to address a specific business decision for a specific firm or organization. Basic business research (sometimes referred to as pure research) is conducted without a specific decision in mind, and it usually does not address the needs of a specific organization. It attempts to expand the limits of knowledge in general, and as such it is not aimed at solving a particular pragmatic problem. Basic research can be used to test the validity of a general business theory (one that applies to all businesses) or to learn more about a particular business phenomenon.

II. Importance of Business Research: Business research is an essential tool for management in virtually all problem-solving and decision-making activities. By providing the necessary information on which to base business decisions, research can decrease the risk of making a wrong decision in each area.

Business research can help managers plan strategies by determining the nature of situations or by identifying the existence of problems or opportunities present in the organization.

Business research may be used as a scanning activity to provide information about what is occurring within an organization or in its environment.

Business research has a descriptive function, which deals with the collection and presentation of data

Business research has a diagnostic function, which explains a data with a view to finding specific solutions to particular business issues.

Business research also has a predictive function, which forecast future development so as to take advantage to opportunities as they arise.

Business research also provides feedback and make evaluations and perform corrective actions

Business research is used to study key competitions in the market. Business research enable the company to hire researchers and consultants more effectively

Business research helps its users weigh the risks and benefits of their investment.

III. Major Steps in Business Research: Like any other research, a business research applies the concept of the scientific method. And thus, business research often follows a general pattern. 1. Defining the research objectives Defining the goals to be achieved or the exploration of the possibilities of entering a new market. The research objectives cannot be developed until

managers and researchers have agreed on the actual business problem that will be addressed by the research. Thus, they set out to discover this problem through a series of interviews and through a document called a research proposal. 2. Planning a research design A research design is a master plan that specifies the methods and procedures for collecting and analyzing the needed information. A research design provides a framework or plan of action for the research. Objectives of the study determined during the early stages of research are included in the design to ensure that the information collected is appropriate for solving the problem. The researcher also must determine the sources of information, the design technique (survey or experiment, for example), the sampling methodology, and the schedule and cost of the research. 3. Planning a sample The sampling stage is a distinct phase of the research process. Sampling involves any procedure that draws conclusions based on measurements of a portion of the population. In other words, a sample is a subset from a larger population. If certain statistical procedures are followed, a researcher need not select every item in a population because the results of a good sample should have the same characteristics as the population as a whole. 4. Collecting the data The data gathering stage begins once the sampling plan has been formalized. Data gathering is the process of gathering or collecting information. Data may be gathered by human observers or interviewers, or they may be recorded by machines as in the case of scanner data and Web-based surveys.

5. Analyzing the data Data analysis is the application of reasoning to understand the data that have been gathered. In its simplest form, analysis may involve determining consistent patterns and summarizing the relevant details revealed in the investigation. The appropriate analytical technique for data analysis will be determined by managements information requirements, the characteristics of the research design, and the nature of the data gathered. Statistical analysis may range from portraying a simple frequency distribution to more complex multivariate analyses approaches, such as multiple regression. Later chapters will discuss three general categories of statistical analysis: univariate analysis, bivariate analysis, and multivariate analysis. 6. Formulating the conclusions and preparing the report The conclusions and report preparation stage consists of interpreting the research results, describing the implications, and drawing the appropriate conclusions for managerial decisions. These conclusions should fulfill the deliverables promised in the research proposal. In addition, its important that the researcher consider the varying abilities of people to understand the research results.

IV. Common Types in Business Research: Business research can be classified on the basis of either technique or purpose. Experiments, surveys, and observational studies are just a few common research techniques. Classifying research by its purpose, such as the situations described above, shows how the nature of a decision situation influences the research methodology. The three types of business research are:

1. Exploratory Research - It is conducted to clarify ambiguous situations or discover potential business. It is not intended to provide conclusive evidence from which to determine a particular course of action. Usually exploratory research is a first step, conducted with the expectation that additional research will be needed to provide more conclusive evidence. It is often used to guide and refine these subsequent research efforts opportunities. It is particularly useful in new product development. 2. Descriptive Research - It is to describe characteristics of objects, people, groups, organizations, or environments. In other words, descriptive research tries to paint a picture of a given situation by addressing who, what, when, where, and how questions. Descriptive studies are conducted after the researcher has gained a firm grasp of the situation being studied. Descriptive research often helps describe market segments. 3. Causal Research - It seeks to identify cause and-effect relationships. When something causes an effect, it means it brings it about or makes it happen. The effect is the outcome. - The different types of research are often building blocksexploratory research builds the foundation for descriptive research, which usually establishes the basis for causal research. Thus, before causal studies are undertaken, researchers typically have a good understanding of the phenomena being studied. Because of this, the researcher can make an educated prediction about the cause-and-effect relationships that will be tested. Although greater knowledge of the situation is a good thing, it doesnt come without a price. Causal

research designs can take a long time to implement. Also, they often involve intricate designs that can be very expensive. Even though managers may often want the assurance that causal inferences can bring, they are not always willing to spend the time and money it takes to get them.

REFERENCES: Coldwell, D., Herbst, F. (2004). Business Research. Cape Town: Juta and Company Ltd,. Hair, J. F., Celsi, M. W., Money, A. H., Samouel P., Page M. J. (2011). Essentials of Business Research Methods. New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Zikmund, W. G., Babin, B. J., Carr, J. C., Griffin, M. (2012). Business Research Methods. Ohio: Cengage Learning.