Current_Events_in_Business_Research

Current Events in Business research RES/351 September 26, 2012 Current Events in Business research The business research process is a simple order of actions that helps managers at all levels. The process steps can be done multiple times on one problem to determine the best product that should be used. The business research process helps to reduce uncertainty in decisions for the company. The process steps are as follows: * Define the research question * Write the research proposal * Develop the research design * Collect the data * Analyze the data * Write the research report (Ahmadi, 2012). Define the research question Define the research question is exactly as it sounds. The question that needs to be researched can range from customer count for the holiday months to whether or not to bring back a certain product again that is seasonal. Managers need information to make educated decisions arising from unanticipated as well as planned changes (Ahmadi, 2012). For example, at Dunkin Donuts managers ask whether or not a certain product or flavor should be brought back again. Write the research proposal A proposal needs to be written to keep organized and on track of the purpose at hand. Research endeavors require a proposal that explains the problem to be addressed and the procedure by which the questions will be answered (Ahmadi, 2012). At Dunkin Donuts, the proposal will explain the procedures of data that needs to be collected and how products will be advertised and sampled. Develop the research design The plan for conducting the research is the research design (Ahmadi, 2012). The plan is a more detailed explanation of how the research will be followed through. At Dunkin Donuts, this includes how the product will be designed and how the advertising will look and how the product will be portioned or cooked for sampling. Collect Data Collecting data will help determine how well the research was completed. Data collection is the process of gathering the specific information used to answer the research questions (Ahmadi, 2012). For example, Dunkin Donuts will collect previous year’s sales of a product if the product has been used before. Analyze Data Analyzing the data will provide the answers to the research question to help make the final decision. Data analysis could be as simple as reporting descriptive statistics such as averages, measures of variability, and percentages, or if needed, advance statistical techniques could be applied (Ahmadi, 2012). At Dunkin Donuts, the data is analyzed to determine how the sales were on a specific item or how busy a certain time of year is. This helps to determine when the product should be advertised and when it should be available to stores. Write the research report Writing the research report is done to summarize the results of the research that was conducted. This helps to make the results more presentable to managers and other members of the company. The research report can be as simple as a short report of a few pages giving the overall findings of the research, or it can be a long report with numerous parts (Ahmadi, 2012). Usually at Dunkin Donuts the report consists of the percentage of sales and the customer count for certain time period. Conclusion In conclusion, a business research process is a vital part of a business such as Dunkin Donuts. Without this process, the questions that are asked on a daily basis about products would not be able to be answered with information that backs it up to save money and time for the company. The company would be overrun by too many products sitting on shelves and donuts being thrown away because it did not sell very well or was not advertised in the proper way. The business research process keeps many questions on the right path to being answered in the correct and organized way. Reference Ahmadi, M. (2012). Research Methods and Processes. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Pr-Sa/research-Methods-and-Processes.html