Role of Research

Methodology in Business

An Introduction

05/25/10 Created by Manish Kumar, Sr.Lecturer, DBIT, Dehradun 1

An Introduction
Gone are the days when Henry Ford was reported as
saying “Customers can get any color (car) as long
as it is black”. Customers, nor any other human
components involved in the process of business can
be taken for granted- no more. Non human
components like distribution channel, production
process, quality checking etc of business also need
extensive and continuous monitoring. All these can
only be achieved through detailed and scientific
research.

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Therefore, every aspects of business, research
becomes essential for decision making
process, which is the essence of
management. It is also known as DSS
(Decision Support System). Though
research cannot absolutely eliminate errors in
decision making, it can tremendously help in
reducing them. With advancement of
Information Technology, business research
can play an important role in the decision
making process.
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When research is used for decision making, it
means we are using the methods of science
to the art of management. Every organization
operates under some degree of uncertainty
and this uncertainty can’t be eliminated
completely but can be minimized using
research and research methodology.

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Background
Man understand the nature through experience,
reasoning and research.
1. Experience- Subsume a no. of sources of
information.
a) Personal Experience- i.e. body of knowledge
and skills derived from encounters and acquaintance
with facts and events in the his/her environments.
b) Experience of others
c) Authoritative sources

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Background
2. Reasoning:- derivation of something based
on
a) Deductive- (Aristotle)- from whole to part
b) Inductive ( Francis Baem)- from no. of
observation &
c) Combined- i.e Deductive as well as
Inductive.

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Background
3. Research- systematic, controlled, empirical
& critical investigation of hypothetical,
propositions about the presumed relation
among natural phenomenon i.e.
a) Systematic & controlled
b) Empirical
c) Self correcting

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Research
So, Research is a combination of both
experience and reasoning and must be
regarded as the most successful approach to
the discovery of truth required for efficient
management.
Research techniques- Behavior & instruments
used in research operation. eg scales,
recording technique, content analysis,
average, collection of data etc.

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What is Research
1. A voyage of discovery- a journey, an attitude, an
experience, a method of critical thinking and critical
enquiry.
2. An art of scientific investigation i.e collection,
analysis and interpretation.
3. A systematized effort to gain the new
knowledge- a movement from the known to
unknown.
4. An activity caused by instinct of inquisitiveness
to gain fresh insight/find answers to question/
acquire knowledge.
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Research Methodology
Behaviour & instruments used in selecting and
constructing technique ( a range of approaches
used to gather data). Eg observation,
questionnaire, interview, analysis of records, case
study etc.
Methods are basically used in performing research
operations like-
a) Collection of data
b) Statistical processing & analysis (tests)
c) To evaluate the accuracy of the results
obtained.
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RM
1. A science of studying how research is done
scientifically- i.e.
a) Determinism (Causal links)
b) Empiricism – verifiable by observation
and evidences.
c) Parsimony- phenomenon should be
explained in the most economical way, if
possible.
d) Generality- more problematic in social &
behavioural science than natural science.
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RM
2. A way to systematically solve the research
problem by logically adopting various steps.
3. Aims to describe and analyze methods, throw
light on their limitation and resources, clarify
their presuppositions and consequences.

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Why RM?
 To get a degree
 To get respectability
 To face a challenge
 To solve a problem
 To get intellectual joy
 To serve society

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Objectives of research
1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve
new insights into it using exploratory or formulative
research studies.
2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular
individual, situation or a group using descriptive
research.
3. To determine the frequency with which something
occurs or with which it is associated with something
else using diagnostic research.
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between
variables known as hypothesis testing.

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Applicability of RM
In Management, research is used extensively in
various areas. For example, we all know that
MKT is a process of planning and executing
the concepts and 4 P’( product, price, place &
promotion) of goods or services to create
exchange that satisfy individuals or
organizational objectives. Thus Mkt concept
requires customer satisfaction rather than
profit maximization to be the goal of the
organization.
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The organization should be consumer oriented
and should try to understand the consumer’s
requirements and satisfy them quickly and
efficiently. So, any organization should try to
obtain more information on consumer needs
and gather Mkt intelligence to help satisfy
those needs efficiently. This is only possible
through research.

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Information derived from research for
Market Research
1. Generate
2. Refine and evaluate Mkt actions
3. Monitor Mkt performance &
4. Improve understanding of marketing as a
process.

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Process
There are three parts involved in any systematic
finding.
1. Implicit question posed
2. Explicit answer proposed &
3. Collection, analysis and interpretation of the
information leading from the question to
answer illustration.

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 e.g. We recommended that this Sony music
system MS 101 be priced at Rs. 10,000/- Mkt
research manager forwarded this
recommendation to Mkt VP.
 Implicit question- what should be the selling
price of Sony music system MS101.
 Explicit answer- Min. Rs. 15,000/-
 Here third party deals with research and find
the feasibility.

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Conclusion
So, study of research methods provides you with the
knowledge and skills you need to solve the
problems and meet the managerial challenges.
These three factors stimulates the interest in a
scientific research to decision making.
1. The manager’s increased need for more and
better information.
2. The availability of improved techniques and
tools to meet this need and
3. The resulting information overloaded.

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 The End

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Any Question?

?
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