Data analysis is illustrated using the current version of SPSS 11.0 in the chapter on data analysis, and its student version is available with this edition of the book for interested students. Most of the chapters in the book include managerial implications of the topics discussed, with an emphasis on the need for managers to understand the research.
THE RESEARCH PROCESS
ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN /116
MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION AND SCALES /174
MEASUREMENT: SCALING, RELIABILITY, VALIDITY /195
DATA COLLECTION METHODS /218
SAMPLING /263
Probability Sampling /270 Unrestricted or Simple Random Sampling /270 Restricted or Complex Probability Sampling /270 Review of Probability Sampling Models /276 Non-Probability Sampling /276. Purposive sampling /277 Review of non-probability sampling designs /278 Examples of when some sampling designs are appropriate /279 Cross-cultural sampling.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION /300
THE RESEARCH REPORT /338
MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING AND RESEARCH /371
MODULE
A REFRESHER ON SOME
STATISTICAL TERMS AND TESTS /391
A FINAL NOTE TO THE STUDENT /412
STATISTICAL TABLES /432
INDEX /441
1 INTRODUCTION TO
CHAPTER
RESEARCH
TOPICS DISCUSSED
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
Chuck felt he needed to take a very active role in running the organization and make a 180-degree change from his previous hands-off policy. Chuck came up with several great ideas, such as assessing whether the current models of manufactured vehicles sufficiently fit the trendy tastes of the growing number of affluent buyers in the 25-40 age group.
WHAT IS RESEARCH?
As is well known, sometimes managers make good decisions and the problem is solved, sometimes they make bad decisions and the problem persists, and sometimes they make such colossal blunders that the organization gets stuck in the mud. Knowledge of research not only helps you look at the available information in advanced and creative ways in the rapidly changing global environment that companies face, but this knowledge also helps in other ways.
BUSINESS RESEARCH
In Finance, the operations of financial institutions, optimal financial ratios, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, inter-corporate financing, mortgage yields, stock market behavior, and the like, become the focus of investigation. Management research may include the study of employee attitudes and behaviors, human resource management, the impact of changing demographics on management practices, manufacturing operations management, strategy formulation, information systems, and the like.
TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH: APPLIED AND BASIC
Therefore, research conducted with the purpose of applying the results of the findings to solve specific problems currently experienced in the organization is called applied research. As said, the primary purpose of conducting basic research is to create more knowledge and understanding of the phenomena of interest and to build theories based on the research results.
MANAGERS AND RESEARCH
For example, an internal research group within the organization will not be able to distort information or manipulate the results to their advantage if managers are aware of the biases that can creep into research and know how to analyze and interpret data. Thus, the awareness of the different ways in which data can be camouflaged will help the manager to make the right decision.
THE MANAGER AND THE CONSULTANT–RESEARCHER
Relevant philosophies and value systems in the organization are clearly stated, and any limitations are communicated. A good relationship is created with the researchers and between the researchers and the employees in the organization, which enables full cooperation between the latter.
INTERNAL VERSUS EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS/RESEARCHERS
Some of the advantages and disadvantages of both the internal and external teams are now discussed. The internal team would have a better chance of being readily accepted by the employees in the subunit of the organization where research is to be done.
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RESEARCH AND MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS
ETHICS AND BUSINESS RESEARCH
Ethical behavior should also be reflected in the behavior of the researchers conducting the study, the participants providing the data, the analysts providing the results, and the entire research team presenting the interpretation of the results and proposing alternative solutions. There are business journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics and the Business Ethics Quarterly that are mainly dedicated to the issue of ethics in business.
SUMMARY
The American Psychological Association has established certain guidelines for conducting research to ensure that organizational research is conducted in an ethical manner and that the interests of all involved are served. As I said, we will discuss the role of ethics in the following chapters, insofar as it is relevant to the various steps in the research process.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND POINTS TO PONDER
Such purchases are claimed to "work miracles." However, given the volatility of the stock market and the slowdown in business, many companies are unsure whether such acquisitions involve too much risk. Fortunately, a company within 20 miles of campus hired her as a consultant to study just that issue.
C HAPTER
2 SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION
Scientific research is therefore not based on hunches, experience and intuition (although these can play a role in final decision-making), but is goal-oriented and rigorous. Because of the rigorous way in which it is done, scientific research allows anyone interested in researching and knowing about the same or similar issues to come up with similar findings when the data is analyzed.
THE HALLMARKS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
The more objective the interpretation of the data, the more scientific the research study becomes. Parsimony can be introduced with a good understanding of the problem and the important factors that affect it.
SOME OBSTACLES TO CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THE MANAGEMENT AREA
Such a good conceptual theoretical model can be realized through unstructured and structured interviews with the persons involved, and a thorough literature review of the previous research work in the relevant problem area. The reason for following a scientific method is that the results are less prone to error and more confidence can be placed in the findings due to the greater precision in the application of the design details.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SCIENCE IN RESEARCH
A manager may casually talk to a few customers to find out how they feel about products and customer service. From conversations with some vendors, the manager may discover that the factory does not deliver goods on time and promises new delivery dates that are occasionally missed.
THE HYPOTHETICO-DEDUCTIVE METHOD
Also in the previous studies, some of the hypotheses could have been substantiated and some others not, presenting a confusing situation. After developing the hypotheses, data must be obtained with respect to each variable in the hypotheses.
OTHER TYPES OF RESEARCH
Based on previous experience in the organization, the VP would like to seek a solution to the problem of employee resistance. We also discussed, with examples, the steps involved in the hypothetico-deductive method of studying a problem in order to solve it.
BUSINESS RESEARCH
Comparison of the following key points from 1998 and 2001 reflects technological progress and indicates its consequences. 149 Trade Secrets of the Billion Dollar Website – Yes, the Internet is already big in the business world.
INFORMATION NEEDS OF BUSINESS
Aside from the obvious examples of companies whose survival depends on research—biotech and chemical firms, to name a few—almost every organization must engage in research at one level or another to remain competitive. For example, firms engage in the first step of the research process when they gather data from the external environment to evaluate market trends, competitive practices, and new products.
COMMONLY USED TECHNOLOGIES IN BUSINESS RESEARCH
The easy global access to the Internet has enabled all organizations and many individuals to access e-mail. The intranet is to the internal system of the organization what the Internet is to its external environment.
SOME SOFTWARE USED IN BUSINESS RESEARCH
As discussed in later chapters, programs are available to retrieve, store, and analyze raw survey data using SPSS, SAS, Excel, and the like. With a little more programming effort and participation from site visitors, more user profile information can easily be obtained to assess shopping preferences and market demographics – information useful for developing marketing strategies.
EMERGING APPLICATIONS IN TECHNOLOGY
Thus, a lot of data (including numerical numbers) can be exchanged during the video conference as organizations try to engage in consultative decision-making and further research and analysis. So far, we have discussed the utility of software packages, the Internet, and other tools for gathering data needed for decision-making.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING
The data warehouse is usually built from data collected through various departments of the enterprise and can be accessed through various on-line analytical processing (OLAP) tools to support decision making. Such "mined" data relating to vital areas of the organization can be easily accessed and used for various purposes.
INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF CYBERSPACE
It should be ensured that the data in the information system is error-free and updated frequently. After all, decision making can only be as good as the data made available to managers.
DATA STORAGE AND SURVEILLANCE
These security measures maintain the integrity of the information by allowing access to only authorized personnel and protecting it once it leaves the secure boundaries of the organization by scrambling the message (encryption). Although various companies offer security software, as technology advances, so will the ingenuity of the hackers, and vigilance is therefore warranted on an ongoing basis.
MANAGERIAL ADVANTAGE OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
ETHICS IN HANDLING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Specifically, we explored some of the current possibilities for research provided by the use of software—from simple data collection to the development of information systems to facilitate further research and decision-making. As a manager, what kind of information do you think you would explore through the internet for research.
EXERCISES
10 C HAPTER 4 THE RESEARCH PROCESS Steps 1 to 3
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
THE RESEARCH PROCESS FOR APPLIED AND BASIC RESEARCH
When all or most of the hypotheses are substantiated and the research question is fully answered, the researcher writes up the report and makes a presentation, and the manager can explore different ways to solve the problem and make a final decision, e.g. represented in boxes 9, 10 and 11. Note the dashed lines and the arrow to several other boxes in Figure 4.1, indicating that the process may need to be restarted at the point where the researcher feels the need to reexamine.
BROAD PROBLEM AREA
An example of a conceptual issue that needs to be tightened up would be for a basic researcher studying sexual harassment to define the concept precisely. However, in practice, some non-verbal or non-physical attention, such as staring, can be just as unpleasant for some and could be called "harassment". Thus, the researcher might want to come up with a precise statement of what constitutes sexual harassment and expand the definition of the term.
PRELIMINARY DATA COLLECTION
Information about company policies, structure, workflow, management philosophy and the like can be obtained by asking direct questions of management. These issues can be explored by the researcher in follow-up interviews to get an idea of the extent to which differences in perception exist within the organization.
LITERATURE SURVEY
Thus, the literature review helps in developing the theoretical framework and hypotheses for testing. Some of the important research databases available online and on the World Wide Web are listed in the appendix to this chapter.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
These terms can be discussed in the context of the previous example of low productivity. The progenitor of the problem (ie, the contributing factor) in the given situation appears to be the lack of recognition of employee contributions.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
Can cultural differences explain differences in the nature of hierarchical relationships between superiors and subordinates in Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, and the United States. What specific factors should be considered when creating a data warehouse for a manufacturing company.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE PRELIMINARY STAGES OF INVESTIGATION
In Chapter 5 we will examine the next two steps in the research process: theoretical framework and hypotheses. The problem definition stage is perhaps more critical in the research process than the problem solving stage.‖ Discuss this statement.
PRACTICE PROJECTS
GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) does an unacceptable job of accounting for the most important activities of information age companies. The basic purpose of accounting is to provide useful information to help investors make rational investment, credit and similar decisions, but today's most important assets and activities—intellectual capital and working knowledge—are totally ignored.
APPENDIX
ONLINE DATA
SOME ONLINE DATABASES USEFUL FOR BUSINESS RESEARCH
ASES
OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
SOME REFERENCE GUIDES
OTHER DATABASES
ON THE WEB
MBA Page www.cob.ohio-state.edu/dept/fin/mba/htm Designed by The Ohio State University to assist MBA students.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INDEXES
FINANCIAL GUIDES AND SERVICES
NEWSPAPER INDEXES OF CURRENT EVENTS
SPECIMEN FO OF REFERENC
APA FORMAT FOR REFERENCING RELEVANT ARTICLES
MAT FOR CITING DIFFERENT TYPES ES
Note: Brown and Vasarhelyi (1985) have a database of accounting literature that will be useful to accounting researchers. A new look at home services [Review of the book Providing Home Services to the Elderly by Girch, S.
REFERENCING NONPRINT MEDIA
REFERENCING AND QUOTATION IN THE LITERATURE REVIEW SECTION
In parentheses, in tables and in the reference list, connect the names with an ampersand (&). Personal communication through letters, notes, telephone conversations and the like should only be cited in the text and not included in the reference list, as these are not retrievable data.
QUOTATIONS IN TEXT
5 THE RESEARCH PROCESS Steps 4 and 5
In the previous chapter, the focus was on learning to narrow and clearly define the research problem. The answer is by reviewing the entire process as shown in the research process model.
THE NEED FOR A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The next two steps are labeled as steps 4 and 5, indicated by the shaded parts in the figure shown. As you continue through this chapter, you will find that there are various places where you are instructed to do certain exercises.
VARIABLES
This influence of worker attributes on the relationship between the independent and dependent variables can be diagrammed as in Figure 5.3B. The intervening variable appears as a function of the independent variables operating in any situation and helps to conceptualize and explain the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Note how the five basic features of the theoretical framework have been incorporated into the case. The identification and labeling of dependent and independent variables was done in a theoretical framework.
HYPOTHESES DEVELOPMENT
Example 5.17 The greater the stress experienced in the job, the lower the job satisfaction of employees. The alternative hypotheses to the above null, which is expressed directionally in Example 5.17, can be expressed statistically as.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING WITH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
NEGATIVE CASE ANALYSIS
In summary, both gender role stereotypes and access to critical information significantly influence women's advancement to high-level positions in organizations and explain variation in it. Sex-role stereotypes and access to critical information will significantly explain the variation in promotion opportunities for women in top-level positions.
MANAGERIAL ADVANTAGE
Just a few years ago, Tom Oliver, CEO of Holiday Hospitality Corp., was trying to differentiate between the variety of amenities offered to customers under the Holiday banner—Holiday Inn Select designed for business travelers, Holiday Inn Express used by penny pinchers and Crowne Plaza Hotels, luxury hotels meant for big spenders. A simple Googling would have found one of the 24 articles in this case, Fortune magazine comments.
PRACTICE PROJECT
The merger of the two companies, Exxon and Mobil, was remarkable given their two different philosophies and cultures. The return on invested capital was 21% in 2000, which is more than double that of the previous two years and the best among the major oil companies.
6 THE RESEARCH PROCESS Step 6: Elements of
THE RESEARCH DESIGN
As shown in Figure 6.2, each part of the research design offers several critical choice points. It is important to note that the more sophisticated and rigorous the research design, the greater the time, costs and other resources devoted to it.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: EXPLORATORY, DESCRIPTIVE, HYPOTHESIS TESTING (ANALYTICAL AND PREDICTIVE),
A descriptive study is conducted to identify and describe the characteristics of variables of interest in a situation. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 123 average age, earnings, nature of occupation, full-time/part-time employment status, etc.
TYPE OF INVESTIGATION: CASUAL VERSUS CORRELATIONAL
Rising interest rates and property taxes, the recession and the predicted earthquake slowed the business of real estate agents in the Midwest significantly. Note that Example 6.10 shows a causal relationship between earthquake prediction and earthquake insurance, while Example 6.11 shows that several factors, including the predicted earthquake, influenced (not caused) the slowdown in real estate agents' business.
EXTENT OF RESEARCHER INTERFERENCE WITH THE STUDY
A hospital administrator wants to investigate the relationship between the perceived emotional support in the system and the burdens experienced by the nursing staff. In this case, apart from administering a questionnaire to the nurses, the researcher did not interfere with the normal activities of the hospital.
STUDY SETTING: CONTRIVED AND NONCONTRIVED
Studies conducted to establish a cause-and-effect relationship using the same natural environment in which employees normally work are called field experiments. The bank now wants to determine the cause and effect relationship between the interest rate and the incentives it offers to customers to save and deposit money in the bank.
UNIT OF ANALYSIS: INDIVIDUALS, DYADS, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS, CULTURES
Therefore, the unit of analysis will be the section at which level the data will be aggregated. Obviously, the unit of analysis should be clearly identified as dictated by the research question.
TIME HORIZON: CROSS-SECTIONAL VERSUS LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
Longitudinal studies require more time, effort, and cost more than cross-sectional studies. Experimental designs are invariably longitudinal studies, because data are collected both before and after a manipulation.
REVIEW OF ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN
One of the important decisions a manager must make before starting a study concerns how rigorous the study should be. We examined causal and correlational studies and their implications to determine the study setting, the extent of researcher intervention, and the time period of the study.
7 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
If the first group performs exceptionally well, the second group performs poorly, and the third group falls somewhere in the middle, there will be evidence that the M.Acc. It can then be seen to what extent productivity will actually increase in the department, because all employees are M.Acc.
THE LAB EXPERIMENT
If such evidence is found, planned and systematic efforts can be undertaken to gradually transfer those without the M.Rek. As we saw earlier, experimental designs fall into two categories: experiments conducted in an artificial or engineered environment, known as laboratory experiments, and those conducted in the natural environment in which activities regularly occur, known as the field experiment.
CONTROL
MANIPULATION OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
When designing the laboratory experiment, the researcher must first think about possible factors that will affect the production level of the workers, and then try to control them. Let's say that for the type of production work discussed earlier, age, gender and previous experience of the employees are the factors that will affect the production levels of the employees.
CONTROLLING THE CONTAMINATING EXOGENOUS OR “NUISANCE” VARIABLES
Any causal effects found would exceed the effects of the confounding variables. In other words, the pieces are the cause of the increase in the number of toys produced.
INTERNAL VALIDITY
EXTERNAL VALIDITY OR GENERALIZABILITY OF LAB EXPERIMENTS
THE FIELD EXPERIMENT
EXTERNAL VALIDITY
TRADE-OFF BETWEEN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY
FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNAL VALIDITY
Causal inference can also be contaminated by the effects of the passage of time—another uncontrolled variable. Such subject selection bias can contaminate cause-and-effect relationships and pose a threat to internal validity as well.
IDENTIFYING THREATS TO INTERNAL VALIDITY
She created three experimental groups and a control group for this purpose and randomly assigned members to each group. In fact, three of the seven threats to internal validity apply in this case.
INTERNAL VALIDITY IN CASE STUDIES
FACTORS AFFECTING EXTERNAL VALIDITY
Subject selection and its interaction with treatment would therefore also pose a threat to external validity. Maximum external validity can be obtained by ensuring that, as far as possible, experimental conditions in the laboratory are as close to and compatible with the real world situation.
REVIEW OF FACTORS AFFECTING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL VALIDITY
It is in this sense that field experiments have greater external validity than laboratory experiments. That is, the effect of the treatment can be generalized to other settings similar to the one in which the field experiment was conducted.
TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS AND INTERNAL VALIDITY
Here, the effects of the treatment can be obtained by measuring the difference between the post-test and the pre-test (O2–O1. The effects of the treatment are studied by assessing the difference in the outcomes—that is, the post-test scores of the experimental and control groups.
SIMULATION
Essentially, some factors will be built in or incorporated into the simulated system and others will be left to change (participants' behavior, within the rules of the game). Two types of simulations can be done: one in which the nature and timing of simulated events is completely determined by the researcher (called experimental simulation), and the other (called free simulation) where the course of activities is at least partially determined by the response of the participants on the different stimuli as they interact with each other.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN RESEARCH
Second, even in experimental groups, some would benefit more than others (depending on the extent to which the causal factor is manipulated). Some types of experimental designs that can be used to test causal relationships and their utility in the context of validity and practicality have also been examined.
THE COMPLET
FURTHER EXPERMENTAL DESIGNS
ELY RANDOMIZED DESIGN
RANDOMIZED BLOCK DESIGN
If the highest average daily ridership increase is 75 for a 7-cent reduction for a trip in congested urban areas, followed by an increase of 30 for pensioners for a 10-cent reduction, and an increase of 5 passengers for a 5-cent reduction for the suburbs, the manager of a bus company may prepare a cost-benefit analysis and decide what should be adopted.
LATIN SQUARE DESIGN
FACTORIAL DESIGN
8 MEASUREMENT OF
VARIABLES: OPERATIONAL DEFINITION AND SCALES
HOW VARIABLES ARE MEASURED
One can also check company records to obtain or verify certain types of information, such as employee absenteeism or their objective performance in relation to the number of products produced or the rejections during each month. Here, the number of incidents and the worker's motivation are likely to play a role in decision-making.
OPERATIONAL DEFINITION: DIMENSIONS AND ELEMENTS
In other words, we should delineate the dimensions and elements of the concept of learning. A schematic diagram of the operational definition of the learning concept is shown in Figure 8.2.
