Uitgebreide samenvatting van het boek 'Research Methods for Business: A Skill-Building Approach' van Uma Sekaran & Roger J. Bougie 7e editie. Het betreft de hoofdstukken 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 & 8. Ik heb het vak zelf met een 9.5 afgesloten.
research methods for business a skill building approach
inleiding onderzoeksmethoden
introduction research methods
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Inleiding Onderzoeksmethoden
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By: ymarei • 2 year ago
it has only a few chapters; do not buy it
By: anouk012 • 2 year ago
Sorry but this is cleaely stated in the description. The summary contains the chapters indicated.
By: tomeveleens • 4 year ago
By: karindirkss • 5 year ago
By: Gernom • 7 year ago
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By: korinassadourian • 7 year ago
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Reasonable summary .... only you need to keep the slides or the book because there are so many errors.
By: anouk012 • 7 year ago
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I'd like to hear what the mistakes are! I literally got everything from the book literally (and very extensively). It may be that the slides contain more or less information. However, my summary relates only to the book and not to the slides, so it is useful to review the slides once.
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Research Methods for Business
Chapter 1 Introduction to research
What is research?
Research is simply the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis
of the situational factors.
Business Research
Business research can be described as a systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific
problem encountered in the work setting, which needs a solution. Research involves a series of well-
thought-out and carefully executed data analyses that help a manager to avoid, solve or minimize a
problem.
Definition of business research
We can now define business research as an organized, systematic, data-based, critical, objective,
inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding answers or
solutions to it. Research provides the necessary information that guides managers to make informed
decisions to successfully deals with problems. The information could be the result of a careful analysis
of data gathered first-hand or of data that are already available (in the company, industry, archives,
etc.) These data can be quantitative (quantitative data are data in the form of numbers as generally
gathered through structured questions) or qualitative (qualitative data are data in the form of words
as generated from the broad answers to questions in interviews or from responses to open-ended
questions etc.)
Research and the manager
In accounting, budget control systems, practices, and procedures are frequently examined,
In finance, the operations of financial institutions, optimum financial rations, mergers and
acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, incorporate financing, yields on mortgages, behavoir of stock
exchanges, etc. become the focus of investigation
Management research could encompass the study of employee attitudes and behaviors, HRM, the
impact of changing demographics on management practices, productions operations management,
strategy formulation, information systems, and the like.
Marketing research could address issues pertaining to consumer decision making, customer
satisfaction and loyalty, marketing segmentation, creating competitive advantage, product image,
elements of marketing mix, and other marketing aspects.
Types of business research: Applied and Basic
Applied research
- To solve a current problem faced by a manager
- Applies to a specific company
- Carried out within firms or research agencies
Basic, fundamental or pure research
- To generate new knowledge about how problems that occur in several firms can be
solved
- Applies to several organizational settings
- Carried out within universities and knowledge institutes
,Managers and research
Managers with knowledge of research have an advantage over those without. As a manager, you will
have to understand, predict, and control events that are dysfunctional within the organization.
Being knowledgeable about research and research methods helps professional managers to:
1. Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work setting. -> to be able to perform
business research
2. Know how to discriminate good from bad research -> to be able to evaluate business research
3. Appreciate and be constantly aware of the multiple influences and multiple effects of factors
impinging on a situation
4. Take calculated risks in decision making, knowing full well the probabilities associated with
the different possible outcomes
5. Prevent possible vested interests from exercising their influence in a situation
6. Relate to hired researchers and consultants more effectively -> to be able to steer business
research
7. Combine experience with scientific knowledge while making decisions
The manager and the consultant-researcher
Managers often need to engage a consultant to study some of the more complex, time-consuming
problems that they encounter. It is important to be knowledgeable about how to effectively interact
with the consultant, what the manager-research relationship should be, and the advantages and
disadvantages of internal versus external consultants.
The manager-research relationship
While hiring researchers or consultants the manager should make sure that:
1. The role and expectations of both parties are made explicit
2. Relevant philosophies and value systems of the organization are clearly stated and
constraints, if any, are communicated
3. A good rapport is established with the researchers, and between the researchers and the
employees in the organization, enabling the full cooperation of the latter.
Internal versus external consultants/researchers
Internal consultants/researchers
Some organizations have their own consulting or research department, which might be called the
Management Service Department, the Organizations and Methods Department, R&D, or some other
names. This department serves as the internal consultant to subunits of the organization that face
certain problems and seek help.
Advantage of internal consultants/researchers
There are at least four advantages in engaging an internal team to do research project:
1. They have a better chance of being readily accepted by the employees.
2. The team requires much less time to understand the structure, the philosophy and climate,
and the functioning and work systems of the organization.
3. They are available to implement their recommendations after the research findings have
been accepted. This is very important because any ‘bugs’ in the implementation of the
recommendations may be removed with their help. They are also available to evaluate the
effectiveness of the changes, and to consider further changes if and when necessary.
4. The internal team might cost considerably less, because they will need less time to
understand the system due to their continuous involvement with various units of the
organizations. For problems of low complexity, the internal team would be ideal.
,Disadvantages of internal consultants/researchers
1. The internal team might have a stereotyped way of looking at the organisation and its
problems. This inhibits any fresh ideas and perspectives that might be needed to correct the
problem.
2. Powerful coalitions in the organisation are able to influence the internal team to conceal,
distort, or misrepresent certain facts.
3. The most highly qualified internal research teams are not perceived as ‘experts’ by the staff
and management, and hence their recommendations may not get the consideration and
attention they deserve.
4. Certain organisational biases of the internal research team might, in some instanced, make
the findings less objective and consequently less scientific
External consultants/researchers
External consultants are research experts outside the organization who are hired to study specific
problems to find solutions. The disadvantages of the internal research teams turn out to be the
advantages of the external teams, and the former’s advantages work out to be the disadvantages of
the latter
Advantages of external consultants/researchers
1. Wealth of experience (Having viewed the situation from several possible angles and
perspectives (divergently), they can critically assess each of these, discard the less viable
options and alternatives, and focus on specific feasible solutions (thing convergently)).
2. The external teams have more knowledge of current sophisticated problem-solving models
through their periodic training programs, which the teams within the organization may not
have access to.
Disadvantages of external consultants/researchers
1. The cost of hiring an external team is usually high.
2. Require considerable time to understand the organization being researched and be accepted
by the employees.
3. The external team also charges additional fees for their assistance in the implementation and
evaluation phases.
When to use an internal team -> fairly simple problem, if time is of the essence in solving moderately
complex problems, or if there is a system-wide need to establish procedures and policies of a fairly
routine nature
When to use an external team -> complex problem, likely vested interests, or if the very existence of
the organization is at stake because of one or more serious problems.
Knowledge about research and managerial effectiveness
Knowledge of research greatly enhances the decision-making skills of the management.
Ethics and business research
Ethics in business research prefers to a code of conduct or expected societal norms of behaviour
while conducting research. Ethical conduct applies to the organization and the members that sponsor
the research, the researchers who undertake the research, and the respondents who provide them
with necessary data.
, Summary
In this chapter we examined what research is, the two types of research (applies and basic), some
commonly researched topical areas in business, why managers should know about research for good
decision making, effective relationships between the manager and the consultant-researcher, and the
advantages and disadvantages of external and internal consultants. We also saw how managerial
effectiveness is enhanced by knowledge of research and highlighted some of the areas where ethical
issues deserve attention in the conduct of business research.
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