Business research methods and applications

Business Research

In analyzing the theoretical and practical differences between formal research and business proposals, their commonalities and differences, both from a theoretical and practice standpoint are analyzed in this paper. Business proposals and formal research both share a common basis as catalyst for getting goals accomplished, yet at significantly different phases of a project, or for uniquely specific tasks.

Commonalities of Business Proposals and Formal Research

The most common aspect of both business proposals and formal research is their focus on goal attainment. For the business proposal the goal attainment aspect is typically focused on increasing revenues, reducing costs, or significantly changing a given business process. Formal research seeks to discover entirely new information and creating knowledge in the process, making it possible for entirely new goals to be attained as well. The orientation towards goal attainment leading to meaningful action is shared by each.

Second, business proposals concentrate on defining a series of tasks completed in typically a chronological sequence, where coordination with other functional areas is critical. This cross-functional approach to defining goal attainment is also prevalent in formal research as well, including a reliance on statistical expertise and analysis to ensure validity and reliability of the research completed. Third, business proposals and formal research also concentrate on time as a critical aspect of the projects defined, specifically concentrating on project management skills that are needed for making sure the project goals get accomplished.

Differences of Business Proposals and Formal Research

Despite the commonalities business proposals and formal research have, there are many differences both theoretical and practical. At the theoretical level, business proposals and formal research vary significantly in their level of statistical robustness and validity. A business proposal need not be specifically designed to be representative of a broader population, with a high level of statistical precision as a research proposal needs to specifically plan for (Jablonski, 1999). The methodology of a research proposal needs to be significantly more thought-out, detailed, and focused in order to be effective, contributing to the predictability and extensibility of its findings (Judd, 1990). A business proposal on the other hand does not need to have a high level of empirical accuracy defined within it to be effective, it merely needs to discuss the risks, rewards, strengths, opportunities and threats of the given opportunity. The lack of the need for empirical results from business proposals further makes them more innately less predictable in outcome than research studies.

This introduces another theoretical and practical difference between business proposals and formal research, and that is the evaluation of their results. Typically business proposals have specific revenue and cost objectives associated with them, yet lack the precision of results that formal research has. Business proposals' variability is not as easily quantified and measured, and therefore potentially overcome as the more planned approach of formal research. Formal research methodologies can take into account potential sampling errors, respondent biases and also control for specific errors in completing the study. The finite and highly measured result of formal research is in contrast to the business proposal's multitudinous effects on people and groups in the company it is meant for. Formal research also can be longitudinal or focused on comparing the implications of a given research methodology over time, with no specific payback except for the creation of knowledge. For business proposals it is the creation of value that is often translated into financial gain that matters the most the majority of the time.