Business research process is unique in that it may be tailored to individual types of organizations and their needs. For example, business research for a large, multinational pharmaceutical company would have slightly different needs than that a local fast-food franchise group. However, there are six basic steps that most every business research project should cover: Appraisal -- Before any research can be done, it is important to do an honest assessment

One business research method that has been used to good effect by some companies is the data envelope analysis methodology developed by Charnes and his colleague (1978, cited in Marcoulides at p. 122). According to Marcoulides (1998), "This method is used to evaluate the relative efficiency of a set of decision-making units (DMUs)" (p. 122). The term "decision making unit" was coined by Charnes and his associates to describe a

Another approach to the survey study is to launch an online survey site for Starbucks customers. Qualified respondents will be randomly selected through a program integrated in its POS system, which will identify which customer will be randomly picked for the survey. To encourage 100% response from customers, these randomly selected customers will receive a "gift" or token for their participation in the online survey, to be claimed after they

If she decides to give the results to the company that is sponsoring her, it is her responsibility and she is liable of suffering the consequences. In order to avoid ethical issues, Jane could organize these interviews as concerning consumers, as a statistical survey that she can publish in the university's newspaper, therefore becoming public knowledge. The identity of the surveyed restaurants should be concealed, otherwise it is unlikely that

While the employees are generally satisfied, clearly there are specific aspects to their employment that reduce that satisfaction from time-to-time. Further statistical analysis of this survey would not yield better results, in part due to the nature of the survey question and in part due to the small sample size, but regardless the data provided by the survey can be useful for helping management to improve relations with employees. Appendix

"Now we're coming over the top of the curve and heading down the wrong side of it" (Welsh-Huggins, 2008). Among the numerous features, common to the cities in the analyzed sample, one could point out the following: Throughout the past year, the city budgets have reduced the spendings in recreational programs and facilities; they reduced the working hours for the public libraries and laid off municipal workers; the agenda is likely