This paper examines several applied business research scenarios, beginning with a small survey of fifteen business students regarding their career aspirations and hierarchical expectations. The bulk of the analysis focuses on a case involving publication reader service cards, evaluating the management dilemma, ethical considerations, sampling methodology, and research design. The paper critiques the study's use of disproportionate stratified random sampling, questions the relevance of survey questions, and assesses the presentation of statistical findings. It concludes with a managerial recommendation against further research investment, arguing the existing study failed to answer the central business question directly.
In order to study career aspirations, a survey of fifteen business students was conducted to determine the highest organizational level each expected to reach in their career. The unit of analysis was scalar, with response options reflecting hierarchical levels within a corporation. The results were as follows:
Executive | Upper Management | Middle Management | Lower Management | Non-Management
These results show that business students have a wide range of aspirations and expectations for their careers. While some see themselves on a path to executive-level leadership, others see themselves reaching middle- or upper-level managerial positions as their apex. Notably, none of the business students surveyed felt they were likely to end up in a non-management role.
Because the goal was to create scalar units of measurement, the question did not distinguish between corporate hierarchy and entrepreneurship. The size of the company in question was therefore left to the interpretation of the respondent — a response of "executive" might simply reflect a desire to become an entrepreneur rather than to rise within an existing organization.
The management dilemma in this case is that the return rate on publication reader service cards appears to be declining. The investigative questions are designed to determine (a) what the actual return rate is, and (b) what reason or reasons account for the change. Management is specifically interested in testing whether customers are using other means of communicating with advertisers instead of these cards. The research also explores whether the cards are simply not delivering a fast enough response time, by examining the drivers of response time.
The primary ethical issue in this study is privacy. While there are not typically many ethical concerns associated with information-gathering research, it is important to maintain respondent privacy at all times. Additionally, the research becomes less valuable if the survey is not anonymous, as respondents may alter their answers when they believe they are being identified.
The sampling method used was disproportionate stratified random sampling. This approach is appropriate here because the goal is to understand variations in responses between customer groups rather than to extrapolate results across the entire population — the study is examining behaviors, not testing a hypothesis. Exploratory research of this type benefits from a method that gives an accurate portrayal of the customer base. A proportionate survey would not have been as effective for this purpose, since it might underrepresent smaller but behaviorally distinct customer segments (Lund Research, 2012).
"Haphazard design and irrelevant research questions"
"Weak survey questions and SPSS data presentation"
"Recommendation against further research investment"
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