Research Assignment

1.
A sales force manager needs to have information in order to decide whether to

create a custom motivation program or purchase one offered by a consulting firm.
What are the dilemmas the manager faces in selecting either of these alternatives? The
dilemma would be: Does he have the skills necessary; would the external program fall within
budget; does he have time to complete the program; do the external company have the skill
necessary to provide a customized program to fit the company and finally do they have the
necessary exposure to the company with an objective view.
2. Toyota had a major problem with unexplained acceleration in several of its top
models in 2010. It closed down production and stopped sales of multiple models. What
types of research might Toyota have conducted to make these decisions? When an
automotive manufacturer encounters a problem, the very first step is to cease selling any
vehicle had could have a deficiency. This has happened many times over the last several
years, with a lot of different manufacturers. Toyota is not alone is stopping production on
their vehicles if a potential problem existed (which in the alleged cases of unintended
acceleration, this was found to be caused by floor mat placement, not a manufacturing issue.
It is common practice for a manufacturer to issue an order to cease selling vehicles if a
problem is alleged to exist. If there 'was' a problem that needed to be corrected, stopping the
sales of the units in question, until a proper rectification of the issue is created, is very
common. Rarely do other manufacturers broadcast them stopping the sales of a particular
model or models for potential problems. Toyota should conduct an action research whether
to their production employee and its customers.
3. You have received a business research report done by a consultant for your ﬁrm, a
life insurance company. The study is a survey of customer satisfaction based on a
sample of 600. You are asked to comment on its quality. What will you look for? The
first aspect of the research study I would evaluate is the how the sample was selected. The
criteria for choosing a 600 person sample size would need to be evaluated to ensure it was a
random and fair sample. I would be interested to know how the researcher selected a size of
600. What were the researchers goals when researching customer satisfaction? What type
of budget did the consultant have? Out of the 600 people in the sample, what similar
characteristics do each participant share among one another? For example, are all 600
without an insurance claim? How many of the participants are new? How many have been
with the company for 5+ years? The demographics of the sample size would be interesting
to know as well. For example, a sample of elderly people may be more inclined to state they
are very satisfied. Another thing I would look for is the type of analysis that was completed.
I would question the approach that was used; I would want to make sure that the hypothesis
behind the model was 99% confident. If a t-test was used, we'll need to check to see if the
normal assumption is reasonable. If there is a test of proportions, I would want to make sure
that the normal approximation is acceptable
4. As area sales manager for a company manufacturing and marketing outboard
engines, you have been assigned the responsibility responsibility of conducting a
research study to estimate the sales potential of your products in the domestic (U.S.
or Canadian) market. Discuss key issues and concerns arising from the fact that you,
the manager, are also the researcher. As an area sales manager, he or she may not have
any experience of doing any research or know about any scientific methods of doing research
study. When you are not familiar with research process you need to depend on experts or
research firms. The manager has to address what kind of research is needed, will it be cost
effective, can it be justified, and which firm to use?. Potential identification of focus groups,
customer surveys, analysis of the customer suggestions and complaints, brand name loyalty,
habits and hobbies of people, customer purchase patterns, and balance your resources and
risks needs to be evaluated. Another area of concern is availability of resources, including
time, money and skill, to conduct a valuable study Would the research be non-bias
considering that the researcher is also the sales manager for the product?. Other issues and
concerns the manager will face is product information overload, global concerns, and
government intervention. It is also confusing to an inexperienced manager/ researcher to
decide which style of research is more appropriate, is it reporting, descriptive, explanatory
or predictive study is needed?. Profitability, customer retention, market share and return on
investment are all part of the deal.

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1.

A sales force manager needs to have information in order to decide whether to

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