QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND CRITICAL THINKING/ANSWERS
1. Is it possible to make sound managerial decisions without business research? What advantages does
research offer to the decision maker over seat-of-the-pants decision making?
Business research attempts to supply accurate information that reduces the uncertainty in decision
making. Very often, decisions are made with little information because of various reasons including
2. Define a marketing orientation and a product orientation. Under which strategic orientation is there a
greater need for business research?
A product-oriented firm prioritizes decision making in a way that emphasizes technical superiority in the
product. Thus, input from technicians and experts in the field are very important in making critical
3. Name some products that logically might have been developed with the help of business research.
Students should be able to come up with a wide variety of answers. Typically they will suggest tangible
4. Define business research and describe its task.
Business research is the application of the scientific method in searching for the truth about business
phenomena. These activities include defining business opportunities and problems, generating and
5. Which of the following organizations are likely to use business research? Why? How?
All of these organizations can use business research. However, the business research in each situation
a. Manufacturer of breakfast cereals
It is highly likely that a breakfast cereal manufacturer will use extensive research for almost all aspects of
Flakes, Fruit Brute, and many others have failed in the marketplace. An interesting example of business
research for product development was the development of Quaker’s Halfsies cereal, a cereal with half the
b. Manufacturer of nuts, bolts and other fasteners
An industrial marketer of nuts, bolts, and other fasteners, like a consumer goods marketer, has a need to
acquire information to reduce uncertainty. The industrial goods marketer will use many of the same
c. The Federal Trade Commission
d. A hospital
A hospital would be interested in investigating consumers’ perceptions and satisfaction with the hospital
e. A company that publishes business textbooks
A publisher of these types of books could conduct secondary research (e.g., examine demographic trends,
6. An automobile manufacturer is conducting research in an attempt to predict the type of car design
consumers will desire in the year 2020. Is this basic or applied research? Explain.
In this situation the automobile manufacturer needs information to make a specific decision. Although the
7. Comment on the following statements:
a. Managers are paid to take chances with decisions. Researchers are paid to reduce the risk of
making those decisions.
This statement illustrates a role that business research plays. A researcher’s job is to provide information
b. A business strategy can be no better than the information on which it is formulated.
Managers need timely, accurate, and pertinent information to make decisions to identify and evaluate
c. The purpose of research is to solve business problems.
The purpose of business research is to reduce uncertainty and to provide information to allow managers to
8. List the conditions that help a researcher decide when research should or should not be conducted.
9. How have technology and internationalization affected business research?
Business research, like all business activity, continues to change. Changes in communication
technologies and the trend toward an ever more global marketplace have played a large role in many of
10. [Internet Question] How do you believe the Internet has facilitated research? Try to use the Internet
to find the total annual sales for Starbucks and for DuPont.
The Internet has made it possible to collect data for lower costs than in the past. Electronic
The instructor needs to access the information regarding total sales because more recent information will
be available annually. The most recent information available at the time of this writing is as follows:
11. What types of tools does the researcher use more given the ever increasing internationalization of
business?
The tools used by the business researcher are essentially the same. However, the internationalization of
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
1. [Internet Question] Suppose you owned a jewelry store in Denton, Texas. You are considering
opening a second store just like your current store. You are undecided on whether to locate the new
store in another location in Denton, TX or in Birmingham, AL. Why would you decide to have some
research done before making this decision? Should the research be conducted? Go to
http://www.census.gov. Do you think any of this information would be useful in the research?
Students should indicate an understanding of basic demographic variables that would be of interest, such
as population and income distribution. They should also analyze the competitive environment in each
2. [Internet Question] Find recent examples of news articles involving the use of business research in
making decisions about different aspects of business.
3. [Internet Question] Find an article illustrating an example of an applied research study involving
some aspect of technology. How does it differ from a basic research study also focusing on a similar
aspect of technology?
While students will find varying articles, they should demonstrate knowledge regarding the difference