Research Methods for Strategic Managers - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1198 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Introduction Statement of problems: Aims /Purpose of the study Objectives: Hypothesis: Methodology Source of data Population: Sample selection and size Data Collection: Statistical analysis Reason for using mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) Significance of study: Ethical consideration Mile stones of the study References Project Information Project Primark Furniture (PF) Project Time-frame 30/09/2012 to 30/09/2013 Summary Introduction of a furniture section in Primark will help customers get furniture at competitively low prices and help them make savings on household expenditure. Introduction Primark is a clothing retailer engaged in several ranges of products (clothes, shoes bags jewelleries, accessories, and household items) for women, men and children operating over 232 stores in Ireland (where it is branded as Penneys), the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium (McDougall, (2009). The companys main headquarters are in Ireland, and it is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods (ABF) (Alam and Hearson, 2006). When Primark first opened in June 1969 (in Mary Street, Dublin) it became apparent that more stores were required and another four were added to the growing number of the list. Further expansion and success in Ireland dictated the move to the United Kingdom, where in 1972 four stores were opened in more suburban areas of England. The first high-street stores were Derby and Bristol (Kehoe, 2006). Primark is known for selling clothes at the budget end of the market. The companys success is based on sourcing their supplies c heaply, making clothes with simple designs and fabrics, only making them in the most popular sizes and buying stock in huge bulks and varieties. All of the companys merchandise is made specifically for the company and as such Primark has its own brand names. Within both menswear and ladieswear there is one main brand name that supplies most of the fashion labels, which are added too by other suppliers. Primark had a milestone year in 1995 with the development of the UK business following the acquisition of the BHS One-Up discount chain. As a result, Primark acquired 154 stores in the UK between1995 to 2010 (McDougall, 2009). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Research Methods for Strategic Managers" essay for you Create order Statement of problems: Although Primark has a home section in each of its stores, furniture is not part of its home products. Therefore, considering the large volume of its customer base, introducing furniture as a product will be crucial to its customers as Primark is known for its discount prices that is its trade mark on all of its products. It is the reason why people flock to Primark. Aims /Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to introduce furniture section as part of Primarkà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s range of Home products. Objectives: The following objectives will be used to achieve the aim: Examine the demand for furniture from Primark customers To match market needs with product capabilities. Examine the potential for profit maximisation. Design strategies for the launch of the product. Explore the implication of the launch of the new product on operations of the organisation Hypothesis: Introducing furniture as part of the Home products will be profitable to Primark (maximise sales). Methodology Source of data Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected using questionnaires and interviews. Tashakkori and Newman (2010) state that in a research where mixed methods are used, it is very important to address both the qualitative and quantitave aspect of the research in order to reach at a non-biased conclusion to the research objectives. Questionnaire will be used to collect data regarding perception of customers about Primark having a furniture section, whether they will be happy to have it, whether they will recommend friends to get furniture from Primark, what type of furniture and quality they expect. The interview will also ask customers about where they buy their furniture, whether they are satisfied, whether they will be happy to have furniture from Primark and the specification they need. Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents such age, gender, educational attainment and employment status will also be collected. This will enable us to know the socio-demograph ic features of respondents and what each group want. Population: The target group for this project is all customers to Primark aged 18-65 Sample selection and size Simple random sampling method will be used to select 100 customers 50 men and 50 women to complete both the interview and the questionnaire Data Collection: The questionnaire will be distributed to customers in-store and completed as the questions. The questionnaire will then be edited and coded and then entered into SPSS for analysis. The interviews will also be done in-store and recorded with the consent of customers. This will then be transcribed and main themes arising out of them analysed using thematic analysis. Statistical analysis Descriptive statistics will be used to analyse the data. Pie chart will be used to analyse the perception of the customers about furniture introduction into Primark stores. Simple percentages and means will also be used. Reason for using mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used for data collection. The justification for using mixed method is that whereas the quantitative methods using questionnaire will help us to quantify and measure the result of the study and help us test the hypothesis, the qualitative aspect using interviews will give us deeper understanding of the mind set of customers, how they feel about introduction of furniture in Primark, and they type of furniture they need. This study will use mixed methods (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2003) design which is a procedure for collecting, analysing and mixing both qualitative and quantitative data at some stage of the research process within a single study, to understand a research method more completely (Creswell, 2002). Significance of study: The importance of this project stems from the fact that it will help management to decide the feasibility of introducing furniture in Primark stores by knowing customers perception about the project and to establish if the project can go ahead. When this project is concluded, it will help customers to do all shoping including clothing, textiles and home furnishing at one place and thus reduce the inconvenience of buying things at different stores. As Primark produces quality goods at competively low prices, customers will have the benefit of getting their house furniture at competively low prices and make huge savings on their household expenditure. This will also result in profit maximisation for Primak as a whole. Ethical consideration Informed consent will be sought from all respondents. All data collected from respondents will be anonymised and respondents are free to withdraw from the interview and completion of questionnaire if they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t feel comfortable with proceedings. Mile stones of the study Gant Chart Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Scoping search for background study Writing of proposal Developing project plan Pilot instrument Conducting in terview/ Questionnaire administration Editing and coding data Data entry Data analysis Interpretation of result Discussion Preparation of draft report Having stake holder meetings Preparation of final draft Submission of report to funders References Alam, Khorshed; M. Hearson (2006). Fashion Victims (pdf), War on Want, Retrieved on 2006-12-10. Kehoe, Ian. The very private Ryan, Sunday Business Post, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-12-10. McDougall, Dan (2009-01-11). Primark in storm over conditions at UK supplier. The Guardian (London). https://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/11/primark-ethical-business-living. Retrieved 2010-05-22. Primark Stores Ltd, www.primark.co.uk

My Mother Is Diagnosed With Breast Cancer - 2165 Words

Introduction In 2012 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, for the following year and a half I watched my mother undergo multiple surgeries, daily radiation, and a variety of other intensive treatments. Throughout the entire process I watched my mother physically and mentally deteriorate. At the time my knowledge of the disease was minimal and not only was I fearful of my mothers future, but I was also unaware of the physiological functions that would overcome my mothers body eternally. Following a year and a half of agonizing and aggressive treatments my family received the news that my mother was officially in complete remission. Throughout my mothers battle with breast cancer my family and I met countless individuals who were†¦show more content†¦Throughout my four years at Whittier College I have taken a variety of courses which have enabled me to write this paper in a knowledgeable and purposeful manner. My minor in nutrition as well as my major in kinesiology ha s supplied me with a foundation to further research this specific disease as well as diet. I have taken diet and disease which has provided me with an understanding of how diet impacts health and how specific chronic diseases have a direct correlation with the science of nutrition and the lifestyle choices that individuals make. I have also taken numerous nutrition courses which include upper division courses such as; fundamentals of nutrition, the science of nutrition, and sport nutrition. All of these courses have enabled me to become an expert in nutrition as it relates to diet as well as the classification of nutrients, digestion, biochemical processes, and crop sustainability. In addition to these courses, I have also taken chemistry and exercise physiology, both of which have permitted me to have a greater understanding to help distinguish the process by which our bodies consume, digest, metabolize, and store nutrients and how they effect our bodies (Thompson, Manore, Vaughan , 2014). In this specific paper I have also been able to use my knowledge in sociology of sport as well as the history and

Understanding the Development Strategy of a Five Star Hotel Free Essays

â€Å"Reflecting on My Group† Yuvakumar Naga Sindhura (n6994059) The purpose of this essay is to understand the development of strategy for a five star resort hotel. The process of development within the team and the understanding of the conflicting ideas. The strategy was meant to be developed for a fictitious resort hotel which consists of 150 rooms, with no specific location. We will write a custom essay sample on Understanding the Development Strategy of a Five Star Hotel or any similar topic only for you Order Now A group consists of two or more individuals who work and interact with each other to achieve a common goal (Bartol, Tein, Mathews, Martin, 2005). I worked with Ehsan, Armeen, in order to brainstorm and discuss possible strategies that could be possibly developed for the upcoming resort hotel. As a group we were unproductive as my members were unable to move without a location in mind and hence stagnated in formulating a strategy, which proved to be a major issue. Hence leading Inkpen (1996) (as cited in Bauerschmidt, 1996) to demonstate the presence in the absence of strategy. Mintzberg (1973) as cited in (Selveg, 1987) focuses mainly on the purpose of the decisions, who is involved in making them, how preferences are evaluated, and types of environments ideal for the mode. Therefore Mintzberg thus laid prominence on the process by which strategies surface, rather than on their content. But a personal strategy has been developed providing a direction for growth and success. My personal strategy formulated is an all-season resort destination of choice for visitors and residents, specializing in world-class alpine skiing and recreation facilities with a local historic and cultural focus, nestled amongst pristine forest terrain and rugged mountain ranges. This essay discusses and reflects upon our collective involvement and the processes and stages that we progressed. In this essay we shall explore Tuckmans(1965) stages of group development (forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning), also defining the inputs, practices, processes and outcomes of working together in a group, along with the explanation and application of group cohesiveness, relevant member roles and leadership values which were supposed to be apparent within my group but lacked as everyone had opinions to what the leader had to say. As group members begin carrying out tasks and activities, eventually a team is evolved. Teams go through five stages of development as identified by Tuckman (1965), as cited in (Miller, 2003). Mostly all our meeting were held in class, our group had five undeceive individuals who only spent time discussing and brainstorming on what should be done first like the strategy, mission, vision or the values, rather than making a beginning. Therefore no progress was seen, even though worksheets were given during every class to guide us accordingly. Strategy was anticipated but was not fully present in the conflict of making one and it is believed that in this process the notion of strategies are in transition (Bauerschmidt, 1996). Therefore identifying group tasks and goals and building relations with each other was minimal. Tuckman(1965), as cited in (Miller, 2003) states that during this stage it is important that team members learn about each other, recognise the attitudes of other members and establish the goals and purpose of the group. During the regular interactions in the group meeting, we developed a positive relationship with each other, which is one of the key points suggested by (Tiosvold, Hui, Ding, Hu, 2003) who supports the traditional idea that relationships are crucial for effective team performance. As a group we had different attitudes, values and cultural backgrounds, which could have thought to cause conflict within the team, but indecision was the highlight throughout, as some others in the group were skeptical of whether they were going the right direction, hence their opinions were not voiced and ideas were not shared both ways. It became a one way flow of ideas or discussion. But we experienced positive and friendly attitudes and exchange of ideas on varied topics, mostly apart from the topic of presentation and the assignment, thereby increasing our knowledge. As a group we experienced minimal cohesiveness. Cohesion in a group involves the level of purpose and commitment to the team among members (Dwyer, 2005). But due the difference in understanding and the mode of communication, the group ended up splitting into half, getting into sides where individuals understood each other. Cohesion is also linked to the input of knowledge and skills in a group, a group should have similar cultural backgrounds in order to be effective, to which I agree as all the members of our group came from different cultural backgrounds, with different values, efficiency and effectiveness, hence direction lacked in rder to achieve our goal. Groups with diverse attitudes and backgrounds are alternatively said to be more creative and flexible and make better decisions (Bartol et al. , 2005). I further refined the personal strategy formulated previously to develop a clearer direction for the growth and development of the organisation. The revised version of the strategy is an all-season resort destination of choic e for visitors and residents, specializing in world-class alpine skiing and recreation facilities with a local historic and cultural focus, nestled amongst pristine forest terrain and rugged mountain ranges. Offering personalised attention and facilities to physically unwind. It has been found in literature that the content and process of strategy emerge as two distinctly separate, but related concepts, and there appears to be no direct underlying relationship between strategy content and the process of strategy making but there is rather a relationship arising from and which is attributable to the holistic nature of an open social system (Van de Ven 1979 as cited by Seveg, 1987). Next stage of group development is storming; this is the stage when intra-group conflict and hostility can arise. All members of our group worked well together, but with a lot of challenging conflict. I believe we lacked the values of leadership skills, which did not give us the reinforcement to perform better. The ability to influence and develop individuals of a team, in order to achieve a worthwhile vision which meets the current needs of everyone and everything required by the form of work (Cacioppe, 2001 as cited in Volckmann 2005). Leadership skills portrayed at least by a member is required for a team to stay focused and move towards their goals. Leaders appear everywhere, depending on the circumstances that require them to exert leadership (Wheatley, 2005). This was least reflected by the chosen leader or the other members of the team. A self-managed team is an unsupervised group of people responsible for a task; they are given complete control over group membership and behaviors. Our self-managed team as in all other teams consisted of differing group-task roles, group roles fall into three categories; task, maintenance and self-orientated. Group-task related members help the group develop and accomplish its tasks and goals; and the group-maintenance, members within my group provided differences of opinions constantly but had a good level of interpersonal relationships with members, which to a level fostered group harmony but still resulted in ineffective group work (Bartol et al. , 2005). As my group progressed to the norming stage our relationships, goals and plans were still unclear, but we had to head off our ways to complete the assignment. Even though most of everything that we were supposed to do was unclear for us, we came to a consensus decision where the expression of cognitive conflict among members of the group is encouraged without allowing an explicit group interaction (Priem, Harrison and Muir, 1995). We then progressed to the performing stage of group development. This stage entails the development of interpersonal relationships, problem solving and achievement of performance, but was our performance a successful one? It is evident that there was lack of clarity throughout, but good level of interpersonal skills were maintained, however problem solving as a team lacked. At this stage I personally thought of revising my strategy for th resort management as it was long. The all-season resort destination specializing in world-class alpine skiing and recreation facilities with historic and cultural focus, nestled amongst pristine forest terrain and rugged mountain ranges away from the hustle bustle of daily life. Offering our customers personalised attention and facilities to physically unwind. After trying to put our heads to the requirements of our assignment we tried one last time to gather thoughts together thereby entering the adjourning stage, this involves goal accomplishment and the ultimate movement away from the group (Miller, 2003). We met together for the final time and reflected upon what we gathered and if what we gathered was sufficient and appropriate for our assignment. Overall, as a group we came to the mutual agreement that we as a team had no goal to achieve and our time was insignificantly wasted as we lacked an understanding of what we were to do and how we were to go about it. In conclusion the final strategy personally created was what remained for the organisation. As a group we departed our directions in order to formulate a strategy for the upcoming resort hotel. According Tuckman (1965) as cited by (Miller,2003) stages of team development we were unable to fit as we really did not understand our task at hand. How to cite Understanding the Development Strategy of a Five Star Hotel, Papers

Shakespeare, William The Taming of the Shrew Batt Essay Example For Students

Shakespeare, William: The Taming of the Shrew Batt Essay le of the SexesIn the play The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Petrucio recognizes, respects and desires Katherines strength of character. Petrucio is a clever man who sees beyond facades because he uses them in addition to a lot of irony himself. (II, i 46) (II, I 283 89) He is stimualted by Katherines sharp tongue and harsh actions. He proves this in many ways throughout the play. Petrucio is not in desperate need of money, but comes to Padua to find a rich wife. He says To wive and thrive as best I may, when he is telling Hortensio why he came to Padua. He means that he has come to find a wife and get richer. From Petrucios response to his friend Hortensio (I,ii 64 75), it might be said that Petrucio came to Padua to make himself richer by marriage no matter how wretched the woman. I dont believe this is true. He also tells Hortensio that his father has died and that he is out in the world to gain experiences he cannot at home, and to find a wife secondary. (I,ii 49 57) Petrucio enjoys verbal sport and a non-conventional sense of humor. Petrucio surrounds himself with neither tame nor conforming people. You can even see this in his servants. His servants like him very much and enjoy his entertainments. An example of this is when Petrucio and his servant man Grumio get into a disagreement about knocking on the gate. Reflective of this is Petrucios methods to woo Katherine. His methods are game like and outrageous. Such as when he beats up Grumio because Kates horse stumbles, or showing up late to the wedding. While showing Katherine how ridiculous she is about things, he is also making her feel special, which is something she never felt in life.He also says that This is the way to kill a wife with kindness. (IV,i 211) This is his courting method of when he makes the wife feel to good for everything surrounding her. When they eat dinner once he complains Endanger choler planteth anger. since of ourselves are choleric. (IV, I 177) While Petrucio may not agree with what society has determined to be proper, he is aware of the importance to conform. He knows the ways of society and that he must demonstrate this to Katherine, who has no regard for public presentation. Petrucio is totally taken by Katherines personality as Biancas beauty and coyness takes the other suitors. It is in Hortensios description of Katherine that Petrucio is captured. He describes her as wealthy, young, beautiful, properly brought up, intolerably curst, shrewd and forward. (I, ii 85 89) Though Hortensio finds his description of Katherine repulsive, Lucentio finds it intriguing and is he himself possess some of these qualities and is proud of it. The fact that these qualities are considered negative in Kate, but not in Petrucio is a reflection of the societal standards of the 1500s. Petrucio claims that she could be As foul as Florentious love (I, ii 69) It seems that he is turned on by the challenge. Although no one believed that Petrucio would be abl e to stand Katherine, he says that he must have her as a wife, and that he was born to tame her. Gremio asks Who will undertake to woo curst Katherinehave you told them of her faults? (I,ii 184 187) When Katherine is told of the wedding arrangements she says Ill see thee hangd on Sunday first. (II, I 301) This, or the slap he reaches later does not seem to discourage the strong willed Petrucio at all.It does not appear that Petrucio does not want to conquer or truly tame Kate. He is a man who is very confident in himself and does not need someone to boost his ego. .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .postImageUrl , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:hover , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:visited , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:active { border:0!important; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:active , .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914 .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ufaa4db7cedb66add4acf9b80b6c29914:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Physical Geology Notes Essay He also seems like he would be disappointed if she were tamed to easily, because he seems to enjoy the challenge. Petrucio seems to love challenges and constantly surrounds himself with challenging people. It seems his perfect match would be a woman who could produce a challenge and sharpen his wits. If he had wanted someone conformed, he would have gone more for someone like Bianca. Even though she claims it, Kate does no think Petrucio is really insane, which he is not. Peter, one of Petrucios servantmen, says, He kills her n her own humour. (IV, I 183) Grumio says, by this reckoning he is more shrewd than she. When people question Petrucio and Katherines relationship he says she still be curst in company, (II,I 307) but claims that in private she hangs on his neck and kisses him, which is far from true.His exotic shows show her what she is like, exaggerated. It takes her a while to realize this. When first being introduced to Petrucio she yells at her father You have shownd a tend er fatherly regard, / To wish me wed to one half lunatic; / a mad cup ruffian. After spending time with her, Petrucio becomes completely taken with Katherine. It seems to all work out in the end when Petrucio and Katherine prove themselves to be a better match than all of the other couples. Because they are so much alike, Kate takes to Petrucios games and words of irony. (IV, v 37 50)I feel certain that Petrucio and Katherine will have a great time as a couple, and that Katherine is not necessarily tamed. I think they will both have their own victories in light of eachother and continue to shock society. It turns out the Petrucio wanted a women with similar qualities to his own, to challenge him, sharpen his wits, and keep his interest.