Market Research :: Business and Management Studies

Market Research Finding out about what consumers want and need, and what makes them buy, is called MARKET RESEARCH. Market research is the process of gaining information about customers, competitors and market trends through collecting primary and secondary data. Why Research the Market? Businesses that are product orientated risk spending large amounts of money launching a product, which could be a failure. Research the market helps reduce this risk. It focuses research and design effort onto products, which have a chance of success in the market place. When the product is launched, a carefully researched product stands less chance of failing. Market research attempts to find the answers to questions a business might have about its market. This information is collected via desk research and field research. The information is then collected and analysed. The business then decides about what to do in the light of the information formed. Desk Research DESK RESEARCH involves the use of SECONDARY DATA. This is information that is available, both within and outside the business: Internal Sources is such as sales invoices, reports and accounts. Government is published statistics, such as consumer spending figures; reports such as Monopolies and Mergers Commission Reports. The Media is reports in newspapers, magazines, on radio and on television. Trade Associations is statistics or reports published by national organizations such as the TUC, the CBI or chambers of commerce, or industry associations such as the Engineering Employers Federation or the National Farmers Union. Research Organisations is reports prepared by specialist market research organizations such as Mintel or Mori; articles published in academic journals such as university journals. Field Research FIELD RESEARCH involves the collection of PRIMARY DATA is information which no one has yet collected. It is collected for the particular piece of research through direct investigation, that is, observation, survey and experiment.

Why I Hate Hr

Why I Hate HR MGT/431 Why I Hate Hr The issue we are addressing in this assignment below is the problems of Human Resource Management; the author has written the topic â€Å"Why we hate HR? †. He has listed several issues faced such by the human resource management – managers and there is quite a number of times having to distance themselves from the employees. He has started his case by talking about â€Å"why human-resource does not do such a good job†, and how can we fix it? hen he continues with the Sarcastic criticism of the general outlook of people towards HR , and considers that the HR people just find a great excuse of partying, calling it a HR leadership training program at the most expensive resorts. Considered by many as a waste of time and money. Author Keith Hammonds, Deputy Editor of Fast Company magazine lit up HR managers with his long August 2005 article entitled, â€Å"Why We Hate HR. † He made a number of harsh accusations about HR peop le. As we have seen the article is provocative. I know many people think such accusations are true for some in the line of work, though as generalizations all are wrong. Should HR say nothing, or what exactly should they say instead? In fact Human Resource is making vast leaps forward as we speak. Instead of bashing pet peeves in the profession we should look into what is working. Punching at a problem rarely encourages improvement, though it gets lots of notice and expected email, both from irritated HR people and those who love to instigate them. It’s time for an equally pointed response. The author drags out most of the cliche, tired-but-not-yet-dead accusations. He ploughs out four in particular: that HR people are â€Å"not the sharpest tacks,† that they are paper and policy mongers, that they are by treating everyone exactly equally â€Å"the mistaken belief† this is fairness, and that the HR managers cannot see the bigger picture. The last is truly the key issue. The others, nonetheless, grow from this. If they miss the larger picture of creating value, they are missing it not only for the companies they work for, but the individuals and their needs as well. It is irrelevant to compare Human Resource to finance and other support operations. As all HR managers make pretty much the same accusations about all of these sectors. They joke about â€Å"blinker eyed† accountants who only focus on lockstep processes and can't see the value of investing in pioneering ventures. HR managers at the same time support division’s needle line executives for their tendency to brush off â€Å"technical† issues in their hurry to take shortcuts just to make their bonus numbers. Such digs may be humorous, but none of this is constructive. â€Å"Not the Sharpest Tacks† Looking at HR in perspective against Keith’s claim that HR Managers are generally dull, side-lined executives who couldn’t make it in other fields. Keith alludes to, but doesn’t spell out that HR is relatively new as a profession without the 400 year history that, for example, accounting has. It was born out of payroll administration to take on a chaos of work that line executives didn’t want to make time for such as hiring, familiarizing with company atmosphere, training, terminations, HR legal issues, human rights, health and safety rules and literally dozens of other tasks loosely related to people. It can be a punching bag for all departments and Head Honchos and add to that few functions have to deal with the complexity of issues that HR does. Clear cut accounting rules have become increasingly complex lately, but nothing to compare with the massive grey areas and differing legislation that HR executives routinely have to deal with – many of which offer few absolute, clear-cut answers to tell your CEO or staff. Do really dumb people get stuck in HR? As per Keith’s views many line managers, still sideline weaker managers into the function and assign them mainly paper-pushing tasks, â€Å"party-planning† and police duty as he notes. Nevertheless those who may look like losers frequently aren't. HR is often asked to impose rules, sometimes some that don’t fit with most employees, mostly not thought up by HR at all, but by irritated fuming CEO’s demanding spontaneous responses to routine organizational problems better handled in other ways. In one situation HR was routinely held responsible for a poorly designed bonus plan that time after time paid out top awards, including even south sea cruises, to some of the worst performing area head, which were only good at sweet talking. Dumping weak executives into HR shows as much or more a failing of line managers than of the individuals who end up in the HR function. This will be fatal going forward and won't be allowed to continue. A bigger issue is whether senior teams can learn to effectively absorb the input of their HR members as valuable. Agreed not everyone is great, but HR certainly isn’t the only area with some weaker players by any means as every function holds its share of those who couldn't make it elsewhere, but have hung on where they started, barely coping with the basics. What Keith doesn't seem to be aware of is that most executives never reach the top jobs in any case, nor could they. Organizations thrive because they're tough on people in every function and ideally only the best rise to the top. Conclusion Keith Hammonds, author of, â€Å"Why We Hate Hr†, clearing has no good feeling towards Human Resource Managers. Team B strongly believes if we did not have HRM’s in organizations today, there would clearly be a lot of confusion and no development training in today’s workforce. Keith spends a lot of time talking down on human resources but does not clearly provide any facts about his opinions. Team B is disagrees with the author on this article as it has been stated above; these are truly just and only opinions from an individual who clearly hates human resources. References Hammonds, K. H. (2005). Why We Hate Hr. Noe, R. A. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Gerhart, B. , & Wright, P. M. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Brittens Assignment

Bernie and Pam Britten are a young married couple beginning careers and establishing a household. They will each make about $50,000 next year and will have accumulated about $40,000 to invest. They now rent an apartment but are considering purchasing a condominium for $100,000. If they do, a down payment of $10,000 will be required. They have discussed their situation with Lew McCarthy, an investment advisor and personal friend, and he has recommended the following investments: The condominium – expected annual increase in market value = 5%.Municipal bonds – expected annual yield = 5%. High-yield corporate stocks – expected dividend yield = 8%. Savings account in a commercial bank-expected annual yield = 3%. High-growth common stocks – expected annual increase in market value = 10%; expected dividend yield = 0. Calculate the after-tax yields on the foregoing investments, assuming the Brittens have a 28% marginal tax rate (based on Public Law 108-27, The Jo bs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003). How would you recommend the Brittens invest their $40,000? SolutionWe use the provisions outlined in The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to compute the applicable tax rates to be faced by the Brittens – a married couple subject to a 28% marginal tax rate – for the different investment decisions they will pursue. Given that the tax-free yield for each investment has been provided, we compute for the after-tax yield using this formula: After-Tax Yield = Tax-Free Yield x (1 – tax rate). But first, let us determine the tax rate applicable to the Brittens for each of the investments.A. The condominium – expected annual increase in market value = 5%. The 5% increase in market value of the condominium is not subject to taxes. While taxes are set at 18%, the Brittens can expense up to $100,000 of the property pursuant to the Section 179 Expensing, and can take advantage of the bonus depre ciation. Hence, tax rate is de minimis, or maybe assumed at 0%. B. Municipal bonds – expected annual yield = 5%. Any annual yield from municipal bonds is not taxed at the Federal Level.Municipal bonds are usually-tax exempt. Hence, tax rate is 0%. C. High-yield corporate stocks – expected dividend yield = 8%. Dividends received by a stockholder are taxed the same way as capital gain income. The 8% dividend yield, if it qualifies as a qualified capital gain or dividend, will be subject to the 15% tax rate, for the Brittens. D. Savings account in a commercial bank-expected annual yield = 3%. Savings account in a commercial bank is subject to the Britten’s marginal tax rate, which is 28%. E.High-growth common stocks – expected annual increase in market value = 10%; expected dividend yield = 0. High-growth common stocks are subject to 15% taxes. While the yield, which is subject to capital gains tax, is 0, any gain from the disposition of stock is considered a â€Å"gross income†, and is considered a capital gain, which is subject to 15% tax. Using those tax rates, we can compute for the after-tax yields: Pre-Tax Yield Tax After-Tax Yield Condominum 5% 0% 5. 00% Municipal Bonds 5% 0% 5. 00% HY Corporate Stocks 8% 15% 6. 80%Savings Account 3% 28% 2. 16% HG Common Stocks 10% 15% 8. 50% Basing from the after-tax yield itself, the best investment for the Brittens would be the High Growth Common stock. The Brittens’ 40,000 dollar investment may grow by 8. 50% if the whole amount is invested in High Growth Common Stock. However, if we take in to account the risks and the degrees of liquidity, or if the investment could be easily turned to cash. Municipal bonds and savings account (which are guaranteed) for example, while low yield, have low default risks.High yield corporate stocks, and high growth common stocks, while high yield, are subject to the volatility of the stock market, and are very high risk. Stock prices are fluctua ting everyday, and the value of the stock would depend upon the company’s performance and investor interest on the company. The condominium investment is medium risk, since it is also subject to supply and demand – real estate investments, for example, at these times are subject to risk due to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Management Accounting System Design in Manufacturing Departments Essay

The model was tested by means of empirical data collected from a questionnaire addressed to 160 production managers. The response rate was 82. 5%. The ? ndings provide some support for the notion that organizations adapt their MAS design to the control requirements of the situation. Furthermore, the study o? ers some empirical support for the existence of suboptimal equi? nality. That is, in situations which lack of a single dominant imperative, several alternative, and functionally equivalent management control system (MCS) designs, may arise. O 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Since the mid-eighties, there has been a trend in manufacturing towards customization and novel approaches to organizing production, including JIT/TQM models of control (Schonberger, 1986; Womack, Jones, & Roos, 1990). The pursuit of such strategies poses signi? cant challenges for the management since they typically imply intensi? ed interdependencies among functionally di? erentiated departments and new means of managing the work? ow (Bouwens & Abernethy, 2000; Kalagnanam & Lindsay, 1998). The multiple contingencies model stems from recognition that the demands placed on MAS design by multiple contingencies may con? ict (Fisher, 1995), i. e. , attempts to satisfy one demand may mean that other demands cannot be satis? ed. It is also explicitly assumed that the need for coordination and control can be met by several alternative, and equi? nal, management control system design strategies. The assumption is justi? ed by the long-held view that management control subsystems may not only complement each other but also substitute for each other (Fisher, 1995; Galbraith, 1973; Mintzberg, 1983). The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. The following two sections de? ne the constructs, develop the theoretical model, and conclude with a number of exploratory propositions. The process of data collection and data analysis is then detailed in the fourth section. The results of the study are presented and discussed in the ? fth and sixth sections, respectively. The last section contains concluding comments and some suggestions regarding future research. De? nition of constructs For a long time there has been an interest among scholars in documenting ? relationships between features of context in which the organization operates and its management control arrangements.

Bully Prevention Program Essay

This program has become successful at the Midway elementary school in Utah, because it is ran off of four hallmarks which are: Lead to systematic change, garner commitment for all, teach comprehensive strategies and skills and continue year after year. Within the paper, I will discuss my belief of the succession of this type of program in an elementary school setting in inner city Philadelphia schools. Bully Prevention Program In recent years, bullying within schools has become one of the most serious issues we have been faced with. Data shows that children as young as age 11 have committed suicide because they were no longer able to deal with the pressure of being bullied. Because of this and other factors involving school bullying, congress have begun to work on a legislation called the safe school improvement act, which require schools to collect data and establish certain guidelines regarding disciplinary actions and they must also come up with a system to register complaints to combat bullying within their schools. However, since this is not a law that has been enacted, Brent Burnham, a school counselor at Midway Elementary School in Midway, Utah has decided to implement her own school wide bullying prevention program at her school. The bully prevention program at Midway elementary was implemented 7 years ago. Within the program, Burnham has developed four core principles that she believes has made their program successful. The first of the four principles is, lead to systematic change. This principle says that there must be a change within the school at all levels and there must be a change ithin the community as well, because in order for the program to be successful, you must change the culture of the schools environment. The second principle that Burnham implemented was garner commitment for all. This principle says that all of the schools staff, including the school bus driver, should be on board with the implementation of the program for the program to be a success. The third principle in the bully prevention program is, to teach comprehensive strategies and skills. This principle says that effective programs must be comprehensive and there are certain skills that are required by the staff so that they can identify a bullying situation. And the final principle is to continue year after year. In order for the program to be a full success, it must be consistent in what it provides. Often times, schools will start a program but will not follow through with it year after year and the program will then fizzle out. The bully prevention program at Midway elementary also has key components which are implemented sequentially. These components are, administrative support: you must have the support from the staff and the school administration, and a strong support team. Data: proper record keeping must be kept; also the program should be evaluated. Staff training: all staff should be trained on how to recognize and identify bullies and their victims and also be able to determine if a situation is a true violation of the no bullying policy that has been set forth. Student awareness and education: all should be fully aware of the bully policy and clear on the consequences if the policy is violated. There should also be lessons taught to the students about bullying and bully prevention. Critical social skills training to the students: Once the basics have been taught to the students, they will still need additional training on this policy so continuous guidance lesson plans will need to be developed and taught throughout the school. Lastly, targeted intervention for bullies and victims: by keeping proper records of the bullying incident that occur within the school, it will be easy to identify bullies and their targeted victims. Once these children are identified, there will be specific programs for these children. The bullies will express why it is they bully and help will be provided to those students and the victims so they can try to get over the fear they may have. After reading this article, I find that there are some pros and cons to this type program being implemented at inner city schools in Philadelphia. One pro of having this type of program would be to lower the crime rate within the schools. Often times, children bullying other children lead to more violent crimes, for instance, the shooting that happened at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. Two students embarked on a massacre killing 12 of their classmates and one teacher because they were fed up with being bullied. By having this type of program and addressing these issues early, these types of crimes or less serious crimes can be prevented. Another pro to this type of program is that it teaches children social skills and teach them how to manager their anger and behavior. This program can increase the children’s level of awareness on how bullying can extremely affect their victims and themselves. Another pro to the bully prevention program is that it offers training to the staff. This is a great idea so that everyone will be on the same page in the fight to eliminate and prevent bullying. Also, providing intervention to the bullies is great as well. You have to teach children things while they are young. If this type of program is successfully implemented in elementary schools and in middle and high schools, bullying can be virtually eliminated. However, with pros, there are also cons to the program. One con is trying to get everyone on board. Within the city of Philadelphia, it is historically known that many parents do not partake in their child’s education in the manner that they should, this is one reason why the high school dropout rate is so high. So; trying to get parents on board for the no bullying program may be hard. Since this program is set up for all stakeholders to be involved, without parents help, the program may not be as successful. Another con to this program is the term and definition of bullying being misunderstood and misinterpreted by the staff that is to put into action the consequences for this behavior. What you do not want to happen is, children who are simply horse playing or just kidding around with one another being accused of bullying when that was not the case. The training to the staff must be thorough and put into clear plain terms so little is left to be assumed. With bullying becoming an epidemic, I believe this type of program is definitely needed and has the potential to be successful within all levels of schools within the School District of Philadelphia. The program may need to be tweaked for each grade level (elementary, middle and high school) but if it is implemented properly it could be a success. School counselors are in a unique position with having to put in place such a program and to be sure that it work, but this is why they are trained very well to address these types of social emotional behaviors. Although the pros of having such a program out weight the cons, the major problem that could be a potential road block for implementing the program is funding. The School District of Philadelphia has reached a plateau in its budget deficit and recently laid off many of its employees including the superintendent. However, with the right proposal for the program, I can not see this being turned down by the board. I think this is something that is definitely needed so that we as counselors can save our children and our community. References Burnham, Brent. (2011, July 1). School wide bully prevention program. http://schoolcounselor. membershipsoftware. org/article_content. asp? article=1215.

Innovative Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Innovative Organisations - Essay Example By virtually every measure, Ryanair has managed to develop positive leadership innovation, process innovation and product/service innovation by creating new business models and business structures designed to bring long-term value to the business. This report identifies Ryanair’s strategies in innovation, an assessment of these innovations, and also a description of how the author of this report could contribute effectively to the long-term future of Ryanair. Innovation is key to any successful enterprise. There are a wide variety of acceptable definitions of innovation, one of which is the successful creation and launch of a new product or service concept which provides significant competitive advantage to today’s firms. Competitive advantage means utilising this new innovative idea or concept and applying it using a market-focused methodology which outperforms competing companies and gains market share in the process. This report highlights the activities of Ryanair, the low-frills, discount airline company, which provide innovation in the airline industry and a stronger business portfolio. Ryanair was established in the 1990s as one of the first no-frills discount airline companies in Europe. The company, with this discount philosophy, has managed to increase its market share against major competitors such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM (Done, 2009), which is not an easy task to accomplish considering how long these airline companies have been a staple airline carriers in Europe. When the company was first implemented, there did not seem to be a heavy consumer demand for no-frills services, or perhaps the company simply lacked marketing focus, as the business was riddled with heavy losses and an inability to seize a higher volume of market share than that of its competition (Done). However, today, Ryanair has managed to redevelop its previous business model, making it more adaptive to consumer needs, which is bringing the

The link between poverty and teenage gang culture Essay

The link between poverty and teenage gang culture - Essay Example This group of young people are engaged in various criminal activities like graffiti, drug dealings, violence etc. The teenagers of the gang are having ethnic and socioeconomic background. The teenage gang culture started from 17th century in Britain. There are many factors involved in motivating and influencing the poor teenager in get involved in these criminal activities. The aim of doing research on this topic is to discuss and find the link between poverty and teenage gang culture. Research is mainly of two types. One is primary and another one is secondary. This research on this topic of teenage gang culture and poverty is done on the basis of secondary data. Both quantitative and qualitative research work has been done here. Relevant information is derived from different books and journals. Study of various websites is done for gathering secondary data. Primary research is done on the basis of raw data which are directly extracted from people by conducting interviews, filling up questioners, observations etc. here primary research is not done because it is very much time consuming. Moreover the target market of this topic is vast and located in different places. Therefore it becomes difficult to extract data from individuals in many cases. The main filter applied for this research paper is based on the countries. Secondary data from different westernized countries are used in this paper. I have got nine relevant sources for this topic which had described the link between poverty and teenage gang culture. The youth crime is a social problem which has become an important part of the gang culture. The young people who are not employed and do not have proper education provokes the antisocial activities. Poverty is one of the important reasons of influencing the teenager in getting involved in criminal activities. Young people in the gangs encounter dangerous situations, fear and distrust. It increases their criminal activities. According to the