Management Dilemma (MD)
This is the starting point of the research process. It is a symptom of an actual problem, such as declining sales, increasing employee turnover, or eroding profitability.
Management Question (MQ)
This involves restating the dilemma in question form (e.g., “What should be done to reduce employee turnover?”).
Refining Process (BankChoice Example)
In the BankChoice case, the broad question (“How can the profit picture be improved?”) was too vague. After conducting exploratory research (analyzing financial reports), the bank realized it was lagging behind competitors. Consequently, the question was refined to a specific researchable problem: “What should be done to make the bank more competitive?”.
What is a Research Proposal and its essential modules? [8]
Research proposal is a written suggestion for a study that outlines the research question and methodology. A comprehensive proposal includes the following modules:
- Executive Summary: A brief overview of the whole proposal.
- Problem Statement: The specific issue your research aims to solve.
- Research Objectives: The clear goals you want to accomplish.
- Literature Review: Summary of what is already known about the topic.
- Importance of Study: Why the research matters and who it helps.
- Research Design: The detailed plan and methods of the study.
- Data Analysis: How you will interpret and make sense of the data.
- Budget/Schedule/Bib: Costs, timelines, and list of references used.
Define a Problem Statement and the role of Preliminary Information Gathering. [2]
A Problem Statement is a clear, precise, and concise statement of the specific issue the researcher wishes to investigate.
Preliminary Information Gathering, which includes structured or unstructured interviews and reviewing existing data, is crucial because it helps the researcher narrow down a broad problem area into a specific, definable problem.
Define Literature Review and its benefits. [1+4]
A literature review involves identifying and documenting published and unpublished work (secondary data) on the topic of interest.
Benefits include:
* Ensuring important variables are not left out.
* Helping develop the theoretical framework and hypotheses.
* Enhancing testability and replicability.
* Reducing the risk of “reinventing the wheel” (duplicating existing work).
Differentiate between Internal/External and Solicited/Unsolicited proposals. [4]
- Internal Proposals: Typically short (1-3 page memos) from a researcher to management within the same organization. They briefly outline the problem and design without stressing a detailed literature review.
- External Proposals: Submitted to an outside body. They can be:
Solicited: Developed in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) and often compete against others.
Unsolicited: Represents a suggestion by a contract researcher for research they believe would be valuable
