Research in business
"For a long time, research companies have offered efficient collection of data, as well as timely and accurate reporting as their primary value propositions to clients. However, clients no longer view operational excellence as a value proposition, but rather as a basic expectation.
Rick Garlick, Maritz Research
learning objectives
After reading this chapter, you should understand?
1. What business research is and how it differs from decision support systems and business intelligence systems.
2. The trends affecting business research and the emerging hierarchy of research-based decision makers.
3. The value of learning business research process skills.
4. The different categories of firms and their functions in the industry.
5. The distinction between good business research and research that falls short of professional quality.
bringing research to life
Myra Wines, director of consumer affairs for MindWriter, Inc., has been charged with the task of assessing MindWriter's CompleteCare program for servicing laptops. As a result, she sent several well-respected research firms a request for proposal (RFP), and she and her team are interviewing the last of those firms, Henry & Associates.
Newly promoted to her position, Wines has a TV journalism and government public relations background. She has been a MindWriter laptop owner since it came on the market decades earlier and has never personally experienced a problem. She wants a research supplier from whom she can learn, as well as one whom she can trust to do appropriate, high-quality research.
The last interviewee is Jason Henry, managing partners, Henry & Associates. H&A comes highly recommended by a professional colleague in a different indus ...