MGT-491 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FOR MANAGEMENT OSMAN BIN SAIF

Self Introduction Finance Graduate; Consultant with SDPI MSC. Accounting and Finance (University of Exeter, UK) MBA- Finance (SZABIST, Islamabad) Certified Financial Consultant (IFC , Canada) Certifications in Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation and Research Policy Development. Consultant with SDPI Senior Researcher with TP WING, MOC Visiting Faculty various universities and institutes.

Course Objective To familiarize students with the types of business problems often faced by corporate entities and to help them develop insights about basic concepts of research designs and methodology aimed at solving business problems.

Course Objective (Contd.) To help students develop skills in structuring and analyzing, various Business Research problems, for managerial decisions, using basic Quantitative tools and techniques.

Course Description Business research is a systematic inquiry, whose objective is to provide information, to solve managerial problems. This course is an introduction on how to do business research, with an emphasis on applied problem solving. This course has a major focus on problem identification, analysis and problem solving strategies and techniques.

Intended Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course you should be able to: Clearly identify and analyze business problems and identify appropriate and effective ways to answer those problems Understand and apply the major types of research designs

Intended Learning Outcomes (Contd.) Formulate clearly defined research questions Analyze and summarize key issues and themes from existing literature Evaluate and conduct research.

Intended Learning Outcomes (Contd.) Understand the ethical issues associated with the conduct of research Be able to formulate and present effective research reports.

Brief Course Contents Section 1; Introduction to Business Research and research design Nature and Scope of Business research Information based decision making The research process Basic approaches and terminologies used Defining research question Framing of Hypothesis

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 1; Introduction to Business Research and research design (Contd.) Preparing research plan Qualitative research designs Sources of secondary data Case review and analysis

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 2; Measurement and Scaling, data Source and Data Collection Primary Data Collection from observations Surveys and Experimentation Commonly used scales in business research Checking reliability and validity of scales

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 2; Measurement and Scaling, data Source and Data Collection Designing instrument for data collection Testing the instrument Data collection process Sampling methods and procedures Sample size decisions Case review and analysis

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 3; Data Analysis and Presentation Editing and Coding of Data Tabulation Graphic presentation Cross tabulation Testing of Hypothesis Type I and II errors

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 3; Data Analysis and Presentation (Contd.) One tailed and two tailed test of significance Test of association Simple Linear regression Research report Writing Case review and analysis

Brief Course Contents (Contd.) Section 4; Business Research Problems Nature of business research problems Steps in solving business research problems Solutions through graphical method Formulation of Linear programming equation Introduction to sensitivity analysis

Recommended Reading text book; Research methodology and Operations Research Published By: PEARSON EDUCATION Authors: Hamdy A. Taha, Mark N.K. Saunders

Section 1; Introduction to Business Research and Research design

Knowledge Knowledge is a collection of facts, information and skills acquired through; experience or education or (more generally) the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject is called knowledge.

Knowledge (Contd.) It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject); and it can be more or less formal or systematic

Theory Theory is the conclusion we make through general observations. We then verify the validity of the particular theory by using data we have collected.

Theory (Contd.) If the data analyzed verify the validity of the theory, then the theory becomes a law. This law will be embraced until there is a competing theory that states otherwise.

Theory (Contd.) A theory is a coherent set of general propositions used as principles to explain the apparent relationships of certain observed phenomena.

Research Research can be defined as the search for knowledge , or as any systematic investigation, with an open mind to; establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method.

Research (Contd.) Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Research can also be defined as “An art of scientific investigation”.

Research (Contd.) Research is the process of gathering the information needed, to answer certain questions and thereby helping in solving problems faced by an; individual, firm, organization society.

Research? (Contd.) Therefore, research is something which people undertake to find out something in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge. It is a primary tool used in virtually all areas of science to expand the frontiers of knowledge.

Objective of Research The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures.

Objective of Research The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered as yet.

Nature and Scope of Business Research Research: “A way of examining your practice” Research is undertaken within most professions. More than a set of skills, research is a way of thinking Examining critically the various aspects of your day-to-day professional work

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Understanding and formulating guiding principles that govern a particular procedure Developing and testing new theories It is also a habit of questioning what you do and a systematic examination of the observed information to find answers.

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Example 1: Health Service You: Front line service provider, Supervisor, health administrator/ planner Questions: How many patients do I see everyday? What are some of the most common conditions prevalent among my patients? What are the causes of these conditions?

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Questions: What are the health needs of the community? Why do some people use the service while others do not? What do people think about the services? How satisfied are patients with the service? How effective is the service? How can the service be improved?

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Example 2: Business Marketing You: Salesperson, Sales manager or Sales promotion executive Questions: What is the best strategy to promote the sale of a particular product? How many salespersons do I need? What is the effect of a particular advertising campaign on the sale of this product?

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Questions: How satisfied are the consumers with this product? How much are consumers prepared to spend on this item? What do consumers like or dislike about this product? What type of packaging do consumers prefer for this product?

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Example 3: You: As a professional Questions: Which is the most effective intervention for a particular problem? What causes X or what are the effects of Y? What is the relationship between the two phenomenon?

Nature and Scope of Business Research (Contd.) Questions: How do I measure self esteem of my clients? How do I ascertain the validity of my questionnaire? Which is the best way of finding out community attitudes towards an issue? Which is the best way to find out the effectiveness of a particular treatment? How can I select an unbiased sample?

Motivation for Research What makes people to undertake research? This is a question of fundamental importance. The possible motives for doing research may be either one or more of the following: Desire to get a research degree along with its consequential benefits;

Motivation for Research (Contd.) Desire to face the challenge in solving the unsolved problems, i.e., concern over practical problems initiates research; Desire to get intellectual joy of doing some creative work; Desire to be of service to society; Desire to get respectability

Research Problem A research problem refers to a difficulty which a researcher or a scientific community or an industry or a government organization or a society experiences. It calls for a thorough understanding and possible solution.

Types of Research The basic types of research are as follows: Descriptive vs. Analytical Applied vs. Fundamental Quantitative vs. Qualitative Conceptual vs. Empirical

Types of Research (Contd.) Some Other Types of Research One-time research or longitudinal research Field-setting research or laboratory research or simulation research Clinical or diagnostic research Historical research Conclusion-oriented research Decision-oriented research.

Descriptive Research Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present

Descriptive Research (Contd.) In social science and business research we quite often use the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening.

Analytical Research In analytical research, on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information already available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material.

Applied Research Applied research aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or an industrial/business organization. It is also called action research.

Fundamental research Fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation of a theory. It is also called basic or pure research. Testing a theory or conforming to the laws.

Quantitative research Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity. When reporting an event or situation and describing it.

Qualitative research Qualitative research, on the other hand, is concerned with qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance, when we are interested in investigating the reasons for human behavior. Or when analyzing a degree of variation between two events or situations.

Conceptual research Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or theory. It is generally used by philosophers and thinkers to develop new concepts or to reinterpret existing ones.

Empirical research Empirical research relies on experience or observation alone, often without due regard for system and theory. It is data-based research, coming up with conclusions which are capable of being verified by observation or experiment.

One time research Research is confined to a single time-period.

Longitudinal research Research is carried on over several time-periods.

Field-setting research or Laboratory research or Simulation research Depends upon the environment in which it is to be carried out. Physical experimentation.

Clinical or Diagnostic research Research follow case-study methods or in-depth approaches to reach the basic causal relations. Such studies usually go deep into the causes of things or events that interest us, using very small samples and very deep probing data gathering devices.

Historical Research It is a type which utilizes historical sources like documents, remains, etc. to study events or ideas of the past, including the philosophy of persons and groups at any remote point of time.

Conclusion oriented research Doing conclusion oriented research, a researcher is free to pick up a problem, redesign the enquiry as he proceeds and is prepared to conceptualize as he wishes.

Decision-oriented research Decision-oriented research is always for the need of a decision maker and the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according to his own inclination.

Decision-oriented research Operations research is an example of decision oriented research since it is a scientific method of providing executive departments with a quantitative basis for decisions regarding operations under their control. It is of fundamental importance in business research.

Characteristics of Research Controlled; Cause and Effect relationship between the two variable is not effected by another independent variable. It is possible in physical experiments e.g. Laboratory experiments but not possible in social sciences. Rigorous; It is ensured that the procedures followed to find answers to the questions are relevant, appropriate and just. A degree of rigor varies depending on the type of experiment.

Characteristics of Research (Contd.) Systematic; This implies that the procedures adopted to undertake an investigation follows certain logical sequence. Valid and Verifiable; This concept implies that, whatever you conclude on the basis of your findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.

Characteristics of Research (Contd.) Empirical; This means that any conclusions drawn are based upon hard evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences and observation. Critical; Critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods employed is crucial to research inquiry.

Summary of Today’s Lecture Introduction Brief contents of the Course Our Course Objective What is knowledge and Theory? Why Research? What is research problem? Types of Research

Summary of Today’s Lecture (Contd.) Characteristics of Research

Thanks