Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research.

Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research

True-False Questions

F 1. Total quality management applies primarily to the marketing function of an

organization.

F 2. Business research provides quantitative, but not qualitative, information upon which to
base decisions.

F 3. Business research should be a substitute for managerial judgment, and not merely an
aid to this judgment.

T 4. Business research is a managerial tool that provides information essential for good
decision making.

T 5. The role of the business researcher is to be detached and impersonal concerning the
conduct of the research process.

T 6. Applying business research is an art, not an exact science.

F 7. Basic research directly involves the solution to a specific business problem.

T 8. Implementing a total quality management program can require considerable

measurement.

F 9. When a decision must be made about a real-life business problem, this is called basic
research.

F 10. Findings from basic research can generally be immediately implemented.

F 11. Both basic and applied research are systematic and objective, but only basic research
utilizes the scientific method to answer the question at hand.

T 12. In the scientific method, empirical evidence (such as the results of a survey) is
analyzed and interpreted to confirm or disprove prior conceptions.

F 13. Investigating whether or not a 10 percent reduction in price will increase the purchase
of a new toothpaste in a pump dispenser is an example of basic research.

T 14. Because both basic and applied research utilize the scientific method, the difference in
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 2

techniques of basic and applied research is largely a matter of degree, rather than
substance.

F 15. When the cost of research exceeds its benefits, the research should still be conducted if
the decision is a major organizational concern.

T 16. The task of business research is to specify and supply accurate information to reduce
the uncertainty of decision making.

F 17. While basic research applies the scientific method, applied research does not apply this
method.

T 18. The essence of business research is to fulfill the effective manager's needs for
knowledge of his or her environment.

F 19. We can define business research as "the application of surveys for aid in making
business decisions."

T 20. The General Accounting Office research to measure the success of a program such as
the Employment Opportunity Act would be categorized as evaluation research.

T 21. Research that regularly, sometimes routinely, provides feedback for evaluation and
control of recurring business activity is performance-monitoring research.

T 22. Sometimes the urgency of a situation precludes the use of research.

T 23. Being systematic and objective may require that researchers be patient and take several
careful looks at the data to discover all that is known about the subject of study.

F 24. The differences in the techniques of basic and applied research is more a difference of
substance than a difference of degree.

F 25. The scientific method is utilized by basic researchers, while those engaged in applied
research tend to favor the strategic management process.
T 26. Business research can help managers to determine if a planned activity was executed
properly.

T 27. TQM focuses on integrating customer-driven quality decisions throughout the entire
organization.

F 28. In general, the more strategically important a business decision is to the organization,
the less likely it is that research will be conducted.
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 3

T 29. Business research may be used as a diagnostic tool to provide information about what
is happening in the environment.

F 30. TQM stands for "typical query management."

F 31. TQM stands for "total quantity measurement."

F 32. Business research should never be conducted after a failure, because it is pointless to
study strategies that did not work.

T 33. The objective of business research is to facilitate decision-making for all of the
functional areas of the organization.

F 34. After a business strategy has been implemented, business research is no longer needed.

T 35. After a business strategy has been implemented, business research may serve as a tool
to inform managers whether planned activities were properly executed.

F 36. If a company is well managed, performance-monitoring research becomes

unnecessary.

Multiple Choice Questions

D 1. Which of the following should a manager ask before deciding whether or not to do
13 business research?
A. Will the information obtained improve the quality of the decision enough to
justify the costs?
B. Is this research project the best use of available funds?
C. Will the payoff from the research be worth the dollars invested?
D. All of the above

B 2. Based on an observation study, researchers at Steelcase concluded that:

3 A. most American employees prefer to stand up while working.
B. people in teams function best if they can do some work collaboratively and
some privately.
C. two-thirds of business travelers rate home and family life as their most
important motivator.
D. female executives are a growing market for travel services.
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 4

C 3. When the marketing department of an organization attempts to determine the amount

7 of time the managers in this department spend at their computers in their offices each
week, this is an example of which type of research?
A. Pure research
B. Basic research
C. Applied research
D. Causal research

D 4. Which of the following is involved in the decision-making process when an

8 organization attempts to develop and to implement a business strategy?
A. Selecting a course of action
B. Diagnosis of the situation
C. Identifying opportunities
D. All of the above

C 5. When Procter & Gamble continuously monitors supermarket sales of its products to
10 track its market share, this is an example of:
A. evaluation research.
B. TQM research.
C. performance-monitoring research.
D. intuitive research.

D 6. The Steelcase research discussed in the text included all of the following EXCEPT:
3 A. video cameras.
B. observations of how work teams operate.
C. comparisons of collaborative and private work by team members.
D. using stop watches to evaluate workers' motions and patterns of behavior.

C 7. When deciding whether business research should be conducted, each of the following
12 factors is a major consideration EXCEPT:
A. time constraints.
B. availability of the data.
C. availability of company employees who are survey experts.
D. value of business research information in relation to its costs.

B 8. The formal, objective measurement and appraisal of the extent to which a given action,
10 activity, or program has achieved its objectives is called:
A. basic research.
B. evaluation research.
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 5

C. scientific research.
D. applied research.

B 9. Basic research is research that:

7 A. addresses simple issues that are basic and research is not really needed.
B. attempts to expand the limits of knowledge for a discipline.
C. is conducted to make a decision about a specific real life problem.
D. all of the above

C 10. Which statement best describes the nature of basic research?

7 A. Basic research requires the use of experimentation.
B. The primary purpose of basic research is to facilitate the managerial decision
process.
C. Basic research is conducted to verify the acceptability of a given theory.
D. Because basic research is exploratory, it does not require the use of scientific
methodology.

B 11. Business research is defined as the and process of generating information for
6 aid in business decision making.
A. regular, routine
B. systematic, objective
C. systematic, routine
D. systematic, statistical

B 12. When Colgate-Palmolive Co. tracks the sale of its health and beauty aids in discount
10 stores by utilizing the information provided by scanners at the checkout lines, this is an
example of which type of research?
A. Basic research
B. Performance-monitoring research
C. Pure research
D. Intuitive research

B 13. The term research describes research that regularly, perhaps routinely, provides
10 feedback for evaluation and control of business activity.
A. decision support
B. performance-monitoring
C. causal
D. analysis

C 14. When United Airlines routinely samples flights and passengers to administer a survey
10 of its activities, this is an example of which type of research?
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 6

A. Intuitive research
B. Pure research
C. Performance-monitoring research
D. Basic research

C 15. When a marketing manager makes an important decision because there is not sufficient
12 time to conduct a research project, this is an example of:
A. a situation in which the value of the research exceeds its costs.
B. the nature of the type of decision (tactical or strategic) that must be made.
C. a time constraint.
D. the availability of data.

D 16. Which of the following is an example of a major topic for business research?
15 A. A buyer behavior research study
B. A job morale study
C. A market segmentation study
D. All of the above

B 17. Which of the following statements does NOT accurately reflect how managers
12 determine if research is needed?
A. Research may not be conducted because of time constraints.
B. Major decisions should only be made after research is conducted.
C. Managers who possess adequate information do not need research to make the
decision.
D. Research should be conducted when the information gained by research
improves the quality of the decision to an extent large enough to warrant the
expenditure.

C 18. When Ford Motor Co. brings together representatives from R&D, Finance, Marketing,
14 Sales, and Marketing Research to work together on the design of a new type of
automobile, this is an example of the use of
A. basic research.
B. pure research.
C. cross-functional teams.
D. evaluation research.

A 19. Whether business research should be conducted is determined by each of the following
12 EXCEPT:
A. employees' attitudes toward the subject of the research.
B. time constraints.
C. the nature of the decision to be made.
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 7

D. the benefits of the research in relation to its costs.

D 20. Which of the following is a reason why business research information is a valuable
10 resource that contributes to effective decision making?
A. It describes what is occurring in the marketplace.
B. It may provide detailed information about specific mistakes or why failures
occurred.
C. It provides information to help managers learn about changing environments.
D. All of the above are reasons.

B 21. The relationship between business research and a manager's experience can best be
12 described as:
A. business research and managerial experience are incompatible.
B. sometimes managerial experience alone should be relied upon.
C. no decision should be reached without using business research.
D. there is no relationship between experience and business research.

D 22. The primary function of business research is to:

6 A. provide the solution to a business problem.
B. attempt to predict future behavior.
C. identify personal needs.
D. provide information to assist managers in making decisions.

A 23. Select the best definition of business research.

6 A. A systematic and objective process of generating information for aid in
business decision making.
B. The collection and analysis of business data.
C. An operating department within the organizational structure.
D. Providing information that will be of use in identifying opportunities.

Fill in the Blank

1. Business research shows that employee satisfaction is strongly linked to

______ satisfaction.

customer

2. Literally, "research" means to .

Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 8

search again

3. The term refers to a business philosophy devoted to integrating customer-

driven quality throughout an organization.

total quality management

4. Scanning items' universal product code (UPC) labels to evaluate sales volume is an
example of .

performance-monitoring research

5. Business research is the systematic and objective process of , . and data for
aid in business decisions.

gathering, recording, analyzing

6. Business research should be a(n) to managerial judgment, and not a substitute for
it.

aid

7. When a decision must be made about a specific real-life problem, research is

conducted.

applied

8. When we want to expand the limits of knowledge, without directly involving the
solution to any particular pragmatic problems, we would conduct research.

basic (pure)

9. If we want to do a formal, objective measurement and appraisal of the extent to which

a given activity or program has achieved its objectives, we conduct research.

evaluation

10. Teams which are made up of representatives from finance, accounting, sales, R&D,
and marketing research are an example of a ________ team
Chapter 1 The Role of Business Research. 9

cross-functional

11. The term describes techniques or procedures used to analyze empirical

evidence in an attempt to confirm or disprove prior conceptions.

scientific method

12. The largest business research company in the world is ________.

A.C. Nielsen

13. A manager determining whether business research should be conducted must consider
four major factors: . (Answer could be several words).

time constraints; availability of data; nature of the decision to be made; benefits of the
research versus its costs

14. Continuous improvement of product quality and service is an important principle of

.

total quality management