Part 1
Statement of the problem: Superior Foods Inc. is considering adding organic versions of its frozen vegetables in an effort to become a leader in this fast-growing market. To increase its available supply of its organic produce, management recognizes the need to assist local growers in adopting organic farming methods. The first aspect that requires attention is to recruit experts in organic farming to design and implement training.
This issue implies substantial research, because it is important to gather necessary data on the volume of demand for the organic production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the sales of organic food have significantly increased throughout the last years, and the demand for organic products keeps growing. The consequence is that the demand grows so fast that some suppliers face a challenge of providing the necessary volume of supply, which creates a problem for some retailers (Faber). Therefore, Superior Foods Inc. has recognized the issue and decided to conduct a research and to take actions with the aim to solve this problem and to gain authority.
Research Methods and Sources of Information: For this type of study, the most convenient way will be to undertake basic and correlational researches. Basic research will help to identify the data in numbers, which is the number of potential customers of organic products and the level of increase in demand for organic production. In addition, Superior Foods Inc. will conduct a basic research while assisting local farmers, so that they can gather more information about organic farming methods. Correlational research, in turn, will help to undertake the research at large scope and to observe the relationship between sales and demand for organic products (Krishnakumar, 2011).
Nature of Data to be Gathered and Analyzed: Superior Foods Inc. will have to gather numerical data, which is the size of target market for the new production and the volume of sales, as well as qualitative data, which is the identification and study of the most effective methods of organic production.
Hypothesis or Hypotheses to be proved or to disproved:
The quality, which depends on the farming methods, influences the level of demand for organic products.
Modern lifestyle trends (organic consumption) increases the demand for organic products.
Addition of organic versions of frozen vegetables will increase the sales for Superior Foods Inc.
Part 2
Data showing the growth in the number of companies offering employees paid time for volunteerism over a five-year period: Line graph will help to represent this data, because it will show the change in numbers over time (Skillsyouneed.com).
Data showing the number of downloads from ITunes by media type (music, books, and TV segments) for the past quarter: Bar chart will effectively display this data, because each bar will represent each media type (Skillsyouneed.com)
Data showing percentage of organizational projects that are delayed, on time, or ahead of schedule: Pie chart will be the best fit, because it will divide all the projects into categories, according to the assigned factor (Skillsyouneed.com).
Growth in credit card debt over the past four years by state: Line graph will display this data, because each line will represent each state (Skillsyouneed.com)
Predicted unemployment rate in regions of the U.S. for the year 2015: Bar chart will divide the states (each bar will represent unemployment rate in the chosen state) (Skillsyouneed.com).
Figures comparing the percentage of warranty claims of a company's three product lines for the past four quarters: Area chart will be a good fit, because it will highlight each product line with its own color (Developers.google.com).
Data showing the number of people utilizing the portfolio option of a financial investment firm's website. The data should depict the number of portfolios opened by investors in five age categories during each of the past four quarters: Area chart will help to display this data, because it will highlight the number of portfolios for each age category with its color, graphically showing the volumes and the difference (Developers.google.com).
Graphic tracking the progress of a product development team working on a new refrigeration product for a 2013 launch date: Gantt chart will be the best option for this study, because it helps to display various activities, such as planning, implementation, etc. over time. Gantt chart indicates an activity and a period, within a team will complete it (Gantt.com).
References
Faber, S. (n.d.). Demand for Organic Food Growing Faster than Domestic Supply. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/demand-organic-food-growing-faster-domestic-supply
Graphs and Charts. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://www.skillsyouneed.com/num/graphs-charts.html
Krishnakumar, V. (2011, November 26). Types of Research. Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://www.slideshare.net/vaisalik/types-of-research
Visualization: Area Chart. (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2016, from https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gallery/areachart
What is a Gantt chart? (n.d.). Retrieved April 09, 2016, from http://www.gantt.com/
