Business Decision Making
Executive Summary 3
Research Methodology 4
Findings and Data Analysis 7
Conclusions, Recommendations and Limitations 24
Recommendations 24
References 27
Appendix: Questionnaire 27
Executive Summary
This report entails a critical review of the themed amusement park industry in Dubai with a specific focus on the introduction of an open air Sea World concept. The report analyzes various factors that may support or undermine the overall success of this concept. These factors include the overall potential traffic to the facility as well as the expected number of visitors and corresponding income which they will generate at the facility. A preliminary review of this concept within its proposed geographic jurisdiction of Dubai indicates that the concept is highly likely to succeed based on the analysis, which has comprehensively been undertaken in the course of this report.
Research Purpose/Objective
The first main objective of this research is the determination and evaluation of the needs and preferences of the residents of the United Arab Emirates, specifically Dubai, in terms of their preferred engagement in the different leisure activities. The second objective of this research is to gauge the overall level of interest which the targeted consumers have in the Sea World Park theme within the United Arab Emirates, given that there are many other different types of amusement parks that are currently in existence.
The third objective of this research is to evaluate the potential customer traffic, which the resort hopes to attract once it opens its doors to the general public. Lastly, the fourth main objective of this research is to determine the price at which an adult amusement park goer will be willing to pay to access the facility once it officially opens its doors to the general public.
Research Methodology
Data Sources
This research will employ a combined use of both primary as well as secondary sources of data in the collection of the relevant information which will be needed to realize the objectives of the study. Primary data refers to data which is collected first hand by the researcher through the use of approaches such as interviews and questionnaires while secondary data refers to information which has already been documented and is found in other sources such as books, journals and websites among many other similar sources (Kumar, 2010).
Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data
This research has applied a quantitative approach as the basis on which the study was conducted with the intention of reducing the collected data and information into numerical quantities such as weight, height length and so on (Kumar, 2010). This approach was chosen because it will give the specific measures of the objectives which the study strives to achieve, thereby resulting in a clearer picture of the quantities that are involved in this evaluation.
Scope of Enquiries
In this paper, the researcher made use of ten close ended questions to gather raw data and primary information about the feasibility of opening up an amusement part in the area, possibly in Dubai in the future. This is, in essence, a way of testing the market, analyzing, and forecasting how it would react to the opening of a amusement-related business in the future. One of the best ways to do so would be to test the overall perception of the target market about the business idea—without revealing the plan to open such type of business in the future. Part of that objective is also to determine the capability of the target market to absorb (i.e. buy) the products and services that would be offered to them once the planned business has already opened. The most practical way to achieve these two important goals would be to conduct a study that makes use of the ten point questionnaire that has been prepared.
Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire which was used in this research contained a total of 10 close ended questions. A total of 80 questionnaires were issued but only 50 fully filled questionnaires were received back. These 50 questionnaires were ultimately used as the preferred sample for undertaking this study.
Sampling Method
In order to more clearly define the characteristics of the target market for the proposed theme park, a stratified sampling method was used in the study. This is different from the traditional random sampling method in that it involves a process wherein the target population will be grouped into various classes (e.g. by age group, social or income classes, gender, employment status, household membership sizes, among others). In the study, only individuals who have confirmed visitations of at least three theme parks located in the UAE were recruited into the sample population. This way, the researchers were able to make sure that the responses that they would be getting from their samples would be representative of the target market for future amusement park operators. It is after the process of filling up the sample population pool that the respondents were grouped into the chosen stratification factors.
UAE Amusement Parks and Attractions Market Overview
According to Algethami (2015), the increased number of tourist visitors to the United Arab Emirates in the recent years has resulted in a corresponding increase in the number of amusement parks that are found within this region. Some of the emerging amusement parks are now providing accommodation facilities for overnight stays for their visitors unlike in the past where such facilities were not available (Algethami, 2015). Recent estimates indicate that Dubai is expected to attract around 20 Million tourist visitors per year by the year 2012 according to Algethami (2015).
The increasing number of amusement parks in Dubai as well as in the larger United Arab Emirates has also been attributed to increased availability of funds that are now being used for these new developments (Algethami, 2015). These funds were previously not available during the economic decline and post-recession period of between 2008 and 2013 as capital for new investments was largely scarce both in the UAE as well as in the globe at large.
According to Algethami (2015), the theme park industry in the United Arab Emirates is now valued at a total of AED 1.6 Billion as at 2014. This market is expected to increase in value to AED 3 Billion in the year 2019, while the total number of visitors are expected to grow to 11.4 Million in the same year when compared to 6.4 Million as at the year 2014 (Algethami, 2015).
Findings and Data Analysis
Data Analysis and Interpretation of Questionnaire Responses
Question One: Are you Male or Female?
Out of the 50 respondents, the Table and graph below shows the distribution of the respondents along gender lines.
Based on the above results, it can be observed that a majority of the respondents are female compared to a smaller minority who are male. This outcome is important to the research because it shows that based on the sampling approach which was adopted, most of the respondents ended up being female.
In terms of the relevance of this statistic to the development of the recreation facility in question, it should be noted that most of the people who frequent shopping malls and other recreational facilities such as the Sea World Resort are female which implies that more mothers will tend to take their children to these facilities than fathers. In designing the resort, the presence of more female parents than males will duly be taken into account so as to ensure that their needs will be met accordingly.
Question Two: In which age bracket do you fall?
The table and graph below give a summary of the age groups of the respondents who were interviewed in this survey
Based on the above graph and table, it can be observed that a majority of the respondents are found in the 31 – 40 years age group, with the 21 – 30 years age group being the second most populous among the sampled respondents. The implication of this outcome on the Sea World resort is the realization that most of the parents who will be bringing their children to the facility are relatively young in age. Therefore, it will be necessary for the resort to accommodate not just the needs of the targeted children, but also those of their young parents through the inclusion of the relevant facilities and components in the resort which will appeal to these young parents.
Question Three: In which average monthly household income bracket do you currently fall?
The table and graph below shows the summary of the income brackets within which the respondents of the survey duly fall into
Question Four: In which employment category do you currently fall in?
The table and graph below give a summary of the different employment categories which the respondent of the questionnaire currently falls into.
Question Five: What is the total number of people in your household?
The table and graph below summarize the total number of people, including the parents who are found within each of the house holds that were surveyed.
Question 6: How Many Children do you have?
The table and graph below summarize the total number of children which each of the surveyed respondents had as at the time when they participated in the questionnaire process.
Question 7: How Many Times Do You Visit an Amusement Park in the UAE during the course of one year?
The table and graph below summarize the total number of visits by the surveyed respondents to an amusement park in the UAE during a given average year.
Question Eight: During which specific season do you prefer to visit your preferred amusement park?
The table and graph below summarize the specific number of respondents who visit the different amusement parks during the four main seasons that are found in an average year.
Question Nine: On a scale of 1 to 5, how interested are you in an open air sea World themed amusement park which will be located close to Dubai?
The table and chart below summarizes the overall level of interest among the Dubai shoppers in the open air sea world themed amusement park concept in Dubai. The highest possible score is five which indicates the highest level of interest while the lowest available score is 1, which correspondingly shows the least level of interest.
Question 10: How much money would you be willing to spend on a ticket to the open air Sea World theme amusement park?
The table and chart below summarize the average amount of money, which the targeted consumers would be willing to spend on the purchase of a ticket while at the Sea World amusement park resort.
Data Analysis
The table below shows the dispersion analysis of the results and findings and individual analysis of all the ten questions. The range analysis has been used as the preferred dispersion analysis method because of the huge variation in values (I.e. the values and variables being reviewed per question are different and they also greatly vary so it would be erroneous to use inter-quartile range and standard deviation because more than one variable is being measured). The range and range width were computed per question and the mean range width was averaged in the end to show the degree of dispersion in the study.
Correlation and Regression Analysis
The table below shows the paired data values for the average income per month of the Dubai shopper as well as the average price which they are willing to spend per ticket summarized using the mid points for these two interrelated factors.
Based on the above chart, the correlation (r) can be calculated using the following formula:
(Taylor, 2015).
Where n is the number of pairs of data; X and Y are the sample means of the x and y values; and sx and sy are the respective standard deviations for these respective values.
Based on the above data, r=0.92 which indicates a strong correlation between the average monthly income of the Dubai shopper and the corresponding maximum amount of money which they are willing to spend on each ticket. R^2 has been computed as 0.85, which implies that the household income level of the Dubai shopper can be used to explain the corresponding impact on price of a ticket is close to 85% of the total variations. The reaming 15% of the variations observed in the respective data set can be explained by many other factors which are not captured within this dataset.
Based on the above chart, it can be estimated that at an income level of about AED 60,000, the corresponding price level per ticket would be about AED 361. Since the number of observations (n) that have been used is more than 30, Taylor (2015) notes that this data set is more likely to give a more confident outlook of the relationship between the price of the ticket and the corresponding income level, despite the fact that mid points have been used as the preferred basis of the data set.
Conclusions, Recommendations and Limitations
Based on a critical evaluation of the demographic characteristics of the Dubai amusement park market where the proposed open sea world themed park will be located, it can be concluded that this market portends an ideal environment which will be conducive and appropriate for the profitable operation of these proposed concept.
Recommendations
The evaluation of the Dubai themed amusement park market revealed significant demographic insights such as the income and spending power of the people found within this jurisdiction. Since these demographics are largely similar across the United Arab Emirates, it is recommended that the proposed open sea world concept should extend to other areas within the Emirates that include Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Lebanon among other countries. By expanding the scope of the company’s operations, it is expected that the same anticipated success which this amusement park hopes to achieve in Dubai will be extended to these other markets accordingly, going forward.
Limitations of the Study
Certain limitations did arise in the course of undertaking the study, which could jeopardize the authenticity of the analysis and conclusions that were drawn based on this research. These limitations include the existence of a sampling error in which there exists a marginal possibility that the sample population, which was chosen for this study may not be a full true reflection of the population which it purports to represent. Secondly, the number of respondents that were used in the study is too limited to warrant the drawing of conclusions that may be seen to be representative of the larger United Arab Emirates amusement park market.
Discuss the use of Management Information Systems (MIS) in the context of decision making at different levels of the organization.
According to Laudon (2015), there are three types of information that are used within an organization to support its attainment of its goals and objectives. The first type of information is the strategic information which is used to enable an organization gain a competitive advantage over its closest rivals (Laudon, 2015). Tactical information involves the formulation of competitive strategies by an organization while operational information is used to support the day to day activities of a business entity according to Laudon (2015).
A management information system (MIS) can be defined as a platform that enables an organization to process the information which it needs to support its activities in the course of its pursuit of its corporate goals and objectives (Laudon, 2015). Management information systems can be used at the Executive Support Systems level which refers to platforms that are used to support the top level management of an organization to make the relevant decisions that will enable an organization to grow from one level to another (Laudon, 2015).
Decision Support Systems on the other hand are MIS platforms that enable middle to low tier managers and employees within an organization to make decision that are relevant to their respective functions within an organization (Laudon, 2015). Expert Support Systems are MIS platforms that are used to identify and trouble shoot specific issuers that may arise in certain departments or functions within an organization, while Transaction Processing Systems are MIS platforms that are used to enable an organization successfully support its monetary transaction in the course of its provision of goods and services to the targeted consumers (Laudon, 2015).
References
Algethami, S. (2015). Tourism to drive amusement parks in UAE. Retrieved from
http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/tourism/tourism-to-drive-amusement-parks-in-uae-1.1492069
Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology. New York: SAGE
Laudon, K.C. (2015). Management Information Systems. London: Pearson Education
Rumsey, D. J. (2015). How to Calculate a Correlation. Retrieved from
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-calculate-a-correlation.html
Appendix: Questionnaire
Question One: Are you Male or Female?
Question Two: In which age bracket do you fall?
Question Three: In which average monthly household income bracket do you currently fall?
Question Four: In which employment category do you currently fall in?
Question Five: What is the total number of people in your household?
Question 6: How Many Children do you have?
Question 7: How Many Times Do You Visit an Amusement Park in the UAE during the course of one year?
Question Eight: During which specific season do you prefer to visit your preferred amusement park?
Question Nine: On a scale of 1 to 5, how interested are you in an open air sea World themed amusement park which will be located close to Dubai?
Question 10: How much money would you be willing to spend on a ticket to the open air Sea World theme amusement park?
