Business Analysis
Question 1
The research methodology is usually about the idea of the author for the objective of the study. The usage of an appropriate research methodology is useful to create a report with substantive content. For some study, qualitative data design can be utilized. This is to get detailed data which can be used to answer questions within the research. The qualitative design is usually a diverse kind of approach wherein the questions are not limited to a yes or no answer, but there will be explanation and details given by respondents (Sandelowski, 2000).
The survey is used as the primary research method for this study, the instrument will be a questionnaire which tested before it will be distributed to the respondents. Oppenheim (2001, p. 101) presents that the function of a questionnaire is to measure the specific needs of the researcher and also assure that the aims are reached while waiting for the responses of the respondents. .
The aim for this project is to decide the level of usage of social media in a workplace. The level of usage is assessed through series of survey questions made in a Likert scale.
• Spotlight- the Spotlight of the study will be with regards to social media and methods used by the workers. This will also look on the feedbacks made by users towards their concerns about the implementation of certain policies for using social media while they are at work.
• Dimension- dimension is the tool on how the researcher can proper use and view the data for the improvement of the project in the end. The intention of the researcher is to see on aspects including the things such as convenience of using and providing a social media platform and improvement of the work force by lessening social media use.
Data Collection Technique
The collection techniques used in this study is by the distribution of survey questionnaires to intended respondents. The workers will be chosen by if they are willing to fill up the survey forms. Disseminating the questionnaires is seen as a way to introduce the research to the respondents and to know how the respondents will be able to improve their social media usage.
In gaining data from the organization, the questions can also be given to the members of the management team. Through this, the researcher can assess the importance of the research by acknowledgement of the management. The process which is used by the researcher in obtaining the primary and secondary data is an honest and definite way to assure that information will be kept privately. The researcher needs to assure that the data which were collected will not be given to the hands of third persons and use it for their benefit. As such, the ethical consideration of obtaining the information needs to be considered by the researcher in the end (Schwas 2005, p12). The social media usage by the workers will serve as a way to know how much the workers appreciate social media and whether it is helpful while they are working.
Question 2
Primary data are that raw information or firsthand information obtained by the researcher (Sarstedt and Mooi 2004, p 9). This can be from the respondents, from interviews and survey questions. Utilization of primary data is a way to offer original information which is used within a study. Primary data can be obtained from the following:
•Survey methods. This is done through a questionnaire wherein it is needed to be distributed to the respondents to get information. The questionnaire has questions which can be answered in a paragraph form or in a specific yes or no form. This can help obtain competent data for the research.
• Interview. This is a way to obtain answers from the interviewees with additional ideas from them. The answers are not limited to the questions alone, it can be a spontaneous interview wherein new ideas can be obtained.
•Group discussions. The importance of this kind of method is that researcher needs to look for participants in the group discussions. The input from every member of the group will be necessary for creating a substantial answer for the questions intended.
Secondary data are obtained from other studies, journals and books. These are data which is analysed or evaluated by the researcher himself. The researcher can look for books, journals and articles about the topic and the researcher will be able to improve his own paper in the end. The use of the said data can be helpful in providing a substantial and competent report for the researcher (Dhotre and Bagad 2008, p.87). The researcher will be able to use the facts to make a substantial report in the end.
Primary and secondary data can be used within a business in terms of obtaining information of competition in the market, customer feedback and sales of the company.
•Information on the competition. A competitive market means many information can be obtained from other companies. For instance, one company can look into the sales growth of another business. This can be done by obtaining data from company profiles. Looking into the said data, the other company can create a structure on what the competing company is strong at and how they can respond to such strength. Data is very important, hence, obtaining primary and original data is needed to make sure that there will be a competent strategy that can be made in the end.
•Customer feedback. The said data obtained will be primary data. Using modern tools and techniques, the company will be able to get the necessary information to make sure that it will be utilized for changing some products and services. Feedbacks range from positive, negative and even suggestive responses from clients. Hence, these are firsthand data which will be useful for the company in the future.
•Sales data. To be able to know whether the company is growing for the past years, the company needs to know whether sales are growing with just one look (Terpstra et al 2012, p4). Hence, the numbers are considered primary data as they are obtained first hand by the management. Moreover, the said numbers and figures can be organized into a graph which can give a summary on how the company had performed for the past years.
Information is very important in every business. Handling the said information will help them become more efficient and competitive in the market. They need to be able to know how to assure that information will be handled properly and that it will be used for strategic management in the end. Data must be stored in computers where access will only be given to management.
Question 3
Statistical Data
When the data are gathered by the researcher, the numbers will be processed. The data will be information will then be tabulated and analysed through by using mean computation. This method will be significant for the complete analysis of the responses obtained which was from the conducted surveys within the company. After the said calculation, the information can be presented using diagrams and graphs which can help understand the results in the manner advisable for the research.
The statistical methods which was practiced for the validation and analysis of the information using weighted mean
The following formula was used:
P= F x 100
N
P - Percentage (%)
F - frequency
N - no. of classes
Weighted arithmetic is use to find the frequency distribution of certain data which would who the times a certain number is present (Gnanadesikan 2012, p. 76).
The formula used was:
x = ∑ fx
N
Wherein: x - this is weighted arithmetic mean
∑ fx - pertains to the totality of all the products of f and x, where f is
The frequency of weight and x is the weighted mean of each frequency.
N - Pertains to the totality of all the respondents
Hence, the said treatment was applied for the data which was utilized within the study, the results will be grouped consequently conferring to the circulation of respondents. The respondents will be grouped into different categories and it will be presented using a bar graph to present the distribution in accordance to the departments where they belong in the company.The answers on other questions in the questionnaire or those obtained from interviews will also be computed and presented in their own tables and graphs. On this way, the researcher will be able to compare the data and create appropriate recommendations for it.
The data which was processed for a company can be the sales profit of Walmart. For instance, the company can use statistical methods to analyse their profits for the 1st quarter until the 4th quarter of the year. In this way, the management can see which quarter they are strong and which quarter they need improvement. The strategy of the business can also be based on the said analysis. The dependence of the company towards figures and graphs is necessary as competent and substantive report can be useful for the company in the end.
Question 4
Management Information Systems
Information systems is considered a scheme wherein it includes the information and how the information is produced involving four methods which are the input, process, output and storage (Shim & Siegel 2005, p.1). Management of information system means assuring that the company will provide the best management methods of data which are used in the business. The company needs to look into the internal operations of the business to be able to come up with a feasible management information technology in the end. In providing a competent information system, Laudon & Laudon's Four-Step Problem-Solving can be followed.
For a company, the information system is the creation of a website which can be helpful for the communication between customers and also other business partners. The said can be used as a solution to challenges such as low profits and also continued increasing demand by the customers. Moreover, the use of the system may impact the employees, organizational operations and current technology used in the firm.
The above diagram is a way to improve the business and create a positive environment where there will be increased profit and competitive market stand (Laudon and Laudon 2012, p.43). Moreover, the said diagram will also have certain constraints which will affect the operations in the end. Challenges are seen as the problems that the business face in terms of their operations. The said constraints can be technical or nontechnical and can only be responded by proper management of the system of the business.
Management information system threats and challenges
Management information system intends to provide solutions for the threats that may be imposed within the company. It wants to increase its competency and be competitive within the market. Implementing a new IS system will be hard especially if some workers do not fully trust the new system that will be applied. The importance of applying a competent MIS is on the way the business is affected by the new technology. The importance of the need of the business is to create a positive approach towards the system and make the most of it for the company. On this stand, the company will be able to improve their efficiency in the market and stay competitive with other firms. Technology is something that small and large business sees as a great invention of mankind. Hence, usage of technology needs to be definite and must be able to assure that every part of the company will be able to adopt it in the end. The threats and challenges of using the system are as follows:
•The apprehension of the workers towards the new system. The workers might find it difficult to use and may create a negative impact to the organization. Instead of obtaining a smoother operation, employees may not dutifully follow the use of technology as this will be a way to contradict the management. The apprehension of the workers might cost the company more rather than lessen it. Workers need to be properly trained for the new system as this will improve their competency and also the competency of the company in the end. Workers might question the need of the new system as the old method might be effective and feasible for them. With this stance, the management should properly explain to the workers the need of the new system for the improvement of the business. Proper communication with the workers needs to improve their business and assure that cooperation will be possible.
•Lack of skills and training for the employees. The lack of skills towards IT usage may be a hindrance towards the growth of the company. For instance, lack of skill may pertain to lesser ideas regarding the various aspects of the program. Hence, training can be made to the employees. Training is important in improving the way the workers will face the new system such as information technology. Training can be done within the workplace or in another place where the trainees can properly learn the system. It can be implemented through providing theories regarding the system and a one on one approach for the workers. On hand training will be important to make sure that the workers will be able to know the proper way to use the technology.
•Lack of resources. The resources may be a problem in the case of implementation of the system. This is because the resources will serve as the main driver to assure that the business will maintain its information system in the end. Resources include the financial constraint which might not be beneficial to the implementation of the new system. This means that the company will not be able to buy all the tools and machines needed for the business.
Management information solutions
The competent information system needs to present certain strategies which will be helpful for the company, easy usage by the staff and proper adjustment of the management operations in the end. MIS is considered as an important feature of any business as it intends to help in making the company become competent and competitive in the marketplace. The company should be able to know how to properly use its resources, create competent allocation strategies for the said resources and assure that it is allocated well to the projects intended. The complication of MIS ascends from the collaboration among the events of a project by explicit and implied habits which may be subject to certain problems (Schwindt 2005, p2.). The usage of the said resources can only be resorted to for the company in terms of increasing the competency in the marketplace.
Managing the information system of the business brings many opportunities for the operations as a whole. Opportunity includes improvement of the company operations, the involvement of the growth of the business and creation of possible growth strategies for the business. An information system is a means of improving the operations of the company through using the latest technology such as a program that will help in communication with other businesses and stakeholders. For instance, putting up a website will be helpful for the business to introduce themselves in the market. But the said website will only be effective for the business if the employees know how to manage the website well. Managing the website is part of the information technology strategy of a company. The company can find people who can make the website and make it easily accessible to the people. This will keep the company become more competitive in the industry and improve their image to other companies. Managing the technology system of the business intends to improve the way the business operates and increased their competency. Assuring that all aspects of the business need to be improved especially the proper allocation of resources, human resource implementation and also improvement of the way technology is adopted by the company in the end.
Resource allocation can be made by business through the distribution of the resources to the projects intended. Having a schedule can help in determining how the resources can be allocated properly for the business. This can help save costs as the resources will be specifically allocated to the specific needs within the company. The way it will be distributed can be a means of providing the best way to keep resources used in the business.
The following are the way to improve the information system within the company which is to keep methods up to date.
•The correct software needs to be installed within the system. The said software should respond to the needs of the business. For instance, software for marketing purposes can be installed to improve marketing strategy of the company. A program for customer feedback can be useful in obtaining comments and suggestions from their clientele. The computers should be subscribed and be connected properly and shall be operated by people who are skilled with IT.
•The HR should know how to hire the competent workers for the job. This means certain technical expertise should be available to be able to us the IT system. In hiring for the workers, the management should look into the personality of the individual, the way they are providing service to the company and how they will be competent for the work they will be doing. The employees are very important for a company, especially they are the one which is considered as the key resource of the company. Hence, they need to be trained for new technology that a company may adopt.
•Technology tools shall be updated. New computers, hardware, and software needs to be purchased as this will be useful for the company in the future. This system may be costly at first but this will be a useful thing for them in the future. The expensive nature of using technology will be beneficial for the company in the long run. Hence, because of the costly implementation of the system, it is imperative that the company should allocate a larger budget for the system. It will increase their competency and improve their business operations as a whole.
Management information tools are the relevant methods to assure that information will be properly stored and will not be easily transferred to the hands of other people. Data for a business is very important, there will be people who will hack computers or copy the said data as they can use it for future references. Hence, when everything is now dependent in computers, it is important to have a definite system or strategy to make it become more feasible for the company.
Responding to such threats will help the company to assure that technology will be properly implemented. There will be instances that the challenges will result to the failure of the system, but this can be avoided if the company will be able to make a recovery plan. The business recovery plan intends to provide a backup plan in case the company fails to implement their IT system properly. This means having competent people who will be able to create the recovery plan, backing up with the proper amount of resources. The people need to know that Information Technology provides a positive effect to the business and the way to assure its full implementation is to assure that the system is implemented properly. Cooperation, communication, and leadership are essential for the growth of the business. Hence, even if the company has the best technology that is implemented within their business, without the cooperation of the workers and also the leadership of the managers, the said system will not be successful in the end.
References:
Oppenheim, A. (2001). Questionnaire Design Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. Continuum
Schwas, D. (2005). Research Methods for Organizational Studies. Routledge, UK.
Sandelowski, M. (2000) Focus on Research Methods Whatever happened to Qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health, 2000 pp. 334-340.
Shim, J. & Siegel, J. (2005). The Vest Packet Guide to Information Technology. Wiley-IEEE, CA.
Schwindt, C. (2005). Resource Allocation in Project Management. Springer, UK.
Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. (2012), Essentials of Management Information Systems, Pearson Education
Sarstedt, M. & Mooi, E. (2014), A Concise Guide to Market Research: The Process, Data, and Methods Using IBM SPSS Statistics, Springer.
Dhotre, I. & Bagad, V. (2008), Data Communication, Technical Publications.
Terpstra, V., Foley, J. & Sarathy, R. (2012), International Marketing, Naper Press.
Gnanadesikan, R. (2011), Methods for Statistical Data Analysis of Multivariate Observations, John Wiley & Sons
