Executive summary
The operating business environment today has never been more challenging. Businesses are finding themselves caught between a rock and hard place especially the dynamic nature of the business environment and also competition from other players in the industry.
In order to survive in this kind of scenario, businesses are expected to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are critical to their success. To do this, businesses use scientific methods of research to analyse the correlation between variables characteristic of their business so as to determine how they could manipulate such variables to attain a given objective.
This paper seeks to demonstrate how businesses or even nations could use the available data in their institutions to carry out scientific research so as to come up with methods of conducting their activities more efficiently, by solving the problems that affect them. In this example, the researchers obtained information from the World Bank such as Life expectancy at birth, total (years), CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita), Health expenditure per capita (current US$), GDP growth (annual %) and Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people).
The researchers were able to develop research equations that could demonstrate how each of the variables would change in relation to the other variables. In doing these, statistical measurements such as median, mean and standard deviations were computed. Regression equations were also developed that helped in the data analysis.
The study also noted a number of weaknesses that included a making a number of assumptions which could not stand closer scrutiny. Reliability of the study was also noted to be doubtful considering the fact that different respondents would behave differently to different situations. The length of time available for this study was also noted to be a major constraint to the successful completion of the study, and by extension, the expeditious implementation of any recommendations made.
