Cluster Analysis in Marketing Research

Cluster Analysis in Marketing Research Q5. Describe cluster analysis with 2 examples related to marketing research? Ans: Cluster Analysis: It is the task of grouping a set of objects in such a way that objects in the same group are more similar to each other than to those in other groups. Example 1: Type of customers choose the restaurant Family, Entertainers, Singles etc Example 2: Type of customers that choose the restaurant based on their food choice. Vegetarian/Non vegetarian Mexican, Indian, South Indian, Fast food etc What are three characteristics of a good quality clustering analysis? Ans: The reason for asking question â€Å"Q: Type of customers that choose the restaurant based on their food choice. (Vegetarian/Non vegetarian)† Collection process of data objects. It helps me to understand the of customer’s food choice. Analysis of similarities between data objects Based on the data we can analyze which type of customers on their food choice â€Å"veg/non veg†. Veg is one group and non-veg is another. Can come up with good implementation of analysis (e.g. problem solving) Answer to the Survey can help us to understand the market demand and we can provide the similar food at the restaurant based on data gathered. Example: Q6. Describe Qualitative and quantitative research methods with one advantage and disadvantage of each. Ans: Qualitative research: The information gathered is non-numerical and might include responses to an open ended survey question, dialogue from a focus group, the answer to an essay question, a term paper, or ideas brainstormed by a group. Qualitative data is not limited to words, however, and could include the contents of an art or design portfolio. Qualitative research uses observation as the data collection method. Observation is the selection and recording of behaviors of people in their environment. Observation is useful for generating in-depth descriptions of organizations or events, for obtaining information that is otherwise inaccessible, and for conducting research when other methods are inadequate. Example: Why you like our restaurant, describe? Advantage of Qualitative research: Respondents are free to answer any way they would like comment/answer. One advantage of the qualitative approach is that contextual information is gathered when the data is collected. In other words, â€Å"why† is automatically answered/provided in the data. Qualitative research is useful on early stage when we are not sure about what to study. Disadvantage of Qualitative research: It is expensive and time consuming. It can take a long time to collect and analyze the data. For Interviews it would take 10+ hours to have hour long interviews with around 10 people and that does not include the time needed to schedule the interviews. Time taken for 1 interview = time taken for interview + time taken to schedule interview + time to analyze data (recordings and notes etc). Quantitative research All of the data collected would be counted or quantified. Example: Someone’s age, income, height or weight would be quantitative data Number of hits on a website The number of correct responses on a driving test The number of minutes per week Car fuel efficiency in KM. Advantage of Quantitative research: It is less expensive and an efficient method for gathering information especially for large groups of people. Online surveys are easy way to collect data from large groups of people. In restaurant we have large database of users through data collection. It is easy and cost effective to send and collect feedback through online surveys. The USA government collects Census information every 10 years. The government doesn’t try to interview everyone in the USA instead they mail out surveys to be completed a very efficient form of data collection. Disadvantage of Quantitative research It generally does not include an explanation of ‘why.’ For example, respondents are asked to â€Å"Rate the quality of staff services at the restaurant† using the following scale: â€Å"Excellent† , â€Å"Good† ,†Fine†, â€Å"Fair† ,or â€Å"Poor.† That question would generate quantitative data because we could count the number of people who selected each of the four response options. But knowing how many people found a quality of staff as â€Å"Excellent† does not provide any insights into why it is excellent. Also respondents are limited to set of options to respond and they may not feel that any of the options best describes their experience. Q7: Qualitative research. a) Depth Interview: Interviewing is a method ofqualitative researchin which the researcher asks open-ended questions orally and records the respondent’s answers. Example: Face to face / telephonic Job Interviews can be depth interviews. Interviewer starts with greeting by asking familiar set of general questions to create comfort level for interviewee/respondent. Q: How are you? Q: Where are you from? Q: Can you please describe yourself? Advantage: Accurate results. Better rapport. More productive asCompared with non-response among focus group members Flexible and continuous Disadvantage: It is costly and time consuming. Less structured. b) Focus Groups: Itis a form ofqualitative researchin which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. One focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion. Example: It is useful in marketing as important tool to acquiringfeedback regarding product/services. In social science it helps Interviewers to study people in a more natural conversation pattern than typically occurs in a one-to-one interview. Advantage: The face to face involvement of a moderator can ensure things on track. As everybody is under observation, so it is easy to make everybody fully engage even during free time. Disadvantage: Can be Biased [discussion can be dominated by a few people.] Group discussions can be difficult to steer and control. c) Projective Techniques: Originally developed to use in psychology. The use of vague, ambiguous, unstructured stimulus objects or situations in which the subject â€Å"projects† his or her personality, attitude, opinions and self-concept to give the situation some structure. Example: A personality test. Photo language Test. (using pictures). Advantage: Personality test is cost effective. (Only use paper and can be scored by hand or using a machine, can be taken home and returned later) Personality test is Objectivity (questions are mostly true/false) . Disadvantages: à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ · Sheer length. Untruth (e.g: With personality test objective, there is always possibility that test taker never tell the truth.) d) Random probability sampling: Example: Advantage: Disadvantage: Q8: Quantitative research. a) Face to Face interview: In person interaction between two or more persons. Face to face interviews are characterised by synchronous communication in time and place. Example: Surveys of product and services. Job Interviews are mostly face to face. Interviewer starts with greeting and then asks familiar set of general questions to create comfort level for interviewee/respondent. [Sample set of questions for survey] Q: hi Mam/Sir, How are you? [Greeting question] Q: Where are you from? [Greeting question] Q: How do you like our restaurant food? [Aimed Question] Advantage: High responsive, there is no significant time delay between question and answerà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the interviewer and interviewee can directly react on what the other says or does. The answer of the interviewee/respondent is more spontaneous. Interviewer can formulate questions depending upon response from interviewee. Recorded, can be used later if required. Disadvantage: Time Consuming. Expensive. Difficult to locate respondent. b) Telephone interview: Telephonic interviews are characterised by asynchronous communication for place. Example: Surveys Job Interviews. Telephone interviewsare often conducted by employers in the initial interview round of thehiring process. Starts with greeting then main set of questions related to product/service etc. [Sample set of questions for survey] Q: Am I speaking to Ajit? Q: Is it right time to talk? Q: I have few questions about Chawala’s Indian restaurant? Q: How do you like our restaurant staff? Advantage: It is a cost-effective. Saves time. Extendedaccess to participants The telephone interview allows both interviewee/respondent and interviewer to be in a morerelaxed state as compared with face to face. Wide geographical access. It enables researchers to contact populations that might be difficult to work with on an face to face basis for example mothers at home with small children, shift workers, computer addicts and people with disabilities. Disadvantage: Difficult to locate person. Difficult to see the reaction of the interviewee/respondent. No view on the situation in which the interviewee is situated. Disconnection due to technology issues. c) Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing: It is an interviewing technique in which the respondent or interviewer uses a computer to answer the questions. Example: Job interviews. Psychometric tests. [Sample set of questions for survey] Q: What is your age? Q: Male or female? Q: Rate of restaurant staff services? [Rate from 1[lower] to 5[higher]] Advantage: Cost effective and time saving. Respondents are able to fill in the questionnaires themselves Attractinga worldwide audience. Disadvantage: Surveysare only for computer savvy people. (Potential bias to the survey) Quality is missing (a question that should be interpreted in a particular way, but could also be interpreted differently) People don’t know or dislike typing. [Leave subjective questions unanswered] d) Web based Questionnaire: AWeb-based surveyis the collection of data through a self administered electronic set of questions on the Web Example: Many companies use survey monkey to get feedback for their product. Survey monkey is one of the sites which help in creating web based questionnaire. (https://www.surveymonkey.com/) [Sample set of questions for survey] Q: How old are you? Q: Are you male or female? Q: Do you like our restaurant? Advantage: It is cost effective and time saving. Large set of responses can be handled easily. Easy to create/manage (sites are self explanatory, eg: survery monkey). Disadvantage: Resources may not be available to everybody (computer, mobile, internet etc) Not everybody is aware of technology. People don’t know or dislike typing. [Leave subjective questions unanswered] Formulation of questions required lot of time, expertise and knowledge. Q1: How would you apply measurement method to this situation? A variable measured on a nominal scale is a variable that does not really have any evaluative distinction. Example: Would you like to recommend the restaurant to your friends? Yes/No The answer to the question has no evaluative distinction. How would you apply scaling methods to this situation? By using ordinal measurement scaling method to scale the situation. Ordinal: The ordinal scale has the property of both identity and magnitude Example: How would you rate the quality/taste of our food and drinks? (Rate from 1 – 5) 1 (Really Bad) 2 (Poor) 3 (Average) 4 (Good) 5 (Excellent) By asking this question I would be able to know the quality of the food provided at the restaurant. Q3: Primary Scales of measurement that that are used in Statistical analysis Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio scales Nominal: The nominal scale of measurement only satisfies the identity property of measurement Example: What is your country of citizenship? The Country that someone was born in has no inherent order so it can only be a nominal scale. Ordinal: The ordinal scale has the property of both identity and magnitude. Example: Identify the scale of measurement for the following: Information Technology Company Organisation Titles – (1) CEO, (2) Manager, (3) Project Lead and (4) Team Lead. The scale is ordinal. There is an inherent ordering in that a CEO is higher than a Manager, which is higher than a Project Lead, which is higher than Team Lead. CEO > Manager > Project Lead > Team Lead Designation has Rank orders. Interval: The interval scale of measurement has the properties of identity, magnitude, and equal intervals. Example: Question: Time of the day. The difference between 4 and 5is equal to the difference between 18 and 19. Ratio Scales: The ratio scale of measurement satisfies all four of the properties of measurement: identity, magnitude, equal intervals, and a minimum value of zero. Example: What is Income earned last year? It has equal intervals weekly, biweekly and monthly etc. Salary can be zero. (For unemployed) Q4:Difference between comparative scaling and not comparative scaling techniques in the marketing research. Comparative Scaling: The items are directly compared with each other. Paired comparison: It is sometimes the case that marketing researchers wish to find out which are the most important factors in determining the demand for a product Example: Which restaurant/Food do you prefer? Dominos or Pizza hut Italian pizza or Cheese Pizza By asking this question first I would be able to analyze the choice of user. First the type of restaurant than the type of pizza. By asking this able to analyze the demand of product. Dollar Metric Comparisons This type of scale is an extension of the paired comparison method in that it requires respondents to indicate both their preference and how much they are willing to pay for their preference The Unity-sum-gain technique A common problem with launching new products is one of reaching a decision as to what options, and how many options one offers Example: Rate the mobile products (from 1 to 5): (1 is lower and 5 is higher) Apple Samsung Nokia LG Motorola By this I would be able to know which company is most preferred by the user and at what lever and help us is launching new product. Non Comparative scaling techniques: Each item is scaled independently of the others. Continuous rating scales: The respondents are asked to give a rating by placing a mark at the appropriate position on a continuous line. How would be rate our staff services? 1 (Really Bad) 2 (Poor) 3 (Average) 4 (Good) 5 (Excellent) By asking this question I would be able to understand get the rating on quality from 1 to 5. 1 is lower and 5 is higher. Line marking scale Itemised rating scales : With an itemised scale, respondents are provided with a scale having numbers and/or brief descriptions associated with each category and are asked to select one of the limited number of categories, ordered in terms of scale position, that best describes the product, brand, company or product attribute being studied. Example: How would you rate the price of food items in the menu ? Very Expensive Expensive Very good Good Cheap By asking this question to customer of the restaurant I would be able to analyze the rate of food listed in the menu.

Outsourcing and on-Demand Computing

Outsourcing and on-demand computing are two of the fastest emerging business tactics in the industry today. In outsourcing, businesses contract out certain services to an outside provider or manufacturer, often overseas. On-demand computing is similar to outsourcing only here businesses contract out their computing resources, such as computation and storage, rather than an actual business services. The computing is tracked as a metered service, similar to physical public utility such as electricity, water, natural gas, or telephone network. In either case, some piece of the company is broken off and run by an outside source. Organizations can outsource any aspect of their information system, including hardware maintenance and management, software development, database systems, networks and telecommunications, Internet and intranet operations, hiring and staffing, and the development of procedures and rules regarding the information system† (Stair, 348). For the most part, outsourcing and on-demand computing have had a positive financial impact on US businesses. They are able to â€Å"reduce costs, obtain state-of-the art technology, eliminate staffing and personnel problems, and increase technological flexibility† (Stair, 348). However, from a consumer standpoint, there has been much controversy over these tactics. For example, many believe that by outsourcing services to foreign companies for cheaper rates, businesses are damaging the local labor markets. Often times there are language barriers making communication difficult between consumers and foreign workers conducting companies’ services. Staff â€Å"turnover is higher under an outsourcer and key company skills may be lost with retention outside of the control of the company† (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Outsourcing). Qualifications of outsourced staff are often well under those of actual business employees and because they haven’t been trained under the original company, they also often lack company knowledge and fail to realize the business’s values. All of these factors can be very frustrating for a consumer trying to conduct unfinished business with a company whom they have already finalized a purchase with. I speak from experience when I say this as well. I purchased a laptop computer from Dell in December of 2006 and was sent a defective mouse. I have YET to be issued a correctly working, adaptable piece of equipment and have spent hours  on the phone with their ‘customer service’ representatives who are based in India and barely speak English. The connections are horrible, we can’t understand each other, I have never spoken with the same representative, and have been told something different every time I have called. Because of this experience alone, I will never again purchase anything from Dell and have started asking companies if their services are outsourced before making purchases from them. So in discussing the impact outsourcing and on-demand computing are having on the economy, I think the effects are positive for the businesses up front, but I think if this trend continues, organizations may start to lose clients who, like myself, have become extremely frustrated in dealing with outsourced services. On the flip side of that, if the trend continues and more companies get on board with these tactics, this may be the way of business in the future. I certainly hope not though!

A 17th century audience Essay

â€Å"The Tempest is full of magic and illusion. Consider the effect this would have on a 17th century audience and a 21st century audience. How might the magic and illusion be presented today? † William Shakespeare wrote The Tempest as a play. It was not intended for the text to be read by school children from a book. It was intended for performance in a theatre, where it would give enjoyment to an audience. One of the main â€Å"themes† of The Tempest is magic. Prospero is a magician, a sorcerer, a wizard, someone with magical powers. He uses these powers to make lots of things happen within the play. Indeed, the first scene focuses on the storm that Prospero has created to cause havoc on the ship upon which his enemies are travelling. At the beginning of the play, the storm just seems like any other storm, with an unfortunate crew being shipwrecked. By the end of Act 1, however, we discover that the storm was not a natural occurrence. Prospero conjured up the storm and deliberately picked out that ship. The audience get their first hint of this in Miranda’s first speech of the play. Miranda has watched the storm destroy the ship and she feels pity for the shipwrecked people. In her opening line, she asks her father if the storm is a product of his magic: â€Å"If by your art, my dearest father, you have Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. † This shows that Miranda knows about Prospero’s magic. She may not know everything that he does with his powers, but she knows that he does have supernatural powers. This storm is the beginning of a plan that Prospero has thought up to wreak revenge on his enemies. The plan involves a lot of magic. After being stranded on the island for 12 years, Prospero has had time to perfect his powers and to dream up a plan, a plan that never could have taken place without the storm. Because of this, the initial storm has a massive impact on the rest of the play. It also gives the audience an idea of how strong Prospero’s powers are. He is able to control the elements, something that only God is supposed to be able to do. However, as we learn later on in the play, Prospero may be able to conjure up storms and illusions, but he cannot control human nature, and must rely on good luck when trying to make Ferdinand and Miranda to fall in love.

Short Essay Example

Short Essay Example Short Essay – Article Example Task: Short essay Philosophy is a dynamic discipline that studies almost everything that surrounds us. The discipline relies extensively on logic in making conclusions. This discipline applies logic, critical evaluation and rational in evaluating problems. Therefore, the programme designed by the faculty should aim at enhancing the ability of the students to apply logic, evaluate critically and apply rational in resolving problems. However, the programme that the lecturer is utilizing seems to concentrate on reading philosophical material. The above program will ensure that students have adequate knowledge in philosophy. Nonetheless, appropriate skills should accompany the knowledge thus; helping the students utilize the readings made. The lesson plan reveals that the tutor has apportioned excessive time for class readings. The professor can enhance the students’ skills by facilitating discussions during class. Such discussions will provide the professor with a chance to evalu ate students’ understanding of the readings. Additionally, discussions will make the students active partakers in the class readings. Reading has rendered most students as passive partakers in the class thus; limiting their understanding of the readings. Therefore, allocating discussion substantial time will enable students to apply logic, rationale and make critical evaluation of problems in philosophy. The above changes will work since it deviates from the current plan by allowing the students to exhibit their skill hence; enabling the professor to understand students’ weaknesses and make appropriate adjustments. Reducing time allocated to reading will eliminate boredom in the class. Eliminating boredom by holding discussions will boost the students’ understanding of the discipline by allowing them to participate actively in the lesson (Arthur, 38).Work citedArthur, John. Studying Philosophy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson prentice hall publishers, 2003. Prin t.

Kurt Vonnegut Essays - Fiction, Literature, Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut Essays - Fiction, Literature, Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut?s character Billy Pilgrim, in Slaughterhouse-Five, is an American soldier in Europe in the last year of World War II. What he sees and does during his six months on the battlefield and as a prisoner of war have dominated his life. He comes to terms with the feelings of horror, guilt, and despair that are the result of his war experiences by putting the events of his life in perspective. He reorganizes his life by using the device of "time travel." Unlike everyone else, he does not live his life one day after another. Billy Pilgrim has become "unstuck in time," and he jumps around among the periods of life in a constant state of transience. In the beginning of the novel, it is December 1944 and Billy, along with three other American soldiers, is lost in a forest far behind enemy lines. Billy closes his eyes for a moment, drifts back to a day in his past, then suddenly opens his eyes in the future: it?s 1965 and he is visiting his mother in a nursing home. He blinks, then time changes to 1958, then 1961, and finally he finds himself back in the forest in December 1944. Billy does not have much time to wonder about what has just happened. He has been captured almost immediately by German soldiers and put onto a train bound for eastern Germany. Aboard the train Billy has a great adventure into the future. He finds himself at the night of his daughter?s wedding in 1967, where he is kidnapped by a flying saucer from the imaginary planet Tralfamadore. The aliens take Billy to their home planet and put him in a zoo. Then, as always seems to happen, Billy wakes up back in the war. The train arrives at a prison camp, and there a group of British officers throw a banquet for the American POWs. Before long he is traveling in time again, to a mental hospital in 1948, where he?s visited by his fiancee, Valencia Merble. As soon as he recovers from his nervous breakdown, Billy will be set up in business as an optometrist by Valencia?s father. Billy is introduced to science fiction by his hospital roommate, Eliot Rosewater, whose favorite author is Kilgore Trout. Trout?s writing is terrible, but Billy comes to admire his ideas. Billy soon travels in time again to Tralfamadore, where he is the most popular exhibit in the zoo. His keepers love talking to him because his ideas are so strange to them. He thinks, for example, that wars could be prevented if people could see into the future as he can. The American POWs are now being moved to Dresdan, which as an "open city" of no military value has come through unscathed, while almost every other German city has been heavily bombed. Billy knows that Dresdan will soon be totally destroyed, even though there?s nothing worth bombing there. The Americans are housed in building number five of the Dresdan slaughterhouse. There, Billy continues his time-travels. He survives a plane crash in 1968. A few years before that, he meets Kilgore Trout. Also, on Tralfamadore, he tells his zoo-mate, Montan Wildhack, about the bombing of Dresdan. Billy Pilgrim and the other American POWs take shelter in a meat locker beneath the slaughterhouse. When they go out the next day, Dresdan looks like the surface of the moon. Everything has been reduced to ashes and minerals, and everything is still hot. Nothing is moving anywhere. After months of digging corpses out of the ruins, Billy and the others wake up one morning to discover that their guards have disappeared. The war had now ended, and they are free men. There are many ways for an individual to cope with post-traumatic stress. The way in which one chooses to deal with emotionally taxing situations is determined, in part, by the individual?s character traits. Because Billy Pilgrim is insecure and unable to effectively reestablish a sense of normalcy, he chooses "time-travel" as his own personal brand of denial. The result of his emotional journey was the further development of his character, as well as his neurosis.

NURSING RESEARCH Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NURSING RESEARCH - Essay Example process is concerned with gathering of scientific data, analysis, and compilation of nursing information (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, n.d. The process takes a theoretical perspective and uses new and existing information to compile alternative or new methods in practice. Implementation of the research process requires resources and time. Nursing process is different in that it is specific and concrete. It deals with offering unique services to individual patients. Another difference is that the main objective of a research process is to gather information and increase the knowledge of existing and emerging ailments. However, nursing process focuses on delivery of care to patients. The measure of success in the nursing process is health outcomes. A nursing process that ensures maintenance or improvement of health of patients is deemed to be efficient. The above discussion proves that both research process and nursing process are essential in nursing. The processes are similar in that they seek to maximize the health benefits of patients. However, the nursing process is more practical and patient-centered. It is thus imperative to ensure that both elements are present in nursing to enhance creativity, new information, and quality health care

Introduction & Conclusion for implementation of quality application Essay

Introduction & Conclusion for implementation of quality application - Essay Example Many companies have started to shift to service industry in order to earn revenue but many of them face problem to maintain quality in service. Maintaining quality is also an important issue for product marketer because improving quality in production decreases overall cost for product marketer. Valls and Vergueiro (2006) argued that deploying quality applications such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Six Sigma and Quality Circle etc can decrease error margin in production for manufacturing companies. In such context, Wisniewski (2001) pointed out that there cannot be one definition of quality which can serve the purpose of all the industry. For example, quality concept for manufacturing company is defined by its production efficiency, decrease in error margin in production, decrease in production frequency of faulty products etc while quality concept for hospitality sector is defined by its ability to provide faultless responsive service to customers. Finnish marketing legend Gron roos defined the quality concept in the following manner; The consumer compares his expectations with the service he perceives he has received, i.e. he puts the perceived service against the expected service. The result of this process will be the perceived quality of service. - (Gronroos, 1984, p. 37) Valls and Vergueiro (2006) pointed out that quality applications can cover number of interrelated aspects in the organization such as leadership, customer focus, environmental sustainability, management system, knowledge management, environmental sustainability, process approach and supplier relationship. International quality management body ISO has defined 8 quality criteria and meeting these criteria can help organizations to achieve quality excellence award. These quality criteria or applications can be defined as, 1- Customer focus- Proving service to customers which can meet or exceed the expectation of customers, 2- Leadership- achieving leadership position when it comes to qua lity management and guiding employees to maintain the leadership position, 3- People- proper utilization of human resources to ensure quality in the process, 4- Process- improving process flow to in order to enhance quality of the output, 5- System Approach- controlling interrelated process in order to improve quality of output, 6- Continual Improvement- sharing and managing knowledge within the organization in order to ensure sustainable growth, 7- Factual Decision- taking decision on the basis of facts and data driven manner and 8- Mutually Beneficial Relationship- providing mutual benefits to suppliers and other stakeholders (ISO, 2012). The researcher has already undergone the three case studies such as, 1- implementation of TQM in Florida International University- in this case study, the university has planned to implement TQM in order to improve quality of education and normal learning environment, 2- implementation of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) in Royal College Surgeons in Ireland- the institute has already became member of EFQM in 2010 and the institute has implemented the