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Quantitative Techniques for Management

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F:\My Lectures\QTM\QTM Outline.docx F:\My Lectures\QTM\QTM Outline.docx

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What is Research? What is the value of Research? INTRODUCTION, DEFINITION & VALUE OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

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Research is simply the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and analysis of the situational factors. Research is a serious academic activity with a set of objectives to explain or analyze or understand a problem or finding solution for problem Research is an organized activity with specific objectives on a problem or issue supported by compilation of related data and facts, involving application of relevant tools of analysis and deriving logically sound inferences based on originality.

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The research may be to understand or become familiar with some phenomena or to get to know more in depth about it To clearly reveal the characteristics of an individual or a situation or a group like a society.

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To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with which it is associated with something else. To test a hypothesis about the casual relationship between variables being studied.

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Pure Research is undertaken for the sake of knowledge without any intention to apply it in practice Not necessarily problem oriented Discovery of new theory / refinement of existing theo. Applied research is carried on to find solution to a real life problem requiring an action or policy decision. Problem oriented Action directed It seeks an immediate and practical result Ex: Marketing research carried on for developing a new market

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Exploratory Research analyses the data and explores the possibility of obtaining as many relationships as possible. It is a preliminary study of an unfamiliar problem about which the researcher has little or no knowledge. To see what is there rather than to predict the relationships that will be founded EX: Doctors initial investigation of a patient suffering from an unfamiliar disease. Types of research

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Descriptive research It is a fact finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It focuses on particular aspects or dimensions of the problem studied Ex: Consumption behavior of people in a village Diagnostic study It is to discover what is happening, Why it is happening and What can be done It aims in identifying the cause of the problem and the possible solution for it Types of research

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Evaluation studies It is for assessing the effectiveness of social or economic programs implemented Ex: (Polio drops) For assessing the impact of development projects Ex: (effect of Motorways project) Action Research It is a concurrent evaluation study of an action program launched for solving a problem for improving existing situation Ex: (Creating awareness about HIV) Types of research

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Experimental Research It is to assess the effects of particular variables on a phenomenon by keeping the other variables constant or controlled To determine whether and in what manner variables are related to each other The factor, which is influenced, by other factors is called a dependent variable, and the other factors, which influence it are known as independent variables

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Analytical studies It is a system of procedures and techniques of analysis applied to quantitative data It consists of mathematical model It aims in testing hypothesis and specifying and interpreting relationship Used to measure variables, comparing groups and examining association with factors Types of research

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Case Study It is an in-depth comprehensive study of a person, a social groups, an episode, a process Ex: a study of the financial health of a business undertaking A study of labor participation in management in a particular enterprises - a study of life style of working women

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A study that aims to quantify attitudes or behaviours, measure variables on which they hinge, compare, and point out correlations. It is most often conducted via a survey on a sampling that must be representative so that the results can be extrapolated to the entire population studied. It requires the development of standardised and codifiable measurement instruments (structured questionnaires).

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Clear interpretations Make sense of and organize perceptions Careful scrutiny (logical, sequential, controlled) Reduce researcher bias Results may be understood by individuals in other disciplines

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Can not assist in understanding issues in which basic variables have not been identified or clarified Only 1 or 2 questions can be studied at a time, rather than the whole of an event or experience Complex issues (emotional response, personal values, etc.) can not always be reduced to numbers

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VARIABLES AND TYPES OF VARIABLES IN MANAGEMENT Types of Variable Relationship among Variables

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A variable is anything that can take on differing or varying values. The values can differ at various times for the same object or person, or at the same time for different objects or persons. Example: One worker in the manufacturing department may produce one unit per minute, a second might produce two per minute, a third might produce five per minute. It is also possible that the same member could produce one unit the first minute, and five the next minute. In both cases, the number of units produced has taken on different values, and is therefore a variable.

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Four main types of variables: 1. The dependent variable (also known as the criterion variable). 2. The independent variable (also known as the predictor variable). 3. The moderating variable. 4. The intervening variable.

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The dependent variable is the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The researchers goal is to understand and describe the dependent variable, or to explain its variability, or predict it. In other words, it is the main variable that lends itself for investigation as a viable factor. Example: A manager is concerned that the sales of a new product introduced after test marketing it do not meet with his expectations. The dependent variable here is sales. Since the sales of the product can varycan be low, medium, or highit is a variable; since sales is the main focus of interest to the manager, it is the dependent variable.

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An independent variable is one that influences the dependent variable in either a positive or negative way. Example: Research studies indicate that successful new product development has an influence on the stock market price of the company. That is, the more successful the new product turns out to be, the higher will be the stock market price of that firm.

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The moderating variable is one that has a strong contingent effect on the independent variabledependent variable relationship. That is, the presence of a third variable (the moderating variable) modifies the original relationship between the independent and the dependent variables.

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A prevalent theory is that the diversity of the workforce (comprising people of different ethnic origins, races, and nationalities) contributes more to organizational effectiveness because each group brings its own special expertise and skills to the workplace. This synergy can be exploited, however, only if managers know how to harness the special talents of the diverse work group; otherwise they will remain untapped. Workforce diversity Organizational effectiveness Managerial expertise

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An intervening variable is one that surfaces between the time the independent variables start operating to influence the dependent variable and the time their impact is felt on it. There is thus a temporal quality or time dimension to the intervening variable. Time: t1 t2 t3

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Schematic Diagrams Illustrating Moderation & Intervening Variables Figure 6.1 Source: Adapted from Uma Sekaran, Research Methods for Managers (New York: Wiley, 1984), pp. 5058.