Business Decision Making (Essay Sample)

Business Decision Making
Students Name
Institution of learning
TASK 1.Methods of data collection which includes both primary and secondary sources of information depending on the source of the set of data represented.
1 Methods of data collection that we would use
I would use observation method to collect primary data. This would be effected through listening and practical viewing of the activities of our potential customers .This will be useful as it will enable me and my friend to have an understanding of how our prospective customers behave .Their behavior may include affection and addiction to certain brands of the drinks and beverages that may seem to be selling well in the restaurants .The type of meals that they like may also be identified easily through observation. Through this method it would be easier for us to identify the time when the possible customers make their purchases .This can enable us act appropriately and be time conscious thus satisfying our clients at their best. The mode of payment can also be identified through observation .In cases where such are automated there would be a pay bill number through which customers make their payments. If the system is manual then there would be a cash payment receipt to record such payments. This analysis would enable us provide a payment service that is liked by many of our targeted customers.[Grasby, Elizabeth. Business Decision Making: Text and Cases. Australia: Nelson, Thomsom Learning, 2000.]
We would conduct structured interviews from where we would need a quorum of at least twelve respondents who are potential customers .We would enable them give a clarity of what they would like us as the promoters of a restaurant do to satisfy our potential customers. From their views of what should be done, we will be able to seek a better site for the project and better systems to serve the customers. The possible stoke to start the project can also be estimated considering the responses of the respondents after the interview. A collection of records from the interview would be essential for scrutiny and further application in the launch of our restaurant. This would prevent us from experiencing the chances of failure in conducting our planned restaurant project.[Kimmel, Paul D, Jerry J. Weygandt, Donald E. Kieso, and Paul D. Kimmel. Accounting: Tools for Business Decision Making. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2008.]
I would use the secondary data that contains the annual report of the restaurant industry in the United Kingdom .This document could be available at the ministry of trade and industrialization in the department of commerce. The reports are most likely containing the needed details on the industry. These details can be of use to us in predicting the trends of sales and consumption of the goods that we are aiming to offer. The show of the trend will allow us make a precise prediction of expenditure and sales .The predictions that we may have about the future conditions of our proposed business can be made clear through analysis of the previous patterns in the industry.
2 Our sampling frame would be composed of twelve potential customers mainly residents of London city. The interviewees should be from different cultures since London is a multicultural city. This scenario would make our conclusion from the sampling frame be a possible representation of the characters of our potential customers across the city of London, with its nature of being multicultural given an upper hand.
A survey methodology of Open Ended Questions will be administered to the potential customers. This will allow them give their personal views about critical questions that may lead to failure of the business if not handled with care. Questions concerning factors like payment services should most likely not be tied to electronics and the potential customers should be allowed to prove if such a system is worth and if not they are free to tell us why in form of writing .In considering the time spans for operating the restaurant to serve the customers, the respondents should be allowed to give their own opinion .The opinions would include a twenty four hours operation or a periodic operations .We may be compelled to follow the order in which most of the potential customers align .This is crucial for our success since it is the customers who form the base of our future operation.
The sampling techniques that are most suited for this are judgmental sampling and convenience sampling techniques. The use judgmental sampling is appropriate because the city of London is multicultural and as such its occupants are of different opinions regarding different activities. We must strive and come up with a sample that would suit our required group of people such that from the findings we can make appropriate decision as far as our generalizations are concerned. This can be achieved better through the use of personal judgments of those who can act as our potential respondents rather than merely conducting a random sample that may make us have a sample that is less representative of our research. In addition to the judgmental sampling, we could also employ a technique that enables us reach out to a convenient group of respondents .To do this we can employ convenience sampling technique to select the respondents that we are actually interested in. We can achieve this easily through visiting some existing restaurants in London .At the restaurants we can buy some drinks for some customers we may be interested in .From negotiations with these potential respondents we can book appointments to discuss the way forward as far as our project is concerned.[Kline, John M. Ethics for International Business: Decision Making in a Global Political Economy. London: Routledge, 2005.]
3 The Dichotomous multi choice questionnaires sample that would be used to collect primary data from the UK customers is as bellow.[Stine, Robert A, and Dean P. Foster. Statistics for Business: Decision Making and Analysis. Boston: Addison-Wesley, 2011.]
Q1.When does most restaurant customers place their orders?
(A) During morning hours.
(B)At noon
(C) In the evening hours.
(D)At night time
Q2.What is the mode of payment that the restaurant customers apply?
(A) Cash payment services.
(B)Drawing of cheques
(C)Through the use of MasterCard
(D)Use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
Below is a sample of an open ended questionnaire that we would use to collect primary data from the UK customers.
Q1.What services would like as a restaurant customer in London?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q2.When would you make orders from a restaurant in London?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Q3.What mode of payment would you prefer as a restaurant customer in London?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
TASK 2. Understanding a range of techniques to analyze data effectively for business purposes
2.1 A
Years
1995

20000

1996

25000

1997

30000

1998

40000

1999

35000

2000

50000

2001

45000

2002

65000

2003

45000

2004

55000

2005

60000

2006

90000

2007

45000

2008

34000

2009

52000

2010

62000

2011

38000

2012

56000

Mean

47055.56

Median

45000

Mode

45000



2.2 a. Mean is the average of all the sample elements in a given set of data it is calculated by summing up all the elements and dividing the result by the number of the observations made.
Mode is the number that appears many times in a given set of data while median is the observation that appears at the middle of a given set of data when the data is arranged in ascending or descending order.[Piccirillo, Ettore, and Massimo G. Noro. Guidebook for Supporting Decision Making Under Uncertainties: Today's Managers, Tomorrow's Business. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific, 2008.]
B. Advantages of using means are that all the observations are included in finding the final answer while advantage of using mode is that it might serve as an average when the data is not represented numerically finally the advantage of using median is that it is not affected by the size of the population characteristics .It is not attached to big or small values that form a given data.
The disadvantages of the measures of central tendencies are as follows
Mean can be distorted by the existence of extreme observations in a given set of data. This can render it weak in giving insight of the population parameters under consideration. The mode doesn’t represent the data accordingly as it may be lacking totally or there may exist two numbers appearing more than one such that there may appear two or three modal numbers. This may give the statistical analysts a rough time of drawing conclusions of a parameter basing their argument on modes lastly, median may be tediou...