Running head: RESEARCH AND DECISION MAKING
Research and Decision Making
MBA/510
Research and Decision Making
Coffee Time is a growing company that specializes in favored coffee and other hot coffee drinks; it is ever-expanding and moving into different markets. Brad Collins, a senior executive with Coffee Time, has returned from a trip to India. He is very excited to announce the possibility of growth and financial opportunities in the expanding industrial country. Mr. Collins will utilize Total Access, Coffee Time’s market research firm, to prepare a perceptual map of twelfth Indian cities that may prove profitable to the company. The cities in question have been classified based on the cultural outlook and the degree affluence of the people. In order to obtain the best results possible; Coffee Time must realistically plan and anticipate factors that can set limitations on the overall research project.
Prior to initiating the research, a thorough understanding of the company’s objectives by key decision-makers of Coffee Time is essential to determine the direction of the project. Introducing gourmet coffee to a new market such as India requires preliminary planning to minimize obstacles that can delay progress. The company needs to assess and take into consideration factors that will place constraints on progress as well as the results of the research.
According to Total Access, Coffee Time research firm, the search for valuable and meaningful information is crucial when a company makes a decision to start a new business. The availability of meaningful information gathered from both primary and secondary research becomes a crucial part of the decision-making process. Coffee Time will follow a two-stage market research design that involves secondary research, plus primary and experimental research. The purpose of the gather of information is to customize a research design to...