Business Research Paper a+
Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Marina Hlavaty-Laposa, Brittany Mooney, Bradly Rogers, Kristen Keck, Terrell Lampkin
RES/351
March 10, 2013
Jo Martinez
Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Wal-Mart, like many companies in this economy, and are facing the management dilemma of declining sales. According to Irwin (2012), in a recent e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News, a Wal-Mart senior vice president asked, “Where are all the customers? And where’s their money?” (para.1). Irwin came up with the four major possibilities for the weakened spending. The possibilities identified were delayed tax refunds, higher payroll tax that reduced take-home pay, higher gas prices, or some unidentified cause for reduced spending. The purpose of this analysis is to determine possible reasons for Wal-Mart’s poor fourth quarter performance. The potential problems may include but are not limited to: inaccurate questionnaire (survey) which may yield to bias or incorrect results, making the research wasteful. To determine the decline in sales, one must perform the most appropriate research design methods, collecting data by using appropriate instruments, and finally analyzing the results. We must be able to answer the question: What can be done to increase sales and regain a strong financial position?”
Research Question
The management question is what can be done to increase sales and regain financial position? There are many research questions to be reviewed to determine a solution for this problem. The research questions are should prices be lowered to allow more people to make purchases? Should Wal-Mart allow layaway for purchases because of the delay in tax refunds? Should Wal-Mart change advertising areas to attract new customers who may not be as affected by higher payroll taxes?
Because the tax codes were being modified, consumers did not receive tax refunds as early as they had in previous years. Consumer spending was reduced, if not delayed, until tax refund checks were
Marina Hlavaty-Laposa, Brittany Mooney, Bradly Rogers, Kristen Keck, Terrell Lampkin
RES/351
March 10, 2013
Jo Martinez
Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Wal-Mart, like many companies in this economy, and are facing the management dilemma of declining sales. According to Irwin (2012), in a recent e-mail obtained by Bloomberg News, a Wal-Mart senior vice president asked, “Where are all the customers? And where’s their money?” (para.1). Irwin came up with the four major possibilities for the weakened spending. The possibilities identified were delayed tax refunds, higher payroll tax that reduced take-home pay, higher gas prices, or some unidentified cause for reduced spending. The purpose of this analysis is to determine possible reasons for Wal-Mart’s poor fourth quarter performance. The potential problems may include but are not limited to: inaccurate questionnaire (survey) which may yield to bias or incorrect results, making the research wasteful. To determine the decline in sales, one must perform the most appropriate research design methods, collecting data by using appropriate instruments, and finally analyzing the results. We must be able to answer the question: What can be done to increase sales and regain a strong financial position?”
Research Question
The management question is what can be done to increase sales and regain financial position? There are many research questions to be reviewed to determine a solution for this problem. The research questions are should prices be lowered to allow more people to make purchases? Should Wal-Mart allow layaway for purchases because of the delay in tax refunds? Should Wal-Mart change advertising areas to attract new customers who may not be as affected by higher payroll taxes?
Because the tax codes were being modified, consumers did not receive tax refunds as early as they had in previous years. Consumer spending was reduced, if not delayed, until tax refund checks were
References: Daily Finance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/02/21/walmart-earnings-retail-blames-taxes-february-sales-disaster/ Data Collection (n.d.). (2012). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_collection Design Research Instruments. (nd). Retrieved from http://www.smallbusinessnotes.com/marketing-your-business/design-research-instruments.html Institute for research and Education, UCLA. (2009). Linear Regression, IDRE. Retrieved from http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/spss/whatstat.htm Irwin, N. (2012). Why Wal-Mart 's bad news could be good news for the economy. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/02/21/why-wal-marts-bad-news-could-be-good-news-for-the-economy/ Is Wal-Mart Good or Bad for America? A Debate. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.independent.org/events/transcript.asp?d=125 Wal-Mart History Timeline. (n.d). Retrieved from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/heritage/history-timeline Wells, M. K. (n.d.). How to Define Research Design. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how_7402461_define-research-design.html