Goal: The Research Proposal is fundamental to ensuring any research conducted is relevant, timely and cost effective. This Task will allow you to develop a full research proposal incorporating all stages of the research process. Product: Research proposal Format: Based on the business research problem or opportunity for investigation identified in Task 1 - prepare a research proposal. Criteria • Apply relevant research theories and frameworks to develop an applied research proposal.• Demonstrate understanding of ethical issues in research. • Demonstration of sound presentation and communication skills in presenting a professional written report.
BUS703 Managing Research 1 | P a g e Topic- Assessment Task 1: Draft of background and problem definition of research proposal Name- Mitul Kumbhani Student ID- 1111954 Subject-BUS703 Managing Research BUS703 Managing Research 2 | P a g e Contents Background to problem definition ............................................................................................. 3 Definition of the management problem ..................................................................................... 3 Definition of research question .................................................................................................. 4 Definition of research objectives ............................................................................................... 5 References .................................................................................................................................. 6 BUS703 Managing Research 3 | P a g e Background to problem definition McDonald’s is a well-known fast food chain operating in more than 180 countries across the world. Aiming to develop the chain to be number fast food chain in the world the organization is working day and night. In last couple of years, the profit earning ratio of the company has reduce drastically ("McDonald's: revenue 2017 | Statistic", 2018). There are different reasons identified for the revenue loss which is reflecting in the company’s annual balance sheets like increasing health awareness between people, monopolistic nature of the menu, increasing competition etc. With the dropping profit earning graph there is a high need in the company to develop marketing strategies that can help in increasing the revenue generation of the company. The lowering revenue generation is affecting the company economically as well as keeping the brand position of the company in the food industry. This is affecting the retention of human capital in the company. Overall the company have to resolve the issue of dropping revenues and earn the desired position of the company back in the fast food industry. Major research problems: - Dropping revenue income Affecting brand value Developing issues in maintaining efficient human capital Management of marketing strategy to increase company’s competitive advantage Definition of the management problem McDonald’s is one of oldest fast food chain in the world that design policies as per the countries the franchise is operating in. Currently the management at McDonald’s is finding it difficult to develop new strategies and meet the changing trends in the fast food industry. Reason include the dropping revenue and lack of effective marketing strategies to increase BUS703 Managing Research 4 | P a g e the competitive advantage of the company against its competitors. McDonald’s is a brand name and it helps in developing customer loyalty. But with the news of losing revenues the interest of customers has lost in the fast food offered by the franchise. With the lowering revenue and nothing new to offer, it is identified that the consumers are looking for options that have more cuisines to offer also looking for healthy food as people are getting aware of health issues which the food offered by the company could develop. The company needs a new marketing strategy that can help in gaining its customers back and develop the brand name. It is also in need for developing a menu that fulfils the changing demands of the consumer in the fast food industry (Guha Thakurta, 2016). What step should be taken to manage the dropping revenue graph of the company? Which market segment should be targeted for new market strategy old or new? Why it is turning a challenge to maintain the efficient human capital in the company? Definition of research question Research question are developed with aim to design a research study that can help the management to find the real reason for the issues happening in the company. In the present research proposal, it is proposed to develop a research study that conduct the analyses using primary research data and secondary research data (Bhattarai, 2010). The collected data will be based on the following research questions: - What change in the menu customer wants to add in the current menu? What competitors are offering to the customer which McDonalds is not offering? What are factors that is making the employees leave the company? What should be the target market for McDonalds keeping in focus the changing business market trends? BUS703 Managing Research 5 | P a g e Definition of research objectives There are certain objectives that the management has to decide which shows what exactly the management is looking for through the conducted research proposals. The research objectives of the proposed research analysis will help in finding issues in the company. Once it is done, the proposed study which will develop an outcome for the company’s management (Bolloten, 2012). The research objectives in the given case of McDonalds are as follows: - Finding the new demands of the customer related to the menu offering of McDonalds. Developing human resources management strategies by overcoming the identified hindrance in maintaining the human capital in the organization. Finding the target segment on which the new marketing strategies could be developed to cover a wider market for the company’s food products. After managing all challenge achieve the desired brand position in the market. The management of brand position will bring customers to the outlets which will improve the falling graph of revenue earning of the organization. BUS703 Managing Research 6 | P a g e References Bhattarai, A. (2010). Writing a Research Proposal. Journal Of NELTA, 6(1). Bolloten, B. (2012). Being SMART – developing and writing equality objectives. Race Equality Teaching, 30(2), 38-41. Cavazos Chen, A. (2014). Reading, Writing, and Research for Undergraduates: Introducing Scholarly Inquiry by Writing a Grant Proposal. Innovations In Teaching & Learning Conference Proceedings, 6. Guha Thakurta, P. (2016). Revenue management: the ever changing landscape and the need to innovate. Worldwide Hospitality And Tourism Themes, 8(4), 461-468. McDonald's: revenue 2017 | Statistic. (2018). Statista. Retrieved 10 April 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/208917/revenue-of-the-mcdonalds-corporation-since- 2005/ Background to problem definition Definition of the management problem Definition of research question Definition of research objectives References Microsoft Word - Kerry Scott MBA Research Proposal.doc Job Satisfaction Research Project – Research Proposal 1 Job Satisfaction of Academic and APT Staff Faculty of Business, University of the Sunshine Coast 1.0 Introduction Job satisfaction is fundamentally the extent to which people like their jobs (Spector 1997), and is a subject of considerable interest to theorists and practitioners alike. Job satisfaction is an important attitude for a number of reasons. Researchers, managers and lay people frequently view job satisfaction as having a major impact on how employees behave and, ultimately, on how an organisation performs (Fisher 2003; Ostroff 1992; Spector 1997). The research project detailed in this proposal is designed primarily to investigate the extent to which academic and APT (administrative, professional and technical) staff of the Faculty of Business at University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) are satisfied with their jobs. In addition, the project is designed to identify specific key issues about which Faculty staff are most satisfied, and specific key issues about which Faculty staff are most dissatisfied, in relation to core aspects of their jobs. This proposal firstly explains the circumstances surrounding the need for research into the issue of job satisfaction of staff in USC’s Faculty of Business (Section 2.0), and then presents the specific management problem, research question and research objectives (Section 3.0). This is followed by an examination of the relevant academic literature which provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about job satisfaction, with particular reference to research into the job satisfaction of higher education employees (Section 4.0). The research design and methodology are then discussed (Section 5.0) and the limitations to this research project are outlined (Section 6.0). Finally, a budget and proposed schedule for undertaking the research is presented (Section 7.0). Job Satisfaction Research Project – Research Proposal