WORKPLACE PROBLEM

Workplace Problem and its Solution

Workplace Problem and its Solution

Introduction

USA World Bank is a major international and domestic corporation, who has been successful in many global ventures. In order to stay competitive in a global market, USA World Bank is looking to develop a new product, which will expand its market share. The company is in the midst of creating a credit card, which will be directed towards small business customers, or consumers, with an instant rewards component. The Vice President of New Product Development, Mary Monroe, feels that a credit card for consumer, that offer Instant Rewards will be a more successful venture for the company, based on the research performed by Best Market Research. However, a new board member, Bea Hansen, who happens to be a statistics professor, has brought to light some concerns regarding the research methods used by Best Market Research. This paper will focus on a solution to the UWB predicament, and provide an alternative solution for the company.

Situation Analysis

Issue and Opportunity Identification

Jim Wilson, Vice President of Marketing, and Mary Monroe share the same company vision; however, they differ in how to market the Instant Rewards credit card. Jim, has been successful in building strong relationships with small business owners, and feels that the credit card should be marketed to them. The feedback Jim received from the small business owners seems to suggest that this venture would be successful. However, this contradicts the decision of Mary Monroe, who wants to market the product to customers. Mary has been given the green light by her “hands off” supervisor, Brian Allen, to submit her concept and research to the board for approval.

Bea Hansen, a new board member and former statistics professor, questions the validity of the research presented and does not recommend the new product with out more research and statistically reliable data. Bea Hanson does not feel the need to take sides, when decisions need to be made. She is focused on the facts, and the validity of the research. From her perspective, descriptive and inferential statistics play a major role. When discussing the presentation she is interested in how the data was collected, the sample size. “I would be a lot more confident with a truly random sample.” For Bea Hanson, the methods used and the way data is presented is very informative.

Time is of the essence, and the company does not have time to complete another long research project. “Consulting companies are increasingly a source for business research. In selecting a company to provide strategic direction, an organization should carefully consider a company's research skills and experience. If the company's resource of the data is not reputable, than this error can lead to the company's downfall” (Cooper and Schindler, 2003). Due to the large sample size of the survey, Bea Hanson describes the four levels of measurement. “Data can be classified according to levels of measurement. The level of measurement of the data often dictates the calculations that can be done to summarize and present ...