ASSIGNMENT 1 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number and title Unit 31: Statistics for management

Submission date 25/09/2020 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Nguyen Duc Anh Student ID GBH190058

Class GBH0901 Assessor name Ngo Tran Thai Duong

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I certify that the assignment submission is entirely my own work and I fully understand the consequences of plagiarism. I understand that
making a false declaration is a form of malpractice.

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Contents
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

II. Nature and process of business and economic data/information ........................................................................ 4

1. Definition ........................................................................................................................................................ 4

2. Application ...................................................................................................................................................... 5

III. Data Analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 6

1. Descriptive Approach...................................................................................................................................... 6

2. Exploratory Approach ..................................................................................................................................... 7

3. Confirmatory Approach .................................................................................................................................. 8

IV. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 10

References ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
 I. Introduction
The reason we chose this topic is to study the distribution of businesses in Vietnam in general and in the Food and
Garments sector.

The goal of this study is to apply data analysis methods to gain a deeper understanding of the proportion of
businesses in the Food and Garments sector with the survey coverage of nearly 300 enterprises in Vietnam,
concentrated in 4 regions including the Red River Delta, North Central and Central Coast, Southeast, and Mekong
River Delta.

Using different data analysis methods such as Descriptive Approach, Exploratory Approach, and Confirmatory
Approach, we will study the distribution of businesses in the Food and Garments sector in different regions, the
differentiation of businesses by size, and the relationship between the number of employees and the revenue of
businesses.

This report consists of two parts, part one defines data, information, and knowledge and provides illustrative
examples. Part two is applying data analysis methods to research businesses in the sector of Food and Garments in
Vietnam. In addition, this report also points out the strengths and weaknesses of these methods.

II. Nature and process of business and economic data/information

1. Definition
Data are specific facts that are out of context, have no meaning, and are difficult to understand. They are also called
raw data. Data in context are individual facts that have meaning and can be easily understood. These are the raw
facts bundled with meaning, but there is not information yet.

Information is a collection of data related to one or more people at a time or over a period of time in terms of
significance. Information is more than data in context. It must have meaning and a time frame. It is considered that
knowledge is singular.

Knowledge is intelligence, perception, the truth, or state of understanding something through experience or
connection acquired with familiarity. It is the knowledge or perception of something, the reality or condition of
being aware of something, or of apprehending truth or fact. Knowledge is data that has been retained with an
appreciation of the value of that data. Knowledge requires something that experience, research, familiarity,
connection, perception, and/or understanding have acquired. Knowledge can be either tacit or explicit (Kempe,
2013).
 2. Application

Table 1. Distribution of Firms by Regions

Figure 1. Distribution of Firms by Regions

For instance, in this chart, we can infer that the data can be either 20, 25, 27 or 28. The information is 20% is the
ratio of companies in Mekong River Delta in the grand total of all companies in Food and Garments Sector. The
knowledge that we can figure out is that the region that has the most companies is South East or the region that has
the least companies is Mekong River Delta.
III. Data Analysis
1. Descriptive Approach
When a specific phenomenon is being examined, it is necessary to describe the study, to clarify and justify its inner
relationships and properties. A descriptive profile of persons, incidents or circumstances will be represented in the
descriptive study. Descriptive study describes the questions, the individuals surveyed and the process of analysis
before data collection starts. In other words, descriptive analysis describes the aspects of the study, including who,
what, where, where, why, and often how the study is performed (Yin, 1994).

Example:

This chart is about the distribution of firms by Size of Locality. From this chart, we know that there are 225 firms

Table 2. Distribution of firms by Size of Locality

in city with over 1 million people. Moreover, there are only 6 firms in the region with over 50.000 to 250.000
people. In addition, there are 62 firms in the region with less than 50.000 people and there is no firms in the city
with over 250.000 to 1 million people.

One of the key benefits of descriptive research is the researcher's high degree of objectivity and neutrality.
Descriptive analysis is known to be diverse and provides a clearer image of an occurrence or phenomenon than
other quantitative approaches. To perform a descriptive study, descriptive analysis may use several variables or
even a single number of variables (Lans & Voordt, 2002). For instance, we can describe the distribution of firms
by size of locality as Table 2.

In order to find the characteristics of the population, this method of study allows the researcher the flexibility to
use both quantitative and qualitative data (Marsh & Stocker, 2010). For instance, both a case study that is a
qualitative analysis and a correlation analysis may be used by researchers to explain a phenomenon. Moreover,
descriptive approach helps the researcher to separate the results and observations to analyze the proportions, for
example, Table 1 is the result of descriptive analysis of firms in the Food and Garments sector by describing the
distribution of firms by regions.
However, the major drawbacks of the Descriptive method are confidentiality and lack of truthfulness of the
participants. Sometimes, for various purposes, the respondents are not honest and do not have the actual answer. If
the research questionnaire is not correctly and thoughtfully crafted, mistakes may occur in the overall outcome of
the research. The researcher often chooses only details that supports his / her study hypothesis and excludes other
parts of the data that do not fit into the hypothesis. This could lead to incorrect result and errors in research as
according to Kothari (2004), there is always a threat of false generalization in the view of the truth that no fixed
rules are followed in the collection of knowledge and only a few units are studied.

2. Exploratory Approach
When the emphasis is on cause-effect relationships, the research will describe the factors that generate the results
in an explanatory way. Another type of research goal is explanatory research based on hypothesis, and the
hypothesis is generated to explain why and how questions are asked. Explanatory studies go beyond explanation
and aim to clarify the reasons for the phenomenon that was only found in the descriptive research. The researchers
use theories or hypotheses in an explanatory study to reflect the powers that caused a certain event to occur. In
short, exploratory research is the stage of the research process that seeks to connect ideas to unveil the "why"s of
possible cause / effect relationships. This occurs as researchers begin to grasp what they are really "observing" in
the process of constructing models of cause and effect (Yin, 1994).

Example:

Table 3. Classifying Businesses by Size

The chart above is about the classify of businesses by size. Through the chart, we know that in Food and Garments
sector, the small company with number of employees from 11 to 100 accounts for the highest number of companies
with 147 companies. Small enterprises carry out diversified and rich services in the economy such as distribution
and commercialization services, living and entertainment services, consulting and support services. At the same
time, directly involved in the processing of products for consumers in the final segment as the Manufacturer. Due
to the nature of this business that small enterprises have the advantage of flexibility. Additionally, flexibility is the
dominant feature of small enterprises, thanks to its small structure and scale, the ability to change products, change
business direction even business locations is considered a strong side of small enterprises. The characteristics of
production and business activities of small-sized enterprises have created for enterprises the advantage of the
location for production and business activities. Moreover, because small enterprises are the driving force for
economic development, job creation and domestic capital mobilization. For these reasons, encouraging and
supporting the development of small enterprise is an important solution to implement socio-economic development
strategies to ensure the sustainable development of Vietnam's economy (Thịnh, 2020)

Regarding the advantages and drawbacks of exploratory method, firstly, exploratory research helps determine
whether to proceed with and how to handle a research concept. It is also flexible and complex and may be based
on pre-existing data or literature.

Secondly, the key use of exploratory research is to increase a researcher's understanding of a topic, according to
DJS Research Limited. It allows the researcher to begin to decide why and how things are going to happen. Through
Table 3 on enterprise classification by size, by exploratory method, small enterprises account for the highest
proportion. Due to the use exploratory method, researchers can understand why small businesses account for the
largest share, and at the same time verify this knowledge.

Furthermore, secondary sources, such as published literature or data, are widely used for exploratory research.
Other sources of knowledge used in exploratory research include group discussion, formal organized interviews,
pilot studies, and case studies. This may include clients, friends, patients, or employers.

The main drawback of exploratory research is that it offers qualitative results. The analysis of such knowledge can
be judgmental and biased. Most of the time, exploratory study requires a smaller sample, so the findings cannot be
represented precisely for the generalized population. Besides, as data is obtained by secondary analysis, there is a
risk that the data will be old and will not be revised (Jackson, 2020).

3. Confirmatory Approach
Confirmatory research is where scientists have a reasonably clear understanding of what is happening. In other
words, the researcher has a hypothesis (or many theories), and the aim is to find out whether the evidence support
the theory. Confirmatory analysis of data includes tasks such as testing hypotheses, generating estimates with a
defined degree of accuracy, regression analysis and analysis of variance. In this way, where you put your
conclusions and claims to trial is your confirmatory data analysis (Blitz, 2017).
Example:

Figure 2. Relation between Sales and Labor

The chart above describe the relation between number of employees and sales. From this chart, we can infer that
that sales and labor are ratio. In which, one employee can make a sale of 1.4243 billion VND for the company in
Food and Garments sector.

Confirmatory method has become an important analytical tool for many areas of the social and behavioral sciences.
The main advantage of the confirmatory approach lies in its ability to help researchers bridge the often-observed
gap between theory and observation. For example, an instrument might be developed by creating multiple items
for each of several specific theoretical constructs. This method will provide the researcher with useful knowledge
about the compatibility of the data to the measuring model derived from the principle and point to the possible
deficiency of individual items. The confirmatory method is best understood as a process, from conceptualization
of the model, recognition and evaluation of parameters, to suit evaluation of the data model and possible alteration
of the model. For illustration, from Figure 2, firm researchers can understand the relation between Sales and Labor
by looking at the trendline and the equation. Moreover, it is an inferential method that helps the model parameters
to be statistically evaluated. Structural, metric, and full-score equivalence can be modelled elegantly with
confirmatory technique. If the same factor model exists in each of the cultural classes, structural equivalence holds.
This implies that the expected component has a large load on each of the products (Smelser, 2001).

One disadvantage of confirmatory method, however, is that secondary factor loadings are not part of the output. As
a result, it is im possible to decide whether an item could have been better allocated to another cluster, especially
when the loading of its primary factor is low. Perhaps a result is that the divergence from the forecast becomes less
noticeable. In addition, there are less reference points that indicate a potential modification of the forecast (Prudon,
2013).

IV. Conclusion
In conclusion, this report has defined and distinguished data, information, and knowledge. Besides, there are
examples to illustrate the above factors. In addition, the report also explains and applies various data analysis
methods such as Descriptive Approach, Exploratory Approach, and Confirmatory Approach to clarify the
differentiation of enterprises in Food and Garments sector in Vietnam.
References
Blitz, S., 2017. Exploratory And Confirmatory Analysis: What's The Difference? - Dzone Big Data. [online]
dzone.com. Available at: <https://dzone.com/articles/exploratory-and-confirmatory-analysis-whats-the-di>
[Accessed 22 September 2020].

Jackson, C., 2020. What Are The Advantages & Disadvantages Of Non-Experimental Design?. [online] The
Advantages of Exploratory Research Design. Available at: <https://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8078209_advantages-
disadvantages-nonexperimental-design.html> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Kempe, S., 2013. The Data – Information – Knowledge Cycle - DATAVERSITY. [online] DATAVERSITY.
Available at: <https://www.dataversity.net/the-data-information-knowledge-cycle/#> [Accessed 22 September
2020].

Kothari, C. R. (2004), Research methodology: Methods and techniques, New Age International Publishers,
New Delhi.

Lans, W., & Voordt, T. (2002). Descriptive Research. Ways to Study Architectural, Urbanand Technical
Design, 53-60.

Marsh, D., & Stoker, G. (Eds.). (2010), Theory and methods in political science (3rd Edition), Palgrave
Macmillan, London and New York.

Prudon, P., 2013. [online] Researchgate. Available at:

<https://www.researchgate.net/post/Do_you_agree_that_confirmatory_factor_analysi_is_problematic_as_a_meth
od_for_construct_validation_of_tests> [Accessed 25 September 2020].

Smelser, N., 2001. International Encyclopedia Of The Social & Behavioral Sciences. Amsterdam: Elsevier,
Pergamon.

Thịnh, T., 2020. Vai Trò Của Các Doanh Nghiệp Vừa Và Nhỏ Trong Nền Kinh Tế Việt Nam. [online]
Tanthanhthinh.com. Available at: <https://www.tanthanhthinh.com/vai-tro-cua-cac-doanh-nghiep-vua-va-
nho.html> [Accessed 25 September 2020].

Yin, R., 1994. Discovering the future of the case study method in evaluation research. Evaluation Practice,
15(3), pp.283-290.