School of Professional Advancement

Subject: Research Methodology (Section: B) Final Term Examination (Online)

Name …………………………………… Student’s ID……………………………

Total Marks :30 Time: 4Hours

Instructions:
 Do not cut and paste from the learning materials Or Copy from Your Course mates
 If you are not clear about the questions of the paper-Discuss in the “Paper Forum”
 Spacing -1.5 spacing (Time New Roman)
 Mark will be deducted if you cut and paste from the learning material, Internet and
Course mate
 Submit Online

Solve all the following Questions:

Q1. Given the situations below, (a) discuss with reasons whether they fall into the
category of applied or basic research, and (b) for Scenario 1, 3 explain with reasons,
who will conduct the research. (5)
Scenario 1

To Acquire or Not to Acquire: That is the Question

Companies are very interested in acquiring other firms even when the latter operate in
totally unrelated realms of business. For example, Gencore Industries manufacturing
asphalt plants for road construction acquired Ingersoll-Rand in 1996, and later acquired yet
another company engaged in the business of food processing. Such acquisitions are
claimed to work miracles. However, given the volatility of the stock market and the
slowing down of business, many companies are not sure whether such acquisitions involve
too much risk. At the same time, they also won der if they are missing out on a great
business opportunity if they fail to take such risk. Some research is needed here

Scenario 2

Reasons for Absenteeism

A university professor wanted to analyse in depth the reasons for absenteeism of employees
in organizations. Fortunately, a company within 20 miles of the campus employed her as a
consultant to study that very issue.

Scenario 3

A research scientist surveys 1,000 employees in different organizational settings to study

the efficacy of several types of nasal sprays in controlling the flu virus. He subsequently
publishes his findings in a highly respected medical journal.
Q2. Critique the following research done in a service industry as to the extent to which it
meets the hallmarks of scientific investigation. (3)
The Friendly Telephone Company
Customer complaints were mounting, and letters of complaint detailing the problems they
experienced with the residential telephone’s lines were constantly pouring in at the Friendly
Telephone Company. The company wanted to pinpoint the specific problems and take
corrective action. Researchers were called in, and they spoke to a number of customers,
noting the nature of the specific problems they faced. Because the problem had to be attended
to very quickly, they developed a theoretical base, collected relevant detailed information
from a sample of 100 customers, and analyzed the data. The results promise to be fairly
accurate with at least an 85% chance of success in problem solving. The researchers will
make recommendations to the company based on the results of data analysis.

Q3: Below is the gist of an article from Business Week. After reading it, (a) identify the
broad problem area, (b) define the problem, and (c) explain how you would proceed
further. (4)

While Chrysler ‘s minivans, pickups, and sport utility vehicles take a big share of the truck
market, its cars trail behind those of GM, Ford, Honda, and Toyota. Quality problems
include, among other things, water leaks and defective parts

Q4: List the variables in this, individually, and label them as dependent or
independent, explaining why they are so labeled. Diagram the relationships. (4)

(a)A manager believes that good supervision and training would increase the production level
of the workers. (2)
(b)A consultant is of the opinion that much benefit would accrue by buying and selling at the
appropriate times in a financial environment where the stocks are volatile. (2)

Q5: Make up three different situations in which motivation to work would be an

independent variable, an intervening variable, and a moderating variable. (3)

Q6: List and label the variables in the following situation. Explain the relationships
among the variables and diagram them. What might be the problem statement or
problem definition for the situation? (3)

The manager of Haines Company observes that the morale of employees in her company is
low. She thinks that if their working conditions are improved, pay scales raised, and the
vacation benefits made attractive, the morale will be boosted. She doubts, however, if an
increase of pay scales would raise the morale of all employees. Her conjecture is that those
that have supplemental incomes will just not be turned on‖ by higher pay, and only those
without side incomes will be happy with increased pay with resultant boost of morale.
Q7: Given the below situation, do the following: (3)
1. Define the problem.
2. Evolve a theoretical framework.
3. Develop at least four hypotheses.
A production manager is concerned about the low output levels of his employees. The
articles that he read on job performance frequently mentioned four variables as important
to job performance: skill required for the job, rewards, motivation, and satisfaction. In
several of the articles it was also indicated that only if the rewards were valent (attractive) to
the recipients did motivation, satisfaction, and job performance increase, not otherwise.

Q8. A foreman thinks that the low efficiency of the machine tool operators is directly
linked to the high level of fumes emitted in the workshop. He would like to prove this to
his supervisor through a research study (5)
1. Would this be a causal or a correlation study? Why?
2. Is this an exploratory, descriptive, or hypothesis-testing (analytical or predictive) study?
Why?
3. What kind of a study would this be: field study, lab experiment, or field experiment?
Why?
4. What would be the unit of analysis? Why?
5. Would this be a cross-sectional or a longitudinal study? Why?