Word length: 3000 words (not including references and appendices).

Use Case 3.2 (Attached), IBM: The Worlds Top Provider of Computer Hardware, Software, and Services, and the data file provided , to prepare a Marketing Research report for the management of IBM.

The market research report is to be written in report format and must include the sections shown below: Title page Table of contents Executive summary o This should summarize the key elements of the report and should always be on a separate page. Keep your points concise and give an overview of the entire report o It is written for non technical people who dont have time to read the main report o It should contain: A brief statement of the problem Background information Summary of Analysis Summary of main conclusions Recommendations o Should be written after the rest of the report has been completed.

Background (brief summary from the case) and MDP o A summary of the background from the case study in the text book o You need to justify the need for the research o State the MDP

Approach and research questions o State the MRP and MROs

Research design and procedures (brief summary based on survey) o Look at the survey, decide what research design was used o Is it qualitative / quantitative? o Exploratory/descriptive/causal?

o Sampling Plan

Data Analysis : - Sample (describe the sample using the following variables) o o o o Overall characteristics of respondents Q1, Q2, Q28, Q3_recoded

Descriptive statistics of key overall measures Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7

Crosstabs with Chi Square Is there a relationship between Satisfaction (Low/High) and the company that was evaluated? (Use Q4_recoded and Q3_Recoded)

o Differences Do the evaluations on all of the attributes (Q4-Q26) differ according to respondents who evaluated IBM and those that didnt (Q3_IBM_only)? How do the evaluations for IBM differ on ratings of the overall measures (Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7)? (use paired samples t-tests to check whether there are statistical differences in each pair of variables: Q4:Q5, Q4:Q6, Q4: Q7, Q5:Q6, Q5:Q7, Q6:Q7)*

o Do the evaluations of overall measures (Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7) differ according to the company that was evaluated (Q3_Recoded?

o Regression Can the evaluation of the participant on overall quality of the company in relation to prices (Q5) be explained in terms of the participants evaluation on sales and service support variables (Q22, Q23, Q24, Q25 and Q26) when these variables are considered simultaneously? Can the likelihood of purchase from company being evaluated (Q18) be explained in terms of the participants evaluation on sales and service

support variables (Q22, Q23, Q24, Q25 and Q26) when these variables are considered simultaneously? Can the likelihood of recommending the company being evaluated (Q20) be explained in terms of the participants evaluation on sales and service support variables (Q22, Q23, Q24, Q25 and Q26) when these variables are considered simultaneously? Can the likelihood of purchase from company being evaluated (Q18) be explained in terms of the participants evaluation on dimensions of overall measures (Q4, Q5, Q6, and Q7)?

o Key dimensions Can the image variables (Q8-Q17) be represented by a reduced set of factors?

Conclusions and recommendations (for the management of IBM) o Link interpretations of the findings back to the problem being addressed. o Should be closely related to your research objectives. Make sure you address each objective. o Recommendations are based on the results and the conclusions make recommendations to the decision makers. o Again, recommendations should be made in reference to the research problem. o Limitations of research

Reference list ( APA )

Appendices o Additional tables of information (if necessary) o Relevant SPSS Output (using suitable subheadings) o Other appendices (if appropriate)

(*Hint: To ensure you only get responses from those who evaluated IBM - First, select the menu, Data Select cases. Next, in the window that pops up select If condition is satisfied and then press the If button. In the next window that pops up, find Q3_recoded and double click. Then press the = button and then press 3. Click Continue and OK. To reselect all the cases, select Data from the menu and then Select Cases choose All Cases).

A marking schedule is provided as Appendix 3.

Structure Introduction and Problem Definition (7) Design and procedures (2) Sample (6)

IBMs Performance (9) Predictors of performance (4) Dimensions of performance (3)

Include Executive Summary Background MDP MRP MROs Research Design Sampling Frequencies Descriptive Statistics Crosstabs with Chi Square Independent samples t-test Paired samples t-tests ANOVA Regression Factor Analysis Draws defensible conclusions from findings Limitations Recommendations References Format, presentation, Writing

Mark 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 4 3 2

Conclusions and recommendations(9)

2 3 1 1