BUSI600: Forum 2
Group 2 – Johnson, Joyner, Kramer, Lyons, Moore
Liberty University
Dr. Johnathan Schultz
January 26, 2014

Forum 2
Question 19.3
The role of president in an organization is very time consuming and requires a broad knowledge base. The president must be informed to make decisions on various issues, such as: financial, investment, operational, marketing, and strategic. A study of the company’s pension plan compared to other firms in the industry should be in a management report form. Management reports are best when the reader has little time to absorb details and needs prompt exposure to critical findings (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The order of the management report allows clients to grasp conclusions and recommendations quickly, without much reading, or with efficient use of time in this case (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). It may be helpful to have a technical report available for further information at the president’s request, but a management report should be presented first. It is likely that the President would rely on a Chief Financial Officer to further evaluate the report, or maybe even an actuary if the pension plan analysis involves heavy calculations and projections.
A technical report format should be used to describe a marketing experiment for submission to the Journal of Marketing Research. A technical report is “the report that other researchers will want to see because it has the full story of what was done and how it was done” (Cooper & Schindler, 2014, p. 506). The audience of a research journal is likely to be very educated and interested in the details of the experiment and how the conclusions were formed. “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Proverbs 1:5, English Standard Version). They may reference your study and apply it to their own experiments or theories. A researcher that presents a technical report should ensure the experiment is documented completely and that all recommendations are clearly related to specific findings (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). A management report format should be used to provide a divisional manager with a forecast of promotional budget needs for the next twelve months. “The divisions are usually separate profit and loss centers and their managers are normally responsible for division performance” (Prenger, 1972). A divisional manager is responsible for many tasks, so time is a valuable resource. Management reports provide an overview that allows the user to quickly grasp the information. A monthly trend or comparison of prior years could be helpful. The manager could then ask for details on accounts or items that appear unusual. A technical report format should be used to report on a study of the relationship between advertising of prescription drugs and subsequent sales of those drugs granted by the National Institutes of Health. In a study by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, only 225 applications of 510 for novel therapeutic agents were approved by the FDA (Pharmacy Times, 2012). The lengthy approval process, high standards required by the FDA, and the costly research and development costs associated with drug research put a lot of pressure on advertising and sales of prescription drugs. Researchers, sponsors, and managers would be very anxious to learn how to effectively advertise in hopes to recover research expenses and make a profit. The process should be fully documented and recommendations should be related to specific findings. A reader should be able to recreate the process and determine if the variables are consistent with their situation.
Question 19.4
a. A comparison of changes in average annual per capita income for the United States and Japan from 1995 to 2010.
A line graph can effectively be used to present the data in this scenario. Line graphs are typically used to compare values over time to show changes in trends. The horizontal axis (x-axis) would represent the time unit of years from 1995-2010, the vertical axis (y-axis) would represent the average annual per capita income (in thousands), and two line types (solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot) or colors would be used to represent the United States and Japan so that readers can easily distinguish between the two countries.
b. The percentage composition of average family expenditure patterns, by the major types of expenditures, for families whose heads are under age 35 compared with families whose heads are 55 or older.
In this particular scenario a column chart (bar chart) would be best option to compare different entities of the same variable or component of a variable. Column charts are great for illustrating comparisons among particular items, especially when multiple groups of data are involved. While pie charts are often widely used when illustrating percentages, since two groups are being represented in this case a column chart would be more beneficial. If preferred, two separate pie charts could be created but visually may not be as quick for readers to interpret. The horizontal axis (x-axis) would show the type of expenditure, the vertical axis (y-axis) would show the percentage, and the breakdown of the groups involved, family heads under age 35 and family heads 55+, would be represented by two different bar colors so there easily distinguishable.
c. A comparison of the changes in charitable giving between December 31, 2006 and December 31, 2010.
Similar to a line graph, an area (stratum) chart is also used for a time series. According to Cooper and Schindler (2014), they are “best used to show changes in patterns over time” (p.534). The horizontal axis (x-axis) would represent the years, the vertical axis (y-axis) would show the percentage given, and a line divided into component parts per the amount of charitable giving categories would reflect the changes over time. This will aid the researcher in showing which charitable giving categories are more commonly used and how the numbers have changed as the years have progressed. Due to a designated date, December 31, being used every year the graphical presentation will be much easier to create and interpret.
Question 19.6
Needing to increase its number of members as well as add value to current members, the National Cash Register Country Club (NCRCC) hired the McMahon group to conduct a survey of members and employees. The following is a caption of the opinions of members and spouses regarding adding or upgrading facilities at the country club.
Findings: (Table 1)
1. Golf is the main reason that most members have joined the country club, and most members are satisfied with the golfing experience of NCRCC.
2. Improvements need to be made in the service and menu variety of the casual dining experience.
3. Current members are not very interested in adding new facilities, however many are interested in spending money to improve the existing facilities.
4. More than half of all members would not support raising prices to pay for the upgrading of current facilities (NCRCC, McGraw-Hill.com).
Question 20.7

The Henry and Associates research meeting with the MindWriter project centers on developing cohesion and team unity. The research performed by Henry and Associates led to the discovery that the MindWriter project could negotiate stronger courier contracts (Cooper & Schindler, 2013). This recommendation was the outcome of their research, but one of the research team members clearly identifies that the main purpose of both the research and presentation was to bring the team members of the MindWriter project together (Cooper & Schindler). Henry and Associates chose to set up the delivery of their research as a presentation. Within this presentation one of the researchers utilized a question and answer tool to obtain a pre-report consensus of the group (Cooper & Schindler). These types of polls are normally used to assess thoughts on a certain subject prior to information being given. At the conclusion of the meeting they used a poll to pinpoint the priority of their goals from the provided research (Cooper & Schindler). This set up is effective as it helped Henry and Associates gauge what the groups’ focus was before and after the research was provided. This example shows the importance of research in two key ways: it is useful for bringing valuable insight into decision-making, and it can help foster cohesion on a project. One reason for this is because knowledge can help create a sense of direction on a project and provided powerful direction to leadership. An empowered leader can then positively affect team cohesion (Kijpokin, 2012). In this case, research was used to primarily address how the MindWriter project can negotiate their courier charges, but also brought the team together by effectively polling the group opinion (Cooper & Schindler). This type of research and cohesion should be sough to be duplicated in further projects for this team.
Question 20.8

Henry and Associates presentation for the MindWriter project took advantage of information that had been gathered from members of the organization the research was being conducted for. This information ensured that they understood Mind Writer’s needs, and engaged those in participation within the 20-minute presentation. Through the use of a Q&A tool, the firm took pre-report surveys that assist in focusing the main area of concern that was present within members from MindWriter (Cooper & Schindler, 2014).
Through the audience analysis that was conducted prior to the briefing, the team had the ability to engage their audience with the information that they had previously provided. This survey design provided the researches with a quantitative description that was able to display the attitudes of those at MindWriter, while excluding the researcher’s findings (Creswell, 2013). Utilizing this information by posting the results as a poll that displayed the indication of first priorities, in combination with findings from the research conducted, provided a clear concise recommendation of which direction MindWriter should go.
H&A made a valuable decision in providing a simplified version of the monthly comparison report. Simplifying a complex graph, assisted in ensuring that not only did this play a part in engagement through a visual aspect that captivated, but could also easily be understood and retained by the client. Keeping within the 10-minute rule, and varying the content displayed and discussed, kept the audience stimulated, and engaged within the presentation. Pictures and graphs multiply the audience's level of understanding of material being presented, and are used to reinforce a message, clarify points, and create excitement (Labor, 2011).
Henry and Associates post presentation actions of emailing a summary of the report that was presented, along with a 3 minute post briefing survey, acted as not only as engagement with the audience, but also could be utilized as an audience analysis for not only this project moving forward, but also as a base-line for future web-based briefings. Each of the actions that were taken by H&A to prepare for the web-based briefing are those that have been shown to be effective (Cooper & Schindler, 2014).

References

Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P.S. (2014). Business Research Methods (12th ed.). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. In J. W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (pp. 155-182). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=4uB76IC_pOQC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=perform+research+audience+analysis++scholarly+articles&ots=3xtKlTQbn7&sig=FRZcyAbI8j5Nq2O9G25q8S_hX0E#v=onepage&q&f=false
FDA drug approval process comparatively speedy. (2012, June). Pharmacy Times, 78(6), 1. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA30566 2343&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=fcd31c73f6b09b4d15 687600ce1064d9 Kijpokin, K. (2013). Strategic Business Management: A Practical Framework and Causal Model of Empowering Leadership, Team Cohesion, Knowledge-Sharing Behavior, and Team Performance. Journal Of Social & Development Sciences, 4(3), 100-106.

Labor, U. D. (2011). Construction Safety and Health Outreach. (OSHA) Retrieved January 21, 2013, from United States Department of Labor: https://www.osha.gov/doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/traintec.html
NCRCC Teeing up a new strategy direction. (n.d.). Mcgraw-Hill.com. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073521507/855241/NCRCC_TeeingUpANewStrategicDirection.pdf
Prenger, A. J. (1972, 11). DIVISIONAL CONTROLLERSHIP. Management Accounting (Pre-1986), 54, 29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198653540?accountid=12085

Tables
Table 1
Question:
How important is it to you that the NCRCC add or upgrade the following facilities?

* Swimming Pool * Tennis Courts * Health/Fitness * Enlarge Bar/Lounge * Improve Driving Range

New/Upgraded | Total | Under | 46-55 | 56-65 | Over | Facilities | % | 46% | % | % | 65% | | | | | | | Swimming Pool | | | | | | Very important | 14 | 37 | 16 | 7 | 5 | Important | 16 | 23 | 16 | 17 | 11 | Neutral | 13 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 15 | Unimportant | 11 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 13 | Very Unimportant | 46 | 25 | 43 | 53 | 56 | Total Count | 797 | 149 | 183 | 209 | 245 | | | | | | | Tennis Courts | | | | | | Very important | 8 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 3 | Important | 14 | 16 | 18 | 12 | 12 | Neutral | 18 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 19 | Unimportant | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 12 | Very Unimportant | 47 | 28 | 46 | 53 | 55 | Total Count | 777 | 146 | 185 | 206 | 230 | | | | | | | Health/Fitness | | | | | | Very important | 12 | 21 | 15 | 9 | 6 | Important | 19 | 28 | 21 | 20 | 10 | Neutral | 20 | 18 | 23 | 19 | 19 | Unimportant | 14 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 21 | Very Unimportant | 34 | 22 | 28 | 41 | 43 | Total Count | 769 | 148 | 179 | 198 | 229 | | | | | | | Enlarge Bar/Lounge | | | | | | Very important | 14 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 6 | Important | 27 | 30 | 32 | 27 | 22 | Neutral | 27 | 23 | 23 | 27 | 32 | Unimportant | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 21 | Very Unimportant | 13 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 19 | Total Count | 847 | 158 | 189 | 219 | 264 | | | | | | | Improve Driving Range | | | | | | Very important | 14 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 5 | Important | 22 | 33 | 24 | 23 | 13 | Neutral | 40 | 31 | 34 | 42 | 51 | Unimportant | 14 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 16 | Very Unimportant | 10 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 15 | Total Count | 815 | 155 | 191 | 212 | 240 |