Business Decision Making

Business Decision Making

Task One: Business Report - Advice for the Garden Centre

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to elaborate on the mechanisms using which the secondary data can be obtained by the garden centres about its customers and their purchasing habits. Also, the report includes a brief account of the survey methodology and the sampling frame that will be utilized using a specifically designed questionnaire.

Secondary Data about Customers and their Purchasing Habits

For the purpose of the collection of secondary data, the garden centre's records and other data bases will be referred, which keep an account of the general demographics of the customers along with the products and services which are consumed by them. The most significant reason for the use of secondary sources to collect data is the ease of access to secondary data sources. The cost involved to gain access to secondary sources of data is relatively low in comparison to the primary sources of data. Moreover, with the use of this approach, the potential of bringing about an improved alignment of a large scale researches comes up, which eventually helps in drawing conclusions which are more reliable. As a consequence, the conclusions drawn from such a research, can be generalized to a larger proportion of the population with no or minimal chances of error. Owing to the consideration of the advantages that this approach offers, it is generally recommended to use this approach to test if the required information for a particular research study is available through the secondary sources of data. The successful utilization of this approach can ultimately aid in the effective elimination of the expenses while providing an enhanced opportunity of drawing more reliable results, which have a higher potential of being generalized to a larger proportion of the population.

Questionnaire for Identifying Mechanisms to Improve Customer Services

Mentioned below is the specifically designed questionnaire which can be used to obtain information about how the garden centres can improve its services to customers;

Which aspect of our customer services did you find the best?

________________________________________________________________________

Overall, how would you rate our customer service?

________________________________________________________________________

In you opinion, which aspect of our customer services needs to be improved?

________________________________________________________________________

Is there any product / service that we do not offer that you believe we should?

________________________________________________________________________

According to you how can we improve our customer services?

________________________________________________________________________

Survey Methodology and the Sampling Frame

Research in the field of management sciences has suggested that questionnaires and survey methodology are well established techniques for assessing a particular aspect or an area of concern. The survey method uses specifically developed questionnaires to look into the concerned aspects. The general analysis of survey tools indicates that they are most beneficial and are easy to develop as well.

Owing to the ease of data collection that this method offers, a considerable amount of data can be collected in less amount of time. Along with their ease of administration, they also allow simple scoring which makes it easier to draw conclusions, as compared to other methods of ...