1.)
a.) Based on the first two chapters of the book and your own experiences in the workplace, how would you define “business research”? Why is it an important part of corporate success?
b.) When dealing with business research, would you prefer the idea of conducting quantitative or qualitative research? Explain your reasoning behind your choice.
2.)
a.) Often times we hear a statistics, and insert our own “opinions” as to why the statistic the way it is. Why is it irresponsible to not give full context to research? In what ways do you see social media playing a role – good or bad – in this?
b.) Teen pregnancy is a problem in Texas, which currently has the 5th highest teen pregnancy rate among states. If you were tasked to research the problem further, how would you design your research? How would you collect the data? Also, how would you ensure the validity of your research?
Source: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/states/tx.html
3.) Read the Mini-Case Analysis Exercise: Employee Turnover Rate on page 207 in your Data Analytics book. Answer the following questions:
a.) Whom do you think you need to involve in the decision? Why?
b.) How should you begin to tackle this problem in terms of your approach and sources of information?
c.) What data should you gather?
d.) Are there experiments you might do to test potential causes and to identify different solutions?
4.)Read the Opening Case: Finding the Best Fit: The Case of Selection at Google page 213 in your Data Analytics book. Answer the following questions:
a.) Although having more applicants to choose from is a good thing, can there be such a thing as too many applicants? For example, how might a company like Google process 2 million applicants per year, short of interviewing all candidates?
b.) In addition to using interviews, how might Google select employees for certain jobs such as programmers? How would you decide which types of assessment(s)are most important for hiring programmers that best fit the job?
c.) How might data analytics be used to help with selection when it comes to so many applicants?
5.)
a.)Why is forecasting seldom used in business research? Can you think of an example of when you might want to use forecasting in Human Resources?
b.) Why is important to present your findings in the correct way? Why is important to use your own personal approach?
6.)
a.)Which topic did you enjoy the most? Why? Which course activity was most useful to you and how will you use it in the future?
b.) What suggestions for improvement would you offer for this course?
