Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology Jais

MBA Mid-Sem Exam (2020-21)

Course: Business Analytics
Time: 1.5 hours Total Marks: 20
Instructions: Read all questions carefully and give appropriate answers.

Marks: 06

1. For each of the following scenario indicate whether qualitative or quantitative

research is more appropriate. Also recommend a specific research design for each and
justify your answer.

a. A manufacturer of herbal teas wants to know how often and for what purposes
consumer use herbal tea products.

b. A political campaign manager wants to identify ways of sharply increasing the

amount of contributions from the population.

c. An amusement park is nearing the final stages of designing two new rides. It
wants to measure the reactions of the public and their potential enthusiasm for the
new rides.

d. A company that manufactures potato chips has two alternative package designs
for the product and wants to determine which research will yield higher sales.

2. State whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
Marks: 5

a. A research study that tracks the profile of a typical social networking user is an
example of exploratory research design.

b. TRPs (television ration performance) of soap operas on TV are generally based on

cross sectional research design.
c. If one wants to assess changes in investment behavior of general public over a time,
the best design available to the researcher is longitudinal design.

d. A study to analyze the profile of the supporter of Anna Hazare would need a cross
sectional research design.

e. Applied research is the kind of research where one needs to apply specific statistical
procedure
 Marks: 04

3. Amul is planning to launch a new flavor of ice cream and wants to get a “snapshot” of
the potential market. The ice cream has a coconut-white chocolate flavored with mixed-
in pistachios and is aimed at the premium market (page limit:1 page)

 Develop the research problem and hypothesis to conduct this study.

 What type of research design is appropriate and why?

Marks: 05
(page limit:1 page)

4. The relation between Indian sentiments and investment in gold has been well
established since time immemorial. Howver, recent investment surveys have shown that
the yellow metal has lost some lustre and the younger investor is looking at other
financial instruments. A large banking and investment conglomerate would like to
assess whether financial sentiments are different in old and young investors. What is the
pattern of investment in the last decade and whether there are any shifts related to the
global sub prime crisis?. The bank CMD is of the firm opinion that investment is not
always a rational and well deliberated decisions, and there could be multiple factors
impacting this. As an investment counselor and consultant, the organization should be
aware of this and suitably build this into its financial products and services to service
the the investment better and also lead to increased profits for the company. In the light
of this scenario:

 How would you formulate your management research question?

 What could be the mix of variables that could impactthe investors deceions?
under study?
 How would you generate descriptive and relational hypotheses for your study?

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