Business Decision Making

The methodology for this report will focus upon both primary and secondary research methods which will be used to obtain the opinions of the asked passer. Needled et-al (2003) states that primary research mainly consists of data collected by an organization, or individual, for their own purposes and are generally collated first hand from ‘the horses mouth'. Needled (2003) offers the opinion that the main methods of collating primary research are through conducting face to face Interviews, telephone interview, questionnaires and through direct observations.Primary data can be either qualitative or quantitative. Qualitative research data tend to be more explanatory whereas quantitative is generally more descriptive. The main part of the research for this project will consist of one primary method, survey. The survey questioned passers within Princess to determine what they think about the Princess. This method has been chosen as it is easy method to collate considerable data and it is a relatively cheap method of collating the data.To ensure response rates were high, the passers were asked face to face. I have chosen to opt against a paper based System as Needled et-al (2003) offers the argument that response rates to costal systems are often as low as 30% and I feel this method may introduce bias to the overall conclusion. There the alternative option of personally distributing and collecting the surveys for which Sweeten (2002) claims can increase the response rate to almost 70%.However given the short timescales for the project I only intend to sample the views of 20 people. Questionnaires are quite popular when collecting data, but are difficult to design and often need many drafts before having a final questionnaire. These drafts are called pilot questionnaires. Again because of the given short time call I was only able design one pilot. It emerged that the questionnaire was too long. The final questionnaire was then amended by the KISS theory'- keep i t short and simple.Random sampling was used as non random sampling is impracticable and often very costly in terms of time. After collecting the primary data, the data was then exported into Microsoft Excel to provide a more professional presentation for this document in providing professional graphs and findings. Secondary research All methods of data collection supply quantitative data (numbers, statistics) or qualitative data (usually words or text).Secondary data is data that has already been collected by someone else for a different purpose as the investigator. Main methods that is used to for the collection Of secondary data: Data supplied by a marketing organization Annual company reports Government statistics / surveys Academic surveys Company data (payroll details, minutes of meetings, accounts of sales of goods or services) Whilst theory is a crucial factor in academic learning and organizational success leading academics offer different views on it effectiveness.Saunders et-al (2003) explains that secondary research, especially academic journals, re the most important source for any research because they are evaluated by academic peers prior to publication therefore generally of good quality. Gharry (1995) offers the opinion that secondary research is has there are major advantages of secondary research mainly through savings in time, money and resources as academic literature from various sources is widely available and easily obtainable.However Needled et-al (2003) warns that the information may not always be of good quality, may not represent the whole picture and the research could be out of date. These opinions were considered whilst conducting the literature review. After having contacted the Princess press department the result was that due to the fact that the Princess is a new development, secondary data was not available. Rest Its The layout of the questionnaire was divided in three parts – introductory questions, main questions and final questions.Topic: What do you think of the Princess development? Number of questioned people: 20 Introductory questions The introductory questions are of assistance to find out general information about the questioned person. 1. Gender 2. Age group 3. Employment status 4. Marital status Main questions Main questions are in place in order to gather information about the topic of the question naira. 5. Purpose of the visit 6. Preferred time to visit 7. Does it meet expectations? 8. What were the expectations? 9. Affect on Setter's other high street retailers and restaurants 10.Overall affect of the Princess Shopping Centre to Exeter Final questions The final questions help to calm down and relax from the main part. It can also seen as fun part. 11. Favorite new shop 12. Favorite new restaurant/cafe The Upper Crust Memo To: Quality Control Manager From: Tugboat Vic Sicken c: Date: January 31, 2015 Re: Result of samples 65 loaves of bread with a weight range of 780-830 g Average w eight (mean) of loaves 804. 74 g The middle loaf (median) weighs 804. 9 g The most common (mode) loaf weight is 804. 9 g The Standard deviation of each loaf is 9. G The weight of the lower quartile is (IQ) is 798. 48 g Q = Median = 804. 9 g The weight of the upper quartile is (Q) is 811. 1 g The intrauterine range is 12. 62 g Box + Whisker plot Due to wastage we lost 805 loaves Task 5 Correlation The correlation is one of the most common and most useful statistics. A correlation is a single number that describes the degree of relationship between two variables. If points in scatter diagram cluster close to the line then there is a strong correlation in place and if points are more widely scattered the correlation is weak.Positive correlation If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with an increase in the other then this is known as a positive correlation. An example would be height and weight. Taller people tend to be heavier. Negative correlation If an increase in one variable tends to be associated with a decrease in the other then this is known as a negative correlation. An example would be height above sea level and temperature. As you climb the mountain (increase n height) it gets colder (decrease in temperature).No correlation A zero correlation occurs when there is no relationship between variables. The picture below shows a guide to the strength of correlation Strengths of correlations 1 . Correlation enables the researcher to examine naturally occurring variables that perhaps unethical or impractical to test experimentally. For instance, it would be unethical to carry out an experiment on whether smoking causes lung cancer. 2. Correlation enables the researcher to clearly and easily see if there is a relationship between variables. This Can then be displayed in a replica form.Limitations of correlations 1 . Correlation is not and cannot be taken to imply causation. Even if there is a very strong relationship between two variables we cann ot assume that one causes the other. For example suppose we found a positive correlation between watching violence on T. V. And violent behavior in teenage years. It could be that the cause of both these is a third (irrelevant) variable – say for example, growing up in a violent home – and that both the watching of T. V. And the violent behavior are the outcome of this. . Correlation does not allow us to go beyond the data that is given. For example suppose it was found that there was a relationship between time spent on homework (112 hour to 3 hours) and number of G. C. S. E. Passes (1 to 6). It would not be correct to conclude from this that spending 6 hours on homework would be likely to generate 12 G. C. S. E. Passes 5 A + B. Rest It: The older the car gets (increase) the less is it worth (decrease). The scatter diagram above shows that the correlation is stronger after the first two years.There is no straight line relationship. The points on the graph with couple of exceptions form a curve which suggests it is not a linear relationship. The explanation of partial in the correlation result means that it is not 100% correlated because of other factors that influenced it. Coefficient of determination: 65. 61 % of the behavior of y is determined by x + 34. 39 % by other factors. The aim of regression analysis is to find out the values of parameters for a function that cause the function to best fit a set of data observations that it's provided.In linear regression, the function is a linear (straight-line) equation. The equation and the table above show that the value of the car decreases by a constant amount each year after its purchase. The following linear function loud predict its value Value = price + departed*age Value, the dependent variable, is the value of the car, age is the age of the car. The regression analysis will determine the best values of the two parameters, price, the estimated value when age is O (I. E. , when the car was new ), departed, the depreciation that takes place each year.The value of departed will be negative because the car loses value as age increases. However as we can see in the table after 12 years the equation gives a negative value. This would be not possible in reality. A car cannot be worth E-340. 06. The problem with the equitation is that it is not realistic. The equation is only correct in terms Of figures. E. The equation does not include the factors that can influence the price of a used car. It only considers the age of the car. However there can be several other factors that can influence the price of a used car.Mileage Color- In other words, some colors, like â€Å"ROI Yellow Pearl†, appeal only to a small segment of the population and brings down the car's worth in many eyes Fuel type Engine size Transmission Number of doors Private or trade seller – Trade seller are always more expensive as trader adds profit on the actual value of the car. Previous owner †“ For example if a elderly person was the previous owner it is very likely that the car was only used for short distances (shopping, doctor consultations) On the other hand if the car was used at a driving school then it is very likely that the car was not treated well from the learners. F. Business decision makers need to find out very often the casual relationship between two variables. For instance, the relationship between interest rates and consumer expenditure. Furthermore a financial analyst may use regression and correlation to help understand the relationship of a financial ratio to a set of other variables in business. Correlations can be helpful in business. Once a correlation is identified, organizations can determine if the correlation indicates causation. With this information, the company can develop methods to influence the correlation to the organization's benefit.Task AAA. Total float The longest the start of an activity can be delayed from its earliest start tim e (EST) without delaying the project. Free float The longest an activity can be delayed from its EST without delaying the EST of any immediately following activities. By looking at the table, those tasks without a total float' (I . E. Zero) are considered ‘critical' and coincidentally are mound on the critical path. It is therefore important that these tasks are not delayed in order to complete the project on time as planned.Recognizing and integrating float is very important. For example, those tasks that do carry float may have resources (labor, capital, equipment, etc) that could be used elsewhere to complete other tasks quicker. Also, for those tasks that do carry float, any delays can be accepted. As the resource diagram below shows, 6 assistants are required for the job. Furthermore the whole procedure will take 25 days. After rescheduling the activities only 4 assistants are required. Apart from this the whole procedure will take 21 days. 70.Critical Path Analysis (CPA) is a planning and project management tool. It can help make sure a project is completed as quickly as possible, and resources used as efficiently as possible. The business is able to give the customer exact information such as finish date, required assistants. Furthermore, most projects come across with delays or something unexpected, so managers need to use tool such as CPA to monitor the project and take quick action to resolve any problems. This enables the business to avoid any delays and the consequential customer complaints. Business Decision Making Leadership in today's organizations is a tough business. Organizational leaders face a number of significant challenges as their jobs, and the world around them, become increasingly complex (Zaccaro & Klimoski, 2001). Trends such as organizational â€Å"delayering, † rapid technological advances, the proliferation of teambased organizations, and increased employee empowerment require that leaders adapt their techniques and styles of leadership to meet these new challenges.In the face of all these changes, researchers and management education specialists are working to find methods to develop more effective leaders. Old techniques of development are criticized and questioned, and new techniques are created—often before they are adequately tested and thoroughly understood. New techniques can become instant â€Å"fads. † In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in leadership.The bulk of research efforts has gone into trying to understand leadershipâ €”how it operates— and into identifying the characteristics of effective leaders. Although interpersonal relationships have always held importance within the organizational literature (Blau, 1964), a focus on relational perspectives is recently experiencing renewed interest in organizational behavior and leadership research (Day, 2000). According to Hunt and Dodge (2001), relational perspectives are at the forefront of emerging leadership thrusts.A relational focus is one that â€Å"moves beyond unidirectional or even reciprocal leader–follower relationships to one that recognizes leadership wherever it occurs, is not restricted to a single or even small set of formal or informal leaders, and in its strongest form, functions as a dynamic system embedding leadership, environmental, and organizational aspects† (Hunt & Dodge, 2001, p. 448). An area of research that speaks directly to leadership development, as defined by Day (2000), is Leader–Member Exch ange (LMX) theory.Researchers working with this leadership model have been investigating the value of developing effective work relationships between managers and subordinates for the past 30. During this time, LMX has shown the value of high-quality relationships and the problems associated with lower quality relationships. The purpose of this work is to discuss LMX theory, research, and practice on leadership development. The paper begins by briefly reviewing the value of relationships from a social capital perspective and then defines leadership relative to relationships.Leadership is engaging in behaviors that create change, and creating change requires influence. To be leaders, therefore, individuals need to have and effectively use influence. Influence is the power to affect others: the ability to produce outcomes due to some personal characteristic that gets others to follow. By definition, influence is inherently interpersonal. Influence takes place within the context of int erpersonal relationships. According to relational leadership theories, influence comes from relationships.Relational perspectives in leadership view leadership as generated through mutual influence that results from the development of trust, respect, and obligation among dyad members. LMX theory describes this influence as being created through stages of relationship building. Individuals begin at a â€Å"stranger† stage, get to know one another through testing processes, and as a result of the testing process, either progress to an advanced stage of leadership development (e. g., partnership) or remain at lower levels of relationship development (e. g. , acquaintance or stranger). Those who attain more advanced stages of relationship building—and thus develop more effective relationships with interdependent others (e. g. , managers and other higher-ups, subordinates, peers, clients, external constituents)—are able to more effectively perform their roles. More e ffective, or high-quality, leader– member exchanges are described as leadership rather than as supervisory relationships.High-quality relationships are considered mature partnerships based on respect, trust, and mutual obligation for one another (Graen& Uhl-Bien, 1995). These relationships go beyond the formal contract and generate personal power (i. e. , influence given by the other), rather than position power or authority. They are also characterized by willing followership, meaning employees are driven by intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic motivation. As a result, dyad partners (i. e., individuals engaged in an exchange) act because they want to, not because they have to. Research on LMX shows that more effectively developed relationships have significant and positive associations with performance, organizational commitment, employee citizenship behavior (i. e. , extra-role behavior), job satisfaction, delegation and participation in decision making, and enhanced career de velopment opportunities. These relationships are negatively related to turnover, job problems, and role conflict and ambiguity.The benefits of high-quality relationships come from relational resources they create. Such resources include durable obligations (e. g. , arising from feelings of gratitude, respect, and friendship), network contacts and connections (including privileged access to information and opportunities, social status, and reputation of influential others), and the ability to have open information exchanges with those around them (Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998). Relationships that do not develop so well are considered lower quality.These relationships are not as beneficial for the individuals involved or for the organization as a whole. Lower quality relationships are described as contractually defined, formal exchanges based on limited trust and in-role interactions (Uhl-Bien et al. , 2000). These types of relationships generate management rather than leadership. They ar e characterized by lack of mutual respect, formal downward communications, little mutual understanding, limited support and commitment for one another, and no mutual obligation (i. e. , a â€Å"stranger† relationship).Findings have shown that lower quality relationships are negatively related to satisfaction, organizational citizenship behaviors, and commitment, and are positively related to turnover. Thus, based on relational leadership theory, effective relationships may generate mutual influence and understanding that allow leaders to more effectively perform their roles. In contrast to hierarchical and leader-dominated perspectives on relational differentiation, the goal and responsibility of leadership should be to work to develop effective relationships more broadly with interdependent others, rather than with only a group of â€Å"trusted assistants†.Drawing from the foundations established by Day (2000), leadership development needs to be considered (a) beyond hierarchical notions of manager–subordinate relationships, (b) as the responsibility of both members of the dyad (rather than leader-controlled), and (c) with allowance for more variability in what is considered a high-quality, or effective, relationship.A high-quality exchange is characterized by positive leadership processes that are indicative of a social exchange, such as increased subordinate job latitude and influence in decision making, more open and honest subordinate communication with the supervisor, and greater trust and loyalty among dyad members (Cogliser & Schriesheim, 2000). Low-quality LMX relationships are more economic or transactional in nature, and dyadic behaviors rarely progress beyond what is specified in the employment contract.With regard to leadership development, those subordinates interested in leadership development receive it as part of the relationship contract. Those that are not interested in becoming leaders do not receive leadership developm ent as part of their psychological contract and receive a different allocation of on-the-job training. Effective organizations have units that are tied together, through â€Å"linking-pin† positions, where members in these organizations become more aware of problems at lower levels in the system and coordinate activities efficiently through accurate flows of information, influence, and resources among the units involved.The persons occupying these linking-pin positions are integrated members in two or more groups and play the role of both supervisor and subordinate. Graen and his colleagues explored the effectiveness of the LMX relationship between incumbents of linking-pin positions and their supervisors and the behavior, attitudes, and treatment of lower level members (Graen, Cashman, Ginsburgh, & Schiemann, 1977). They found that the quality of LMX of the linking-pin incumbent was related to the quality of working life of the followers who reported to the linking pin.When subordinates develop high-quality exchanges with their bosses, they receive greater influence, latitude, support, and attention from their bosses, and they experience a more desirable situation overall. These researchers continued by pointing out that the quality of members in a higher dyad (hierarchically) contributed to the quality of life of members in hierarchically lower dyads. The LMX model clearly has utility for its application to leadership development.Empirical studies have supported the relationship of high-quality exchanges with positive organizational outcomes, and the broader leadership literature supports the cascading or waterfall effect of the supervisor's leadership behavior impacting the subordinates. There is a clear need for methods that more effectively socialize junior managers for executive positions. Dyad-level coaching may be one of the most effective means for transmitting organizational culture, thereby promoting the organization's core values.Dyad manage ment development has not been utilized to the full extent possible to leverage the potential of the pool of executive talent. The LMX literature says that LMX differentiation, in which leaders have higher quality relationships with some subordinates and lower quality relationships with others, occurs because leaders do not have time (or the need) to generate highquality relationships with everyone. Therefore, they develop a group of trusted assistants to help them perform the work of the unit.These trusted assistants would supposedly be the best or most reliable employees in the unit. Twenty years after the inception of the theory, Graen and Uhl-Bien (1995) argued that the creation of â€Å"in-groups† and â€Å"out-groups† within work units is not beneficial, and that instead leaders should strive to develop high-quality relationships with all subordinates. They do this by â€Å"making the offer† of high-quality relationships to all and then through testing proc esses, different quality relationships result (Uhl-Bien et al., 2000). This perspective allows for the fact that all relationships may not (and likely will not) reach high quality, but at least the dyad members both take part in how the relationship develops (rather than the leader determining who will be the trusted assistants) and have the opportunity to create a high-quality relationship. This perspective also recognizes that a focus on differentiation rather than on high-quality relationships offered to all creates tremendous opportunity for lost potential in organizations.When individuals are not fully committed (or are dissatisfied), they will withdraw discretionary behaviors that benefit others or the organization (e. g. , helping, altruism, civic behaviors). These discretionary behaviors are beneficial to the organization, and as a result, much attention has been given in the literature to determining when and how individuals engage in these behaviors. Instead of LMX differe ntiation, therefore, goal should be for individuals to strive to have influence with one another (and with higher-ups).With the support of a relationship, individuals are freer to open up and provide one another with more accurate and complete information (Avolio, 1999) so they can provide the â€Å"real† information (the â€Å"real† story). This goes both ways: with a good relationship comes reduced filtering (holding back) of information, both up and down the hierarchy. It allows individuals to share with one another the hard truth. Too many leaders do not have good information, and too many hold back in being truthful with their subordinates.If to extend this beyond managers to leaders more broadly, then organizational members need to be comfortable with providing information to one another, and this comes with having effective work relationships. Remembering that effective leaders are defined as those who use influence to create change, individuals' abilities to be effective leaders are directly related to their ability to have influence in the organization. Since effective work relationships can extend individuals' influence networks, those who have more effective relationships with others will likely have more opportunity to gain and use influence.Therefore, leadership effectiveness is likely enhanced by the ability to build effective work relationships with a broader range of interdependent others. In a study of communications within Leader-Member Exchanges, Schiemann ( 1977) found that those members with relatively higher quality LMXs communicated more frequently with their managers about administrative and technical matters than did members with relatively lower quality LMXs. These results were cross-validated on a holdout sample of managers.Apparently, there is much more communication in higher quality LMXs than in the lower quality LMXs. Thus, effective communications are an important aspect of the development of high-quality LMXs. Fla uto’s (1999) study is in response to the global question, â€Å"How are communication and leadership linked? † This study drew subjects from a variety of organizations in Ohio, eastern Indiana, northern Kentucky, and western West Virginia. Twenty to fifty subjects were drawn from each of nine organizations.Organizations participating in the study were two financial service organizations, a retail sales organization, a military unit, a subsurface coal mining organization, a suburban police department, a rural bank branch, a local post office, and a food service organization. Transactional and transformational leadership were measured using subscales of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). A six-item, three-factor subscale was created for the transformational leadership dimension and a four-item, two-factor subscale was created for the transactional leadership dimension.Subjects responded to each of the behavioral anchored items by selecting one of five respon ses that applied to their leader. The leader-member exchange dimension was measured by a subscale consisting of the six items of the LMX-6 scale. The LMX-6 scale contains items that measure the three factors of leader-member exchange. Responses are on a five-point Likert-type scale. The relationship is the highest among all of the variables in the study. This finding supports the conclusions of Day (2000) that communication attributes can distinguish between levels of leader-member exchange quality.The finding also fits into the theoretical framework of the leader-member approach to leadership that requires successful communication exchange in order to form the â€Å"in-group† relationship that characterizes high quality leader-member exchange. The communicative competence of the leader, and its affect on communication effectiveness as evidenced by member perception of leader-member agreement, appears to be a necessary precondition for a high quality leader-member exchange re lationship. At the lower levels of communication competence, high quality leader-member relationships do not exist.The leader displays charisma by communicating enthusiasm and providing a model, shows individual consideration by direct interaction and providing tailored assistance, and stimulates intellect by communicating ideas. Day (2000) defines transformational leaders as leaders who use rhetorical skills to establish a common vision. Not surprisingly, members report a high relationship between transformational leadership and communication competence. In the least squares hierarchical multiple regression analyses, transformational leadership is the best single predictor of communication competence.Transformational leadership is of high quality when the leader exhibits high communication competency. Dyads with high communication competence and low transformational leadership and dyads with low communication competence and high transformational leadership do not exist. Leadership, however it is theoretically or operationally defined, is a social process and involves a relationship between individuals. This social process and this relationship are enacted through communication. These sessions were conducted with all participants in the treatment group.Before and after results, in terms of performance, were compared for this group and for other groups from the department, which were not exposed to the LMX treatment. Productivity increases measured in terms of the quantity of cases handled showed a significant advantage in favor of the group that was trained in LMX. Furthermore, this gain was primarily a function of effects that occurred in a high–growth need group of subjects. This latter index was included in the study because a job enrichment treatment based on job characteristics theory was introduced, along with the LMX treatment.Any job enrichment effects per se, however, were negated by certain policy changes that were introduced by the organizati on unknown to the experimenters; thus job characteristics theory was not, in fact, tested. A subsequent publication, based on data from the same context, was aimed at determining whether low or high initial LMX subjects were most responsive to the treatment effects. The results clearly indicated that the low LMX subjects responded most positively to the treatment in terms of both the quality of their leader–member exchanges and the quantity of their productivity.Another report on this project substantiates the moderator effects of growth need strength, but makes no mention of the finding that low– quality leader–member exchange translates into greater productivity with the appropriate training. This latter result is most consistent with theory in that it means that dyadic partnership building applied across the board should result in both low– and high–quality dyads initially moving with training to high–quality relationships. However, if gr owth need strength is a moderator of the training effect, one would anticipate that it would also moderate the initial dyadic choices as well.In such an event low–quality dyads would not contain many high– managed strength people and thus would offer little potential for upward movement. This seeming contradiction is neither explained nor even confronted. Growth need strength is not a component of the theory as stated in comprehensive forms. Research on LMXs illustrates the importance of leader-follower relationships. The point here is simply that 30 years of research on LMXs has conclusively demonstrated the effect of exchange quality on a number of important organizational outcomes.Specifically, in a meta-analysis of this area of leadership research, Gerstner and Day (1997) found that the quality of the LMX was significantly related to job performance, satisfaction with supervision, overall satisfaction, commitment, role conflict (negative relation), role clarity, me mber competence, and turnover intentions (negative relation). After reviewing the extensive LMX literature, Gerstner and Day's conclusion was â€Å"we view the relationship with one's supervisor as a lense through which the entire work experience is viewed† (p. 840).However, although LMX offers evidence to support the value of relational approaches to leadership, many questions still remain about key issues related to leadership development. In particular, a question that needs to be addressed in LMX research is: what leads to development of higher and lower quality work relationships (e. g. , antecedents to LMX)? Although past research has investigated antecedents to LMX, a clear picture of what these are and how they operate still has not emerged. References Avolio, B. J. (1999). Full leadership development: Building the vital forces in organizations.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. New York: Wiley. Cogliser, C. C. , & Schriesheim , C. A. (2000). ‘Explori ngworkun itcontex tand leader-membe rexchange: A multi-level perspective. ’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21 (5). Day, D. V. (2000). ‘Leadership development: A review in context. ’ Leadership Quarterly, 11. Flauto, Frank J. (1999). ‘Walking the Talk: The Relationship between Leadership and Communication Competence’. Journal of Leadership Studies. Graen, G. B. , & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995).‘Relationship–based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multidomain perspective. ’ The Leadership Quarterly, 6. Hunt, J. G. , & Dodge, G. E. (2001). ‘Leadership d? eja vu all over again. ’ Leadership Quarterly, 11 (4). Nahapiet, J. , & Ghoshal, S. (1998). ‘Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. ’ Academy of Management Review, 23 (2). Zaccaro, S. J. , & Klimoski, R. J. (2001). The nature of organizational leadership: Understanding the performance imperatives confronting today's leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.