ABC Corporation: Business Research Project Part II
Jonathan McBride, Carol Felser, Glenn Rodgers
QNT 561
November 30, 2015
Dr. Jesus A. Cardenas
1 ABC Corporation: Business Research Project
ABC Corporation was founded nearly fifty years ago as a small discount store and is now one of the world's largest retail chains. Today, the multi-billion-dollar retail giant has more than 11,000 stores worldwide and employs nearly two million associates. The company has an unwavering commitment to its customers and continues to create value within local communities (Dudley, 2015). The organizational leadership dedicates its resources to providing a company culture that promotes ethics and integrity at every level of the organization. Statistical analysis' are utilized to determine the changing demands of its customers and shape the organizational structure.
Independent and Dependent Variables
Statistics incorporates the use of independent and dependent variables to measure the effect that it has on a business. These variables are compared with one another to determine the outcome. The researcher manipulates the independent variable (IV), and this manipulation effects changes in the dependent variable. The dependent variable (DV) is monitored and measured to reflect the change caused by the independent variable (Cooper & Schindler, 2013). Business problem
ABC Corporation is facing a drop in retail sales due to an increase in the number of customers that prefer to shop online rather than visit the big-box chains. The company decreased its annual sales forecast and anticipated sluggish growth for future years. ABC Corporation reduced its original growth projections from three to five percent down to a meager two to three percent. In response, the company is opening fewer large retail outlets and concentrating on its e-commerce site and smaller neighborhood stores (Dudley, 2015).
Research Question Revised
To investigate the decline in retail sales, and the company's approach to regaining the market share, Team A developed the following research questions. Would the articles researched help with analyzing ABC Corporation’s method of forecasting or determining the company's direction? Since ABC Corporation opened for business, how did the variations of trends impact sales? Since the team has identified the dilemma and purpose statement, the research process can begin. Explanatory research and design descriptive will be used to determine what is happening within the company and why. Given the focus of the research question, this information is critical to ensure that the evidence collected will enable ABC Corporation to answer the initial research.
Customer trends determine the current market and as such they will be used as the independent variable for this research. Since the total sales themselves rely on external and conditional factors, they will be considered as the dependent variable. The information derived from previous periods of sales and customer trends is used to project the company's sales forecasts for future periods. Throughout the research phase, data will be collected utilizing surveys, observations, and analysis of the current market structure.
The team considers all variables, whether controlled or not. This will ensure that a broad range of data is available for the research team to compare. Once compiled, the data will be analyzed and interpreted, and the group will present a final report to the decision makers for the company. ABC Corporation will use the information to implement a strategy to guide the company in a new direction.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1
Sales forecasts have a significant impact on the organizational structure and affect the company's business strategy.
Hypothesis 2
Sales forecasts have little or no impact on the organizational structure, and they do not affect the company's business strategy.
Article 1: E-Commerce vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Who’s Really Winning?
Wholesalers and brick and mortar retailers have been the worst hit by the e-commerce boom over the last 5 years and it isn’t decreasing any time soon. Websites are popping up daily similar to Amazon (Alibaba, Etsy to name a few) that put pressure on the brick and mortar facilities to change their current channel of customer sales. Other changes include social media and the shopping habits of millennials (Braunstein, L. 2014). The new generation, the millennials, don’t have as much money but have very strong tastes for particular brands. Therefore, they are more likely to search the internet for the best discount for what they want to purchase. Social media has made everyone abreast of new sites and has catapulted certain clothing and clothing stores to the forefront. Therefore, the usual means of attracting customers has been thrown out the window and we have to now consider how to best compete with other stores utilizing e-commerce. We have found the stores that remain open must know their customers better if they plan on occupying a physical space (Braunstein, L. 2014). We can still provide great discounts and free shipping, but have to remain current with our customers and reach them through the internet and social media. To do so, we must consider our organizational structure.
Article 2: The Impact of Organization Structure on Productivity
The organizational structure determines its hierarchy and authority (Root III, 2015). Companies that aspire to operate through E-commerce rather than establishing traditional brick and mortar sites create a demand for new talent with historical success in E-commerce. Therefore, the manner in which the organization stipulates its structure and assigns duties and responsibilities of its officers directly affects the level of success or failure within the market (Root III, 2015). Four variables to consider include managerial influence, structural flaws, creativity, and growth.
Sales forecasting has revealed a steady decline in customers that purchase products from brick and mortar sites for E-commerce platforms. This trend has changed the method of how companies conduct business. The decisions made by the executives must reflect the organizational objectives to increase the efficiency and productivity of the company.
Traditional business structures are subject to structural flaws that do not support E-commerce. The company must identify these flaws, and implement corrective action. Otherwise, a breakdown in communication and structure is likely to occur. Effective channels of communication should be available from lower level managers and team leaders to executive level decision makers.
The business should inspire creativity and allow its employees to provide input that may affect the company's direction. Ideas that work well in a brick and mortar environment may have little impact in an E-commerce setting. New suggestions to attract online customers and appeal to internet surfers may become necessary. Regardless of what method of business the organization chooses, growth and profitability are the desired outcome. The company must allow for the improvements noted above for the E-commerce to be successful and maintain sufficient growth.
Article 3: Six Rules for Effective Forecasting
The purpose of forecasting is to identify the company’s full range of possibilities it could
face in the future. The article researched focused on six rules to complete for effective
forecasting. In the article, the author shared the process with executives and shared how they
should exercise their business intuition to make decisions. ABC Corporation can incorporate the
processes into their quarterly and annual reviews. The six rules to effective forecasting includes:
- Mapping a cone of uncertaintyto graph the development process overtime.
- Look for the S Curve that shows cost over time, actual sales, and goals.
- Embrace items that do not fit.
- Hold strong opinions and listen to ideas that will improve the current process.
- Look two steps back before moving forward.
- Become knowledgeable of when not to forecast because there are times numbers could
have changed drastically(Saffo,2007).
ABC Corporation has a method of forecasting data, but the rule of effective
forecasting will assist with monitoring trends over time and give a visual comparison of the
company’sprogression, monthly, quarterly, and annually. The goal is to always have rules to
follow to get more accurate figures for business.
Conclusion
ABC Corporation is facing a decline in retail sales and has reduced its sales forecasts by nearly fifty percent. The company is conducting research to determine the correlation between projected sales and the organizational structure. Upon conclusion of the research, ABC Corporation must decide what direction the company must move. The company can implement new policies and strategies to increase sales based on the current market trends.
References
Braunstein, L. (2014, November 7) E-Commerce vs. Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Who’s Really Winning? Retrieved from
Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. (2013).Business research methods(12th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Dudley, R. (2015, October15). Wal-Mart trims sales forecast, predicts slower profit growth.Bloomberg Business. Retrieved from
Root III, G.N. (2015, MonthDay). The impact of organizational structure on productivity. Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved from
Saffo, P.(2007).Harvard Business Review.Retrieved from