BUS 642 Entire Course Material

BUS 642 Entire Course Material | Ashford University 

BUS 642 Entire Course Material

BUS 642 Week 1 DQ 1 Scientific Thinking

Develop a hypothesis for a problem at a local business (for example: high employee turnover). Determine if your hypothesis has adequacy for its purpose, is testable and better than its rivals. Then, use the Checklist for Developing a Strong Hypothesis on page 64 as it relates to your hypothesis. Discuss your results. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 1 DQ 2 Making Research Decisions

Based on the analysis of the last six months’ sales, your boss notices that sales of beef products are declining in your chain’s restaurants. As beef entrée sales decline, so do profits. Fearing beef sales have declined due to several newspaper stories reporting E.coli contamination discovered at area grocery stores, he suggests a survey of area restaurants to see if the situation is pervasive (page 94, number 5).a. What do you think of this research suggestion?b. How, if at all, could you improve on your boss’s formulation of the research question?

BUS 642 Week 1 Exercises

Complete the following exercises:a. Complete Discussion Questions 1, 2, and 5 on page 22.b. Complete Making Research Decisions Question 6, page 76.

BUS 642 Week 2 DQ 1 Ethics in Business Research

Read the interview with Elizabeth Buchanan on virtual research ethics [Readings in virtual research: Issues and controversies. (2004, January-June). Information Technology Newsletter, 15(1), 22-25.]. You can find this article through the Ashford Online Library. Write a summary of this interview and add your thoughts on how this affects the business research process. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 2 DQ 2 Design of Research

Read Snapshot: Tracking Search Patterns on page 37. Find more details of this study since the text’s Snapshot was printed and discuss the study including any updates. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 2 Exercises

Complete the following exercises:In your text book § Complete Making Research Decisions 1, page 50

• In text answer Terms in Review, 1-5, page 155
• Complete Making Research Decisions, 7, page 388

BUS 642 Week 3 DQ 1 Measurement Scales

Contemplate Snapshot: Measuring Respect on page 301 of your text. Discuss the information presented and the critical measures taken in order to validate the relevance of respect in business practice. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.
BUS 642 Week 3 DQ 2 Clarifying the Research Questions
Read Close-Up, pages 118-121. Discuss your answers to the Research questions on page 120. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 3 Exercises

Complete the following exercises:In your text book § Complete Making Research Decisions, 5, page 315.

• Complete Terms in Review, 1- 3, page 123.

On companion website

• Read the case study, State Farm: Dangerous Intersections. Answer questions 1 through 5. (This case can be downloaded from the textbook website, http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073373702/student_view0/cases.html)

BUS 642 Week 4 DQ 1 Survey Methods

Discuss the following questions then respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.a. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face interviewing. What is necessary for the success of this method?b. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of telephone interviewing. What is necessary for the success of this method?

1. How do these survey methods compare?

BUS 642 Week 4 DQ 2 Observational Studies

Read and discuss Bringing Research to Life on page 187 of your text. Develop investigative questions that could have been used to guide Jason and Sara’s mechanical observation study. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.
BUS 642 Week 4 Exercises
Complete the following exercises:In text book § Complete Terms in Review, 1-4, on page 204.

On companion website

• Read Case Study: Ramada Demonstrates its Personal Best. Answer questions 1-3 (This case can be downloaded from the textbook web site, http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0073373702/student_view0/cases.html

BUS 642 Week 5 DQ 1 Data Preparation and Description

Poll a small sample of class members, work associates, or friends and ask them to answer the following in a paragraph or two: “What are your career aspirations for the next five years?” Use one of the four basic units of content analysis to analyze their responses. Describe your findings as frequencies for the unit of analysis selected. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 5 Exercises

Complete the following exercises:In text book § Complete Making Research Decisions 2, page 450

• Complete From Concept to Practice 7, page 450

On companion website

• Read Case Study: Inquiring Minds Want to Know- NOW. Answer questions 1-9 (This case can be downloaded from the text book web site, http://highered.mcgraw-

hill.com/sites/0073373702/student_view0/cases.html)

BUS 642 Week 6 DQ 1 Measures of Association

Answer Making Research Decisions 5 on page 524 of your text. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings
BUS 642 Week 6 DQ 2 Presenting Results
Conduct a search of websites that provide Internet presentations. Select one and critique its content, visuals, and the presenter’s skills. Make sure to include the URL in your Discussion Forum. Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

BUS 642 Week 6 Final Project

The final project should be eight pages in length and include a reference of all resources used. At least three sources should be from scholarly journals, e.g. Journal of Management, Journal of Marketing, or Harvard Business Review. This paper will be a research project that tests a hypothesis chosen by the student that can relate to the place of current employment or previous employment but may not include or involve human subjects directly.

Sample general topics could include:

• Manufacturing Quality/Cost Improvement
• Service Quality Improvement
• Systems Design
• Accounts Receivable/Billing/AR Aging
• Marketing/Advertising Issues
• Sales of Goods
• Investments
• Product Safety
• Workplace Safety
• Labor Pools
• HR matters of broad concern
• Population Studies
• Others approved by course instructor

The hypothesis should be a possible cause and effect relationship regarding a process, underlying assumption, or plan that is important to the business. It should not be too broad. The hypothesis must be approved by the instructor by the end of the third week of class. The research process of planning, data sampling, collection and data evaluation should be described. The type of study should be defined and justified. Collect a small representative data sample. Fifteen is the recommended sample size. The data can be collected from observations, surveys, or historical records. The data results should be summarized and displayed and a brief analysis should be included. Use appropriate descriptive or inferential statistics.