Sample Business Essay on Consumer report

Consumer report

Introduction

For the past two years, Grocery has continued to witness a relatively poor performance and a reduced turnover that is below the market average with the consumers increasingly moving away from purchasing their products. According to Kehagias, (2009) customers ran away from expensive, unnecessary expenses, ration their food and non-food shopping and always look for their monies’ value and discounted prices. However, Grocery Ltd did not provide for either the discount or the price reduction that could have attracted consumers. Another reason that could lead to customers running away could be the high completion offered by many retail grocery shops found the middle-class residential areas where Grocery Ltd has its outlets. According to Kehagias, (2009) supermarkets offer a stiff competition and share the largest grocery market in Dubai. The decreased volume of sales saw the Director of Grocery directing his consultant to conduct a market research on current consumer behavior and possible future consumer behavior and attitudes of grocery shoppers in Dubai.

Statement of problem

Due to the increased competition in the retail grocery market in Dubai, Grocery Ltd has been underperforming for the past two years. The turnover has been growing below the market average that is expected. Due to the underperformance of Grocery, there was a need to find out the reason for the slow growth rate. The sales director identified a gap in the market, which prevented the growth of the business. The Director believes that the major problem is the inability of the Grocery Ltd to build customer loyalty. This problem prompted the consultant to conduct a market research to find out the current and possible future consumer behaviors and attitudes of grocery shoppers in Dubai.

Objectives of the study

The goal of this research is to find out the current and future consumer behaviors and attitudes of grocery shoppers in Dubai.

Research questions

1. What are the current consumer and possible future consumer behaviors and attitudes of grocery shoppers in Dubai?
2. What is the statistical relationship between the average monthly household income and monthly household grocery spending in Dubai market?

Significance of the study

The significant of this research is to help Grocery Ltd boost their sales and retain customer loyalty.

Limitation of the study

1. Some households were reluctant in giving their income and spending information since they felt it was sensitive.
2. Some customers were unwilling to fill the questionnaire claiming that it was a waste of time.

Literature Review

According to Hoch et al. (2002), there has been a significant change in manufacturer and retailer interest above brand performance. Jackson et al. (2009) believe that the retail industry Dubai that started ten years ago continues to grow as many states of art stores are added to the country’s retail map producing competition among the major retailers. Hoch et al. (2002) argue that the key drivers of effective category management rely on the responsibility the category performs in the overall retail portfolio. Hoch et al (2002) also argue that category management can help the producers to allocate their scarce marketing resources better across retailers and categories, through re-allocation of more dollars in the markets that affect more on the performance of a category. Sharif (2012) defines category management as a distinct manageable group of products that consumers understand to be connected and can substitute one another to meet consumer needs. Sharif (2012) also states that category management is a joint process where retailers and stakeholders manage the product categories. According to Hamilton et al. (2009) product categories that consist of non-differential variants, there is always a positive relationship arising between assortment depth and category sales. Hamilton et al. (2009) believe that there is always a relationship between product differentiation, equilibrium depth of the product assortment and the store differentiation. There is also a u-shaped relationship between product differentiation and the product depth (Hamilton et al., 2009). This relationship occurs when the depth of the assortment rise at first and then fall with the degree of product differentiation (Hamilton et al., 2009). Hamilton et al. (2009) also argue that there is a negative relationship between assortment depth and the sales in categories when there are more differentiated variants.

Model

Income= Expenditure + Savings                        Y= a + E + S

Research Methodology

Research methodology is a set of methods and standards that are used to carry out a certain activity. It can be a system of explicit procedures that in which the study is based and against which the knowledge are gauged. The methodology use in this study includes research design, population for the study the sampling procedures, research instruments used, the data collection and the data analysis processes.

This study used the descriptive design method that is a collection and interpretation of data (Jackson et al., 2009). A research design con be a plan according to which a consultant will obtain research participation. The data was collected through distributing a number of questionnaires which were filled by the targeted population of study. Their answers helped the researcher to get possible, wide and accurate view of responses to the issues that were of concern to the Director and the company as a whole. The study looked at the customer behavior since it had something to do with the negative performance of Grocery Ltd. The population of the study was the middle-class individuals who lived and purchased their goods from the grocery retail shops in their localities. Primary and secondary information were used throughout the study. Secondary Sources include books on management, journals, and the internet. The secondary sources in this study are from the five references cited in this paper. Primary sources include the administration of the questionnaires, observation or interviews. This study adopted the questionnaire technique.

The questionnaire can be open-ended or closed. This study allowed for the use of the open-ended questionnaires. Therefore, the data collection procedures used in this study was questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed to the customers who buy their goods Grocery and its competitors’ retail shops. The questionnaires were made up of 10 questions designed by the researcher according the objectives of the study. The process involved the setting of questions relevant to the subject of the inquiry.

The sampling frame was 1000 customers. This study selected a sample size of 100 consumers out of the 1000 consumers from the targeted population that is the middle-income people who live in the areas where Grocery had its retail shops. The sample was picked using the method of convenience sampling. Convenience sampling is whereby the researcher selects the sample, according to his convenience. This was done due to the availability of the data that the researcher required from the selected samples. A 100 questionnaires were distributed to the sample selected. The consultant was able to 91 which is equivalent to 91% return rate. The researcher concentrated on the consumers who buy grocery irrespective of where they buy the grocery from.

Data analysis procedure

The information obtained from the field using questionnaires were cleaned, and the frequency tables drawn. Cleaning the data implies removing the extremes in the data and editing the data to remove errors created during data entry. The charts were drawn using Excel. The measures of dispersion were produced using SPSS. The regression model was produced by STATA.

Data Analysis and Interpretation of Findings

The relationship between income and consumption.

The following figures show the output from STATA comparing the income and expenditure of customers of Grocery Ltd.

Figure 1regression of the income and consumption

In the figure above, the adjusted r-square is 0.9010, meaning that the model explains 90.10% of the variation in income and consumption. The numbers 1, 2, 3 are the income ranges in the questionnaire from the highest to the lowest respectively. The constant ‘a’ is 9.3682.

Correlation

Figure 2 Spearman’s correlation-coefficient

The coefficient of correlation between income and consumption is 0.9492. This means that an increase in income leads to an increase in consumption. Therefore, the Grocery Ltd Company should take the advantage of the increase in income in order to make more sales.

Male to Female ratio.

The results from the field have been grouped under major headings namely: the ratio of male to female, duration of customer purchase.

From the findings, the percentage of males was 47 while that of females was 53. The selection criteria seem somehow not biased. This data shows that the market of the Grocery Ltd is widespread and incorporates all genders.

Figure 3 Percentage of male and female customers

Duration of Customer Service

Figure 4 duration customer has been purchasing goods from Grocery Ltd.

From the survey, 11% of customers admitted to having taken less than six months shopping in the Grocery Ltd retail shops.  23% have been buying goods from Grocery retail shop while the majority that is 66% have been customers of Grocery Ltd for more than a year.  From the survey, the Grocery Ltd has had loyal customers for the period it has been in operation. The low sale return might be as a result of other factors including the surrounding competitive environment. The company must find new ways of doing it a business that are different from its competitors. By doing this, the company will gain the loyalty of its customers again.

Time is taken for customer to be serviced

Figure 5 time taken to serve customer

From the survey, 62% of the clients admitted to have taken less than 10 minutes while being served, 33% admitted to having been served for more than ten minutes, and 5% to have been served more than thirty minutes. The service the customers received from the details might also contribute to them keeping off from the Grocery’s products. Taking long to serve customers means that the customers get bored and find an alternative place where they can purchase their goods. The company needs to ensure that the service rate is increased to retain its customers.

Monthly Income of customers

Figure6Monthly income of customers

The majority who are 62% of customers admitted to earning less than US$500, 16% earn US$500 to US$1000 while 22% earn US$2000 to US$3000. The income earn by the consumers does not reflect the sales made by the Grocery as compared to the previous years.

 

Consumer Expenditure

Figure 7 Monthly expenditure of customers                                                              

From the survey 88% of the customers spend less than US$500, 9% spend US$500to US$1000 and none of the customers spends US$2000 to US$3000. From the expenditure trend of the consumers, it is clear that the consumers limit their expenditure. This is contrary to what they earn. Consumers prefer to keep their income than to spend it. Grocery Ltd must find a way of bringing back the customer loyalty they had two years ago.

 

Summary of findings

The key objective was to study the consumer trend in expenditure and find a solution to increase customer loyalty. This study showed that there is a gap that needs to be filled for the company to gain customer loyalty. It is seen that the households prefer to keep their money rather than spending it. The company had also failed to establish appropriate customer relation principle. However, if the recommendations will be adhered to, then the company can regain its position it used to be in two years ago.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the Grocery needs to reform its ways of doing business and that are different from the competitors’. This will put the company ahead of the other companies and will gain the trust of its customers. By reforming its business tactics, the company will be in a position to create a personal relationship with each client. This will ensure that an important aspect of customer loyalty comes back to the company.

Recommendations

The company should check on its service delivery and increase the service rate of its customers. The company can also share their information that might have an impact on customers before implementing them.

The company must ensure that the employees are well trained on how to handle customers with courteousness and give the customer attention more than he needs.

The company should introduce new measures such as free delivery and discount trading to attract more customers. In addition, when making promises to customers, the company must ensure that it keeps the promises.

The Director must ensure that the existing customers are retained by improving the on the services it provides. The company can also make offers to customers during certain periods. This will ensure that the company retain the potential customers and maintain its sales volume above the average market.

Management Information System

Introduction

Decision making in any organization is very important to the growth and success of the organization. The management needs to define what problem needs to be solved. The process of making decisions happens at all levels in the company and the manager should always assume that the decisions he is making are always right. Therefore, it is important that a different type of decision-making should be carried out by considering the situation at hand. In the case where a quick response is needed, then the manager needs to create a short-term decision-making process that will help solve the problem at hand. The manager should ensure that quick decisions are taken for quicker outcomes. Once the manager has made a decision, then there is need to follow up the decision made for a better outcome. The manager must also be in a position to get the feedback from the employees who are directly affected by the decision. Therefore, it is clear that decision-making process is vital in any business and not limited to the business organization but also for the individuals that greatly rely on the decisions for their sustenance in the global competitive business platform in the today’s world. This will also help to make a future vital business decision. For the case of Grocery Ltd, a quick action is needed to prevent further deterioration of the company’s turnover. For a company to solve the problems it experiences, there is a need to incorporate the Management Information System at all levels of the decision-making process.

Definition of Management Information System

Management Information System (MIS) is one of the significant computer-based information system used to make decisions by the organization. The Management Information System is the study of the technology, people, and organizations and then comparing the relationship that exists between them. According to Nowduri (2011) the role of MIS is best understood by looking at Decision Support System (DSS). Nowduri (2011) DSS is a computer-based system that is capable of analyzing a business or organizational data and present the information in a manner that enables the user to make organization’s decisions more effective and efficient. DSS is usually used by all the levels of people within the organization. The managers use DSS to make strategic decisions. Alter (2008) the middle management individuals use DSS for the tactical decisions during the supervisors in the first line use DSS in their day-to-day operational decision-making. In short, Information Management System is a system that utilizes information to ensure appropriate and efficient business management.

The Role of Management Information System

Management Information System is always designed for enhancing communication among employees and provide the objective system for supporting and record information to ensure that strategic goals and direction of the organization are being implemented. To understand the uses of Management, there are three types of information which are required at different levels of management. This information describes the uses of MIS in an organization. They include operational information, tactical information, and strategic information.

1. a) Operational information

The operational information refers to the information required for day-to-day operations of an organization. This information is essential to the management to exercise full control over the repetitive information that are controlled at the lower levels of management. The information is required by the lower managers to run the daily operations. This operational information may include information on daily cash used to run the business or organization. It can also contain marketing information that is vital for the day-to-day marketing function of the organization that the lower managers use to monitor the functioning of the sales force. This operational information is related to activities that are measured easily using the specified standards. The operational is required for the daily operation of the business organization information, and it also relates to the trend of the historical performance of the organization. Operational information also relates to the internal data sources. The operational information is used to solve the short-term business problem.

1. b) Tactical information

The tactical information refers to the information that is predictive and focuses on the short-term trends of the day-to-day activities within the organization. This information is required by the middle-level managers to help them in allocating the resources and establish the control to achieve the top level objectives of the business organization. The tactical information may require the use of alternative sources of funds that are required for short term use to take advantage of the available opportunities such as the securities. The tactical information may also be partly historical and partly current, and might come from the sources that are external or internal.

1. c) Strategic information

According to Harsh (2005) the strategic information refers to the information that is needed to make choices among the options in available the business. This is contrary to the operational information which is required to determine how the given activity may be accomplished better. The strategic information assist in the management to identify and evaluate the options that are available and that are different from the competitors and also identify the gaps left by the competitors or what the rivals are planning to engage in. The strategic information is mainly used by the top management to make choices within the organization (Harsh, 2005). The strategic information also help the management to define the organization’s goals and priorities and start new programs and also develop the policies which they may use to acquire and for the use of corporate resources Harsh (2005). The management may use the strategic information to acquire resources such as a loan for the development of long-term facilities of the organization. The strategic information is always predictive in nature. The managers always use the data which has been analyzed in order to make informed decisions. For this matter, it uses external sources of data which were gathered and some internal information to make decisions that are long-term in nature. Occasionally, it always incorporates what if the analysis in an attempt to predict future activities and growth of the organization.

The three types of information each play a particular role in the organization. Therefore, it is important that this information are linked and balanced to enable the management work smoothly and achieve the set goals and maintain the progress towards the vision of the company. Each department must play its role. As for the case of Grocery Ltd, adherence and utilization of this information will help to solve the problem it currently experiences. The Director must use the information from the analysis to make sound decisions that will increase the company’s turnover.

Types of Management Information Systems

For the Management Information System to be utilized, the following types of Management Information System must be taken into consideration. They include Transaction Processing Systems, Management Information System, Decision Support Systems (DSS), and Expert System and Artificial Intelligence.

1)         Transaction Processing Systems

The Transaction Processing Systems are usually made to help in handling the huge volume of routine and the daily recurring transactions. According to Abdul (2004) these systems were first introduced in the 1960s when the mainframe computers came were invented. These processes are widely used in the various organization including banks and insurance companies, supermarkets and Grocery businesses like the Grocery Ltd also make a maximum of these systems. The managers make use of the systems to handle tasks such as customer billing, preparing payroll and making payments to the suppliers (Abdul, 2004). In short, these systems are applied in payroll systems, order processing, reservation systems, stock control, and systems used in the payment for funds transfers.

The transaction processing systems play an important role in the production of information required for use in other systems (Abdul, 2004). They are also the cross boundaries between the internal and the external link. The systems are also important in the supervisory and personal levels to enhance efficiency in the organization.

2)         Management Information System

Management information systems are management-level systems that are often used by the middle-level managers for the purpose of smooth running of the organization in the short-term period. These systems are known to provide highly structured information for use by the managers. The managers use the information provided by these systems to plan and evaluate the performance of an organization through comparison of previous with current outputs. These systems include the sales management systems, inventory, budgeting, management reporting systems and the personnel (HRM) systems (Abdul, 2004).

The Management Information system also play a significant role in an organization. Since these systems are based on the internal information flows, they help smooth running, and coordination of differ departments within the organization. Due to their structured nature, the systems are vital for the support of the relatively structured decisions (Abdul, 2004). The systems are also inflexible to avoid the change of the organization’s objectives very frequently. These systems also enable the middle and lower managerial levels perform their duties smoothly. Harsh (2005) believes that these systems also play the role of analyzing the past trends to make better decision in the current rather than future, in order to promote efficiency.

3)         Decision Support Systems (DSS)

As defined earlier in the introductory part, DSS are interactive computer systems that are always used by the managers without the need for help from the computer experts. A DSS will provide the manager with the important information to enable the manager make informed and sound decisions (Abdul, 2004). A DSS has three important components that include Database management system (DBMS) that stores huge chunks of data that are important to solving the DSS problems. The other component is Model-based Management system (MBMS) which is used to change data from the DBMS into information that is used to make vital decisions within the organization (Abdul, 2004). The last component of the DSS is the Dialog Generation and Management System (DGMS) which usually provide user –friendly interface between the system and the managers of the organization who do not always have an extensive computer training program. The DSS systems include Group Decision Support System (GDSS), Computer Support Co-operative Work (CSW), Logistic Systems, Spreadsheet, and Financial Models.

According to Abdul (2004) the DSS also play an important role in an organization and supports the ill-structured or the semi-structured decisions meant for short term goals. The DSS also play the role of analyzing and modeling of the variables that are used by the senior managers to make sound decisions that aim at achieving the organizational goals. Nazari et al. (2013) The DSS ply the roll of predicting the future trends through analysis and modeling of the variables identified by the managers to have a long-term impact on the organization’s growth and development. Since the DSS involves analysis and modeling, they promote the effectiveness of the managers in making correct decisions.

4)         Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence.

According to Abdul (2004) the Expert Systems and Artificial Intelligence always use the human knowledge that is captured in a computer to help the managers solve common problems that may need human expertise. These systems are designed to imitate human thinking capacity. In order to mimic the human expertise and intelligence, and then the computer must be able to recognize, formulate, and solve a problem (Nazari et al., 2013). The computer also needs to explain the solutions of the results and also learn from the experience. These systems explain the logic behind their advice to the user and also teaches the user whenever the user does not understand certain concepts. These systems can accommodate new knowledge and are usually flexible in thinking processes. These systems are highly personalized for the use of a specific client cluster.

The systems play the role of making work easier and also aid in the prediction of the future. These systems are highly effective and efficient and are flexible to support unstructured decisions.

In summary, the decision-making process requires that the managers are well equipped with the information management tools that can be made into use at all levels of the decision-making process. For the Grocery Ltd, the Director needs to incorporate the analysis from the field data and direct the implementation of the recommendations. The director must also keep the promise to provide the home delivery service to its clients in order to gain back the loyalty customers had to the organization two years back. It evident that those organizations that adopt the principles of the information management always succeed while those that do not care while have a higher probability of failing to achieve their desired goals. From the data collected from the filled, it is evident that Grocery did fail to offer better services to its clients while the competitors were offering that service that the company did not provide.

Work Cited

Sharif, Khurram. “Impact of category management practices on customer satisfaction–Findings from Kuwaiti grocery retail sector.” Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing 20.1 (2012): 17-33.

Kehagias, John, Emmanuel Skourtis, and Aikaterini Vassilikopoulou. “Th Plaiting of pricing into product categories and corporate objectives.” Journal of product & brand management 18.1 (2009): 67-76.

Hoch, Stephen J., and John J. Pomerantz. “How effective is category management.” ECR Journal 2.1 (2002): 26-32.

Jackson, J. L., et al. “Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling (Path Analysis) [SGIM Precourse PA08 May 2005].” (2009).

Hamilton, Stephen F., and Timothy J. Richards. “Product differentiation, store differentiation, and assortment depth.” Management Science 55.8 (2009): 1368-1376.

Alter, Steven. “Defining information systems as work systems: implications for the IS field.” European Journal of Information Systems 17.5 (2008): 448-469.

Harsh, S. B. “Management Information Systems. ICT in Agriculture:” Perspectives on Technological Innovation. [dostęp 26-03-2009]. (2005): Dokument Dostępny w Internecie: http://departments. agri. huji. ac. il/economics/gelb-manag-4. pdf.

Nazari, M. Z., & Nazari, H. R. Z. “Management Information Systems and Business.” International Journal of Information Science and System, 2(1), (2013), 1-8.

Nowduri, S. “Management information systems and business decision making” review, analysis, and recommendations. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 7, (2011): 1-8.

Usman Abdul Rashid “The Types of Management Information Systems.” Academia. . (2004). <http://www.academia.edu/5743104/Types_of_Management_Information_Systems

QUESTIONNAIRE

Consumer Questionnaires

Information collected from this questionnaire will be handled with high confidentiality and will strictly be used for the academic purpose by the researcher. Please tick where appropriate and write short, precise answers in the spaces provided below the question (where necessary).

‘Thanks in advance.’

SECTION ONE

1. What is your gender?
2. a) Male [ ]
3. b) Female [     ]
4. How long have you been a customer of Grocery Ltd?
5. a) Less than 6 months [    ]
6. b) Between 6 months and 1 year [    ]
7. c) More than a year                               [    ]

 

3. How long does it take you to be served?
4. a) Less than 10 minutes [   ]
5. b) 10 to 30 minutes [   ]
6. c) More than 30 minutes [   ]
7. What are some of the problems do you encounter while purchasing goods from Grocery?

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

 

5. Do your trust Grocery Ltd with its products?

YES                                                                                              [    ]

NO                                                                                                [    ]

6. Give reason(s) for your answer above
7. ________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________
9. Compared with the past how do you rate Grocery Ltd products?

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

8. How is Grocery Ltd saving your transaction time and cost?
9. ________________________________________________________
10. ________________________________________________________
11. What is your monthly income in US$?
12. a) Less than 500 [    ]
13. b) 500 to 1000                                        [    ]
14. c) 1000 to 2000 [    ]
15. d) 2000 to 3000 [    ]
16. e) Above 3000                            [    ]
17. What is your monthly expenditure?
18. a) Less than 500 [    ]
19. b) 500 to 1000 [    ]
20. c) 1000 to 2000                                                        [    ]
21. d) 2000 to 3000                          [    ]
22. e)   Above 3000                                                              [    ]