BUSN20016 Research In Business 22

Question:

Topic: Investigating quality issues in Nike, Australia.

Please provide an outline of a research project:

Title of the project: A brief statement of the problem that you would like to investigate; and research aim and objectives that can solve the problem you have identified.

A brief methodology: Provide details about what type of methodology you will choose such as quantitative or qualitative or mixed methodology, also identify the methods and tools that you will use to analyse the collected data.

You are also required to demonstrate knowledge of research methods applicable to a real-life business research. We expect you to read and reflect on at least ten recent refereed journal articles on your topic supported by any other evidence or information that can help identify the problem of your research and the methods of data collection and analysis.

Answer:

Problem Statement

In the apparel industry, Nike occupies the top most position. According to the reporting of the Wall Street Journal, it has been noticed that Nike shoes are losing its style. This is mainly due to the intense competition, which aggravates the complexities towards serving quality products to the customers. As a matter of specification, investors dealing with the basketball shoes have declined largely (Nike.com, 2018). This is specifically in the case of the Foot Lockers, the sale of which has been affected since the entry of the stylish sneakers. Mention can be made of the Skechers, which has taken the place of the Foot lockers. This has deprived the customers, passionate towards sports. This deprivation has seriously affected the sales of the sports industry (Nike.com, 2018).

Competitors like Lululemon and Under Amour are the major competitors of Nike. Their appealing advertisement compels Nike to encounter customer turnover, especially the women customers. The struggles of the apparel industry is pathetic, which collapses the productivity in the business of Nike. The customers feel that their money would be wasted through investing in the products of Nike. Herein lays the incapability of Nike staffs to deliver quality goods to the clients and the customers (Nike.com, 2018).

Research Aim

The aim of this research is to investigate the quality issues, which affect the productivity of the Nike business.

Research Objectives

To examine the quality of the Nike shoes
To ensure whether quality tests are conducted before launching the products for the customers
To analyse the impact of the quality issues on the overall performance of Nike
To recommend solutions for improving the standards and quality of the Nike shoes

Methodology

Mixed methodology would be used for completing the process of data collection. 50 customers would be selected for gaining an insight into their approaches towards the quality of the shoes. Survey would be conducted on the selected samples. These surveys would include questions related to the quality of the shoes and the customer satisfaction. Along with this, 3 managers of Nike would be interviewed about the effectiveness, appropriateness and feasibility of the proposed policies and practices (Taylor, Bogdan & DeVault, 2015). Data Protection Act (1998) would be applied on the respondents for exposing ethical approach towards conducting the research. Within this, explorative design would be applied for exploring new facts regarding the quality issues. Deductive approach would be implemented in terms of deducing new facts from the responses of the samples. Positivism philosophy would be followed in terms of developing scientific and objective knowledge regarding the quality issues in Nike.

The collected data would be analysed through both the primary and secondary methods. In primary methods, charts and graphs would be prepared for analysing the responses of the samples (Brannen, 2017). In the secondary method, themes related with quality would be developed for assessing the response of the samples. After this, alignment would be established between the gathered data and the proposed objectives.

Action plan and budget would be prepared by the researcher for systematizing the activities according to the priority. This would enhance the awareness about the expenses towards completing the methodology.

Data Sources

The data for the research would be collected from the customers of Nike. Other than this, inclusion and exclusion criteria would be selected for referring to the sources. Those sources would be included which has not been published more than 10 years. The sources published 10 years earlier would be excluded. This would develop reliability and validity with the issues of quality in Nike. Referring to the sources within the time limit of 10 years would help in averting the instances of plagiarism and collusion (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Mention can be made of the journal articles and websites, which would be authentic in terms of collecting information regarding the issues of quality in Nike. Those websites, which needs subscription, would be avoided, as they would not provide authentic information. This aversion would reflect the ethical approach of the researcher (Barnham, 2015).

References

Barnham, C., 2015. Quantitative and qualitative research: Perceptual foundations. International Journal of Market Research, 57(6), pp.837-854.

Brannen, J., 2017. Mixing methods: Qualitative and quantitative research. Routledge.

Creswell, J.W. & Creswell, J.D., 2017. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.

Nike.com (2018), Our latest and greatest, in your inbox, Retrieved 8^th August 2018 from https://www.nike.com

Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. & DeVault, M., 2015. Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.