Data Compilation for Business Decisions
Competency
Compile data required to inform business insights.
Scenario
You are a Business Analyst for a company that produces energy drinks. Your manager wants you to determine if your company’s customers would prefer the energy drinks in can containers versus bottles. Given this scenario, you are required to decide how to package the energy drinks through your research. Your answers should be in the context of this company/energy drink – thus, this should be reflected in your answers. You are to compile your research and present it to your manager in a memo.
Instructions
This assignment does not require the use of Excel and is more of a critical thinking exercise. After reviewing the course readings, answer the following questions in a memo for your manager:
Indicate at least two data collection methods to use and a rationale for the two methods selected?
What kind of sampling technique would you use and why? NOTE: Make sure the sampling technique you choose here goes well with the data collection method chosen in Question 1 because some sampling techniques cannot be used with certain data collection methods.
Compare measures of central tendency and variance using clear examples.
Of the data that you are collecting, which data are qualitative, and which are quantitative? NOTE: Keep in mind what you answered in Question 1 because the type of data you are collecting would depend largely on the data collection methods chosen in Question1.
What kind of visualization (bar chart, pie chart, frequency histogram, stem, and leaf, etc.)would you use to describe the data you are collecting, and why?
Sample Answer
To: Manager From: Bard Date: 2023-07-16 Subject: Customer preferences for energy drink packaging
Introduction
As you know, our company produces energy drinks. We are currently considering whether to package our energy drinks in cans or bottles. In order to make a decision, we need to determine which packaging option our customers prefer.
Data collection methods
There are two data collection methods that I would use to determine customer preferences for energy drink packaging:
- Survey: I would conduct a survey of our customers to ask them which packaging option they prefer. I would ask them to rate their preference on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly prefer cans” and 5 being “strongly prefer bottles.”
- Focus group: I would conduct a focus group of our customers to discuss their preferences for energy drink packaging. I would ask them open-ended questions about their preferences, such as why they prefer one packaging option over the other.