Research Report: Challenges and Solutions

This assignment is a comprehensive research report that discusses the challenges faced while conducting research and collecting data. It highlights the importance of primary and secondary data in research and explores the impact of digital technology on business operations. The report also recommends using digital marketing techniques, replacing manual data handling with software, and utilizing business planning tools to make effective decisions.

MANAGING SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1............................................................................................................................................1
Research title:.......................................................................................................................1
P2............................................................................................................................................3
P3............................................................................................................................................5
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
P4............................................................................................................................................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P5 Analyse research data using appropriate tools and techniques.........................................9
P6..........................................................................................................................................16
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................17
P7..........................................................................................................................................17
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................18
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................18
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................21

INTRODUCTION
In the present world of global competitive business, it is crucial for enterprises to make
usage of advance applications in their business operations. It has a multi fold benefits attached
with it. For smaller firms this becomes more important as they have limited amount of financial
resources to operate their business activities (13 Biggest Challenges When Moving Your Business
To The Cloud. 2017). As a use of technology reduces the overall costing of the organisations as
well as helps firms in producing higher quality products that helps to meet higher customer
satisfaction level (Ajmal, Helo and Kekäle, 2011). Unicorn grocery is one such type of
organisation which is operational in Britain and is having flat structure of management. It deals
in the business of selling Grocery items as well as household and body care items. The referred
enterprise is doing good business every year. The following study will reflect impact advance
applications on the smaller firms such as unicorn grocery. This also provides the project
management pan for the company. At the last I will showcases the learning outcome and
recommendations.
TASK 1
P1
Research title:
The influence of digital applications supporting small business development and invention
Companies which are using advance application in day to day management are able to
achieve the competitive advantage as they are using a better code of conduct. Through this they
have controlled their administrative cost and has given them several kinds of assistance in their
working (Bloch, Blumberg and Laartz, 2012). One of the important fact behind promoting
innovation inside the firm is that it helps to ensure the maximum profits can be achieved through
firm's operation. The updation in technology helps to make innovation process faster and
smoother.
Aim
 This project will aim to understand the various situational problem that Unicorn Grocery
come across during their operations so that they can achieve better growth in future.
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 Its main aim is enhancing the capacity of consumer that can be handled at a time by 10%
and reducing the operational cost by around 5%. Technological advancements is one the
best solution to achieve the target.
 This project will study the influence of new applications on the operations of the firm
such as marketing as well as in the field of storage, data manipulation, information safety.
 It aims to describe the ways in which innovation is supported by technology.
Objectives
 To search the necessity of regular up-gradation in digital technology.
 To study the modes in which operative price is reduced by making use of technology in
promotion.
 To underline the impact of new applications on the alteration of actions related to
business.
 To analyse the different areas where the impact of technology is maximum.
Research question
 what kind of up-gradation that is required by the firm in their use of new applications
 What are the latest methods of advertising?
 What effect digital technology does have on business transformation.
 What kind of technological tools can help in achieving these activities.
These objectives are significant in this part of report. In the present case “Unicorn
Grocery” is a small business enterprise and has capacity to expand their business using modern
ways of technology. It can use online mediums so as to sell its products in the open market. By
doing aggressive marketing using digital mediums can be beneficial in becoming larger firm.
Other issues such as problem of storage as well as manipulation of data can be managed using
digital mediums (den Hertog, van der Aa, and de Jong, 2011). These all implementations can
reduce the operational cost as well as it will make work easier.
Background of the Project- It is important for the organisations to implement proper
communication methodologies and channels as it ensures that works can be done smoothly.
Many of the organisations faces several types of conflicting situations which is a result of
improper communication mechanism (Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods. 2017).
At time when administration instructs employees to deliver information a message using
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messaging software, it assists in conveying final message deprived of any impact on its actual
quality.
P2
It is important for any company like unicorn Grocery to make proper project management
plan. As it is fact that having for anything reduces the extra work in project. Planning reduces the
negative impact that various factors can pose. It also helps in tackling the amount of risk and
help managers in utilising available resources in a optimum way (Eckerson, 2011). When the
amount of resources is less like in the case of small firms such as “unicorn Grocery” planning
becomes more important. This plan will cover various activities and essential requirements of the
project:
 Scope: The research that is to be conducted has greater range of areas that will be
covered. It mainly focuses on various kinds of actions in the firm such as marketing and
information managing. Adoption and advancement of digital application will fulfil the
needs of HR working there. Newer technological advancements in communication will
help to ensure that there is proper flow of information and hence help in reducing the
confusion between managers. This project will in providing the support for the expansion
and growth plan for business.
 Quality Control: The major focus that will be checked here is on the quality of research
that is conducted. The authenticity of primary data will be checked so as to find out the
results that are better for the company. If investigators do not get success to write proper
data than it becomes difficult for them to produce an excellent statement. Watching of
whole project will be done on constant basis at regular intervals of time so that any kind
of deviation or mistakes can be stopped at their point of generation only. Gantt charts and
data analysis tools will aid in knowing the collected content in a better way.
 Danger supervision: There are several threats that are associated with the project such as
improper gathering of facts but there are few issues such as investigating hidden risks.
These risks are has to be encountered in proper way because any negligence can result in
efficiency of the full task (Freeman, 2011). Identifying the reality of data can be a big
problem. There is large question mark on the quality or intelligence of content that is
present on internet. Over expenditure on tasks is a major risk as many managers cross the
budget that is allotted to them by the senior officials of the company. Delay in the
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completion of project can be another risk, If this kind of major issues are not handled
properly can lead to project failure that will ultimately lead Unicorn Groceries to fail in
implementing digital technology so as to solve major issues in their business and this will
also have negative impact on the growth of the firm. One of the another bigger risk
involved with it is that it may not complete on time and hence proper strategy in this
regard needs to be made.
 Cost control: It is important for any project to be cost effective. Since the companies such
as “Unicorn Groceries” do not have deep pockets so it is important for them to make cost
control. A budget will be allocated for each activity in the process which will help in
controlling the overall expense in a proper way. In order to reduce the overall budget it is
important for the firm to implement cost checking measures so as to reduce the wastage
of monetary funds (Reich, Gemino and Sauer, 2012). Normally the funds will be allotted
by top officials are not enough for project completion as in this case there are several
external factors like tax hikes etc. that can increase the cost of whole programme.
Formulating a plan is easier but its implementation is harder. It is estimated that there will
be 1200 pounds that will be required for this research with a flexible margin of around
10%.
 Communication: Generally major conflicts in an firm arises due to lack of
communication (Gareis, 2011). At this time of making plans related to impact of digital
technology while ensuring its proper implementation, managers of several departments
will give their views about several issues. Timely conversation with the staff members
that are part of this project can ensure that there is smooth implementation of plans.
 Time: It is important to decide the time for project completion as it may help firm in
achieving desired profits. A project that is not completed in desired time leads to achieve
major benefits from it. This project is estimated to take around six months time. Unicorn
Grocery believes in implementing the best possible strategy that will help in improving
their operational performance for achieving there goals. In this regard Gantt chart can be
beneficial so as to make the proper time schedule in which task will be completed.
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P3
A firm can accomplish their task in a better way if they break down their work that has to
be done in significant number of parts (Sarantis, Charalabidis and Askounis, 2011). This will
assist in focusing on every crucial segment of a project. It will help organisation in achieving
better results as it is the fact that most of the mistakes done by managers because they don not
follow the strategy of solving one step at a time. An action plan consists of all the details about
several activities that is needed to be done in order to complete their assigned project. Here are
some of the steps in this regards:
Find the problem: An organisation always try to bring changes in their enterprise when they
think that current system is not working as per their expectations. In this action plan the main
issue is the impact of technology supporting the growth of small business growth as well as
innovation. It is important for the organisation to find out the influence it makes on the business
of the firm (Hashem, Yaqoob and Anuar, 2015). For this they have study a large amount of
technological alterations that can can help in achieving their objectives. Ignoring the digital use
of technology in the business may lead to failure. Primary research will assist firm in gathering
reliable and authenticated data on the other hand secondary data will assist in finding more
informations related to it.
Location of Literature review: Internet is one of the major source for collecting different kinds
of data. Apart from this, Questionnaires can also support in understanding the mindset of the
participants. There are several authors that have mentioned this topic in many of the blogs and
content writing pages other than this there are several books in this regard. There views will be
taken into consideration at the time of plan execution.
Meetings: The timing of the meeting with the several people needs to be planned and these
meetings can be helpful in removing confusion and misconception can be avoided at the time of
execution of research (Matthews and Ross, 2014). At the time of gathering primary data, a
schedule will be considered so that participants do not face any problem at the time of interview.
Location of data gathered: This will be done from many places in Manchester. It will be done
at the workplaces only. Team mates will become essential part of the research along with the
experts of this topic.
Process of analysing data: Several statical tools and analysis of questionnaire that is completed
can help in producing better outcome.
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Review project: All gathered and analysed information will reviewed by the project manager so
that any required changes can be made that too in appropriate time.
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First task, is selecting appropriate research topic which will take 1 day for completion. Setting
aims and objectives will take next two days, literature review will get completed in next 3 days.
Primary data will be collected in the next four days. Analysing of data takes 4 days
recommendation will take 2 days and next 1 will be spent on submission.
TASK 2
P4
In order to complete project successfully it is important for the researchers to decide the
approach that they are gong to use at the time when research is conducted. They may choose
methodologies as per the funds and the time they have. There two kinds of data:
 Primary data: These are the figures that is collected for the first time and are fresh and
raw. This is much more reliable as the data is collected from the persons that some how
are effected with the research. Observing activities, Questionnaire, personal interview etc.
are some of the popular methods for gathering primary content. Some times the
researchers do not like to gather such kind of information but this could be costly and
may require significant time (.McGee and Martin, 2011). It is of high use and can be
useful for the company in making their future plans.
 Secondary data: This kind of data is already available on various sources and researcher
just have to make use of it (Saldanha and O'Brien, 2014). This can be helpful when larger
data needs to be collected in lesser time. News papers, Media sources, Books online
journals or blogs can be the source for it.
Research methods
 Quantitative: All the information collected using this media is accumulated in numeric
figures. Questions that are close ended is important part of this and generally initiates
with “How much ” and “How many”. This provides assistance in gathering appropriate
informations that is essential for making effective plans (Sakka, Barki and Côte, 2013).
Participants do not face larger problems as the activities such as filling of questionnaire
is easier.
 Qualitative: This kind of research is related to find the opinions of the correspondents. It
does not have any relation with numeric figures and open ended questions are important
part of this research methodology (McNeil, Frey and Embrechts, 2015). Interviews and
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questionnaires are some of methods which can be used at the time when data is being
gathered.
Questionnaire will be used for gathering primary data
Questionnaire
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Q1. New application is needed to share information among different departments?
a. Agree
b. Do not agree
Q2. Unicorn Groceries needs to adopt better applications
A. Agree
B. Do not agree
Q3. Does miscommunication help in reducing the level of wrong communication?
A. To a great extent
B. No.
Q4. Cloud Application can decrease data handling issues?
A. To a great extent
B. To an extent
C. Do not help
Q5. How can better marketing of products can be done?
A. By doing mobile advertisements
B. TV advertisements
C. Promotion on social media.
Q6. Do you believe that advancements in digital technology will help in growth of “Unicorn
Groceries”?
A. Yes
B. yes but limited growth
C. No.
Q7. Can “ unicorn grocery” make of artificial intelligence in their firms?
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A. Yes, as it is future of technology
B. No, it can be risky
TASK 3
P5 Analyse research data using appropriate tools and techniques
Analysis of primary data
This questionnaire is filled by 20 respondents who have considerable amount of knowledge and
interest about unicorn Groceries and they also have knowledge regarding the technological
advancements in this field.
Themes 1
Q1. New application is needed to share
information among different departments?
Frequency
A. Agree 15
B. Do not agree 5
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Findings: Out of 20, 15 participants feels that use of modern software of file sharing can be
introduced in firm.
Themes 2
Q2. . Unicorn Groceries needs to adopt better
applications
Frequency
A. Agree 13
B. Do not agree 7
10
Yes No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16 15
5
Column B

Findings: 13 Out of 20 people believes that they should adopt modern digital marketing
techniques .
Themes 3
Q3 Does miscommunication help in reducing
the level of wrong communication?
Frequency
A. To a great extent 16
B. To no extent 4
11
Yes No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14 13
7 Column B

Findings: 16 out of 20 respondents think that digital communication can reduce the
miscommunication event.
Themes 4
Q4. Cloud technology can reduce data
handling problems?
Frequency
A. Strongly agree 7
B. Agree 3
12
Yes, but up-to an extent No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
16
4
Column B

C. Not agree 10
Findings: Major part of the respondents thinks that technology like cloud computing can solve
data handling problems.
Themes 5
Q5. How can better marketing of products can
be done?
Frequency
13
Strongly agree Not agree Agree
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
7
3
10
Column B

A. By doing mobile advertisements 8
B. TV advertisements 7
C. Promotion on social media. 5
Findings: 8 respondent feels that advertisements can be selected for better marketing, 7 opted for
TV advertisements while rest feels that social media can be better place for promoting products.
Themes 6
Q6. Do you believe that advancements in
digital technology will help in growth of
Frequency
14
By doing mobile advertisement
T.V advertisement
Promotion on social media
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
8
7
5
Column B

“Unicorn Groceries”?
A. Yes 16
B. yes but limited growth 1
C. No. 3
Findings: Maximum number of participants feels that “unicorn Groceries” may use digital
updated technology that will facilitate it expanding their business.
Themes 7
Q7. Can “ unicorn grocery” make of artificial
intelligence in their firms?
Frequency
A. Yes, as it is future of technology 6
B. No, it can be risky 14
15
Yes No Yes, but limited growth
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
16
1
3
Column B

Findings: Approx 70 percent people thinks that use of artificial intelligence can have negative
influence on “unicorn groceries”.
P6
By analysing the primary data that is collected via various activities it can be
recommended that unicorn Grocery must focus on new technological advancements. It solves
many problems related to daily work of the firm. Every enterprise requires to reduce their
business cost which is essential for making higher profits (McNiff, 2016). It helps in having edge
over the competitors. It is the heart of innovation process as it supports in the whole process.
Artificial is future of the companies working mechanism but in the present time “unicorn
Grocery” do not have enough resources to utilise it and if it will pose any adverse effect then
company will not be able to cope with it. The trend of advertising has changed and has gone
digital along with traditional methodologies. Some of the methods in which technology can help:
 Use of mobile marketing.
 Use of email marketing.
16
Yes, it is the future of technology
No, it is very risky
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
6
14
Column B

 Cloud computing for storage.
 Social media can be used for taking feedbacks as well as advertisement purpose.
 Use of effective communication technology (Nasir and Sahibuddin, 2011).
 Data processing tools for manipulating data which is necessary for market research.
TASK 4
P7.
As per above define research is one of the best method or source for collecting and
gathering actual and reliable information from the external environment. With the help of this
concept, I has been collected appropriate data such as customer's demand and expectation from
the company, market trends, situations and so more. Thus, collected information helps in
decision making process as well as with the help of this can systematically manage and control
business activities in a systematic manner. Apart from this, when I was started work on this
research project I has been faced several problems and difficulties because I don't have good and
effective communication and management skills due to this I did not systematically
communicate with the team members as well as did not prepare appropriate strategies for getting
success and achieve targets and goals. In the other hand, when I was conducted a survey in the
market place then I had face problems and issues because some of the customers did not give
appropriate response as well as did not provide authentic answers to me. Apart from this, after
collecting and gathering the information and data regarding company as well as research project
then I had to be effectively analyse and evaluate the data and information with the he4lp of
appropriate methods and techniques so that it is hard to understand and examine the information
of research. Therefore, as per my learning and reflective observation. Research is one of the best
way or source of collecting actual and reliable information from outside market place but have to
be face some problems and issues while working on the research project as well as while
conducting survey within the market place. Moreover, according to my self, it is required to be
systematically analyse and evaluate the collected research information because it helps in
decision making process as well as with the help of this company will effectively provides better
quality of services and facilities to customers as per their needs and requirements. So that they
can get proper satisfaction as well as organisation can compete with their major competitors.
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CONCLUSION
From the above based research report it can be concluded that both primary and secondary data
is crucial for conducting research. Quantitative research is associated to numeric figure and
qualitative is based on opinion and thinking of participants. Implementing digital technology has
become the need of every company as its reduces that overall costing and makes the work
process easier. It also helps to set up better chain of communication. Gantt chart helps in
describing the time schedule. Primary and secondary data can be collected using the
questionnaires and using books and internet sources. Marketing becomes easier with the use of
technology as it helps to reach to many number of people at the same time all around the world.
Use of social media pages can be extremely helpful in creating buzz in the market about the new
launches of the company. Use of online sites can be beneficial for making things available to
many people at the same time. Hence it ensures the smoothness in the work process is ensured.
There are many limitations attached with conducting research all needs to handled carefully so as
to complete research on time.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Some of the recommendations are as follows:
 Unicorn Grocery need to use digital marketing techniques so that can reach to larger part
of the market.
 Cited firm must replace all the manual processes of data handling with the data
management software such as Cloud computing, data centres etc.
 Taking use of business planning tools can help in making effective decisions.
 Promotional activities must also be done on the social media sites the number of people
present at these firms are larger in number.
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APPENDIX
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