Quantitative and Qualitative Forecasting

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Abstract Managers usually use forecasts for budgeting purposes. A forecast is something that aids in determining volume of production, labor hours required, inventory needs, the cash requirements, and financing needed. There is a lot of forecasting methods available. However, consideration needs to be given to accuracy, cost, preparation time, and time period. The two main types of forecasting are Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative research is a type of research method in which the person takes an active role in interacting with the participants they wish to study. An example would be taking a poll. Quantitative is more numbers, facts, logic. An example would be statistics. Quantitative and Qualitative Forecasting Quantitative and Qualitative management techniques play an important role in forecasting the future of your industry or business. These are two very different types of techniques that are both important in their own ways. So why would we use either or both of these? Well to generalize, quantitative research is generally better for confirming and clarifying. It deals in logic, numbers, and the objective while qualitative research is usually better for exploring, uncovering, and understanding. It deals in images, words, and the subjective. Qualitative deals with the right brain, which is responsible for processing data as words, feelings, emotions, color, and music. Quantitative research focuses on the left brain, which is responsible for the objective, logic, numbers, and unchanging static data and details. So then what’s forecasting and why would we need to do it? Well a forecast is a prediction or projection of future values. Forecasting seeks to explain or describe a cause-and-effect relationship between established operational cycles, long term growth trends, freely specified management decisions observed, and indications of the state of
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