Why the Business Research Process is Necessary

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Understanding the environment in which a company competes is a fundamental aspect of good business management practices, and managers are on the constant lookout for business research methods that will help them in their decision-making processes. Business decisions are based on good intelligence and this intelligence is gathered by doing good, sound research. In this paper I will attempt to provide an overview of current business research practices, why the business research process is necessary to assist managers in the decision-making process and how such research is typically conducted. A discussion and assessment of the relative the strengths and weaknesses of the various parts of the business research process is followed by an analysis of why this research is important to companies seeking to maintain and expand their market share in an increasingly globalized marketplace. In general, all business research methods share some commonalities, which include obtaining and analyzing data in order to answer questions, solving problems or testing hypotheses, which therefore contribute to the understanding and knowledge of the larger environment in which companies compete (Thomas, 2004). According to Thomas (2004), “Although there are many different ways to do research, and although different fields have their preferred research styles, all research does share certain features: 1. Research is empirical; it involves studying the world outside ourselves. 2. Research adopts systematic and explicit methods; it is essentially a public endeavor in which it is possible, in principle, for others to repeat investigations and check on their accuracy” (p. 3). Current business research practices vary according to the industry and need, and the concept involves more than just simply asking a question and trying to answer it. As stated by Thomas (2004), “Sometimes

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