Reg. No.: | I Question Paper Code : 87122 M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013. ‘Third Semester 103049 — MARKETING RESEARCH (Common to Telecom, General Management) (All Regulations) ‘Time : Three hours Maximum : 100 marks PART A — (5 x 4 = 20 marks) Answer any FIVE questions. Traditionally, marketing researchers were responsible for assessing information needs and providing the relevant information, whereas marketing decisions were made by the. managers. Briefly discuss why the roles of marketing managers and marketing researchers are changing. Define and discuss problem identification and problem-solving research. Discuss how the two types of research are related. Develop an example showing the relationship between these two types of research. Briefly discuss problem definition and why it is the most important task in the marketing research project. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal versus cross-sectional designs? Compare the rank order scaling technique to the paired comparison scaling technique. Discuss the uses of non-probability and probability sampling. Give a brief overview of the data-preparation process. Discuss the relationship between cross-tabulation and frequency distribution.10. u 12, 13, PART B — (4 x 16 = 64 marks) Answer ALL questions. (a) Briefly define and discuss the six steps of the marketing research process. Or (b) Write a short essay detailing what a person or student should do to prepare for a career in marketing research. (a) Compare and contrast the exploratory, descriptive, and causal research designs. Or (b) Identify and discuss the ethical issues related to the respondents and the general public that may be of concern in qualitative research. (@) Discuss the primary scales of measurement. Develop an example of each. Or () Discuss at least five things that the researcher who is developing a questionnaire can do to increase the willingness of the respondent to answer. (@ | ctropolitan Transportation Corporation plans to introduce new VOLVO’ service to the major towns of Tamil Nadu from Chennai. But the corporation is not sure about how the commuters would receive the new services, since the price is three times higher than the normal bus fares. List and discuss at least seven elements that are included in a proposal presenting a detailed research design to the MTC. Or (b) Why television channels like NDTV or CNN prefer to use online focus groups over traditional focus groups? Taking the other view, why would traditional focus groups be preferred? PART C — (1x 16 = 16 marks) Case Study ~ Compulsory ‘A case study on white goods and readymade garments Retail industry's doldrums. The Retailers of white goods and readymade garments in Kanchipuram district face crisis in the recent times. In the recont years, they observed that the number of customers visiting their shops slowly came down and the sales were affected very much. In the recent meeting of the traders’ association, the topic was discussed. Many retailers agreed that average number of customers visiting the shops is gradually on the declining side, in spite of the growth in the various economic indicators. 7 87122Kanchipuram district is situated on the northern East Coast of Tamil Nadu and is adjacent by Bay of Bengal and Chennai city and is bounded in the west by Vellore and Thiruvannamalai district, in the north by Thiruvallur district and Chennai district, in the south by Villuppuram district in the east by Bay of Bengal. For administrative reasons, the district has been divided into 3 revenue divisions comprising of 8 taluks with 1214 revenue villages. In the recent years, the district witnessed exponential growth in various industries. The district is known for its traditional Kanchipuram silk sarees and production of raw silk and agriculture. The district is one of the highly industrialised areas in the state of Tamilnadu. Besides MNCs like Ford, Hyundai, Saint Gobain, National Air Conditioner of Japan, Indian software giants Infosys, Wipro, and TCS are having their outfits in Kanchipuram district. Out of 17 Small Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu's Industrial parks, 4 of them located in Kanchipuram district, in addition to special economic zones and export processing zones. The district has accommodated 100s of arts and engineering colleges and many universities. As per the per capita income is concerned, for many years the district is within top 5 districts in the state. Many retailers of white goods and readymade garments pointed out that they have invested huge amount on inventory and shop modernization activities; fairly huge budget is also allocated for advertisements — both for local television channels and newspaper insertions. Many of the white goods and garment retail outlets are air-conditioned and the interiors are typical to that of the leading outlets in Chennai. The servicing setup also changed to modern organisational setups, where the sales persons are given with uniforms, and customer service professionals also appointed by many outlets. ‘The retailer association concluded that a research might through light on this issue and suitable action plan might be drawn upon to bring back the glory of retail industry in the district. The President of the association has decided to contact research agency. If you are the research agency, what is your research proposal for Kanchipuram White goods and garments retailers association? Prepare a sample proposal with various important contents. 3 87122‘Time : Three hours weve TTT TTT Question Paper Code : 71122 M.B.A. DEGREE EXAMINATION, AUGUST 2012, ‘Third Semester 103049 — MARKETING RESEARCH (Common to Telecom, General Management) (All Regulations) Maximum : 100 marks PART A — (6 x 4= 20 marks) Answer any FIVE questions. What are values? Explain with examples. Mention the benefits of problem identification. What is data acquisition plan? State few objectives of Research design, What is validation? ‘Mention the benefits of questionnaire design. What is sampling size? State the functions of statistical analysis, PART B — (4 x 16 = 64 marks) Answer ALL questions. (a) Explain the types of Research in detail. Or (b) State the steps involved in questionnaire design.10, 1 12, 13. (a) _ List down various sampling methods. Or (b) Write a note on "Data collection Techniques" (a) Explain the role of micro computers in Marketing Research. Or (b) Write down the steps involved in. presentation of Reports. (a) Write short note on "Data Processing methods". Or (&) What are the resources available for Marketing Research? Explain. PART C — (1 16= 16 marks) Case study Compulsory ‘As a management student, Do you think role of Marketing research Agencies preceeds and succeeds the production function in any FMCG and FMCS industry? Discuss with illustration. a 71122