Business Research Methodology

Question: What is business research methodology. Answer: Introduction: The smooth running of any business organization would require the proper evaluation of the activities that are associated with the different level of operations that are required to maintain performance level of the firm. The proper administration of a business organization would include the proper management of the workforce, their levels of cooperation with the authorities of the firm, efficient organization of the other resources that are relevant for enhancing the productivity of the firm (Marek Vrabec, 2013). The administration of a firm, thus, involves all such methods such as the management of the employee productivity, customer satisfaction, finance related issues and the decision making processes that are very much important for the realization of the goals and objectives. When the administration of the business organizations are in favor of the customers as well as the employees, then easily the progress of the firm becomes inevitable. The administration of a business orga nization deals mainly with the executive or strategic functions that are vital for the realization of the goals of the firm, however, very often the administration of a firm involves the key functions that are related to the management of the business interests of a company. The functions related to the technical and operational aspects may also form the core responsibilities of the administrative department of the firm. Thus, it can be easily presumed that the administrative and the management functions of the business organizations that form the major activities of an organization are almost the same in accordance with the views of (Pham et al. 2013). It can be easily said after the assessment of the key roles of the business administration that it entails the supervision of the entire business firm. Thus, the functions of a business administrator are wide and varied (Pantouvakis Bouranta, 2013). If the administration of a business firm is not done properly then the entire progress if the firm will suffer. The administrator of a company remains mainly responsible whenever any organizational changes are to be undertaken, at that time, he takes the lead role in the process and guides the entire process by guiding the managers of the company and the entire working staff (Orel Kara, 2014). Business administration and customer orientation: For the proper working of a business organization, it is very important for the administrator of a business concern to design and develop such strategies that are necessary for the upgradation of the products and services and thereby attracting the consumers. When the customers feel that the commodities supplied by an organization are satisfying their needs and a particular company is maintaining the ethical standards that can make them rely upon the business organization, then the company can easily achieve its image in the eyes of the consumers. (Mulder, 2012) opines that the main aim of the business organization remains the attainment of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. A company can achieve the customer loyalty only when the organization is able to satisfy the demands of the customers in terms of quality and quantity (Strikwerda, 2014). Thus, it remains the responsibility of the business administrator of a firm to look after the factors that are responsible for the ach ievement of the customer satisfaction. Therefore, nowadays more and more companies are now eager to develop all the required strategies that can help them in getting in touch with the consumers. The customer care department of the organizations, thus, is organized in the companies with the aim to remain in touch with the consumers and receive their reviews (Heinonen et al. 2013). The customer care executives of the companies therefore focus upon the customer reviews and convey their demands to the administrative or the managerial department of the organization that will help the company to focus upon the demands of the consumers and make amendments accordingly so that they can suit the needs of the consumers or the criteria demanded by them. The companies nowadays therefore are busy in the installation of the online services, through the websites they remain involved in presenting the schemes and other information, like the prices and the new innovations that are made by the company . The customer service executives present in a firm remain involved in performing and handling such activities. The customer gets to know much information through the websites of the company or they can call any time and contact the customer care service executives of various companies. This is done in order to place their views about their purchase, or for any complaints regarding the matters related to their purchase and they can keep in touch with the companies and their administrative department (Escobar-Rodriguez Monge-Lozano, 2012). The business administrative department of any firm, thus, enables a firm to improve its performance continuously and achieve its objectives through the transmission of better services to the customers (Lee Kim, 2015). Business administration and BMW (Australia) (Foss Knudsen, 2013) opine that in any company, be it an automobile company or any other industry or organization, the progress of that particular company depends mainly upon the services that the organization provides to its customers. The major factor upon which image of a company depends is the reaction or the review of the consumers. The feedback given by the customers in return of the services rendered by a company enables in creating the reputation of that company. Being one of the leading car manufacturers in the world, BMW has to confront number of issues, the issue related to the customer feedback and the price structure are the most important of all the other issues. It employs more than 1 million individuals in more than 30 counties across the world; the effective marketing strategies that are applied by the firma have proved to be effective in giving pleasure to the customers of the brand and therefore also achieved the brand image in the global market (Takeuchi, 2016). It has been noticed that although the customer service provided by the company is presumed to be very much strong and satisfactory, in reality the companys ranking is #426 out of more than 800 automobile companies in the world. This score or the customer service rating is very much disappointing as compare to the other companies. Its overall score is also very less with more than 400 negative comments and only 20 positive comments or the feedback from the customers. The re solutions made against the issues regarding the customer services are also not solved in a proper way and it the rate of issues resolved is only 1.6 that is very low. Pricing Structure or Strategy of BMW: The pricing structure of the BMW is based on the polarization of the markets, due to which the company adapted the trend of premium tization and has attracted many consumers towards making high demand for the brand and at the same time pay higher prices for the same. However, this trend is gradually declining because of the inability of the company to provide the satisfactory services to the customers due to its high price rates and unsatisfactory services (Grandori, 2012). They charge extra in order to provide high or premium quality service; there is also difference in the price rates of the various parts of the automobiles that may not be satisfactory in accordance with the budget of the customers. The variation in the price levels occur due to the variation in the gear levels, fuel consumption and new versions of the car. This particular company has worked very prudently for several years in the field of selling automobiles of various well-known companies in the market and gained a good reputation. The customer service provided by this company had also been very up to the mark. However, the firm at a certain point of time recently remained unsuccessful to provide the needed customer service to the customers and it has also occurred due to the hike in the price rates of the companys products and services (Uhlig et al. 2015). Thus, it is evident that the customer service provided by the firm gradually declined thereby affecting the reputation of the entire company. The customers who form the base of the company were not all satisfied with the service of the firm. This is going to hamper the image, the productivity and therefore the profitability of the firm (Ackermann, 2012). Moreover, the excessive investment paid by the company in the field of promotion gradually and naturally increased the cost of production and consequently the prices of the products and the services augmented to a large extent that is subsequently decreasing the demand of the consumers or their attraction towards the brand (Eichfelder Schorn, 2012). Measures to be taken by the Administrative department of the Company: It becomes very vital for any business concern to think about and take into consideration all the business norms and conditions or rather more appropriately the issues related to the marketing theory for the sake of maintaining the performance and productivity of the company. The position, price, demand of the products, the ethical standards, the standards of competition in the market, all have to be paid importance by the leadership and the administrative department of the firm (Lindberg et al. 2013). The departments should examine the conditions of demand for its products in the market, the price rates or the price structure of other brands in the market, their demands in the market, the structure of preference of the consumers for various brands. This evaluation will enable the company to design its decisions regarding the products in accordance with the market conditions (Eichfelder Schorn, 2012). Secondly, the ethical standards should be properly maintained in order to maintain the reputation of the company. If the customers are not able to get the required service from the company on right time and in the right manner in accordance with the set standards or the promises that the company makes for rendering the best services, then the company will lose its customer loyalty (Wilson, 2015). 1. The company need to make the employees working in the department of the Customer care service that the customers are the most important factor for any company to run smoothly, if they are not given proper value and service, then their jobs will be at stake, as the entire process will hamper the companys reputation (Soteriou Stavrinides, 2013). 2. The business administration of the company need to organize sessions for the proper training of the customer care executives at regular intervals, so that the mistakes are not repeated by them while serving the customers. The employees need to be warned against such mistakes, which will bring them at loss if the customers place continuous complaints. Therefore good training should be provided to the customer care executives for serving the customers in the best possible way. 3. Despite the innovations made in this particular field, the company should try to maintain a balance between the promotional investment made and the prices set for the products, this will help the company to retain its customers for a longer period of time, without losing their trust upon the brand and the rate of complacency of the customers (Bowman Thompson, 2013). Conclusion: Thus, it becomes very much evident that the employees of a firm have to be skilled and loyal and prudent enough to serve its customers who form the base of any company. The employment productivity should be increased along with the employee satisfaction in order to gain the customer loyalty and satisfaction. 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