Archive for category: Business paper

Carphone Warehouse – Founded in 1989 The Carphone Warehouse Ltd. is a British mobile phone retailer, with over 2,400 stores across Europe. It trades as Carphone Warehouse in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and as Phone House elsewhere. Recently, the business has had to close stores as it battles with changing consumer habits and rising costs. New CEO Alex Baldock, said: “Though there’s plenty to fix, it’s all fixable.” Using your knowledge of research, identify what research is needed, and undertake a pilot study with a sample and method(s) of your choice, to advise Carphone Warehouse on how to stay competitive in this market, or a plan for the future of the business. Research Report – 4,500 words The research report should include: 1. An introduction to the research topic area and the organisation. A critical analysis of the market, to include multiple sources of academic and practitioner research secondary research. This will also include an analysis of your organisations competitive position, and consumer profile. (20%) 2. A detailed account of your research objectives – giving justifications. (20%) 3. Your primary research methodology, including links to how they will solve your identified research objectives and an understanding of the strengths and limitations of the proposed methods. (20%) 4. The results of a pilot study undertaken to address the research objectives (20%) Executive Summary – 1,200 WCE This report should also be summarised within an executive summary sub-document, to include; 5. An executive summary of the proposal, including an introduction, results of secondary analysis, the research objectives, methods, results, the proposed next stages of the research plan, ethical considerations, costs and conclusions. This should also include visual data representations such as graphs, word clouds and/or infographics. This should be an edited and succinct version, that could be read by senior level people within the organisation to understand your research proposal and pilot study. (20%) You should do this by clearly explaining the main theoretical concepts regarding market research, and methodological considerations.

OPTION 1: Primary Source Investigation Write a 3-4 page paper addressing the questions below. Papers should be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins. You may rely on your textbook for background information, but your paper should address the question by using the primary documents we have discussed in our discussion boards. You must include at least two academic sources outside of the textbook and at least 3 primary sources used within this course. You MUST use primary sources for this paper. IF you decide to use primary sources outside of those provided by the instructor, you must include copies with your paper (which will not be included in the page limit). Prompt: America’s role on the world stage changes throughout the period from the Civil War to the Cold War. How did policies of imperialism, isolationism, expansionism, and racism shape America’s relationship with other countries? How and why did the United States become a World Power? How was this status shaped by the wars of this period?

Compare and contrast the methods that can be used in accounting for investments.

How does a company choose a method? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? information on APA: American Psychological Association (APA) http://www.apastyle.org/ Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Turnitin Your assignment will automatically be submitted to Turnitin in the assignment dropbox.

Originality reports will be returned to the faculty and student. Multiple submissions are allowed. Make sure that your Similarity Index does not exceed 20% for graduate work. This assignment will be evaluated based on the following Writing Assignment Grading Rubric: Guidelines Writing Assignment Grading Criteria Content (60%) • Response demonstrates a clear understanding of the key elements of assignment questions. • Response thoroughly covers the elements in a substantive manner.

• Response demonstrates critical thinking and analysis. • Content is complete and accurate. • Introduction and conclusion provide adequate information on the given topic. Organization (20%) • Paper structure is clear and easy to follow. • Ideas flow in a logical sequence.

• Introduction provides a sound introduction to the topic and previews major points. • Paragraph transitions are logical and support the flow of thought throughout the paper. • The conclusion thoroughly reviews the major points. Writing Style, Grammar, APA Format (20%)

• Sentences are well constructed, complete, clear, and concise. • Words used are specific an unambiguous. • The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. • Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are correct. • APA guidelines (6th edition) are followed, such as headers, citations, references, etc. • Effective use of aids such as sections, summaries, table of contents, indices, and appendices (if appropriate).

Essay (3,000 Words) Instructions: The purpose of this assessment is to give you an opportunity to apply the consumer behaviour principles/theories/concepts (these three terms all mean the same thing) discussed in class and your readings during the course, to evaluating a real-world brand. You will pick a brand of your choice, and analyse the different consumer psychology principles that you believe the brand has used, and how these principles contribute to the brand’s (lack of) success. Please do not choose a specific example that was described in a class session (i.e., the same theory applied to the same brand). The paper should be no more than 3000 words (including everything, though with a +10% word leeway). Whether you define the brand broadly or narrowly is up to you. For example, you could analyse the brand “Nike” by discussing its broad assortment of trainers, clothing, sports equipment, etc. Or, you could choose to focus more narrowly, for example Nike’s CR football cleats/boots endorsed by Cristiano Ronaldo. You should base your answer on the communications from the brand/company to its consumersfor example, television adverts, billboards, online videos, social media, endorsements, the company’s online (or physical) store, etc. It is up to you how many different communications from the company/brand to discuss; you can focus your answer on a single advert if you think that is appropriate, or you can discuss the brand as it applies to its overall marketing communications over a number of years. Overall, the assignment is flexible with the brand and approach you choose. Note that the instructions in this paragraph differ from the original assignment from term A. More guidance The most important aspect of the assignment is to correctly apply the course theories. Answers that do not use these theories, or that demonstrate a lack of understanding of the theories (as discussed in class and in the course readings), will be deemed unsatisfactory. Answers that use definitions or conceptualizations of the theories that are inconsistent with the way they were discussed in the course will also be deemed unsatisfactory. You are welcome to refer to your lecture notes and to the posted (on QMplus) PowerPoint slides of the lectures. The second most important aspect of the assignment is to apply the theories insightfully, and as it applies to your brand specifically. For example, pointing out that Nike has a rugged brand personality because it is associated with football, and that it uses the multisensory elements of sight and sound because it was a television advert, is not very insightful because every sports brand likely does these same things. A good answer would demonstrate a deep understanding of the course theories, and apply them insightfully as they relate to the unique aspects of your chosen brand. More specifics Please incorporate theories from at least 3 of the class sessions into your answer. 3 theories should suffice, although the quality and depth of your analysis is more important than the total number of concepts used. As a reminder, here are the theories/concepts/principles that were covered in each session (there are 8 class sessions of material to choose from): Week 1 (consumer psychology of marketing communications) • Content marketing o This was the only “theory” discussed in-depth in session 1. If you choose content marketing, please make sure to focus on the psychology of it; i.e., one or more of the “five important things” content does, as discussed in class and as on the ppt slides. Week 2 (consumer Psychology of Brands 1) • Brand personality Week 3 (consumer Psychology of Brands 2) • Brand inferences • Multisensory brand experience Week 4 (behavioural decision theory 1): • Perceptual Illusions • Default Choices • Anchoring and adjustment • Framing Week 5 (behavioural decision theory 2): • Attraction Effect • Compromise Effect • Choice Overload (and decision simplicity) • Prospect Theory • Evolutionary Psychology of decision-making Week 6 (guest speaker- no new theory material) Week 7 (reading week- no class) Week 8 (psychology of experiences vs. material goods) • The psychology of experiences vs. material goods o Please base this theory on the academic article reading for the week (which can be supplemented by James Wallman’s book chapter and lecture if you like, along with the seminar assignment on this topic). Week 9 (addictive consumer behaviors) • Addictive consumer behaviors o Please base this theory on the book chapter reading for the week (which can be supplemented by Emmanuel Carraud’s lecture if you like, along with the seminar assignment on this topic). Week 10 (psychology of altruism and charitable giving): • Altruism • Empathy/sympathy • Giving time vs. money