NAME:
The best case analyses are those that correctly apply multiple relevant course concepts when
answering the questions.
Please answer all questions below. Feel free to include any relevant tables, figures, or analyses you conduct to support your argument.
Case Analysis Questions
- Consider Buckmeister’s comment on p. 2 (“I feel funny about paying some high-priced market research firm to tell me something that I can figure out simply by visiting these problem stores on my own”). How will you convince Buckmeister of the importance of gathering research?
- Should Buckmeister invest in primary research? To answer this, consider the questions marketing managers should consider before investing in primary research.
- What are the management problem(s) and research problem(s) in this case? Based on these problems and the general ordering of conducting different types of research, which (if any) projects proposed by McMichael and Wallace should he fund? Justify your recommendation.
- Assuming that Buckmeister invests in primary research, do you think observation or interviews/communication are best for tackling the management problem(s) and research problem(s)? When answering this question, consider the different types of inaccuracies that can bias responses. If you choose observation, do you think it should be disguised or undisguised, and why? If you choose interviews/communication, should it be structured or unstructured?
- Buckmeister’s solution to his current situation is customer feedback cards. What changes would you make to the feedback card? Consider the ways to reduce inaccuracies as well as ambiguity.
