Dear MBA students,

ESLSCA 45D
As agreed please find attached the Mid Term Exam, you should:
1. Answer ALL questions, Part1 & Part2
2. Use your text book, extra text book, the internet, and other references.
3. DON'T discuss or share, by any means of communication, with any other students (even for those who are marr
will be counted as 'Plagiarism'
4. It is NOT ACCEPTED to just copy and paste from any source, your interpretation and write-up is a MUST to g
5. Reply with your file .xls, of your answer to ME ONLY, to ashraf@ashrafelsafty.com .
6. MUST include your first name and family name WITHIN the file name (ex.: DrAshrafElsafty-E-RM-45D-M
7. Use blue color for your text answers, or just fill in the shaded blocks.
8. Email directly to ME ONLY no later than agreed deadline day and time 26th May 2015, 6:00 pm, otherw
9. Please give every single question the needed high care, as grades are NOT equally distributed among que

Again we are studying to learn, and we are now leveraging our learning capacity and measuring our knowledge le
So please focus on your time and answers to learn while filling the exam.

Wish you all the best of luck.

Kind Regards,
Dr. Ashraf Elsafty
Adjunct Professor, Strategist
Strategic Management & Research Methods.
ESLSCA, MIU, Riti/MsM cairo outreach.
 Dr. Ashraf Elsafty
Research Methods
ESLSCA 45D
Mid term Exam
Part ONE

Q Part 1:
1 When is Applied research, as distinct from Basic research, useful?
(about 4 lines)

2 Critique the following research done in a service industry as to

the extent to which it meets “the hallmarks of scientific
investigation”. (About 4 paragraphs)
The Friendly Telephone Company: Customer complaints were
mounting, and letters of complaint regarding the problems they
experienced with the residential telephone lines were constantly
pouring in at the Friendly Telephone Company. The company wanted
to pinpoint the specific problems and take corrective action.
Researchers were called in, and they spoke to a number of customers,
noting down the nature of the specific problems they faced. Since the
problem had to be attended to very quickly, they developed a
theoretical base, collected relevant detailed information from a
sample of 100 customers, and analyzed the data. The results are
expected to be fairly accurate with at least an 85% chance of success
in problem solving. The researchers will make recommendations to
the company based on the results of data analysis.

3 Explain the processes of deduction and induction, giving an

example of each. (about 2-3 paragraphs).

4 How would you describe the research process? (about 4

paragraph)

5 Why is it important to gather information on the background of

the organization? (about 2 paragraph)

6 How would you go about doing a literature survey in the area of

business ethics? (about 4-6 lines)

7 What is the purpose of the literature survey? (4-6 statements)

8 Why is appropriate citation important? What are the

consequences of not giving credit to the source from which
materials are extracted? (about 4-6 statements)
9 “The problem definition stage is perhaps more critical in the
research process than the problem solution stage”. Discuss this
statement. (about 4-6 lines)

10 Offer a clearly focused problem statement in the broad area of

corporate culture. (1 statement)

11 Why should one get hung up on problem definition if one already

knows the broad problem area to be studied? (about 2
paragraphs).

12 After studying and extracting information from all the relevant

work done previously, how does the researcher know which
references, articles, and information should be given prominence
in the literature survey? (about 2-3 paragraphs).

13 Below is the gist of an article from Business Week. After reading

it, (a) identify the broad problem area, (b) define the problem,
and (c) explain how you would proceed further. (about a; 2 lines,
b; 1 statement, c; 3 statements)

While Chrysler’s minivans, pickups, and sports utilities take a big

share of the truck market, its cars trail behind those of GM, Ford,
Honda, and Toyota. Quality problems include, among other things,
water leaks and defective parts.

14 What is the problem statement in the following situation? (1

statement)
Employee Loyalty: Companies benefit through employee loyalty.
Crude downsizing in organizations during the recession crushed the
loyalty of millions. The economic benefits of loyalty embrace lower
recruitment and training costs, higher productivity of workers,
customer satisfaction, and boost the morale of fresh recruits. In order
that these benefits may not be lost, some companies, while
downsizing, try various gimmicks. Flex leave, for instance, is one. This
helps employees receive 20% of their salary, plus employer-provided
benefits while they take a 6-12 month sabbatical, with a call option on
their services. Others try alternatives like more communication, hand-
holding, and the like.

15 How would you define the problem in the following case? (3 lines)
 Accounting Gets Radical: The GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles) do an unacceptable job of accounting for the principal
activities of the Information Age companies. Today, investors are in
the dark because the accounting is irrelevant. The basic purpose of
accounting is to provide useful information to help investors make
rational investment, credit, and similar decisions, but today’s most
important assets and activities – intellectual capital and knowledge
work – are totally ignored. Professor Robert A. Howell wants to
reform the accounting system with the goal of making clear the
measurement of how companies produce cash and create value.

16 Because literature survey is a time-consuming exercise, a good,

in-depth interview should suffice to develop a theoretical
framework. Discuss this statement. (about 4 paragraphs).

17 Good models are complex. What’s more, a good model should

include both moderating and mediating variables. Discuss this
statement. (about 2-3 paragraphs).

18 Academic researchers usually develop more complex and

elaborate models than applied researchers. Discuss this
statement. (yes or no, with clear reasoning).

19 In an applied research context you do not need to explain the

relationships between the variables in your conceptual model.
Discuss this statement. 2-3 paragraphs of solid reasoning).

20 For the following case titled Sleepless Nights at Holiday Inn

(published in Business Week and adapted here):
a. Identify the problem with conceptual model, b. Develop a theoretical
framework, c. Develop at least four hypotheses. All with needed
figuers.
 Sleepless Nights at Holiday Inn: Just a few years ago, Tom Oliver, the
Chief Executive of Holiday Hospitality Corp., was struggling to
differentiate among the variety of facilities offered to clients under the
Holiday flagship – the Holiday Inn Select designed for business
travelers, the Holiday Inn Express used by penny pinchers, and the
Crowne Plaza Hotels, the luxurious hotels meant for the big spenders.
Oliver felt that revenues could be quadrupled if only clients could
differentiate among these. Keen on developing a viable strategy for
Holiday Hospitality which suffered from brand confusion, Tom Oliver
conducted a customer survey of those who had used each type of
facility, and found the following. The consumers didn’t have a clue as
to the differences among the three different types. Many complained
that the buildings were old and not properly maintained, and the
quality ratings of service and other factors were also poor.
Furthermore, when word spread that one of the contemplated
strategies of Oliver was a name change to differentiate the three
facilities, irate franchises balked. Their mixed messages did not help
consumers to understand the differences either. Oliver thought that he
first needed to understand how the different classifications would be
important to the several classes of clients, and then he could market
the heck out of them and greatly enhance the revenues.
Simultaneously, he recognized that unless the franchise owners fully
cooperated with him in all his plans, mere face lifting and
improvement of customer service would not bring added revenues.

21 Exercise 4.1 (From your text book, 5th edition)

State the dependent variable and why.

22 Exercise 4.2
State the dependent variable.

23 Exercise 4.3
Fill in the below table :
Variable type

24 Exercise 4.5
Fill in the below table :
Variable type
#VALUE!

Answer
a. The broad problem :

b. Problem statement:
c.

Problem statement.
Problem Definition:

Problem Statement:
Theoretical Framework :

Hypotheses:

The dependent variable is

The dependent variable is

Variable Name
Variable Name
ESLSCA 45D
 Dr. Ashraf Elsafty
Research Methods
ESLSCA 45D
Mid term Exam #VALUE!
Part TWO
Q
Answer, ONLY
DON'T DELETE O
Part 2: To be answered at the shaded cells only. Just
answer
on grey
cells only

1 Business research can be described as a systematic and organized effort to

investigate a specific problem, encountered in the work setting that needs
a solution.
A. true
B. false

2 Research done with the intention of applying the results of the findings to
solve specific problems currently being experienced in an organization is
called basic research.
A. true
B. false

3 Research done primarily to make a contribution to existing knowledge is

called basic, fundamental, or pure research.
A. true
B. false

4 Applied research is not scientific in nature.

A. true
B. false

5 Ethics in business research refers to a code of conduct or expected societal

norm of behavior while conducting research.
A. true
B. false

6 Ethical conduct applies to the researchers who undertake the research, but
not to the respondents who provide them with the necessary data.

A. true
 B. false

7 The main distinction between applied and basic business research is that
the former is specifically aimed at solving a currently experienced
problem, whereas the latter has the broader objective of generating
knowledge and understanding of phenomena and problems that occur in
various organizational settings.

A. true
B. false

8 Both basic and applied research has to be carried out in a scientific

manner.
A. true
B. false

9 The first step in research is to know where the problem areas exist in the
organization, and to identify as clearly and specifically as possible the
problems that need to be studied and resolved.
A. true
B. false

10 Identifying the critical issues, gathering relevant information, analyzing the

data in ways that would help decision making, and implementing the right
course of action, are all facilitated by understanding business research.

A. true
B. false

11 Knowledge gained by the findings of basic research cannot be applied by

organizations to solve their own problems.
A. true
B. false

12 ‘Rigor’ related to scientific investigation refers, amongst others, to:

a. The probability that our estimations are correct.
b. The idea that a simple model that explains a certain phenomenon has
preference over a complex model.
c. The fact that findings are generalizable.
d. The fact that a study has a good theoretical base.

13 ‘Confidence’, as a characteristic of scientific investigation, refers to:

a. The probability that our estimations are correct.
 b. The idea that a simple model that explains a certain phenomenon has
preference over a complex model.
c. The fact that findings are generalizable.
d. The fact that an investigation has a clear theoretical foundation.

14 An inductive investigation starts with an observation of empirical data.

A. true
B. false

15 A deductive investigation is based on theoretically logical reasoning.

A. true
B. false

16 It is not always possible to meet all the hallmarks of science in full.

Comparability, consistency, and wide generalizability are often difficult to
obtain in research.
A. true
B. false

17 Which of the following is a hierarchical listing of the hypothetico-deductive

research method?
a. Identify a broad problem area - Define the problem statement - Develop
hypotheses - Determine measures - Data collection - Data analysis -
Interpretation of data
b. Identify a broad problem area - Define the problem statement -
Determine measures - Data collection - Develop hypotheses - Data analysis
- Interpretation of data
c. Define the problem statement - Identify a broad problem area -
Determine measures - Develop hypotheses - Data collection - Data analysis
- Interpretation of data
d. Identify a broad problem area - Develop hypotheses - Determine
measures - Data collection - Data analysis - Interpretation of data

18 A literature survey helps the development of the theoretical framework

and hypotheses for testing.
A. true
B. false

19 Which of the following answers is not an objective of preliminary

research?
a. One does not run the risk of “reinventing the wheel”.
 b. Important variables that are likely to influence the problem situation
are not left out of the study.
c. The problem statement can be made with precision and clarity.
d. To determine whether a variable is an independent variable, a
dependent variable, a mediating variable, or a moderating variable.

20 A frequent problem in terms of feasibility is that the problem statement is

too broad in scope.
A. true
B. false

21 From an academic perspective research is relevant if:

a. Nothing is known about a topic.
b. Much is known about the topic, but the knowledge is scattered and not
integrated.
c. Much research on the topic is available, but the results are (partly)
contradictory.
d. Established relationships do not hold in certain situations..
e. All of the above.

22 A hypothesis is unrelated to the theoretical framework.

A. true
B. false

23 The ________________ is the variable of primary interest to the researcher.

a. Independent variable.
b. Intervening variable.
c. Moderating variable.
d. Dependent variable.

24 A marketing manager believes that sales promotion has a positive effect on

sales. Although he believes that this relationship holds true generally for
all consumers he also believes that it is nevertheless contingent on the
price consciousness of consumers.

What would be the dependent variable here?

a. Profits.
b. Sales promotion.
c. Pice consciousness.
d. Sales.
25 Job satisfaction is:
a. An independent variable.
b. A dependent variable.
c. A moderating variable.
d. This is not clear based on the above information.

26 A theoretical framework contains all possible variables that have an effect

on the dependent variable.
A. true
B. false

27 A conceptual model describes how the concepts in your model are related
to each other.
A. true
B. false

28 A theory attempts to explain relationships between the variables in your

model: an explanation should be provided for all the important
relationships that are theorized to exist among the variables.

A. true
B. false

29 Theory is needed in basic research but not in applied research

A. true
B. false

30 Another term for independent variable is predictor variable.

A. true
B. false

31 A theoretical framework represents your beliefs on how certain

phenomena (or variables or concepts) are related to each other, and an
explanation on why you believe that these variables are associated to each
other.

A. true
B. false

Wish you all the best of success.

Dr. Ashraf Elsafty

Answer, ONLY using A or B or C or D or E
DON'T DELETE OR HIDE ANY OF THE ROWS
 using A or B or C or D or E
R HIDE ANY OF THE ROWS

MUST Add needed justification for your selection

ESLSCA 45D