Business Research and Planning

Business Research and Planning
RES/351
David Lantz
December 16, 2013
Business Research and Planning
Adequate research and planning in business prevent companies from wasting time and money on research for products that will never come to fruition. Knowing how to correct plan out the research process requires detail, communication, and direct intentions from management. This paper will touch on some of the symptoms and cost associated with improper planning, the obstacles that can arise in planning, and the elements of sound planning.
Symptoms and Costs of Improper Planning
Costs of improper planning include more than just the cost of the research that bears no useable results; there is the loss of potential income for the new product. Researcher frustration is also a factor; the cost of which may be difficult to calculate, but when a large amount of time is spent researching a new product and that product never makes it to production, researchers lose faith in management. This leads to less effort on future projects. Companies can avoid these costs by checking their current research plans to ensure they are not outdated or out of balance. Unfounded research also proves to be costly; researching a new product without possessing the skills or equipment to produce it makes the research worthless. Management must make it a priority to monitor and update their research plans on a regular basis.
Obstacles to Sound Planning
There are several obstacles within the company that can reduce the effectiveness of the research; failure to set research objectives, lack of communication, too much attention on short term, immediate fixes and not enough attention on long term research projects, and lack of data on profit potential within the market (Stolz, 1957). Research objectives, need to be clearly defined by management. They need to look at what opportunities exist in the current field, where is the company looking to go within the industry, how fast does the company...