Using Exhibit 7-5, identify the type of study described in each of the Snapshots featured in this chapter.
> In what ways does the FASB differ most markedly from its two predecessors?
> What is the major difference in orientation between positive accounting theory and more overtly normative theories, such as the valuation approaches discussed in Chapter 1?
> How has Sarbanes-Oxley of 2002 affected FASB’s jurisdiction and independence?
> Can any overall trend be detected in FASB pronouncements? Explain and cite examples to substantiate your opinion.
> Do you think that the work of a policy-making organization such as the FASB or the SEC is normative (value-judgment oriented) or positive (oriented toward value-free rules)? Discuss.
> What are some of the pitfalls of empirical research?
> Why must objectives be at the topmost level of a conceptual framework of accounting?
> Several occupations within two of the aforementioned disciplines are listed here. Which do you think come closest to being scientific? Accounting researcher Chief accountant for an industrial firm Medical researcher Doctor (general practitioner)
> Of the four disciplines in the following list, which do you think qualify as sciences and which do not? State your reasons very carefully. Law Medicine Cosmetology Accountancy
> Several years ago an author stated that corporate income could be scientifically ascertained, but any type of adjustment for inflation would be pure folly because measurements would tend to become very subjective. Do you agree with the author’s appraisal
> Discuss how the concept of conservatism may be changing as viewed by Watts.
> What similarities are there between materiality and disclosure?
> Why do companies, even those with “bad news,” have an incentive to disclose financial reporting information?
> At present time, the U.S. federal income tax code allows corporations to deduct interest expense but not cash dividends paid to stockholders. Does the tax code tie in with any of the equity theories?
> Under financial statement insurance why would the relation between the firm and its auditor and investors bear a slight resemblance to the relationship between Saddam Hussein and the weapons inspectors from the United Nations in 2002 and 2003?
> Stewardship is absent from SFAC No. 8; why?
> What is the relationship between the economic consequences of accounting standards and the quality of neutrality presented in SFAC No. 8?
> Would a regular quarterly announcement of earnings-per-share which is “good” be an example of signaling? What about early adoption of a new accounting standard that would reduce income?
> If Watts and Zimmerman are correct that managers of very large firms oppose accounting standards that would raise their income and favor those that would lower it, what policy implications would this have for a standard-setting organization such as the F
> Is capital maintenance oriented toward proprietary theory or entity theory?
> Distinguish among the terms realized, realizable, and realization.
> What does the term “social reality” mean and why are accounting and accounting theory important examples of it?
> In recent years, in-home personal interviews have grown more costly and more difficult to complete. Suppose, however, you have a project in which you need to talk with people in their homes. What might you do to hold down costs and increase the response
> Assume you are planning to interview shoppers in a shopping mall about their views on increased food prices and what the federal government should do about them. In what different ways might you try to motivate shoppers to cooperate in your survey?
> Distinguish between social desirability bias and acquiescence bias.
> How do environmental factors affect response rates in personal interviews? How can we overcome these environmental problems?
> Distinguish among response error, interviewer error, and nonresponse error.
> Describe how you would operationalize variables for experimental testing in the following research question: What are the performance differences between 10 microcomputers connected in a local-area network (LAN) and one minicomputer with 10 terminals?
> One of the hardest aspects of a merger is making the IT systems of the merging companies talk with each other. That problem grows in magnitude when you are talking about merging airlines, Continental and United Airlines. While the ticketing conversion wo
> What type of experimental design would you recommend in each of the following cases? Suggest in some detail how you would design each study:
> You are asked to develop an experiment for a study of the effect that compensation has on the response rates secured from personal interview participants. This study will involve 300 people who will be assigned to one of the following conditions: (1) No
> A pharmaceuticals manufacturer is testing a drug developed to treat cancer. During the final stages of development, the drug’s effectiveness is being tested on individuals for different (1) dosage conditions and (2) age groups. One of the problems is p
> Your class team in research methods has completed a field project for a financial institution on branch location effectiveness. What questions about audience analysis should you answer as you plan your presentation?
> Much Internet advertising is priced based on click-through activity. A prospect is shown an ad on a host website based on search words he or she might have entered in a search engine such as Google or Bing. If the prospect clicks directly on the ad he o
> A lighting company seeks to study the percentage of defective glass shells being manufactured. Theoretically, the percentage of defectives is dependent on temperature, humidity, and the level of artisan expertise. Complete historical data are available f
> What essential characteristics distinguish a true experiment from other research designs?
> What ethical problems do you see in conducting experiments with human participants?
> Why would a noted business researcher say, “It is essential that we always keep in mind the model of the controlled experiment, even if in practice we have to deviate from an ideal model”?
> What ethical risks are involved in observation? In the use of unobtrusive measures?
> Distinguish between the following: a) Internal validity and external validity. b) Preexperimental design and quasi-experimental design. c) History and maturation. d) Random sampling, randomization, and matching. e) Environmental variables and extran
> Below are some terms commonly found in a management setting. Are they concepts or constructs? Give two different operational definitions for each.
> Describe the characteristics of the scientific method.
> What is business research?
> Fill in the missing blocks for the ANOVA summary table on net profits and market value used with regression analysis. a. What does the F tell you? (alpha = .05) b. What is the t value? Explain its meaning.
> Confronted by low productivity, the president of Oaks International, Inc. asks a research company to study job satisfaction in the corporation. What are some of the important reasons that this research project may fail to make an adequate contribution to
> It costs thousands of dollars to generate an application (apps) for the Apple iPad. Just offering an APP is not a guarantee of success. The most successful APPS, sold as downloads, have to offer true functional value. Apple takes weeks to review an app
> A company is experiencing a poor inventory management situation and receives alternative research proposals. Proposal 1 is to use an audit of last year’s transactions as a basis for recommendations. Proposal 2 is to study and recommend changes to the pro
> Assume you are Hallmark. You have identified four new themes for your Hispanic-targeted cards, Sinceramente Hallmark. You now need research to help your card designers create cards that correctly execute those themes. What research should you do now?
> In May 2017, LAX, the world’s fourth-largest airport, relocated 15 airlines in a three-night (5 hours per night) period in order to accommodate Delta’s expansion. During the period, Delta operated more than 200 flights a day out of 4 terminals. In Termin
> Walmart got a very mixed reaction when it announced that after 30 years it was eliminating greeters from its overnight shift in more than 3800 stores, redefining the role of dayshift greeters, and moving them further into the store and away from the door
> You wish to analyze the pedestrian traffic that passes a given store in a major shopping center. You are interested in determining how many shoppers pass this store, and you would like to classify these shoppers on various relevant dimensions. Any inform
> Amazon’s Kindle (its electronic book, magazine, and newspaper reader) has been far more successful that its SONY competitor. This could be at least somewhat influenced by the “Oprah factor,” as the Kindle was first introduced on the Oprah show and strong
> Assume you are a manufacturer of small kitchen electrics, like Hamilton Beach/Proctor Silex, and you want to determine if some innovative designs with unusual shapes and colors developed for the European market could be successfully marketed in the U.S.
> What supports the use of a multiple rating list scale for the development of the survey measurement instrument?
> The observer-participant relationship is an important consideration in the design of observational studies. What kind of relationship would you recommend in each of the following cases? a. Observations of professional conduct in the classroom by the stud
> Distinguish between the following: a. Nonverbal, linguistic, and extra-linguistic analysis. b. Factual and inferential observation. c. Memory decay and selective filtering
> What is the nature of data collected in qualitative research?
> Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the observation to the communication approach. Under which circumstances could you make a case for using observation?
> Pepsi launched a new global branding campaign based on the concept of live in the moment called “Live For Now.” It did extensive research prior to the campaign’s launch. What research should be done to determine if the campaign is resonating with worldwi
> As populations age and young workers reject work requiring repetitive operations, factories around the world are turning to robots. It is estimated that the US has 176 robots for every 10,000 workers, with South Korea (531) and Germany (301) leading the
> On Thursday, May 28, 2009, in a presentation to financial analysts, the CEO of P&G announced a break from tradition. It would release Tide Basics, a value-oriented version of its leading Tide detergent. P&G holds the leading market share position in mor
> When Nike introduced its glow-in-the-dark Foamposite One Galaxy sneakers, fanatics lined up at distributors around the country. As crowds became restless, jockeying for position at the front of increasingly long lines for the limited-supply shoes, Footlo
> NCR Corporation, known as a world leader in ATMs, point-of-sale (POS) retail checkout scanners and check-in kiosks at airports, announced June 2009 that it would move its world headquarters from Dayton (OH) to Duluth (GA), a suburb of Atlanta, after more
> Distinguish between structured, semi structured, and unstructured interviews.
> Which type of graph would you recommend to show each of the following? Why? a. A comparison of changes in average annual per capita income for the United States and Japan from 2000 to 2018. b. The percentage composition of average family expenditure patt
> Why do senior executives feel more comfortable relying on quantitative data than qualitative data? Why might a qualitative research company lesson the senior-level executives’ skepticism?
> What is data saturation and how does it influence qualitative research?
> How does qualitative research differ from quantitative research?
> Below are a number of requests that a staff assistant might receive. What specific tools or services would you expect to use to find the requisite information? a. Has the FTC published any recent statements (within the last year) concerning its position
> At a BMW staff meeting, employees were told “We’re in the midst of an electric assault,” referring to electric cars introduced by Mercedes, Porsche, Jaguar, and most notably, Tesla. A fund manager at Union Investment, parroted this sentiment, “BMW is fa
> Your large firm is about to change to a customer-centered organization structure, in which employees who have rarely had customer contact will now likely significantly influence customer satisfaction and retention. As part of the transition, your superio
> Your task is to interview a representative sample of attendees for the large concert venue where you work. The new season schedule includes 200 live concerts featuring all types of musicians and musical groups. Since neither the number of attendees nor t
> Why would a researcher use a quota purposive sample?
> Describe the differences between a probability sample and a nonprobability sample.
> You plan to conduct a survey using unrestricted sampling. What subjective decisions must you make?
> What report structure and type of report would you suggest be written in each of the following cases? a. The president of the company has asked for a study of the company’s pension plan and its comparisons to the plans of other firms in the industry. b.
> Under what conditions would you recommend: (a) A probability sample? A nonprobability sample? (b) A simple random sample? A cluster sample? A stratified sample? (c) A disproportionate stratified probability sample?
> Distinguish between: a) Statistic and parameter. b) Sample frame and population. c) Case and target population. d) Simple random and complex random sampling. e) Convenience and purposive sampling. f) Sample precision and sample accuracy. g) Non sampling
> When Oreo cookies turned 100, Nabisco celebrated with a limited-edition-flavor release called Birthday Cake Oreos, with the taste of Funfetti cake and rainbow sprinkles within the filling center. According to Vanity Fair, this Oreo is a very sweet smell
> You are the office manager of a large firm. Your company prides itself on its high-quality customer service. Lately complaints have surfaced that an increased number of incoming calls are being misrouted or dropped. Yesterday, when passing by the main re
> Use the eight design descriptors in Exhibit 4-2 to profile the research described in the Chapter Snapshots.
> Using the eight design descriptors (Exhibit 4-2), describe a study to determine why enrollment in your major at your university is increasing (decreasing).
> Confronted by low sales, the president of Oaks International, Inc. asks a research company to study the activities of the customer relations department of the corporation. What are some of the important reasons that this research project may fail to make
> Kraft will split off its global snack business this year, naming it Mondelez International. The name came from a massive name suggestion program from Kraft employees, involving more than 1,700 names by more than 1,000 Kraft employees over a five-month pr
> You are the administrative assistant for a division chief in a large holding company that owns several hotels and theme parks. You and the division chief have just come from the CEO’s office, where you were informed that the guest complaints related to h
> You have been asked to determine how hospitals prepare and train volunteers. Since you know relatively little about this subject, how will you find out? Be as specific as possible.
> How did VI use expert interviews during exploration? What were some of the likely questions on VI's interview discussion guides?
> Distinguish between the following: (a) Exploratory and formal studies. (b) Experimental and ex post facto research designs. (c) Descriptive and causal studies.
> Develop the management-research question hierarchy (Exhibits 3-2 and 3-3), citing management dilemma, management question, and research question(s) for each of the following: a. The president of a home health care services firm. b. The vice president o
> Develop the management-research question hierarchy for a management dilemma you face at work or with an organization for which you volunteer.
> You have been approached by the editor of Gentlemen’s Magazine to carry out a research study. The magazine has been unsuccessful in attracting shoe manufacturers as advertisers beause men’s clothing stores are a small and diminishing segment of their bus
> TJX Co., the parent company of T.J. Maxx and other retailers, announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that more than 45 million credit and debit card numbers had been stolen from its IT systems. The company had taken some measures over a
> SupplyCo is a supplier to a number of firms in an industry. Several companies are involved in the manufacturing process—from processed parts to creation of the final product—with each firm adding some value to the product. SupplyCo provides materials and
> Define the distinctions between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources in a secondary search.
> Explain how each of the five evaluation factors for a secondary source influences its management decision-making value: (a) Purpose, (b) Scope, (c) Authority, (d) Audience, (e) Format
> Using Exhibits 1-8 and 1-9 as your guides, graph the inductions and deductions in the following statements. If there are gaps, supply what is needed to make them complete arguments. a. Repeated studies indicate that economic conditions vary with—and lag
> You observe the following condition: “Our female sales representatives have lower customer defections than do our male sales representatives.” a. Propose the concepts and constructs you might use to study this phenomenon. b. How might any of these concep
> What types of management questions are involved in this project?
> Distinguish among the following sets of items, and suggest the significance of each in a research context:
> Discuss the problems of trading off exploration and pilot testing under tight budgetary constraints. What are the immediate and long-term effects?
