Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Victoria M. Bingue, Meredith Crawford, Lailah Jones, Terry Ferrell, John Peterson RES 351 8/18/14 Charles Fanning Running head: PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH: PART 3 1 PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH: PART 3 5 Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3 Apple Inc. is a well-known company with plenty of positives but it has several areas it needs to improve. Quantitative research generates numerical data, and qualitative research does not generate numerical data. With Apple Inc. being one of the largest technology companies in the world, much of their data is quantitative because of the numerous products and features they offer. When Apple conducts research of any kind, its main ethical goal should be to protect the personal data of its customers. When Apple Inc. announced its development of the iPhone in January 2007 and then released the product in June. This was a full year and half before the world would see the first android phone. (German, 2011). The management at Apple Inc. decided that in order to control the market they had to win over a small segment of consumers. This segment was considered the early adapters, and would consist of a group of people who would try the new technology first, before the mainstream. This was a great risk, but they ended up helping Apple create a brand new product and market. Quantitative or Qualitative To keep up with sales and what products customers like the most, Apple can use the quantitative research to determine which product was sold most. This will help generate numbers based off sales revenue, and which products were chosen the most by consumers. Many people have iPads, iPhones, and Mac Books which are currently the most popular products Apple Inc. offers. Apple has sold over 500 million iPhones throughout the world, making over a billion dollars in revenue. According to Forbes (2013), “the 600 millionth iPhone will arrive very near the end of Apple’s fiscal year and around what would be the typical launch window” (para. 7). Many times, in order for companies to determine how well a product or service is doing on the market, they will send surveys to people to get a more personal viewpoint of what current users truly feel about their product of services offered. This is done in order to help determine product value, identify which products sell the most, and provide improved customer satisfaction. The Quantitative approach benefits Apple because it allows for the company to study their market by learning what their consumers like, and what works best for them. The information gathered from consumer behavior, opinions, and attitudes can lead Apple to think of new innovative ways it can create products for its market base. Another benefit of gathering information from consumers is that it can lead to fixing current issues like the iCloud dilemma, and finding ways of improving and making it better more useful for its c.

1. Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Victoria M. Bingue, Meredith Crawford, Lailah Jones, Terry
Ferrell, John Peterson
RES 351
8/18/14
Charles Fanning
Running head: PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS
RESEARCH: PART 3
1
PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH: PART 3
5
Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 3
Apple Inc. is a well-known company with plenty of positives
but it has several areas it needs to improve. Quantitative
research generates numerical data, and qualitative research does
not generate numerical data. With Apple Inc. being one of the
largest technology companies in the world, much of their data is
quantitative because of the numerous products and features they
offer. When Apple conducts research of any kind, its main
ethical goal should be to protect the personal data of its
customers.
When Apple Inc. announced its development of the iPhone in
January 2007 and then released the product in June. This was a

2. full year and half before the world would see the first android
phone. (German, 2011). The management at Apple Inc. decided
that in order to control the market they had to win over a small
segment of consumers. This segment was considered the early
adapters, and would consist of a group of people who would try
the new technology first, before the mainstream. This was a
great risk, but they ended up helping Apple create a brand new
product and market.
Quantitative or Qualitative
To keep up with sales and what products customers like the
most, Apple can use the quantitative research to determine
which product was sold most. This will help generate numbers
based off sales revenue, and which products were chosen the
most by consumers. Many people have iPads, iPhones, and Mac
Books which are currently the most popular products Apple Inc.
offers. Apple has sold over 500 million iPhones throughout the
world, making over a billion dollars in revenue.
According to Forbes (2013), “the 600 millionth iPhone will
arrive very near the end of Apple’s fiscal year and around what
would be the typical launch window” (para. 7). Many times, in
order for companies to determine how well a product or service
is doing on the market, they will send surveys to people to get a
more personal viewpoint of what current users truly feel about
their product of services offered. This is done in order to help
determine product value, identify which products sell the most,
and provide improved customer satisfaction.
The Quantitative approach benefits Apple because it allows for
the company to study their market by learning what their
consumers like, and what works best for them. The information
gathered from consumer behavior, opinions, and attitudes can
lead Apple to think of new innovative ways it can create
products for its market base. Another benefit of gathering
information from consumers is that it can lead to fixing current
issues like the iCloud dilemma, and finding ways of improving
and making it better more useful for its customers.
Effectively Use the Power of Both Designs

3. One of the reasons Apple Inc. is able to stay ahead of its
competition is because it effectively utilizes quantitative and
qualitative research methods. Apple is a company that is not
afraid of taking chances or following its own path. Qualitative
research can be used through focus groups to help Apple
develop new technology like it has done in the past with the
iPhone. This type of qualitative research is often used by many
different companies, but Apple is known for using these focus
groups in all aspects of its work, thus setting Apple apart from
its competitors. Quantitative research can help Apple continue
to improve on their new and existing technology by gathering
new, up-to-date information from its consumers. By conducting
surveys from its consumers, collecting the data presented, and
then using this information to improve Apple Inc., quantitative
research is a real leg up for them.
Drawbacks of Using One Design to Research
A major drawback of using one design of research is that too
much focus is put into one area, or attempt at finding a certain
desired result. At the moment, Apple is putting all of its focus
on Quantitative research methods in attempt to come up with
improvements to its already existing products and software. By
doing so, this narrow-minded type of focus may be allowing
Apple’s competition sneak up a few spots closer to releasing the
new ‘top product.’ Qualitative research is considered to be
unstable for expensive critical business decisions. This belief
may have led to Apple Inc. to allow its competition to close the
gap between their products and services and others on the
market. It seems that Apple Inc. has gotten away from its roots
of taking chances, being the most innovative, and living up to
its motto of “Think Different”.
Conclusion
The success of the company is merely based on the sale of its
products as well as the satisfaction of the customers. With the
use of Quantitative research, Apple has been able to track the

4. sales and revenue of their products to measure their success of
products. This method of business research can be deemed
successful in the eyes of Apple, considering that they are able
to track where exactly they are lacking instead of hoping a
customer will send in a survey. With Apple remaining in the top
five of the fortune 500 list, their methods of business research
and resolution can be considered as being successful in all
aspects.
Reference:
German, K. (2011, August 2). A brief history of Android
phones. Retrieved from Cnet: http://www.cnet.com/news/a-
brief-history-of-android-phones/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2014/03/25/without
-much-fanfare-apple-has-sold-its-500-millionth-iphone/
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Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH PART:2
1
PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH
6
Preparing to Conduct Business Research Part: 2
Victoria M. Bingue, Meredith Crawford, Lailah Jones
RES 351
8/11/14
Charles Fanning
Preparing to Conduct Business Research Part: 2
As discussed in Preparing to Conduct Business Research Part: 1,
Apple Inc. is a well-known company with plenty of positives
but it has several areas it needs to improve. This paper will be
discussing those problems and how business research will help
aid in fixing these problems. The specific questions that will be
answered are as follows: What are the key business objectives?
What are the questions that must be researched? What are the
hypotheses and variables that must be considered? What ethical
considerations must be taken into account? Once answering
these questions Apple Inc., will be able to see the purpose and

6. importance behind this research.
Key Business Objectives
Many companies may ask themselves, why should we do
research? Well here are some of the key business objectives
associated with research and in regard to Apple Inc.’s problems.
According to Apple Inc. "it is committed to bringing the best
personal computing experience to students, educators, creative
professionals and consumers around the world through its
innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings"
(Farfan, 2014) . After reading part 1 it is easy to see that these
objectives Apple wanted to keep are slowing fading as other
technology companies surpass them in these area. Researching
the problems from Preparing to Conduct Business Research
Part: 1 and how to fix them will allow Apple Inc. to stay on top
of this ever changing business to ensure the key objectives of
being the best computing experience, innovative hardware,
software and Internet offering.
Questions in Need of Research
So, what can Apple Inc. do to fix any problems within the
organization? What steps do they have to take as a team to
reach a quota? How will the problem affect the business and its
customers? Apple Inc. is very committed to bringing innovative
computing experiences to its customers and consumers. As one
of the largest technology companies in the world, Apple become
faced with challenges on a day-to-day basis. In part one of our
team paper, Apple Inc. was in the process of being sued by a
women for poor service.
Apple needs to figure out how to manage its iCloud and
iMessage so individuals will have less problems when they
leave Apple. iPhone user experience minor issues with his/her

7. cell phone, and that could come from many reasons like
dropping it or letting it over heat. One thing about iPhone is it
is made similar to a personal computer just smaller. It over
heats and it has to be shut down the correct way otherwise it
may cause issues. The battery can overheats in the sun, and
sometime that “4G” does not seem as fast as advertised. Many
of these issues can be taken into consideration and business
research can be done to identify the hypotheses on how Apple
should fix the issues. Some of these questions may have been
answered because iPhone try to better its product each time it
releases a new one iPhone.
Hypothesis and Variables
The hypothesis and variables that needs to be considered is that
there are major updates that apple has to make in order to boost
their level of customer satisfaction. With major companies
putting up a good fight as far as the speed of internet, the new
Windows phone “Cortana” that is said to be smarter than the
iPhone, and the droid system now teaming up with Amazon to
make their own cellular device, Apple really has to come out
with something that will wow their audience to get them to be
faithful customers. “If iPhone continues to give up leadership
(barely held by adding iPhone 5 stats), the company can be
pushed into a spiral like many of its predecessors” (Balaji,
Viswanathan).Apple already has made a name and a brand for
themselves, so if they were to do something so amazing, their
sells would increase drastically, the stock market will remain
the same, if not increase more, and most importantly, they
would win the hearts of their customers over again. “If a
company of the caliber of Apple starts slowing down in
innovation, customers start doubting the company’s strengths. A
lot of times this can send the company into a downward spiral
in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy (Balaji, Viswanathan).”
Ethical Considerations
When any research is conducted ethics always comes into play.
Without ethics in research the research becomes tainted. Due to

8. the fact that Apple Inc. is such a large technology company it
has access to a lot of personal data from all of its consumers.
Therefore, when Apple conducts research, of any kind, its main
ethical goal should be to protect the personal data of its
customers. It is also ethically responsible to let its customers
know if any of their personal information is compromised.
Apple recently stated “Apple has always placed a priority on
protecting our customers’ personal data, and we don’t collect or
maintain a mountain of personal details about our customers in
the first place” (Apple Inc.,2013).
Purpose of Research
The purpose of the research is for Apple to utilize the findings
in order to keep customers wanting more of their excellent
products. In such a competitive market, the game is to eat or be
eaten. Stocks has been dropping drastically, which can be seen
as a sign that people are losing faith in the product of Apple.
Once upon a time, people would camp outside for their amazing
products and they would be sold out for a very long time period.
Now, people have to wait years for Apple to come out with
something so amazing, that customers are getting their thirst for
advanced technology somewhere else. Could it be because of
the tragic death of Steve Jobs? Possibly. “Since the demise of
Steve Jobs, the company’s leadership has not given the
confidence that they can run a $500 billion company (Balaji,
Viswanathan).” But Apple just has to remember what they once
believed in without Steve Jobs, find some leadership that
thrives on the world of technology, and get back in the game.
Conclusion
This paper has outlined how Apple Inc. should proceed with
researching how to improve its problems laid out in part 1 of
this paper. Once Apple had decided its key objectives of the
research it the came up with its hypothesis “If iPhone continues
to give up leadership (barely held by adding iPhone 5 stats), the
company can be pushed into a spiral like many of its

9. predecessors” (Balaji, Viswanathan). The reason for this
research is so Apple can improve its customer retention and
customer satisfaction.
References
· Apple's Commitment to Customer Privacy. (2013). Retrieved
from https://www.apple.com/apples-commitment-to-customer-
privacy/
· Balaji, Viswanathan. (2013). Why is Apple Stock Falling
Down. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/02/13/why-is-apple-
stock-falling-down/
· Farfan, B. (2014). Apple Inc. Mission Statement Is Not Very
Innovative and Barely a Mission At All. Retrieved from
http://retailindustry.about.com/od/retailbestpractices/ig/Compan
y-Mission-Statements/Apple-Inc--Mission-Statement.htm
Running head: PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS
RESEARCH
1
PREPARING TO CONDUCT BUSINESS RESEARCH
2
Preparing to Conduct Business Research
Victoria M. Bingue, Meredith Crawford, John Peterson, Lailah
Jones, Terry Ferrell
RES 351
8/4/14
Charles Fanning

10. Preparing to Conduct Business Research
As organizations continue to diversify, the opportunities for
workplace problems intensify. Organizations often face issues
within the company for several of reasons, and depending on the
reasons will determine the issue. Many factors can lead to
organizational problems within a workplace. Apple Inc. is an
American multinational corporation that designs, develops, and
sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services,
and personal computers.
Founded in 1976, by Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. is one of the
world’s leading corporations and is the world's second-largest
information technology company. Even after years of perfecting
Apple Inc. the organization still face issues today that could
potential lead to lost in revenue sales, shareholder value, and
customers/consumers. Some of Apples current issues involve
social media, strong competition from other technology
companies and issues with products and software.
Issue, Opportunities and Problems
Although there are major issues facing Apple Inc., CEO Tim
Cook has been quiet on addressing these, and these are the main
reason that Apple is continuing to be behind in the race of
technology. Issues like the iCloud, internet, social media, and
acquiring strong business partners will be the downfall of this
company. Although all of these issues could amount to
catastrophic events for the company, there are as many
opportunities for improvement some of which they have made
and others that are still in the works.
Starting with the iCloud services. iCloud is a wonderful tool
that is PC free and allows Apple products to back up, restore,
hold iTunes app store and downloads as well as documents,

11. email, calendar, and contact services. All of these services are
provided on the iCloud server. Forbes stated that, “when iCloud
launched, it relied heavily on Amazon and Microsoft to deliver
their first iCloud functionality. As Facebook and Google
continue to develop these services, they have a lot of in house
knowledge on scaling these up. Apple – at present – does not”
(Forbes, 2013).
Now that iCloud is one of the biggest perks of having an Apple
product, where does it go from there? Since iCloud runs solely
on internet services, the need to roll out amazing internet
service is extremely vital to the products survival. This is
something else that Apple has yet to get up to date with, and is
taking a slow approach to do so, while their competitors are
moving ahead. Since Apples competitors have improved their
internet service, Apple now has the opportunity to piggy back
off of their research and technology, allowing them the same if
not better service. “Google was never perfect out of the blocks
with their Internet Services but they do seem to be on a roll
lately. Apple does need more external talent with these skills
injected into the organization“(Forbes, 2013).
With the iPhone drawing in a lot of teenagers because it is able
to provide them with a strong access to social media, however,
because the world of Apps are ever changing it is hard for
Apple to stay in trends with the constant changes. Eric Jackson
stated that, “it’s not obvious that Apple can understand social
and take advantage of its evolution from here, without having a
lot of internal talent who live and breathe social” (Jackson,
2013). Jackson brought up a great point, Apple needs to higher
more internal talent, which they have the opportunity to do so
since the technology generation is starting to graduate from
college with advanced degrees in technology.
Although, Twitter and Apple have become strong business
partners by integrating Twitter into iOS 5, there have been
recent talks whether or not it is a great investment for Apple to

12. inject social media if they were to purchase it. But, how would
Twitter be able to keep its individuality if it are bought by
Apple? Forbes said, “Everyone knows that they haven’t done
any big multi-billion dollar acquisitions of outside companies,
but the question is: could they – even if they wanted to? It’s not
at all clear” (Forbes, 2013)
There is a huge need for them to fix the issues that are listed,
before Apple is able to invest its time, money and effort into
merging with any companies. Although, Apple recently
purchased Beats by Dre, which could become a huge asset, how
will customers be able to enjoy the music on his/hers iCloud if
one cannot access to it? How will they be able to talk about new
product if the customers do not have access to social media?
Consumers may never know and with Apples lack of
vocalization on the issues and potential solutions, they might
lose faith and jump ship to one of Apples many competitors.
Another issue facing Apple Inc. is its many lawsuits. For
example, recently, a female in California sued Apple. She
claims the company's iMessage service caused texts coming to
her new Android smartphone to disappear. The company had
been aware of this issue since the release of iOS 5, and had
warned users to turn off the proprietary service prior to
transferring their SIM card or phone number to a non-iOS
device.
In the claim, the plaintiff notes she was automatically opted-in
to use iMessage when her iPhone 4 updated to iOS 5. When she
later traded in that device for a Galaxy S5, iMessage continued
to send text messages originating from other iPhone users to the
now deactivated Apple smartphone without forwarding them to
the Samsung handset. This is just one of any lawsuits facing
Apple and although this might seem trivial, too many trivial
lawsuits can lead to a huge financial liability, not to mention,
loss of reputation, consumers and revenue.

13. Conclusion
Steve Jobs once stated that, “Sometimes when you innovate,
you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on
with improving your other innovations.” Following the words of
a man with such wisdom is something that would help Apple be
on the top of their game and get back to what really matters,
which is providing the world with high quality products. Apple
has the potential to take over the world of technology, but it is
up to them to spark that flame and perfect the flaws that are
present and prevent those in the future.
WORKS CITED
· Jackson, Eric. Forbes.(2/26/2013). The 5 Big Problems Facing
Apple - None of Which Is Too Much Cash. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2013/02/26/the-5-big-
problems-facing-apple-none-of-which-is-too-much-cash/