Micron Ltd manufactures microwave ovens in India. After two decades of low sales growth, Micron wants to reposition its product and explore alternative distribution methods through market research. The proposal outlines conducting exploratory research through focus groups to understand consumer cooking habits and perceptions of microwave ovens. Quantitative research through surveys will then assess the viability of positioning microwaves as reheating devices and potential distribution channels. The results will help Micron refine its marketing strategy to boost sales.

1. Section A
1. “Explorative research is better than descriptive research”. Do you agree with this statement?
Why or why not?
2. A company would like to create customer segments by using the following criteria: quality
perception, travel time, sales, and kilometres travelled per year. Which analysis method can be
used to make such customer segmentation?
3. What is a moderator? Explain with the help of a suitable example
4. Citibank wants to introduce a new type of credit card to existing consumers and wants to
conduct a survey to know the perceptions of its consumers. List various survey research
methods and explain which one will you choose
5. An instructor teaching an introductory course in marketing has 500 students enrolled in her
class. Some students in the class request the instructor to cancel her class on Friday as they have
to submit an assignment. She agrees to do so if 70% of the students agreed with the proposal to
cancel the class. Instead of asking every student to participate in the poll, she asks students to
write their names on index cards and put them in a collection basket. She then asks a student to
pull out 100 cards from the basket without looking at the basket or the cards. What kind of
sampling technique is she using, and if you were in her position, will you follow a different
sampling technique?
6. Explain the differences between interdependence and dependence methods. Provide one
example of a method each.
7. Explain the differences between Spearman’s Correlation and Pearson’s Correlation
8. State any 3 differences between ANOVA and Regression analysis
9. Distinguish between nominal scale and ratio scale. Provide suitable example
10. A producer of chocolate would like to change the package of its 100g chocolate bar. Thus, the
company would like to test the perception of two different packages in a pre test. In a
questionnaire consumers were asked to rate their intention to purchase the products. Which
analysis method would you apply to solve the problem and why?
Section B
1. Discuss the activities or steps in the problem definition process in the context of launching a
new mobile phone for high-end consumers. The steps should detail what you as a researcher
will do with reference to the case. Do not provide just theoretical response
2. Below are 10 questions that might be found on questionnaires. Comment on each as to whether
or not it is a good question. If it is not, explain briefly (in one or two sentences) why it is not a
good question.
i. Do you read marketing digest regularly?
ii. Have you ever committed a marketing fraud before at your work?
iii. Don’t you think the Government is doing a great job now?
iv. If McDonalds starts selling Samosa, how often would you visit McDonalds?
v. How much did you pay for the last cell-phone you purchased?

2. vi. Did the media coverage that you saw or heard increase your awareness of free or
low-income fitness and recreation opportunities in your community?
vii. Are you satisfied with the service provided by the hotel? Please rate on a scale of 1
–7
viii. Did you eat the strange yellowish Mushroom curry in Paradise hotel?
ix. What is your age?
x. Do you own a car or frequently travelled in cars?
3. Raju, the manager of a car dealership, did not want to stock cars that were bought less
frequently because of their unpopular color. The five colors that he ordered were red, yellow,
green, blue, and white. According to Raju, the customers chose cars last year which are provided
in the expected frequencies column in percentages. He felt that consumers will follow the same
pattern. However, he now took a random sample of 150 customers and asked them their color
preferences. The results of this poll are shown in Table 1 under the column labeled observed
frequencies. Advice whether Raju can order according to the previous year or should follow the
survey result? (The table value for Chi Square for 4 df and P=.05 level of significance is 9.49.)
Category
Color Observed Frequencies Expected Frequencies
Yellow 35 30
Red 50 45
Green 30 15
Blue 10 15
White 25 45
4. A production manager wants to examine the relationship between (a) Aptitude test score given
prior to hiring, and (b) Performance rating three months after starting work. A random sample
of 10 production workers was selected. The test scores as well as performance rating was
recorded. Ascertain whether there is any association between the two variables.
Aptitude Performance
Worker Test Rating
(Out of 100) (Out of 10)
1 59 7
2 47 4.5
3 58 6
4 66 7
5 77 8
6 89 9
7 63 5.5
8 44 6
9 94 9.5
10 71 8.5
5. HATCO management has long been interested in more accurately predicting the level of
business obtained from its customers in the attempt to provide a better basis for production

3. controls and marketing efforts. In order to end this, analysts at HATCO proposed that a multiple
regression analysis should be attempted to predict the product usage levels of customers based
on their perceptions of HATCO's performance. So as to predict the product usage levels, they
took the following points into consideration, based on previous research: Delivery Speed, Price
Level, Price Flexibility, Manufacturer's Image, Service, Sales force Image, and Product Quality.
State the type of independent and dependent variables in the above situation, and also write
the linear model.
6. Explain two group difference methods and explain two differences between them. Also provide
an example, when such a method is used
7. Consider the following data obtained from a survey conducted by an office canteen in
Singapore.
Respondent Preferences for Consumption per
Sex Age Race Food Drink week
Zahid Ibrahim M 19 Malay Malayan Cola 5 2
P. Narayanam M 17 Indian Chinese Non-cola 3 5
Tony Chia M 20 Chinese Malayan Non-cola 1 7
Winnie Teo F 19 Chinese Indian Cola 5 2
Jimmy Tay M 18 Chinese Chinese Cola 4 4
Halima F 18 Malay Malayan Cola 4 4
Albert Wong M 17 Chinese Indian Non-cola 3 8
Molly Tan F 19 Chinese Indian Non-cola 7 1
Zulekha Aini F 19 Indian Malayan Cola 2 6
Alfred Tan M 17 Chinese Chinese Non-cola 5 3
Eddy Gan M 18 Chinese Chinese Non-cola 5 1
Julie Chew F 20 Chinese Indian Cola 2 6
Jack Tay M 18 Chinese Chinese Cola 4 4

4. Jubaida F 16 Malay Malayan Cola 4 4
Alvin Wong M 17 Chinese Chinese Non-cola 5 4
Felicia Tan F 19 Chinese Indian Non-cola 1 7
Zohair Ali M 18 Malay Malayan Cola 4 4
James Wan M 17 Chinese Malayan Non-cola 3 8
Lily Tay F 16 Chinese Indian Cola 5 1
Jacob Goh M 18 Chinese Malayan Cola 2 6
Analyze the data and write a short report. Your report must contain
i. A frequency distribution of respondents’ age, gender and race.
ii. Total consumption of three types of foods and two types of drinks
8. Explain ‘multicollinearity’ and its importance in multiple regression
9. “The relationship between variables can be explained in various ways”. Explain the different
ways in which a relationship can be explained with the help of relevant examples.
10. You are a successful manufacturer of sport equipment and you sell your products in three
identical outlets (with regard to layout, location, size). You would like to improve the layout of
the store by using certain fragrances in order to boost sales. For that reason you would like to
know which flavour most positively affects the consumer’s decision to purchase. You conduct an
experiment by testing three flavours (orange, lemon, and vanilla) for five days in the three
stores. You measure sales in each store. In order to analyze data you will use (one way) analysis
of variance (ANOVA).
a. What is the concrete management problem? Please transfer this problem to a concrete
hypothesis that should be tested by applying (one way) analysis of variance (ANOVA)
b. Shortly explain the key objective of an (one way) analysis of variance. Please indicate
the independent and dependent variable for the example described above.
c. Please indicate an advantage and a disadvantage of the (one way) analysis of variance
(ANOVA). Which alternative analysis method(s) could be used to overcome this
constraint of the (one way) analysis of variance (ANOVA) (it is assumed that the
assumption of this alternative method can be fulfilled)?

5. Section C
Case Study:
MICRON Ltd
Micron Ltd. is a consumer durable products company marketing a range of products in India. Looking at
the competition among different types of consumer durables it had decided to specialize in Microwave
Ovens. They justified this choice as its penetration in Indian markets is very low while in most of the
developed countries it has reached practically every household. They saw no reason as to why an Indian
housewife should not go for quick, frying free and uniform cooking.
Sales of Micron microwave ovens did not pick up in first few years. Then they resorted to price
reductions. After trying all possible cost cutting measures they had reached to almost the rock bottom
of prices. Still the sales were not picking up and long hoped growth phase of the product lifecycle
remained elusive. This was so after about two decades of the launch of product in India.
It was suggested that the product was not taking off as it doesn’t suit Indian cooking habits like deep
frying and cooking fresh meals all the time. This prompted the management to think of repositioning the
product as reheating gadget rather than primary cooking equipment. They were also thinking about
alternative distribution methods. This was necessary as with the low prices and margins the retailers
were not very keen about giving the right amount of attention and efforts that the product required for
selling to the customers
The management of Micron Ltd., was looking appropriate market research to provide sound and logical
answers to the questions in their mind.
Question: Prepare a marketing research proposal to help Micron Ltd.