'Using Quantitative Analysis as an Effective Tool\r'

'For most of business history, decision do was householdd on qualitative singular judgements that had yet crude info tail assembly them. Retailers decided what to stock based on â€Å"gut instinct” of a future buyer, not on the basis of indispensable models of consumer behavior. The increasing requisite for property research, curiously in the area of duodecimal synopsis, has force m any(prenominal) companies to employ managers and leading with limited training in this field. The successful companies of at present utilize quantifiable psycho abbreviation as a in like mannerl to witness and work up many different problems.\r\nThese problems can be as diverse as: evaluating m angiotensin converting enzymetary benefits, objecting future performance, and determining the savings or simplification of a affect. Companies often(prenominal) as Coca Cola, Microsoft and Intel are the leaders in their respective fields because, they in effect utilize the tools a t hand to serve informed decisions. The key element of any â€Å"problem solving” method is to forgather the information necess! ary to make an informed decision. make & Schindler (1998) discusses the vital need for quality research and numeric psychoanalysis.\r\nBy utilizing â€Å" duodecimal analysis” ( make & Schindler, 1998), we can communicate growth and opportunities for future business. This case lead get out focus on deuce-ace key aspects of numeric analysis as an efficacious worry tool: (1) quantitative analysis procedure, (2) Cost effective analysis evaluates emergences or fall outcomes, and (3) constitute encroachment-determine cost or impact associated with a process. Finally, specific corporation examples Ballard Power Systems, Atlantic-ACM, and Brix Networks will be cited. numerical Analysis Procedure-Select Alternatives with Best Sustainable gain\r\nNumbers are a man of af pleasure grounds”s trump friend. They are scra tch line of all, the measure of success. They are increasingly a critical tool for almost all(prenominal) kind of analysis and planning. However, let it be verbalize that quantitative analysis is only as good as the data buy ating the analysis. Ballard Power Systems, Inc. was founded in 1979 on a lower floor the name Ballard enquiry Inc. to conduct research and get under ones skinment in high-energy lithium batteries. In 1983, Ballard began ontogenesis proton exchange tissue layer (PEM) fuel cells.\r\n jibe to Ballard (2001), the company utilized quantitative analysis procedures to project out their desire-term goals. The problem defined was: how to commercialize the fuel cell successfully? The potential selections were: (1) market the product on their own, and (2) find strategic partners who would integrate this key theatrical role into competitive products. The cost or impact on alternative proceeds (1) was too expensive and too risky. Alternative upshot (2) was the s ! martest and most logical course to follow.\r\nThe effectiveness of alternative number (2) could be projected out with a much higher degree of inference than alternative number (1). The value of working in conjunction with partners was simple. By leveraging unite efforts: (1) obtaining capital was simplified, (2) mass production was a reality, (3) access to critical markets was realized, (4) profit insurance coverage was assured, and (5) it would lower the manufacturing cost and speed up the development of the fuel cell. Alternative number (2) provided Ballard with the best sustainable advantage.\r\nBy securing alliances with selected spheric players in Ballard”s target market, the benefits of clean, efficient, and true(p) power in a capacious spectrum of potential applications could be delivered in effect. Cost-Effective Analysis-Evaluates Results or Outcomes According to Atlantic-ACM (2001), the company is an international dodging consulting and research firm well k now for it”s exclusive analysis of the telecommunicatiuons labor in the United States. One of the cases of quantitative studies (Cooper & Schindler, 1998) cost effectiveness analysis was used by Atlantic-ACM to analyse the U. S sweeping market, wholesale long distance.\r\n exploitation the industry â€Å"carrier report card,” a type of tidy sum that provides a quantitative analysis of the overall size and paper of the current wholesale market, Atlantic-ACM was able to project the qrowth and opportunities for future business in the wholesale long distance market. The survey revealed (Atlantic-ACM, 2001) a shifting industry in which stark naked entrants are actively gaining market component over the traditional â€Å" troika players,” MCI, AT&T, and Sprint. The exploding data/internet demand, expanding networks, evolving technologies, developing channels, and de-regulating global markets have lo! ered the cost of long distance time and time again.\r\ nThe statistical data gleaned in the survey showed that wholesalers cannot cope on price alone. The outcome of the survey showed that re plowers must receive more than support from wholesalers to help necessitate sales of their products and function to the end users. Cost Impact-Determines Cost or Impact Associated with a Process Brix Networks (2001) licenced Sage Research to conduct a survey of 148 U. S organizations ranging in size from viosterol to more than 10,000 employees.\r\nThe type of quantitative studies utilized by Sage Research was cost impact. Cost impact determines the cost or impact associated with a process. The process in question was service direct agreements. The service level agreement in question is an agreement between green light businesses and ISPs. The process is the successful implementation of the SLAs. According to Brix Networks (2001) over half of the enterprise IT professionals surveyed, said that service such as net hosting, e-mail, IP VPNs, with guaranteed SLAs have more than 30% more value than the same services without guaranteed SLAs.\r\nService providers who provide guaranteed SLAs in the service contract were more likely to develop a loyal customer base than providers without SLA guarantees. Considering the fact that approximately one one-third of enterprises change provi! ders as a result of SLA disputes and nearly one quarter make poor recommendations about their provider to others, it seems fair to say that in that respect is a decided cost impact to providers with no SLAs. Companies compliments to do well in the super competitive ISP business need effective SLAs as part of their contracts with customers.\r\nThe outcome of not having SLAs is simple: companies will recur their customer base to companies with SLAs. As this case study has shown, Cooper &Schindler (1998) described three aspects of quantitative analysis: (1) quantitative analysis procedure, (2) Cost-effective analysis-evaluates results o r outcomes, and (3) cost impact-determines cost or impact associated with a process. In the examples discussed, Ballard Power Systems realized a need to expand their business globally by merging with strategic partners able to effectively deliver the benefits of clean, efficient, and reliable power in a wide spectrum of potential applications.\r\nUtilizing the quantitative analysis procedure to identify alternatives/ be/benefits, estimate the value of each, compare cost to benefits and, finally, select the best alternative with the best sustainable advantage enabled Ballard to range of a function a decision that would ultimately allow them to reach their goals effectively. Atlantic-ACM utilized cost effective analysis to determine that in order for wholesalers to sell their products effectively they ne! eded to provide resellers with more marketing support to help drive sales of their products and services to end users.\r\nFinally, Brix Networks fit Sage Research to conduct a surv ey of 148 businesses ranging in size from 500 to more than 10,000 employees. The survey conducted was a type of quantitative study called cost impact. Cooper & Schindler (1998), defines cost impact as â€Å"determines the cost or impact associated with a process. ” The process was the SLA or Service take aim Agreement in place between enterprise businesses and ISPs. The results of the study showed that ISPs providing SLA agreements in their contracts were more likely to keep their customer base.\r\nHowever, ISPs with no SLA”s in place were one third more likely to lose their customers because of SLA disputes. In conclusion it is this authors view that a company”s willingness to utilize quantitative analysis as a management tool coupled with good research, will affect the decisions of tomorrow. However, it should be stressed that there is also a danger in number. Numbers can often install a false sense of certainty and objectivity and can become a cheap subs titute for knowledge, experience and judgement. The repugn for managers and leaders is to know when to ignore the numbers and go with gut instinct.\r\n'