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Decision makers in organisations often have a need for information that goes beyond their own and their teams’ expertise and experience. This may be the case in novel situations or when complex phenomena occur. For example, what causes problem X and how can we address it effectively? In such decision situations, managers often rely on insights from business research to better comprehend phenomena or to test different ideas or suggestions.
The purpose of this module is to foster an understanding of how research feeds into the decision-making process in organisations (i.e., through actionable insights) and to prepare you to carry out independent research. We will discuss how to transform a decision problem into a question that can guide research. We will learn how to develop theoretical models of how the world ought to work with the goal of informing our research question. Furthermore, students will learn how to test their predictions (i.e., models) against empirical data. Throughout this module, students will begin developing relevant practical skills, such as undertaking a literature review, research design, data collection and analysis of data.
The practical relevance of business research to managers will be highlighted throughout the Actionable Insights Through Research module. Industry speakers will talk about different stages in their decision-making process (e.g., problem recognition) and how these translate into actionable research (e.g., business research questions). This will illustrate the link between different needs of decision makers and the implementation of business research.
For some students, Actionable Insights Through Research is also the beginning of your Business Research Project.
The module is experiential in design. Time in class will include some lectures and discussion, accompanied by exercises that lead to the development of essential research skills.
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ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS THROUGH RESEARCH
