FINAL REPORT SUBMISSION
ICFAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, AHMEDABAD
NAME: HIMANSHU SAXENA
COLLEGE MENTER: Mr. TOBY MAMMEN
COMPANY NAME: DEXTER COSULTANCY
COMPANY MENTOR: Mr. ABHISHEK RATHI
ENROLLOMENT NO: 0901200883
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A FINAL REPORT
For
Leading furniture And Modular Kitchen Systems Ahmedabad SIP: DEXTER CONSULTANCY
UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND AWARENESS OF MODULAR FUNITURE FOR A LEADING L EADING FURNITURE AND MODULAR KITCHEN COMPANY
SUBMITTED TO:
SUBMITTED BY:
MR. TOBY MAMMEN
HIMANSHU SAXENA ID: 0901200883
ii
A FINAL REPORT
For
Leading furniture And Modular Kitchen Systems Ahmedabad SIP: DEXTER CONSULTANCY
UNDERSTANDING THE CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND AWARENESS OF MODULAR FUNITURE FOR A LEADING L EADING FURNITURE AND MODULAR KITCHEN COMPANY
SUBMITTED TO:
SUBMITTED BY:
MR. TOBY MAMMEN
HIMANSHU SAXENA ID: 0901200883
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work begins the imprints of many persons whose valuable assistance and insightful suggestion have made this project worthy. With sincere thoughts and deep sense of gratitude I would like take this opportunity to give my sincere thanks to MR. RAHUL SANGHVI (MD and CHAIRMAN) M/s Dexter Consultancy LTD for giving opportunity to work for their organization. I am also thankful to Mr. ABHISHEK RATHI, Mr. ANURAG ARJUN and Mrs. MEHA SANGHVI whose able guidance helped me to give the present shape of the project. I take this opportunity to thank our faculty in charge Mr. TOBY MAMMEN for encouraging with his kind words of knowledge and wisdom and also co-operating with us. It is immense pleasure to extend my gratitude and I would also like to thank my institute ICFAI BUSINESS SCHOOL, AHMEDABAD and other staff members for the knowledge gained that helped me to sharpen my skills. I shall remain grateful to all of them and hope their best wishes will guide me to come out with flying colors on the path of honesty and harmony. YOURS TRULY HIMANSHU SAXENA 0901200883
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AUTHORIZATION The report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of MBA Program of the ICFAI University, Dehradun. HIMANSHU SAXENA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. ACKNOLWEDGEMENT........................................................................................................iii 2. AUTHORIZATION................................................................................................................iv 3. ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................1 4. CHAPTER 1 -
INTRODUCTION AND STUDY ON THE LEADING MODULAR KITCHEN BRAND...........................................................................................................................3 OBJECTIVE(3) SCOPE (3) LIMITATIONS (4) SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION (4) METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION (5)
5. CHAPTER 2 -
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED..........................................................................................6 RESEARCH DESIGN (6) SAMPLING PLAN (6) TARGET RESPONDENTS (7) AREA COVERED (7) TIME FRAME (7) SPECIFYING THE SAMPLING FRAME (7)
6. CHAPTER 3......................................................................................................................9 -
OPERATIONAL EXECUTION OF THE PROJECT (9)
-
OPERATIONAL SCHEDULE SCHEDULE OF THE PROJECT (10)
7. CHAPTER 4 -
PRODUCT DETAILING...............................................................................................13 MODULAR KITCHEN IN INDIA (13) MODULAR KITCHEN CABINETS (13) DESIGNS IN MODULAR KITCHEN (13) MODULAR KITCHEN IN REALITY (13) ACCESSORIES OF MODULAR KITCHEN (15) MERITS OF MODULAR KITCHEN (15)
8. CHAPTER 5 -
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS OF MODULAR KITCHEN.............................................................16 MODULAR KITCHEN MARKET IN INDIA (16) PRICE RANGE OF MODULAR KITCHEN (16) BRANDS ACTIVE IN INDIA (17) v
COMPARISON OF MODULAR KITCHEN (18) 9. CHAPTER 6.......................................................................................................................19 -
ANALYSIS PLAN OF THE PROJECT PERCEPTION OF RESPONDENTS ABOUT COMPANY A(22) MAJOR INFLUENCER IN BUYING MODULAR FURNITURE(25) SOURCE OF AWARENESS OF COMAPANY A (26) SOURCE OF AWARENESS OF OTHER BRANDS (27) PURCHASING ATTRIBUTES OF MODULAR KITCHEN (27) INFLUENCE OF ARCHITECT (28) BRAND ATTRIBUTES CUSTOMER ASSOCIATE WITH COMPANY A (29) PERCEPTION OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTS (30) MAPPING COMPETITORS WITH A (31)
10. CHAPTER 7......................................................................................................................32 -
WORKING and LEARNING IN OTHER PROJECTS A LEADING PETROL PUMP (32) MARKET MAPPING OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING COURSES IN KOZHIKODE (36) OPERATION EXECUTION OF LEADING APPAREL STORE (38) PROJECT OF LEADING ARCHITECT FIRM (44) FEASIBILITY OF COMPLINACE SUPERVISION SOFTWARE (45) SECONDARY SEARCH TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES (46) DEBUGGING OF ERP (47) PREPARED A CASE STUDY (48)
11. ANNEXURE -
PROFILE OF THE COMPANY........................................................................................49
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ABSTRACT Kitchen is one of the most important parts of our home and its interiors are as much important as other rooms are. A new concept that has entered in the wor ld of kitchen interiors is Modular Kitchen. As the name suggests, modular kitchen is made up of several modular which are fitted together to form a design. Modular kitchens not only make cooking easier, but also add a touch of glamour to our kitchen interiors. These days, several types of modular kitchen fittings are available in the market in different specifications, colors and styles. Whether our kitchen is small or large, simply every type of fittings is available to match our style and requirement. Whenever there is a talk of kitchen, it is considered the most important part of house for women. So, the decoration and care of kitchen is as important as the other parts of home. As the question of decorating the kitchen arises, many of people seem to have taken a fancy to the modular kitchen of late. The modular k itchen set has now become a ubiquitous feature.
MEANING OF MODULAR FURNITURE Modular kitchen is called because the modules are put together to form design of kitchen. The cabinets are designed according to the size, length and breathe of the kitchen. In addition, important accessories like chimneys, ventilators and sinks are inbuilt which in turn reduce the overheat.
Modular Kitchen is a term used for the modern kitchen furniture layout consisting of modules (units) of cabinets made of diversified materials which hold accessories inside, which can facilitate the effective usage of the spaces in a kitchen. Normally the units which are kept on the floor are called "floor units" or "floor cabinets" on which a kitchen worktop made of granite, marble, tile or wood has been laid for creating spaces for varied activities in a kitchen. The units which are held on the wall for storage purposes are termed as "wall units" or "wall cabinets". In small areas of kitchen in an apartment, even a "tall storage unit" is available for effective storage. Modular kitchen normally constitutes wooden cabinets, counter tops, internal accessories, electro magnetic gadgets like chimney, hob, built-in-oven, sink w ith or without drain board and in some cases a refrigerator, dishwasher or other gadgets. The designer normally designs the space using modules of st andardized sizes to suit individual spaces. Most kitchen design software that the designer uses has an option where you can edit the catalogs to set the sizes of the kitchen units to t he standard sizes you use. Modular Kitchen has evolved as a revolutionary concept bringing drastic changes in the way we cook food and maintain our kitchen and the things contained in it. The traditional outlook of a common kitchen has gone complete transformation with the implementation of radical interior ideas on the one hand and incorporation of things like kitchen c abinets, island and other 1
accessories on the other. This has improved substantially the functionality of a typical ki tchen and brought comfort to the homemakers and housewives the world over, especially in countries like India, Australia, UK and USA. The issue of kitchen storage space in the cramped flats and houses of contemporary era can successfully be addressed using the concepts, ideas and images of a modular kitchen design. But what makes a modular kitchen different from a traditional one is the avant-garde design ideas in interior décor, floor plans and furniture layouts. The elegance of a well-designed modular kitchen simply sets it apart from how this most important part of our house used to look a few years ago.
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CHAPTER 1
STUDY ON THE LEADING MODULAR KITCHEN BRAND AND INTRODUCTION Company A furniture systems is an Ahmedabad based company which is into premium quality Modular furniture. Company A’s furniture’s are designed to deliver high value and a premium experience to its customers.
OBJECTIVE BEHIND THE STUDY
The broad objective is to und erstand the overall consumer’s perception about Modular. Furniture’s Brand A and its preference for company A furniture’s vis-à-vis competitors. Towards this objective, this research aims at understanding the following: A. The perception of Modular furniture and specifically Company A’s furniture’s through current positioning of Company A’s furniture’s in the minds of the consumers as a premium product. B. To understand the awareness of Company A in the same target Segment. C. Perceptual mapping of Company A when compared to its competitors. D. Feedback of the current customers of Company A. E. Profiling potential customers of Company A based on but not limited to their psychographics, brand preference, loyalty, trust and expected services. F. Determining potential below the line (BTL) activities that can be carried out for the promotion of Company A based on the profiling of the potential as well as current customers.
SCOPE OF STUDY To understand how actually market research is carried out on a live project. Understanding the whole operational procedures and processes that are followed during the market research Understanding the general perception and brand awareness study among the samples and respondents This project will help the company to know where their position stands among the competitors and among the consumers 3
What BTL activities can be carried out by the Company A to increase their potentiability in the market? Do consumers consider Company A as premium brand? Analyzing the strengths and weakness of Company A with its competitors Medium of awareness of Company A and its competitor among the target group Understanding the buying behavior of clients and the factors they take into account while buy modular kitchen and wardrobes The extent to which the buying decision of modular furniture is influenced by architects and interior designers Understanding the analytics part how analysis of a project is done?
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Lack of primary data on the brand awareness and brand perception of a leading modular furniture brand Lack of proper secondary data available in research journals and on internet Hard to get appointments with the Company A users and prospective customers that we wanted to target and also their co-operation Lack of awareness about modular furniture brand Local language problem because getting information through Gujarati becomes a difficult part as most of them are not well versed with the local language Geographical limitation was also there since we have to target the premium segment which were difficult to tap other than Ahmedabad Hard to get appointments from interior architects since mostly are busy with their work Respondent should be SEC A1 or A2 category Sample size should be from a home which has been bought not less than 2 years ago Architects and interior designers who deals in higher branded category of products
SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION
For the collection of data for the Company A we proposed to collect the data from those households which have been newly built, societies which have been constructed in not less than 2 years and high rise bungalows having modular kitchen of other brands, through personal contacts, through information from the internet and the database provide by the company itself of interior designers and architects and the customers of Company A itself.
o o
METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION Questionnaire was both close ended and open ended as per the requirement of information. The interviews for the data collection were conducted with both the spouses (i.e. husband and wife) of the family either by using a joint questionnaire or different questionnaires.
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o
o
o
Interviews with architects, interior designers and competitors were done through mystery shopping in which investigators were sent to them for queries as customers. We first took the appointment of Company A users and then went to their home to collect the data through the questionnaire. When appointment was not feasible, we made cold calls and directly went to their homes without telling them We took the audio recordings of various respondents and took various qualitative information from the recordings which were not normally written during the time of interview.
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CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY ADOPTED
RESEARCH DESIGN We have chosen descriptive study because in this project our objective are clearly defined and we have to gather details about all the aspects of problems.
SAMPLING PLAN -
Sampling plan for current and potential customers were as follows:
Current Category
Customers of Company A
Decision maker
-
Potential
Total
Customers
30
50
80
Sample size of the potential customers was amounted to about 50 so that we can understand what were the future possibilities of Company A venturing into the future and what was the general perception and Psychology of the potential customers and also tracking their buying behavior regarding the kitchen. Sample size of the Users of Company A was amounted to about 26 so that we can understand what is the general perception about the Company A among the users and how do they look Company A as a premium brand. What are their feedbacks and what have they experienced after they have purchased Company A. Sampling plan for competitors catering to same target segment as of Company A
Category
Number
Interior Designers 5 or Architects
6
The main reason behind Interior Architects were chosen since they better know what are the requirements of the clients and what is their general perception about Company A. Since they regularly deal with the clients and meet with various dealers. They know exactly the strength and weakness of each and every brand and will be easily able to say which brand performs the best on what factor.
TARGET RESPONDENTS
Target respondents for the research includes Current customers of Company A( who have purchased Company A products in the last 2 years) Potential customers (which are non buyers or buyers of competitor products) belonging to SEC A and have purchased in the last 2 years or are in process of purchasing houses worth of INR 50 lakh to INR 1.5 crores Architects and Interior designers (who are providing consultation for houses ranging between INR 50 lakh to INR1.5 crores) Interior Architects with an overlapping target segment to Company A ’s.
AREA COVERED
Pilot study was done in the college itself with my friends so that I c ome to know what problems I can face in my Questionnaire. Then I targeted a premium segment respondent through my own personal source which was in Bopal and a part of the study was done in the company itself. When the real operation started I covered near about each and every area of the Ahmedabad and bit of Gandhinagar itself. The Area includes:
Bopal Maninagar Gandhinagar Satellite road Bodak Dev Thaltej Gam Sola Road Area around Science city Road Gota Circle C.G. Road S.G. Highway Jodhpur Cross Road Amli Bopal Road Sola Overbridge
TIME FRAME Total time for Market survey and Data Analysis Comprised of 12 weeks which was started nd nd on the 2 week of Febuary and ended at 2 week of May
SPECIFYING THE SAMPLING FRAME 7
The database of the entire sampling fr ame for prospective customers was collected through personal references and Societies which were newly built in the posh localities of Ahmedabad. Business personals which have their own houses. For the database of the users, the list of customers was provided from the company itself form where we had collected the data. For the architects we collected the data from the personal sources like internet, yellow pages and the list provided by the company itself.
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CHAPTER 3
OPERATIONAL EXECUTION OF THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES DEFINED
SECONDARY SEARCH
QUESTIONAIRE DESIGN
PILOT STUDY
DATA COLLECTION
DATA VERIFICATION
DATA ENTRY
DATA VALIDATION
ANALYSIS
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OPERATIONAL SCHEDULE OF THE PROJECT
Time in weeks Activity
TH
15 FEB
ND
22 FEB
ST
1 MARCH
TH
8 MARCH
TH
15 MARCH
ND
22 MARCH
TH
29 MARCH
TH
5 APRIL
TH
12 ARRIL
TH
19 ARPIL
TH
26 APRIL
Research Design Tool Design Pilot Testing Investigator Training Primary Data Collection Data Validation Data Entry and Coding Analysis Preparation of report
OBJECTIVE DEFINED The client itself had in the mind what objective we need to fulfill and work on those aspects. They gave us the objective to fulfill their requirement and design their market research program according to the standards of objective. Once the objective was defined we came to our next phase that is secondary search.
SECONDARY SEARCH Before we take on the objective and start our primary research it was necessary for us to know what current trends are going on in the market about modular furniture. We needed to find which are the brands active in Ahmedabad and are they the competitors of company A. We search on the home website of various companies and find out what new products and services are they providing to the customer. We needed to know how other companies are making their strategy to differentiate their products and what is their internal process of working? This aspect have already been covered in the industry analysis of Modular Kitchen. We find out the perception about the general people and how kitchen makes an important part of every home and the emotions associated with it.
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RD
3 MAY
QUESTIONAIRE DESIGN The most important research tool for every market research is its questionnaire which contains a set of questions that are required to cover the objective. These questions are asked to the target respondents so that we can get valuable information from them. It is necessary that questions be designed in such a way so as to cover all the information that we require. This requires a lot of brainstorming; we have to analyze each and every questionnaire from the point of view of our target respondent. Questionnaire is given in the appendix part of this report.
PILOT STUDY When the questionnaire is finally made, we need to test on the sample target respondents so that we can understand if there are any loopholes present in the questionnaire. Is the sample target respondent able to understand the question we are asking? and the type of interpretation he draws after asking the question, How much time does it take to complete the whole process of interviewing? These all things are kept into account while we do the pilot study and if it feels that something is not right, questionnaire is again changed to an extent. The main purpose behind the pilot idiot is to make the questionnaire understandable to interviewee and interviewer. After a lot of pilot study the final questionnaire was prepared which was used in the rest of the latter process of data collection and data entry and validation.
DATA COLLECTION This was one of the most tedious parts of project where we have to collect data. It took near about 12 weeks to gather all the data we w anted. We first took the sample of 50 prospective customers where we needed to find out the influencers who can influence other people to take on the modular kitchen. For this we went to new rise societies and people through personal contacts which have a cost of house as Rs.40 lakhs and house has been constructed from not more than 2 years. We went all around the Ahmedabad and faced many problems like somewhere respondents were not ready to disclose any information or watchman did not allow us to enter the societies. But it was an adventure experience for us and we were successful in taking the entire sample we wanted. We than moved towards the users of Company A who have already purchased modular kitchen from the Company A. This list of the customers was given by the company itself. Our major process included taking appointments from the customers and then interviewing them for our objective. Initially we faced a lot of problems, many of them neglected us, to some people we couldn’t reach on time of the appointment they gave us and many refused to give the answer. Some of the phone numbers of various users were missing. We moved on to the next phase of the project by making cold calls i.e. going directly to their home without taking the appointment. We went around the time of evening when everyone was present at the home. We build a team of around 6 people and roam the various areas of Ahmedabad and try to cover all the homes in the same area. We were successful in collection all the information we needed.
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We now moved on to the next stage of the project for collecting information from the interior architects and designers who deal in high end products. To map the Company A with respect to its competitors, we needed to find out for what reason the interior architects suggest brand B over A or what makes company A different from B. The main idea behind was to know the perception of Architects and Interior Designers about the company A. For this we took the database from company A who deal with them asked them about their perception. We tried to collect the information from them but many of them were out of station for their own work o r were in the field for some work. Also we couldn’t approach them because of t ime constraints that we have to give on other projects.
DATA VERIFICATION After all the data have been collected, it was necessary for us to know whether the data is authentified or not. For this purpose we first took the process of data verification wherein we make the telephone call to the respondents once again and asked whether there have been any interviews conducted on you or not. If there was anything missing in the data, we asked them and fulfill the required questionnaire.
DATA ENTRY For the data entry process we first made the code sheet to enter the data and then separately entered the data for prospective customers and users. The data entry for the interior architects was qualitative so we did not have to make any code sheet. It was more on the descriptive side of data where we were given some objective based on which we have to enter the data.
DATA VALIDATION After the data has been entered into the computer, the next task comes up of Data v alidation where we have to validate the data we entered. It required that whatever data was on in the paper form must be entered in a correct format in SP SS and EXCEL file. Validation is done mainly for the purpose of checking whether the data that has been entered in the EXCEL is right or not. We first checked it manually and then compared the two EXCEL files by making a small logic of 1 or 0 where 1 stands for true and 0 stands for false. If anywhere we find the data has 0 has its result we immediately correct the data in the EXCEL file.
ANALYSIS This is the last stage of any market research project where we do t he analysis of the project from each and every point of view. We find the interpretations through graphs and charts and determine if there is any strong finding coming up and try to co-relate with other problems. We find out the reasons behind the outcome coming up and put it in front of clients. We try to apply various test on the raw data and come up with some conclusive findings.
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PRODUCT DETAILING
MODULAR KITCHEN IN INDIA
The real estate boom in India has seen the construction of a large number of flats and similar residential units in major cities, such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Pune. The depleting land resources on the o ne hand and the increasing requirements of gr owing population and migrants on the other have forced builders to keep the size of a functional kitchen to the minimum. Faced with the problems of small kitchen size and less storage area, homeowners have found the perfect answer in a modular kitchen. A modular kitchen is composed of different modules of cabinets which can easily be integrated or disintegrated, thus increasing portability and effective use of available space. Its increasing popularity over the years has brought many international brands in India and today one can find a great variety in modular kitchen design within a reasonable price range. There are German models as well as samples from China that offer an exciting range in designs as well as in prices.
MODULAR KITCHEN CABINETS
The things that constitute a typical modular kitchen in India and elsewhere normally includes cabinets, counter tops, electronic gadgets like refrigerators, chimney, built-in oven, dishwasher and other appliances, and internal accessories, such as sink, hob, gas stove, shutters, trolleys, trays, door knobs and other hardware materials. Modular kitchen cabinets are the core of the entire system and according to their placement they could be either wall cabinets or floor cabinets. Depending upon the design and floor plans, kitchen cabinets may vary in size, height, breadth, color and the material used to make them
DESIGNS IN MODULAR KITCHEN
A modular kitchen design takes into account the overall interiors of the house and also the comfort level of its users. Magazines and w ebsites offer eye-catching photos of numerous contemporary designs. Wooden cabinets of bright vibrant colors and stylish hardware including doors and door knobs are in trend these days. Latest equipment, trendy furniture pieces, glass work, elegant fittings and sleek modules give a tinge of modernity as well as class to the overall design of a modular kitchen. Whatever design you choose must improve functionality besides adding a style statement to the home décor. These days software is also used to develop a modular kitchen design specific to your requirements.
MODULAR KITCHEN IN REALITY
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The manufacturers and designers of modular kitchens maintain a catalog of latest designs with glossy photos of modules and accessories. The modular kitchen photos and pictures of its components help you identify a design that can harmoniously go with the décor of your house. Surf the Internet or browse through the pages of an interior design magazine to find numerous photos for contemporary kitchen plans, which may include U-shaped and L-shaped modular kitchens. We at this site provide you resources where you can find latest modular kitchen photos, ideas, plans, brochure, samples, furniture layouts, wallpapers, tips and reviews.
ACCESSORIES OF MODULAR KITCHEN
Modular kitchen accessories add a greater degree of functionality to the work area inside a kitchen besides enhancing its overall appeal. These may include electronic gadgets as well as non-electronic items, such as gas stoves, cooking ranges and furniture items. Some of the most common modular kitchen accessories are listed here: Gas Stoves Cooking Ranges Dishwasher Refrigerator Racks Baskets, such as Cutlery Basket, Plate Basket and Partition Basket Pantry Shelving Sink Shutters
MERITS OF MODULAR KITCHEN The merits of Modular Kitchen Designs lie in the fact that they make cooking a celebration. This is because subtle nuances of environmental psychology are taken into consideration while designing Modular Kitchens. That is the reason w hy the module kitchens are came under use very frequently. Many Kitchen Décor and Renovation Experts conclude that Modular Kitchens have countless the boons. They are easy to dismantle and in case we have to move our residence, we can carry all the modules and modular kitchen cabinets in a box and install it our new kitchen. We can purchase the modular kitchen cabbies according to our budget and keep on adding pieces later as and when possible. If you test this type of kitchen according to c leanliness point of view, to clean and maintenance of modular kitchen is very easy and also time saving. Whenever you have t o make repairs in your kitchen or house you can dismantle that particular module and have it mended. Modular Kitchens have changed the concept of kitchen in today´s world as it has provided household women with a comfortable yet a classy space in which they can invest their quality time and space. As against the traditional concept of kitchen which required a lot o f maintenance to prevent messiness, the emergence of modular kitchens have diminished those problems as they are easy to handle with full facilities and comfort which helps in making cooking a celebration. 15
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS OF MODULAR KITCHEN MODULAR KITCHEN MARKET IN INDIA
Modular kitchen market in India is growing at a rate of about 40% every year. The total market currently stands to about Rs.5000 crores which is dominated by small retailers and unorganized sector which has a 70% market share in India. The market has matured from carpenter-made self-designed kitchens to designer kitchens. It is believed that at least 50 per cent of premium homes will opt for high end products like Veneta Cucine, Company A, Sleek and Godrej India. Every brand is eyeing a lucrative market in the wake of changing lifestyles and higher disposable income among the I ndians. The awareness levels of modular kitchens in India are expected to grow 10 times in the next three to four years. Typically, modular kitchens are more likely to be fitted in high-end apartments than bungalows. The models range from the classic to the trendy in a wide choice of materials, colours, textures and finishes. Quality control is given top priority by most of manufacturers and all the wood, laminates, varnishes, lacquers, hinges and hardware used in the units are non-toxic. In India, the most common models are the straight-line and the classic, people still use sinks in India to wash utensils (dishwashers aren't too common), which is why they need to be hardier. The top-end kitchens available today offer a lot of classy features that appeal to consumers. Such as the high precision mechanics of the channels that ensure that drawers slide in and out smoothly
PRICE RANGE OF MODULAR KITCHEN
Modular kitchen price may vary with the manufacturing brand as well as with the location. It is for this reason that we find a difference in the cost of a modular kitchen model available in the market of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad or Bangalore. International locations, such as Brisbane, Osborne Park, New Lynn in Australia and NZ may offer products that vary greatly in design and prices from what one c an get in an Indian city. We have covered each location individually at our website to help you get a clear insight of the market rates of modular kitchen products offered by international brands of repute, such as Faber, Godrej, Prestige, Hitec, Taurus Gilma and Ornate, to name just a few. Prices can range anywhere between Rs 1-25 lakh depending on the style and look, and of course the space you have. For instance, Hacker Kitchen offers a basic 8ft x 10ft kitchen for Rs 200,000. For m ore expensive ones a 15ft x 20ft kitchen could cost between Rs 15 -25 lakh. You can check the modular kitchen website links to get a more sense of the prices. The price also depends on the kind of accessories you may want fitted; like kitchen chimney, or burner. Installation can take up to 15 days. Local brands will be cheaper, however you should ensure that you do not compromise on material or design.
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BRANDS ACTIVE IN INDIA DYNASTY GODREJ ARAN CUCINE HAECKER ALNO SCAVOLINI VENETA CUCINE LISPO PRESTIGE ICE CUBES SLEEK KITCHENS KITCHEN WORLD POGGENPAUL KITCHEN GRACE DONNA ROSSI
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COMPARISON OF VARIOUS MODULAR KITCHEN BRANDS
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CHAPTER 6
ANALYSIS PLAN OF THE PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Category
Perception of Respondents about company A
Current users
QUESTION FULFILLING THE CRITERIA Based on your experience of Company A What was your overall level of satisfaction? Will these customers in the future will recommend company A’s brand of modular kitchen to someone else? How many have recommended till present the brand of Company A to others? How many have recommended till present the brand of Company A to others? What are the reasons they consider Company A as premium brand? When asked whether the respondent feel anything missing in the service and the product of 19
OUTPUT IN TERMS OF % age format, pie chart
% age format, pie chart
% age format, pie chart
bar graph, %age format
Subjective
Subjective
company A’s?
Major influencer in buying of modular kitchen
Potential Customers
Are the respondents aware of Company A?
% age format, pie chart
Current users
Who has the most influence in the buying decision of kitchen? Who has the most influence in the buying decision of kitchen?
bar graph, %age format
From which source did they come to know from Company A? From which source did they come to know from Company A?
%age format, Pie chart
Potential Customer
Source of Awareness of Company A
Current users
Potential customer if they know company A
bar graph, %age format
%age format, Pie chart
Source of Awareness of Other brands
For both the categories
From where did you come to know about other brands?
Stack chart showing proportion of each medium of communicati on for each brand
Purchasing Attribute of Modular Kitchen
For both the categories
What factors do you consider while buying modular kitchen
pie chart, %age format
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Influence of Architect
Brand Attributes of Company A
For both the categories
Current users
Have you consulted any Architect for interior of your house? Whether they suggested any modular furniture brand? Did you respondent the showroom of the brand suggested by the architect? What were the reasons for visiting their
Pie chart, %age format
We rated 15 factors on the scale of 1 to 5
Line chart, Weighted Avg Format
Top 3 factors from those 15 factors
Stack Chart, Weighted Avg. concept
Pie chart %age format
Pie chart %age format
Subjective
Perception of Architects for Company A
Subjective
Mapping Competitors with Company A
Weighted the various factors and showed in the form of bar graph and subjective too
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1) Perception of respondents and brands attributes (current customers and potential customers) about Company A. We tried to find out this objective both in Potential Customer and Current users of Company A To map this objective we first asked the question to the respondent CURRENT CUSTOMERS
Based on your experience of Company A What was your overall level of satisfaction?
We mapped down this question on a scale of 1 to 5 Where, 1- Very good 2- Good 3- Neutral 4- Bad 5- Very Bad
VERY GOOD GOOD NUETRAL BAD VERY BAD
Through this way we prepared a pie chart for this question and refined the results in terms of %ag e format and try to find out the r easons behind it. Then we asked the next question: Will these customers in the future will recommend company A’s brand of modular kitchen to someone else?
We mapped down this question in terms of
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Definitely Recommend Probably Recommend Can’t Say Probably Won’t Recommend Definitely won’t recommend
DEFINITELYWILL RECOMMEND PROBABLY RECOMMNEND CAN'T SAY PROBABLY NOT RECOMMEND DEFINITELY RECEOMMEND
We tried to find out the answer in a % age format and through this objective we tried to find out how much the current users have goodwill and satisfaction level for the company A because it is only possible that if you have a goodwill for the company, one would surely recommend to someone else. Through this question we tried to find out will the customers recommend someone in the future. Then we tried to find out the reasons for recommending to others in terms of subjective format and gave various factors on which they will recommend in the future.
Then we tried to find out: How many have recommended till present the brand o f Company A to others?
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YES NO
We tried to answer this question in terms of Yes or No and gave out a pie chart in the %age format. We tried to find out that Are the current c ustomer happy with the services and the product of the Company A? From this we come to know how many have recommended to others and the influence of friends/ relatives on others. We here tried to track the word of mouth publicity among the general people. We then track down: How many have purchased on the recommendation of other? 18 16 14 12 10 Series1
8 6 4 2 0 YES
NO
We then tried to find out what was the effect of recommendation on the purchasing behavior of others and try to track down has there any been effect on them to purchase modular kitchen of Company A. We find out in the format of Yes No Don’t Know 24
And gave out the result in bar graph format with the help of bar graph. We moved onto the next question: When asked whether the respondent feel anything missing in the service and the product of company A’s? This was a subjective question we asked to the respondents about the missing of service or product of company. We tried to find out the reasons behind if there is anything missing in the product or in term we tried to know the complaints they have for the Company A. There were various factors came out and try to find out the satisfaction level of the current users. POTENTIAL CUSTOMER
We first tried to find out what was the awareness level of potential customers for company A. The reason behind we asked this question is because if they are aware of the company, then they will have some perception or thinking about the company which can be easily tracked down but if they are not aware how can we track down their suggestions and their thinking which in logical sense does not feel right. We asked the question: Are the respondents aware of Company A? We tried to map this answer in the format of pie chart with two replies i.e. Yes or No.
2) Major role as an influencer in buying Modular furniture The main purpose behind this question was to know who has the most influence in the buying decision of the modular kitchen. We tried to track down each of t he question in terms of Current Customer and potential customer. Then we came up with a pie chart and on a %age terms we defined who has the most influence in the buying decision of modular kitchen in Current users and kitchen in case of Potential Customer. The question we asked was: Who has the most influence in the buying decision of kitchen? 2.5
2
1.5 Series1 1
0.5
0 Husband
Wife
Friends
Kids
Family
Architect
We divided this factor into the people who have generally the highest involvement in the buying of modular kitchen and track down their decision making phenomena by dividing those people. They are as follows: Husband
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Wife Friends Kids Family Architect
3) Source of Awareness of Company A This question was mainly asked to the current customers of company A to know from which source they come to know about company A and track down the visibility of Company from different sources. We can also come to the conclusion that if Company A wants to communicate with the potential customers or current customer from which source. We asked them the question: From which source did they come to know from Company A?
Architect Friends/Relatives Showroom Exhibition Sales Person Observing others
We tried to track down through different channels we gave them as options and came up with a pie chart with data labeled in %age format to know from which channel they are getting information about Company A. We gave them many options such as: Architect Friends/Relatives Showroom Exhibition Sales Person Observing others Others
4) Source of Awareness of Other Brands This question was asked to mainly track down from which source they came to know about other brands of modular furniture and check their awareness level of other brands by asking this question. We prepared this chart both for the potential customers and current customers. We first asked the company they are aware of and then asked from which source they c ame to know about this. We prepared a Stack chart for this purpose where we showed the proportion of source o f awareness for each brand. We track this down for various brands in terms of various mediums like: Showroom 26
Newspaper Shopping Area Self Visit Relatives Magazine or Print Advertisement Architect Advertisement
5) Purchasing Attributes of Modular Kitchen
Durability Functionality After Sales Service Latest Modern Design Brand Name Price of the Product Suggestion From others
We tend to find out the purchasing behavior of Consumers by giving them various reasons for which they purchase the modular kitchen. We divided various factors on which a common man uses its intuition to purchase the modular kitchen. We asked the respondent to tick one of them and give out their reasons. We divided these factors in terms of proportion and try to build an overview which is the biggest factor that influences them to purchase the modular kitchen. We build a pie chart for that and gave out the results in %age format. We did the same thing for both of the Potential Customer and Current Users. The reasons we put down in mapping that behavior are as follows: Durability Functionality After Sales Service Latest Modern Design Brand Name Price of the Product Suggestion From others.
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6) Influence of Architect on the Purchasing behavior of Consumers Architects always have a special role to play in any construction of building or the designing of interiors. We try to map out whether there is a possibility that architects have a special role to play in the purchasing behavior of consumer. CURRENT CUSTOMERS
We first asked the question to the customers if there is any role of interior designer or architect in buying of modular kitchen. We asked them the question: Have you consulted any Architect for interior of your house? We tried to track down the question in terms of involvement of the architect in the interior decoration of the house. We asked them in terms of yes or no and built a pie chart for the same in %age format. Now we asked the next question in connection with the above question that: Whether they suggested any modular furniture brand? The main theme behind this question was to know the brand preference that an architect follow and suggest that brand to the client. We tried to t rack down various brands and made a listing of all those brands and tried to track down have they preferred to suggest modular furniture first or traditional furniture brand. We tracked down this answer in terms of Yes or No. Then we asked the question: Did you visit the showroom of the brand suggested by the architect? Here we tried to track down how many clients on the suggestion of the architect went on to a showroom visit on the saying of Architect. Here we can track down the influence of Architect on various areas. We also did try to find out the reason behind visiting those showrooms and not purchasing from there.
POTENTIAL CUSTOMER
In the case of Potential Customer, we did try to find out source from which they are influenced in purchasing the kitchen for their house. We tried to track down this behavior of architect in terms of asking various factors from which source did they come to know about the kitc hen and who influenced the most.
7) Brand Attributes the customer Associate with Company A
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10 9 8 7 6 5
Series1
4 3 2 1 0 A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Every loyal customer associate itself emotionally with the company and there are different factors for different customers associate itself with the company. We tried to find out the attributes of company A with which the customer associate itself with the company. We tried to track down this question in terms of 15 factors such as: High Quality of Product Utility Functionality and comfort to use Latest Modern Design Indian Cooking Habits Value for money Space optimization Safety Features Timely completion of work Colors and Patterns Ethnicity Durability Range of Appliances After sales service
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We first track down what are top m ost 3 attributes they associate with Company A. We build a line graph for the same and did it by the weighted average concept. On the scale of 15 factors we took a median between 4 to 15 i.e. 9 and took the sum of all the customers. The least mean score will have the highest value and the value having highest score will be least important. For every factor, we divided our result in terms of likert scale Such as: Very good Good Nuetral Bad Very Bad And used the stacked chart to show the proportion of these five parameters in every factor.
8) Perception of Interior Architects The main objective behind the interview of Architects was that they know the success and failures of any modular furniture. They have all the knowledge what are the strengths and weaknesses of a particular company. Through this way we came to know how Company A is performing in terms of various competitors and what steps it can take to increase its market share. I collected this data and presented in a subjective format.
9) Mapping Competitors with Company A This was the most important of Company A where we need to find the SWOT analysis of Company A as compared to their competitors. This was a subjective part and I tr ied to answer this question in terms of defining their Strengts, Weakness, Oppurtunities that they can get in the future.
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CHAPTER 7
WORKING IN OTHER PROJECTS 1.
A LEADING PETROL PUMP
A) MYSTERY AUDITS: This study was conducted to draw comparison between various petrol pumps. We went to each and every petrol pump of this leading company without disclosing the identity and went as a common folk to observe various parameters based on which various petrol pumps was compared. The parameters are as follows:
Employees Behavior and Appearance: We mapped down various factors in employees behavior and appearance on the basis of their preventability, neat and clean uniform, their habit of greeting first, do they wear a new uniform and gave the weightage on the scale of 0 to 2 where 0 represents bad, 1 represents good and 2 represents very good
Fuel filling Accuracy: We mapped all the 10 petrol stations on the basis of various parameters such as their asking of meter reading as zero or their amount of filling the fuel first and then fill their amount of spillage, their fuel accuracy as is the meter reading does not fluctuate broadly from the amount of petrol you want.
Response Service: this factor was measured on various other parameters such as quick delivery of work and service of various petrol pumps and what was the billing procedure being followed at each of the petrol pumps. These were the main factors which were seen to be in synonym with the fast response service.
Outlet Facilities and Ambience: this factor was measured on the basis of various parameters such as the visibility of petrol pump board, mentioning of the petrol pump rates, facilities provided by the various petrol pumps such as ATM facility, presence of small store, puncture check, air filling accuracy, or t he availability of the washroom and the drinking water.
OPERATIONAL EXECUTION: We were a group of 3 people who went to each and every petrol pump at different time and audited each and every petrol pump on the same parameters that we measured and then measure which petrol pump were the best and the worst in a particular factor. Sometimes we have to make a team and then divide the work to fulfill our objective. Like someone has to notice what were the facilities were available at the petrol pumps. One talked with the employee of the petrol pump and t ry to know that if management is taking some steps to improve their life and what is the behavior of dealers with respect to their employees. Someone would go and try to fill out the petrol for its own vehicle and other one would go and talk on the phone and try to know whether the presentablility of the petrol pump is good or not. In this way we m apped down 10 different areas of Ahmedabad and came up with our result for which of the petrol pump was best at which factors and came out with the overall score of the petrol pump. 31
ANALYSIS: I also did the analysis part of the petrol pump and try to factor out various qualitative information in terms of ranking and give weightage on the scale of 0 to 2 Where 0= Not Present 1= Present but not good 2= Present and good also. We divided each of the factor on the scale of 0 to 2 and based on the total sum of each factor we came through the overall score for each petrol pump and gave the result in terms of ranking.
Areas Covered: Shahpur CTM Paldi Sanand Maninagar Sola road Shahibaug Naroda Sarkhej Highway Juhapura
My Learning: Through this we came to know what are the facilities available at different petrol pump, how management was dealing with their employees, how employees treat and address the concerns of customers and to check whatever has been said by the dealers of the petrol pump is reliable in practicality or not with what the employees say or not. How do they treat customer was the most important thing and what was their were they satisfied with their current job. And most important of all is how as a customer you observe all the aspects of a petrol pump and feel from the point of Customer only. Mystery audits require that you hide your identity and get the information without disclosing your identity. I also did the analysis part of the petrol pump where I applied the methodology of rankings and rated each petrol pump on one particular factor.
B) PETROL PUMP DEALER INTERVIEW: I personally took the interview of 10 dealers of the company B on various factors. Most important of them was about the employee’s behavior, how management deals in small problems does and what measures they take if an employee performs very well. The main reason behind doing this task was to know the 32
perception of dealers about the company and find out what the dealers and the workers think about each other. The factors on which we needed qualitative information are as follows:
Frequecy of operation of the petrol pump
Basis of Employee induction
Employee Training
Basis of Employee assessment
Incentives provided to the employees
Locational Advantage
Customer Satisfaction
Facilities provided by the company B
Promotion from the company B
Personal Supervision
There were various findings that came out of this project. Petrol pump used to operate all 365 days in a year and 24 hrs. Many of them selected candidates through personal reference; their home should be near to the petrol pump and should be a young aged man. Employees are trained by the company itself where they are trained 2 times in a year. The areas where they are trained include how to behave with the customer, how to tackle issues with the customers politely, and hygiene area where they are taught how to dress properly. Giving quick services to the customer and they are kept under the command of a supervisor who teaches the employee about the basic process that normally happens at each petrol pump. And after this training they are inducted either on a part time basis or full time basis. Employee assessment is normally seen when the sales of petrol pump increase, complaint from the customer is reduced, and allocated work is done on time. There are various method used for the employee assessment like the dealers ask from their fellow employees about the performance of the colleague or personally supervise all the activities of their employees. Company B itself come for the audits of each employee 2-3 times in a year. An assessment report is also created which is given to the company B Brand and immediately takes action if something goes wrong from the point of view of company B. Incentives are normally given based on the performance of employees in the form of festival bonus and 2- day leave. At some petrol pump variable pay is also provided and gifts are provided by the company itself by the company itself. Salary structure is also changed based on the performance. Many dealers agree with the fact there is a locational advantage of their petrol pump. There were various reasons for that primarily of which are due to high traffic and busy route along the position of petrol pump. Scope of development and high rise societies, density of people around the position of petrol pump gives an added advantage. Some petrol pumps were situated along the highway due to which various heavy vehicles only had the option of filling fuel from that petrol pump. Many residential,
33
police and transport vehicles have their business near to the location. Residential societies have been built up near this location which allows the customers to come repeatedly at this petrol pump. Most of the dealers measure the satisfaction level of employees personally. They say that if t he complaints are less than level of satisfaction of employees is high. This is also true that dealers maintain personal relation with various customers. Some of them personally talk to the customers on a regular basis. Increased sales also point towards t he increasing level of satisfaction. Some petrol pumps maintain an online database of customers that take fuel from them and this determines the level of customers coming to the petrol pump daily, monthly or yearly. Some time customer only says from itself that they find this company’s B petrol as an advantage.
Normally Company B does not take into account any marketing activities towards the promotions of its dealers petrol pump but they provide a lot of facilities such as training of the employees, maintains the quality and quantity of fuel, all the infrastructural requirement are provided, maintains the inventory stock of fuel and provide the necessary hardware and software w hich determines the availability of fuel at petrol pump. It also provides the basic services such as credit account of any bank and ATM facility is maintained by the company itself. All the specified guidelines to operate a petrol pump is given by the company itself.
My Learning: I learned how to take out vital information without disclosing your identity, I came to know about various perception of these dealers towards the COMPANY A petrol pumps and how they behave with their employees and what marketing tactics does COMPANY A employ, I even took the list of various fleet customers. In synonym to what we found at the mystery audits, we could easily track down the perception of dealers towards its employees and vice versa. We co uld easily found where was the gap in the thinking of the employees and the dealers and their expectations, we could easily found how the team culture was being going on in various petrol pumps. Their way of inducting the employees and how their training is carried out, and what was the basis of employee assessment and what necessary measures were being carried out to retain them were the most important thing that were required to be known in this small task. The major factor was to know the key success factors that Company A follows for its petrol pump.
2. MARKET MAPPING OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING COURSES IN KOZHIKODE.
A client wanted to setup 7000 vocational training courses in India alone. I was given the task to to map the courses that were possible in the outskirts of Kozhikode. First of all we find out the demographics of Kozhikode and the local culture of the Kozhikode and the general trend towards the incoming and outgoing of people from Kozhikode. On the basis of that we finded out various target segments for which vocational training courses can be setup. Those were:
Students of age 18 to 25 , undergraduate coming from middle class and primarily from Kozhikode. People in this segment are the ones who are looking for jobs after completing their Undergraduate school. People in this segment want to go for further
34
studies for better employment opportunities rather than for the sake of learning. Few other people are interested in taking up bank exams and other government entrance exams.
Students of age 18 to 22 , 12th pass coming from lower to m iddle class and from near by areas of Kozhikode. People in this segment were more enthusiastic in earning their own salary either by joining call center or BPO. They also look for office administration jobs. The interesting thing was most of them opined of shifting to Mangalore or Coimbatore for better job opportunities in BPO jobs as salary in this field in Kozhikode is comparably less than 2 cities, according to them.
Third segment belong to those people in the age group of 18-30. People belonging to this segment generally migrate towards Middle Eastern countries w herein they will need vocational training in short term courses.
Then we moved on to describe course categories and relevant competitors with details of their offerings. We analyzed each and every vocational training centre from every angle and tried to find out how much these existing vocational training centres fulfill the requirement of local people currently. We also tried to find out whether any future developments are taking place or is there any initiative from the side of government. We then tried to find out profiling of manpower working in the local industries of Kozhikode and try to map down the degree of requirement of based on current supply and its quality. After that a gap analysis is done to show that where have been the gaps founded in unskilled force and based on that suggested the type of courses based on local conditions and seeing the migration patt erns of Kozhikode.
Those were:
Soft skills with personality development classes
Basic Computer courses
Basic computer course with office administration
Hotel Management courses
Sales and Marketing course with communication skills
Learning: The main learning here in this project was the supply-demand-gap analysis that was done in Kozhikode. We first find out what is the supply in the local area and what is the demand in the market keeping in mind the local culture of the city and then we find out the what is the current gap in the local surroundings and then based on that we suggested them the course that are feasible in the local surroundings.
35
We made use of secondary search for preparing this report to find out w hat are the current industry and educational institutions are flourishing in the city and based on the courses being taught here we can design advance courses for the common folk that they need on them. I came to know how normally case studies are prepared when writing it down and by using the secondary search we can add additional information which was not available in the report, also we worked out on the gap analysis of manpower required and vocational courses that can be started in these cities. T
3. OPERATIONAL EXECUTION OF LEADING APPAREL STORE
The company wished to undertake a brand perception study for itself as a destination for menswear clothing in Ahmedabad, including consumer perceptions for competitors in the same category. The company also wishes to assess the possibility of entering the women swear and kids wear segment, thus making the case for startin g a “Family store”. With the proliferation of malls in Ahmedabad city, they also want to see if the aforementioned “family store” format or
the existing menswear format will work in some of the big malls in the city and gather sufficient information so as to guide further in in-depth researches for the same. This project is still going on.
A) Operational Plan for market research Before any project is started, we need to make an operational plan how will it be carr ied out in real time. We have to make all the assumptions and find out the cost structure t hat will be incurred when the project will be carried out. The various aspects of operational plan as follows:
The agenda was to map the BRAND PERCEPTION of a leading apparel store among the people residing in 3 cities namely BARODA, SURAT and VAPI.
BUSINESS PLAN Coming up with a sample plan for all cities dividing the cities into four zones viz. north ,south ,east ,west and conducting survey Forming core teams and Front end teams Time line for the whole survey Cost and time Calculations Cities
No. of respondents
Baroda Surat Vapi
270 270 270
No. of field data collectors 7(5+2) 7 7
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Tools Target Group-Prospective Customers(SEC-A) Males Females Students Students Employed Working women Unemployed House wives
AGE GROUP 15-24 25-35 36 above Total=270
Structured questionnaires
MALE 45 45 45 135
FEMALE 45 45 45 135
Operational Plan
Process Flow
1. Mapping the target samples 2. Training and recruitment process 3. Field work 4. Data entry 5. Data validation 6. Final analysis
Mapping the target samples
The details regarding no. of available sources can be mapped through internet and telephonic communication. Process can take one day before operational plan begins. SOURCES P.G.Colleges(MBA) U.G.Colleges (BBA) B.COM Shopping malls_no Details
Baroda 7
Surat 22
Vapi 2
21 22 8 Nextag, Inox leisure, Corner shop, Mjm enterprises,Adani enterprises ltd., big
9 4 6 Iscon, big bazaar, samarpan, city mall, D.r. Shopping mall, Big Bazaar, Kishan Fashion mall,
2 1 1 Fortune mall
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Jade Blue S.R_no Area
Multiplexes_no Area
bazaar,M3 men’s mega mall, 7 Cs mall. 2 Tithi Complex, Bpc Road, Alkapuri
R C Datt Road, Opposite Baroda Productivity Council 1 PVR Deep,Old chhani road,chandan,fame multiplex cienema
1 Union Square, Rangeela Park Circle, Ghoddod Road
No
7 Citi plus, flame Raj Empire,valentine(Dumas & subhash nagar),rajhans,D.R.W.orld, Royal
No
Others Friends and relatives Door to door Mystery shopping (observation by supervisors)
Training and recruitment process Prospective trainees (field workers and supervisors) can be mapped within 2 days through telephonic communication and internet. The task can be completed before operational plan begins. The field workers and the supervisors will get the experience certificates. There will be two teams Core Teams (Supervisors)
Front End
Teams (Field workers) SOURCES P.G.Colleges U.G.Colleges (BBA) B.COM B.A. No of students interviewed Friends and relatives
Baroda 7
Surat 22
Vapi 2
21 22
9 4
2 1
8
8
8
5
5
3
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3 people will go to each city and conduct the training and recruitment
process. 1 day will be
required for each city. Details Inter City Travelling cost Staying expenses Other expenses Total manpower required
Baroda 120rs
Surat 160rs
Vapi 200rs
500rs 150rs 7
500rs 150rs 7
500rs 150rs 7
Core Team No of members Total no of supervisors
Total 3 2 6 Total-3
Front End Teams No of members Total no of surveyors
Core Teams Good communication skills Able to travel continuously Able to control front end teams Able to consolidate and send data
5 15 Skill sets required Front End Teams having some understanding of getting questionnaires filled Good communication skills should know local languages Ready to travel upto 500 kms
Responsibilities Core Teams Front End Teams Reporting every day progress in the evening Get authenticated data Sending the data to Ahmedabad as soon as one Able to move in acity according to the map city got finished and locations given Controlling Front end teams Back checking the data that Front end teams have got on daily basis
Field worker’s training guidelines Background: business plan from respective college/research study for a project Understanding of questionnaires Dealing with prospective customers Brief about the reporting system t o the supervisor(daily basis) Brief about the area, no. of customers, deadlines, no of forms etc. 39
Keep track record for individual work done Follow up on daily bases if anything is left out in a questionnaire Payment terms
Supervisor’s training guidelines Brief about the project and agenda Brief about the questionnaires Co-ordination among all the 5 filed workers Brief about the area, no. of customers, no. of forms, deadlines Brief about the follow up and reporting system on daily basis Data verification process Payment terms
Field Work
The operation will last for 5 days for each city simultaneously. No of field workers: 5 for each city No of forms per day per worker: 11 forms No of forms in a day: 54 forms
COSTING Travel expenses Food expenses Stipend Incentive for timely completion of work
FIELD WORKERS 750 rs 1000 rs 6000 rs 250 rs
Data Entry 40
SUPERVISORS 750 rs 1000 rs 6250 rs 300 rs
No of days Manpower Source
3 3 UG & PG Colleges Friends and relatives 2430 rs (3 rs per form)
Payment
Validation
No of days No of people Payment
2 2 2430 rs(1.5 rs per form)
Analysis The analysis will be based on t he objective and data collected through questionnaires. The process will last for 2 days.
The target is to complete this operational plan within 15days. The delays can be worked out with the help of backup in terms of manpower. Daily follow up has to be done by supervisors from the office staff. Daily report has to be maintained by them. B) Operations of the apparel company leader: Currently the project is going on and samples are collected from the Ahmedabad. I am given the responsibility of data cleaning wherein I hear the audio records and compare with the data present in the questionnaire and validate the data with if no discrepancy is found. I have also taken part in teaching the field investigator because it is necessary that they ask questions in a right manner and the respondent is able to interpret the data easily. I was also involved with the pilot testing part wherein we tried to find out the changes if required in a questionnaire can be corrected. Supervising the office work is also a part of my work wherein I take care of the belongings of field investigator. Giving them required information and sometimes the queries are solved by me. I took an interview of loyal customer of a leading apparel company and tried to find out the qualitative information from the respondent. There were various areas which I covered in the operations of Market research Namely:
Pilot Testing: We exhaustively took the initiative of pilot t esting of the questionnaire that was prepared. There were a lot of problems that we found in the questionnaire and suggested to improve that questioaire. This was carried out to take the sample interviews of various respondents and then find out if they feel any problem in understanding the questionnaire. If they feel any problem we address it 41
to our mentor and try to find out the objective behind each and every question and discuss every aspect of the essence behind the question.
Field Investigator Training: In the project we required a large number of samples therefore we needed field investigator. Therefore it was required that they ask the question to the respondents in a right manner. We need to train them in a right manner, we make them to ask the questions to us from the questionnaire and when they become pefect, we addressed their problems and doubts.
Data Cleaning: This was the most important part of the project where we need to make sure that data we are going to enter is r elevant, valid and clean. For this we initiated the process of first data verification wherein we ask the respondents by making a telephone call and make confirm that the person’s name in the
questionnaire is right or not. If there was any data missing in the project we clarify it with the respondent we called. After the data verification we went on to the data validation where we check whether the logical flow of data is taking place or not. We find out if there is any discrepancy in the data. If the data was correct, we find out and validate at that moment.
Learning: I went through the different phase of operation in this project which gave me an overview how operations are handled and you supervise the whole process of the D ata collection and Data cleaning. 4. PROJECT OF LEADING ARCHITECT FIRM
This architect firm is a leading architect company which deals in various architectural projects. The main objective of doing this project was to map the general expectation of the architects’ students, employees of this architect firm and team culture flourishing in their organization. They just wanted to know whether the philosophy they are following in the organization is true to their standards and or they want to c hange in the future and also they want to map their performance as compared to other competitors. To make this objective fulfilled I took upon the objective of interviewing employees of their organization to know their thinking about the company and their personal expectation as an architect. We came to know from the employees of the this organization that most o f them know what kind of services does their employee provides such as feasibility report, consultancy, environment consultancy, 3d design and interior decoration. We c ame to know that clients normally were not happy with the performance of the the architects and often have complaints due to postponing of the project and avoiding the clients. Their employees say that since they deal in large number of projects that’s why they can’ t complete the project on time.
We tried to map the expectation of a common architect by asking what are the factors necessary for an architect to join the firm or look into an architectural firm. Those factors were the brand name of the architect, types of project undertaken by an architectural firm, wo rking behavior of the architect, creativity in the work, experience and clientele of the Architectural firm. 42
We also tracked down the expectations of architect during their joining period. There were various factors that we came to know. These were practical aspects of designing; participation of different kinds of projects, learning from seniors with industry experience, reputation in the market, strong network with the people is required. The facilities provided by the employer were average; many of them were not satisfied with the facilities provided by their employer. However one thing which everyone appreciated was t he latest use of technology. Various new software were used in the organization which was a differentiating factor for the organization. Employees are also rewarded if they perform at their best. On the behalf of the company they are regularly sent to the tours for holidays. Many of the respondents were happy with the behavior of their bosses since they regularly help them at any point of time and also take their suggestion for improving the work process of the company. But various members ask for more incentive other than their salary. But the behavior of the colleagues was a cause of concern for various people present in the organization, there are instances when the employees have been misbehaved with and partiality has been done on some aspects of promotion, and there is a great need to increase the strength of staff so that their employees do not feel overburdened with a lot of work. It w ill help them concentrating their projects efficiently and will able to do the work efficiently. Learning: I came to know what are the individual expectations of an architect from its employer and what does it look in an employer before undergoing any training or a job. One of the most important things which I learned was how to get qualitative information from the employees because they are highly intelligent and it is difficult to get the required information from them. 5. FEASIBILITY OF COMPLIANCE SUPERVISION SOFTWARE
This project was mainly carried out on the broker firms for knowing whether automated software for checking of internal trading is feasible or not. Internal trading is a concept wherein at certain point of time the employees of the organization cannot trade in the stock market. This normally happens during the time when the company is about to release its quarter profit or some new policies are going to take place in the future of Company. We conducted interviews with the compliance officer of the broking firms and took their views regarding this software. They said it is very necessary for us to deploy supervision software. But it should be logically developed and should be accepted by the government authority of india and testing should have been to very Small medium enterprise only than you can expect to deploy in large broking firms. My purpose was to know the importance of compliance in each broking firm because various compliance officers feel the problem of supervising so many employees from trading in the market. This was feasible only when a compliance officer make use of compliance supervision software through which any transaction being carried out by an employee will be tracked down and while analyzing the data it is easy for the compliance officer to know whether there is any hand of the employee in the profit margin of the company. We also came to know that there are rules and regulations in each and every broking office for the trading wherein they have to report to the concerned compliance officer. Many of the firm still sticks to the old habits of maintaining records personally on textbook which are given by the 43
employee which is not reliable. The same thing can easily be finded out with the help of compliance supervision software. Normally , employee holding statement is updated every 15 days and maintained because these holdings may be ask to be shown by public bodies such as CBI and State Government itself. 6. SECONDARY SEARCH TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES
Unlike primary search, the secondary search relies on information that is preexisting or previously collected data. It is the type of search we are used to conduct for our online business. Whether you study some search engine, ebook or book for your market search, you are doing a secondary search. And unlike primary search, the secondary search is cheaper. You do not have to build from scratch. Secondary search is ideal for small businesses. The information for the secondary search can come from a lot of sources. Here are few examples Online pages CD/DVD Books E-books Press Cuttings Consumer group reports Government reports Market Search Companies reports Local Sources
Why Secondary Search? Even big companies resort to to secondary search in addition to primary search. It is so because it is easier to conduct, quicker and is very cost effective. Her are few things that you can do with secondary search. Estimate the size of the market and rate of its growth Number of competitors Sales volume and profit margins Existing price data to formulate your own price strategy Secondary search is of enough value to determine profitability of the market. The main disadva ntage with secondary search is that data becomes outdated quickly. It is not you’re alone. Your competitors may also derive the benefits of available data. But as an internet marketer especially in low budget situations secondary search is of immense value to find whether one should jump into a particular niche or not. There were various techniques and tactics I found out in the secondary search a list of w hich are as follows: 44
Subscribe to newsletters on a dedicated website which give enormous amount of information and maintain it sincerely. From this we can get enormous amount of information that newsletters give us Regularly watch the blogs of various people who give their ideas and suggestions and sometimes factual information. There are certain applications such as RSS feeds and yahoo pipes through which you get regular updates of any website whether be any article or any kind of case study or information. Use different search engines to keep track of different results by applying different keywords like bing, google, aol and yahoo. Use applications such as Google Scholar and Google Alerts to keep track of the various pdf articles or research white papers Use different Search engine techniques which are as follows - Use the Boolean function of And, Or, Not function for refined search. - Use quotation marks (“ “) around keywords that usually acts as a phrase or a saying - Use ( ) to keep complex searches in order - Type the word White pages or Yellow pages after the keyword to get good results - Use synonym as much as possible There are as such millions of databases which are dedicated to some specific topics such as some websites will be totally dedicated for t he market search or nanotechnology. There are millions of websites dedicated for various topics. We can track them down and create a database according to the topic we want. We can make use of freelancer websites which are dedicated to various topics but gives or write articles on almost every topic. For free of cost we can get a lot of information from it. 7. DEBUGGING OF ERP ERP is one of the most important aspects for any large organization and its m ethodology to understand is an important thing while you manage the resources of the company. I at Dexter did try to understand the working of ERP first. A small change or update in the ERP spreadsheet causes a change or to be shown to all other who have access to the customer. I understood what are the things needed while you enter any resource information. There were various modules on which the ERP works like materials management, sales and distribution management, and accounting management. When there is a change from any one of the entries from different modules. It is shown in all other departments. You need to know whom did u want to give authorization for a particular modules. It is necessary that you should have a thorough knowledge of how your ERP works and before showing your ERP to your client you should understand it its entire requirements. We must first design the whole process of the function of organization with the help of a flow chart and then you make adjustments or changes in your ERP package. I also took upon the initiative to use the user manual of ERP of how it works. I operated its functionality and then try to find out the bugs as a common user and suggest if there can any problem occur while you operate as a common user. This was my learning at Dexter regarding the testing part of the ERP w here I need to find out what problems can occur while operating as a common user.
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