STAT1060: BUSINESS DECISION MAKING Assignment 1 Semester 2, 2023 Description and Marking: Length - Between 1200 and 1500 words (ie the marker will STOP reading at 1500 words) 6 sections to be covered in your report which include the below - Defining the problem: 1.5 marks Analysing its dimensions: 1.5 marks Pros and cons for multiple stakeholders: 3 marks Data analysis and list of necessary data: 5 marks Risk and ethics: 2 marks Justification of the decision for a specific organisation: 2 marks Total marks available: 15 marks The Setting: You are working for an online retail company in their Strategy and Organisational Development Team. Since 2022, retail spending has decreased throughout Australia, impacting both online and physical stores, and this trend appears to be continuing during 2023. In fact, recent estimates indicate Australians are spending $600 less on online shopping now than they were this time last year (Dynamic Business, 2023). Consumers are spending less overall and are also choosing to reduce, and in many cases eliminate, discretionary spending. Your organisation lost a substantial number of sales over the last 12 months and has not made a profit in the last quarter. Your organisation also has a large number of current staff. The company is now taking the opportunity to rethink its strategy: what can we do to attract new customers, encourage our past customers to purchase again and/or reduce overhead costs? Your team ran a series of interviews with current and past customers. The unstructured findings are revealed in Appendix 1. Your team also ran an online survey and a word cloud of the key words appearing in customer responses are communicated in Appendix 2. From those and your own research process, write a research report to help your company make one key decision to manage the issue. The expected structure of the report is detailed in Appendix 3 and some brainstorming questions are proposed in Appendix 4 to help you. References: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/07/australia-in-retail-recession-as-inflation-and-rate-hikes-hit-spending-says- report#:~:text=Retail%20turnover%2C%20once%20inflation%20is,three%20consecutive%20qua rters%20of%20decline. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-09/official-data-confirms-australia-in-a-consumerrecession/102322380 https://dynamicbusiness.com/topics/news/australian-online-spending-falls-in-q2.html Appendix 1 - Interview Findings: \"I have always been a regular customer and many items in my home have been purchased online from this company. However, in recent times I have had to be a lot more careful with my spending. I have found the cost of products has increased and there are rarely any sales or incentives to purchase. I keep an eye on the website and have a few items on my birthday wish list so you may see a purchase from me in future. I have been a customer of this company for 5 years. I enjoy their products and find they are useful and good quality. Although the cost can be a little more than I want to pay I am willing to budget and reduce other spending so I can continue to purchase from this brand. I will be a loyal customer for many years to come \"I love this company but have not been able to afford to purchase. The size of products is too large for me to justify the cost as there is no way for me to trial the scents, flavours, etc. I generally buy a cheaper version in person at the local shops. I would love to try some of your products in future. Appendix 2 Survey Findings: Wordcloud from tagcrowd.com Appendix 3 Business Report Format: Length - Between 1200 and 1500 words Paragraph 1 - Define and situate the problem (what, how, why) Paragraph 2 - Analyse the problem in all its dimensions (e.g., when, where...) Paragraph 3 - Analyse the costs and benefits for different stakeholders (for whom) Paragraph 4 - Analyse qualitative data (if available) Paragraph 5 - Consolidated request for potential missing data and additional research (qualitative or quantitative) Paragraph 6 - Present the potential risks (included ethical) of a specific opportunity Paragraph 7 - Justified recommendation (potentially under reserve of additional evidence/data) NB: Note that the report should not contain tables, just plain text. Referencing: Please use APA 7 format if referencing (note that extensive research is not expected, what is valued is the ability to make a decision with the available information and to ask for additional relevant data). NB: Choosing a specific company is fine but not required in the sense that you do not need to do heavy research on a specific organisation. Appendix 4 Brainstorming/Getting Started: What is the phenomenon to study? What are the antecedents? The consequences? What are the pros and the cons of adopting the new strategy? Details the above elements focusing on the \"for whom?\" (e.g., for different stakeholders...) but also the sustainable and the ethical aspects of the decisions. Can you anticipate the how much? how fast? Can you foresee the short-term perspective? The long-term perspective? What could go wrong? Is it worth the risk? What kind of data would you need to make the best possible decision? What kind of methods would be the most suitable to help you answer those questions? NB: These questions are not part of the report per se. They are meant to help you brainstorm in order to write up the report and make sure you provided an in-depth analysis of the problem.

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