Research when conducted appropriately proves beneficial as it helps to understand and possibly even solve existing problems. In order to come to conclusions about policies, strategies and for better functioning of business the organisation carry out research all of the time. Research is necessary to bring about a better change. Research aims to answer questions so that informed decisions can be made about strategies.
Research helps in many ways:
- Research helps to upgrade knowledge. It helps researcher to know more about something that interests him. Removes ignorance and doubt in our minds.
- Research improves the chances of achieving specific goals.
- Research bridges the communication gap.
- Research is a process of analysis from different points of view, which helps to know a subject by reading, reflecting, playing with the ideas and choosing the areas of interest.
- Research is very profitable as it solves problems with immediate concern.
- Research is necessary for making important decisions. Most people make decisions without gathered information to back them up. Research helps to assemble a back up on any decision making.
Importance of Research in Relation to Various Fields
Research in Business and Management: The attributes of practical problem solving and decision-making are becoming more and more common to research. Both medium and large-scale companies undertake economic and marketing researches as most of the decision-making is based on research. Research in business studies is not different from practical problem solving. The managers undertaking research need to have some knowledge and evaluation capabilities to understand the consequences or outcomes of their decisions. Hence, more and more firms and managers are using research as a tool to gain competitive edge over others.
Research in Functional Areas of Management: With every passing day, research is gaining more and more value in the field of management. A deeper understanding of the problems and sound decision-making is required in almost all the areas of management. Here, research plays a critical role in enabling the success of decision-making.
Financial Management: It is one of the most pivotal functional areas of management, as the effectiveness of a business project extensively depends on the efficient utilisation of its financial resource. The shareholders provide capital to a company with the expectation of earning a competitive return and if this expectation is not fulfilled, they may have to sell their shares which may ultimately pull down the market price of the company’s stock, thus jeopardizing its ability to raise additional market price of the company’s stock, thus jeopardizing its ability to raise additional financial resources. Hence, it is of utmost importance to efficiently manage the finances of the company concerned. Such questions are often faced by the managers in their day-to-day activities making it imperative for them to be well-versed with the potentials of research in management functions and areas.
Production and Materials: The aim of the research carried for the production department and processes is to help enable the production manager in taking various decisions. It helps in determining – what to produce, when to produce, how much to produce, besides ensuring quality control and optimum inventory level.
Banking and Insurance: Extensive research activities are carried out in the banking sector to study the various aspects of banking which in turn helps them introducing newer products in the market, increase the customer satisfaction towards the banks etc. It also helps in making in-depth investigations on economic conditions of business, planning and management reporting activities. On the other hand, the insurance sector is a growing sector of the economy that needs a research survey to study the performance of the different plans introduced in the market, the future products which can attract more customers, etc.