Summary
This research study was carried out on market orientation of small and medium businesses in Ghana with consideration of marketing concept. Marketing concept holds that achievement of an organization principally depends on satisfaction of the needs of the client better than competitors.
Small scale ventures have interested policy makers in an attempt to speed up the rate of development in low income-earning countries and in this respect; they have been recognized as development engines in Ghanaian growth objectives and in the country’s development plan.
From the government registry, approximately 90 percent of registered companies in Ghana are small and medium enterprises, contributing more than 80 percent of economic growth. Due to their rising significances, there is a stretched history of government initiatives in promoting and financing their activities.
Methodology used in this research study offers data collection methods which includes sampled interviews of twenty prospective respondents. Out of these, only fourteen managed to respond willingly. In the findings section of the research on information collected from the field, aspects such as employee involvement was taken into consideration with demographic distributions in customer orientation in one street of Ghana.
The paper concludes that market orientation organizations need monitoring systems in setting customers’ needs and placing concern at the highest point of organizational arrangement. This is expected to greatly influence resolution of the impact of changes in client satisfaction (Ebo & Mahmoud, 2011, p. 35).
Literature review
Marketing concepts and recognition of their importance boost company knowledge and skill in product design. These concepts may not always meet customers’ needs. Assessing customer wants is usually taken as the initial step in customer satisfaction (Teeuwsen, 2004, p.18).
On the same note, market orientation can sometimes be referred to as organizational decision-making progress which commences with information and progresses to execution. Infiltration of information in every firm is extremely important in handling technical tasks and making strategic decisions in regard to business practices in order to meet customers’ needs.
This study has indicated that market orientation has given it a clear definition with an inclination towards organizational culture, which creates basic and essential behaviors for a conception of greater value for customers and thus making a cutting edge in business competition; a claim which is partially true.
With it as part of organizational culture, Singh (2004, p.45) argues that market orientation through performance and coordination within workers is extremely fundamental for any organization’s continual survival. In this regard, market and orientation as regards small businesses is the same as it applies to big businesses, which again is partially and selectively correct.
Research design
Although market orientation has been greatly and deeply discussed in the research project, there are no distinct initial sections identifiable to a general reader.
Unless done as a pure report, the paper takes a research dimension and fails to explicitly show its aims and objectives before commencement of the paper, which is against conventional protocols of research papers, implying that the research paper, is not presented as intended.
Normally, it is agreeable that prior to the commencement of each research paper, there is need to clearly state aims and objectives on different subheading (Monsen & Van, 2008, p.172). This is clearly missing in this case. Even though there are no clearly stated aims and objectives of the paper, there are however, stated research questions which all center on market orientation.
The clarity of the research questions (Roberts & Forchu, 1993, par.3) also becomes disputable when the second question poses an unclear inquiry that regards behavior and market orientation. While there are understandable terminologies in the question; organizational behavior and market orientation, there is ambiguity on the directional relationship of the terminologies and their linkages to small businesses.
The conceptual framework of the research implies a quantitative approach and indicates that the research was to simply follow the order of research questions.
Although there are well known domains of conceptual framework, the paper concentrates on market orientation in regard to business behaviors but does not give a clear indication of other characteristics such as internal factors in literature review, which include interdepartmental dynamics. Inline with research questions, the first one intends to find out if small businesses in Ghana appreciate the concept of market orientation.
The second question centers on organizational behaviors and market orientation while the last question is on managerial perceptions of market orientation. There is thus a clear lack of multi-domain approach in the conceptual framework whereby business performance, environmental moderators are ignored.
Other factors in conceptualization, such as market orientation antecedents, are clearly missing- a proof that the conceptual approach of this research is partial.
Data obtained is discussed and thereafter recommendations and conclusions given. This research design, with its descriptive characteristics, has got clear assumptions. To begin with, the research assumes that all the data that was collected from sample interviews was one hundred percent accurate in reference to market representation.
Secondly, it assumes that information by itself presented by respondents was automatically reflecting accurate views and knowledge of market orientation. These assumptions bring into the study views that the sampling used in the research was automatically generating very precise information as regards interviewing and sampling (Utts & Heckard, 2012, p.609).
This way, the research is simplified to a layman level such that the research design can be designed and practiced by any college level student with small background knowledge of research.
There are also limitations associated with the research dimension the paper assumed. To begin with, the size of the sampling used in the research should have been extremely high in order to fully answer the research questioned addressed.
But then the sampling used does not seem to give a large-enough samples to generate accurate information since quantitative and descriptive studies always need concrete evidence for conclusion drawing. This is a major limitation of the study.
The second limitation of the study is that the study did cover proximity areas in regard to location, with short interviews and thus led to neglecting of some areas and consequently resulted to half detailed information regarding market orientation in Ghana. This way, the research presented slightly distorted information with high inaccuracies (Hair et al., 2008. p.75).
Data collection strategy
As in any other research, there is need for collection of data for discussion and conclusion drawing. The research under review employed data collection techniques that the authors deemed appropriate in the study. From its descriptive dimension, the research paper presented case-study as one of its data collection means but highlighted associated limitations.
The specific case in the paper is on contemporary phenomenon within some context of reality in a Ghanaian city. However much this case may present some reality in situational representation, there is absolute lack of continuum in reality and situational representation hence incredibility of data collected (Hair et al. 2008. p.56).
Secondly, Data collection methods employed in this paper include initial observation and drawing of clear interviews. Profound face to face interviews were conducted on various interviewees who were thought to be suitable. The researchers claim that this gave provision for further probing of the interviewees to find out their justifications of their actions.
Other semi-structured interviews were also organized with managers and or owners of the involved businesses for observatory process conclusion. This data collection took the Kohli and Jaworski’s behavioral approach. According to this model, customer focus is considered the most important. Coordinated focus becomes second while business profitability becomes the last option.
This model, used in research under review, only implies that business practices are driven by firm focuses on customers ignoring the cultural behaviors of both sides and their mutual benefits. Therefore, the data collected did not fit very well with the cultural approach model described by Slater and Narver (Teeuwsen, 2004, p.5).
Cultural approach finds out if businesses have a tendency for a particular market in relation to market orientation and as such there is thus a missing value creation, despite normal efforts of market orientation.
The information provided using samples is inadequate to make a big study with conclusions and recommendations on a national scale. Conclusive statistics sufficient for making recommendations on national level require diversities demographically and distinction in terms of business and also require abundance statistically (Utts & Heckard, 2011, p.606).
This way, the final conclusion is enabled to be as precise as possible since representation of diverse demographics is catered for in the statistics. From the research under review, conclusion statistics have shown that there is scarcity of statistical evidence sufficient for making national level recommendations.
For instance, interviewing less than twenty interviewees on the business side and only galloping a total of about fourteen in the respondent side is extremely low for making collective and affective recommendations. This is true since national levels demands regional and diverse representations (Hair et al., 2008. p.36).
The researchers therefore did not pay special attention to questions of measurement since error control and error reduction had been greatly ignored.
In order to decrease the amount of error in the final report, the size of the samples used in the interview should have reflected a very big size such that the error in the final calculations could have come to a very minimal value (Utts & Heckard, 2011, p.606)- basing on denominator value.
This thus presents the outlook that due to simplicity of this kind on the data collection methods involved in this research, anyone is able to formulate and design a similar study. This presents a clear indication of numerous limitations of the involved data collection strategy. Firstly, perhaps due to budgetary allocation problems, the researchers were not able to make provisions for exhaustive data collection designs.
This thus led to another limitation in the calculation of the final verdict of the research and the issuance of the final recommendation. These limitations mean that the final verdict maybe highly erratic and as such, they may have been greatly influential in the final judgment of the research questions (Streubert & Carpenter, 2011, p. 87).
Critique of the methods used in the research
According to George (2010, par.2), the aim of a research is to provide a well documented study aimed at answering research questions and in this case, its aim is to provide a study on market orientation regarding businesses in Ghana. Methods of carrying out the research are greatly deterministic in answering research questions.
This means that involved methods should be greatly coherent with a view to presenting readers and the researchers with the most accurate information regarding the study. Contrary to this, stating of research questions with a view to proving of these questions through small sampling interviews is ineffective in achieving this.
The methodology employed in any research is highly affective of the final result for conclusion drawing (Shuttleworth, 2009, par.2). The research paper in this case is to answer its research question through small sampled interviews, but with the intention of making a general and widespread conclusion. This greatly hampers the effect of the research in areas expected to be affected by the study.
As a result, there is need for consideration of a multiple-approach methodology that will provide more detail and thus make the final result more accurate and affective as intended. Secondly, the research aims and objectives are not indicated in the study have been greatly affected by this insufficient study due to poor application of methodology (Hodgson, 2005, p. 16).
According to Robertson (2008, par.2), justification of the aims and objectives of a study at the end part of the conclusion should be clearly present. However, in this case, they are conspicuously missing since they are not explicitly stated. On the same note, the methodology employed proves to be too scanty for a complete research paper and thus makes it appear like a pilot study instead of an original research paper.
This opens up room for different ways in which the research paper could be done to correctly specify pursuits and how to effectively achieve them. Through a combination of hundreds of interviews and several detailed and widespread surveys, more data is bound to be collected which will provide detailed findings and precise discussion hence accurate conclusion and a minimal error margin (Rubin & Babbie, 2011.p 7).
Conclusion
From the critique above, it is evident that the proposed research paper assumes a pilot study approach. Literature review indicates that market orientation is inclined towards organizational culture which is crucial in business competition. The latter may not necessarily be true in all cases. Secondly, it depicts that marketing orientation among small businesses is similar to those which are well established.
Again, this may not apply in all cases. The research design only involves research questions which all center on market orientation. Data collection design involved observation and drawing clear interviews with very minimal sampling. This was not enough for research analysis. Methodology employed in any research is highly depemdant of the final result.
For instance, the research methodology in this research paper does not provide enough statistical evidence for concrete conclusion. Therefore, it proves ineffective and thus opens up room for different ways in which the research paper could be done.
Through amalgamation of hundreds of interviews and several meticulous and extensive surveys, more data is bound to be collected which will give detailed findings and accurate discussion of results.
References
Ebo, R. & Mahmoud, H.M. A. 2011. Qualitative Insights into Market Orientation in Small Ghanaian Businesses. Accra: University of Ghana.
George, M. 2010. Methodological critique and comparison paper. Web.
Hair, J et al. 2008. Marketing Research, London: McGraw Hill.
Hodgson, O.E. 2005. Research Methodology and Statistic. Victoria: Trafford.
Monsen, E.R. & Van, L. 2008. Research: Successful Approaches Horn, Chicago: American Dietetic Association.
Roberts, J & Forchu, C. 1993. How to critique qualitative research articles. Ontario: Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital.
Robertson, P. 2008. The critical age hypothesis: A critique of research methodology. Web.
Rubin, A. & Babbie, E.R. 2011. Research methods for social work. Belmont: Cengage Learning Inc.
Shuttleworth, M. 2009. What is the scientific method? Web.
Singh, S. 2004. Market orientation, corporate culture and business performance. Burlington: Ashgate, corp.
Streubert, H.J. & Carpenter, D. R. 2011. Qualitative Research in Nursing: Advancing the Humanistic Imperative. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Teeuwsen, B. J. 2004. Market Orientation. Marketing Strategy. Wollongong: University of Wollongong.
Utts, J.M. & Heckard, R. F. 2011. Mind on Statistics, Boston: Cengage Learning.