Introduction
The concurrent increase in the cost of wheat and energy prices is causing a lot of distress in countries worldwide. The most affected are countries that tend to control the process of goods and services. However respective bakery industries in the world are paying the price of having to face increased energy prices at a time that wheat, the main input in the industry is in short supply causing a further increase in prices. Companies have to deal with this increment because increasing prices for final products would lead to more uproar from members of the public and government at a time that inflation is taking tall in many economies. The industry is thus in a tight corner because and needs some strategies that would enable it to sail through these tough times. Economists estimate that the current chaos will go away soon. As a contribution to this debate, these papers shall use quantitative methods to see how information on industrial experience can be collected and used in the process of seeing strategies being employed by industry players.
The paper shall heavily rely on primary sources in collecting data; the reason being that the current situations just started happening a few months ago and have thus not started appearing in reputable sources. The primary methods to be used in this process include interviews and focus groups. Though reasons for choosing these two methods are given below in detail, interviews were chosen because of their ability to provide immediate feedback regarding the issue. Focus groups were on the other hand chosen because of their ability to enable the researcher to brainstorm with other people on the current situation and reactions from various bodies. Fact that both methods are equally helpful in getting immediate answers and clarifications on points that have to be made clear was another reason for choosing them (Keen, 1996, p. 169). Later sections of the paper will elaborate operationalization of the two methods of data collection. This shall be followed by listing various ethical implications of the study to the community, stakeholders, and on the researcher’s part. A subsequent conclusion will highlight some important points mentioned in the paper.
Research Questions to Be Answered
The problem whose question is being researched in this problem is how local and international bread manufacturing industries are dealing with a double increase in their key inputs. Three sub-questions need to be answered. The first is; what are companies doing to shield themselves from increased energy prices? This is because of the reason that energy account for greater proportions in the cost of production. The research shall try to understand whether there are other forms of energy that are being used to supplement the expensive ones whose price increment has resulted in greater costs of production. In the same token, the research would investigate whether the companies are lobbying governments for subsidies regarding energy.
The second question: since there is no substitute for wheat in bread production, what are companies’ strategies in ensuring that they have enough supply of wheat for the period of shortage, that is before the international market can supply enough wheat for all consumers in the world? Another question in the same section is: given the fact that the international whet market may not be able to supply enough produce until the next two years (Lange, 1998, p. 460), what are players in the industry doing to ensure that their customers can get company products on time? The third question whose questions would be sought in the research is on how do industry players plan to protect themselves from rising inflation on overall materials used in their industry? At the same time, are there any strategies in place that would help players to outlive any price controls that would be subjected to them, by authorities? And are the companies convincing policymakers to change economic policies that could have contributed to the current problem? All these questions are vital in the process of understanding what is going on in the industry and what key players are doing to ensure that all is under control.
Answer to the above questions would help in understanding long-run strategies that would be are being developed to protect the industry from a situation like the current one in days to come. Since industry players will have different answers to all these questions, research will make a point of collecting all the answers provided and consequently analyze them. The best practices from each company will be listed. In the end, it shall be possible for the final report of this research to stipulate and maybe advise on the procedure that companies in the industry should take in the attempts for self-protection against the sudden increase in the cost of doing business. Also provided that the problem is not national but international, best practices from all over the world, especially on the market leader in several other economies will be investigated and reported accordingly. Reason to have a little focus on the international market rather than just concentrating on the issue as a national problem is that globalization has resulted in the integration of economies worldwide. Never is it possible for any country, industry, or company to assume that it holds a monopoly or operates in an autarchy economy; all are subject to international competition that makes them global players even when they are service localized markets. All these globalization issues explain why the wheat problem has become internationalized.
As a result, this research would also interview and constitute focus groups from individuals conversant with the international wheat market. People with international understanding, such as industry players, economists, and government officials would form the core group to be included in this research. This being the case, it shall be possible for research procedures to deal with the problem at the international level. This has the greater advantage to the local market that would lean on the best practices being done at the international level. Learning how international players deal with the problem is one among many lessons that the local industry will learn.
Research Problem
As listed in the above questions section, this research project will focus on understanding what the local bakery industry is doing to ensure that it does not get affected by the rising cost of living. This shall be through the understanding of how individual players are doing and what the industry is doing to ensure that stakeholders are not adversary affected. The decisions to involve the industrial representative body are based on the fact that it has the ability to convince authorities to take the necessary measures that would benefit all stakeholders equally. In addition, the inclusion of government representatives will be involved to ensure that ideas on the possible future policies are included in the research.
Operationalisation of Research Methods to Be Used
Focus Groups
Focus groups will be used in the collection of information regarding the wheat market. Several focus groups representing different interests will be used and will be held at different times. Dividing the focus groups into several groups representing individuals stakeholders will be important because each group will be able to control express themselves without fear of confrontation from other groups (Bryman, 2004, p. 201). This is based on fact that situations regarding price inclement and policy would most likely lead to blaming games on the responsible group. For instance, government officials and policymakers would be quick to claim that greedy manufacturers and middlemen are the ones to blame for the current shortage, and industry players would in turn put the blame on movement policies. Consumers would on their part blame both groups for the problem. It is however important to list merits that were important in deciding why focus groups were chosen as the best methods. Before listing the pros and cons of this method, it is important to state that benefits outweigh costs.
Merits of Focus Groups
There are several benefits of choosing focus groups as a way of collecting data in this research. Some of the strongest advantages are included in this section. First, focus groups have the advantage of providing high levels of information collection (Holy, 1994, p. 25), which is, achieving satisfaction on the researchers’ side. In this regard, it becomes possible for researchers to ask for clarifications of the punts made. In addition, participants of the focus group could even as for clarification from each other since they serve as a discussion group. In addition, focus groups provide chances for researchers to search for solutions with the members. This shall make it possible for the researcher to understand what each focus group, represented by segments of stakeholders, would want to see the problem solved. In addition, the use of focus groups can make it possible for researchers to help members with clarification of words or questions sin at the discussion paperwork (Bryman, 2004, p. 265). This is achieved with greater efficiency compared with other methods of collecting primary data. In addition to these benefits, focus groups are taunted to having greater degrees of helping researchers achieve the desired amounts of qualitative data (Baker, 2002, p. 184).
Demerits of Qualitative Data
Despite the above benefits of using focus groups in collecting primary data, the method comes with several disadvantages mentioned in this sub-section. First, it could prove impossible to reach some stakeholders that should be included in the research (Grace, 1999, p. 41). For instance, the need to include international players in the industry could prove difficult. Secondly, the process is taunted as tedious because of the long process of preparing for the actual event. There are also a lot of resources that are needed to run the event. Thirdly, people in the focus groups could be reluctant to share their information in the process. This would most likely be involved with players in the industry who will feel uneasy in sharing internal information with competitors. In that regard, this project acknowledges the challenges which could occur in the process of getting information using focus groups. It is hoped that the use of interviews described below would help in alleviating the problem.
Interviews
Personal interviews will also be used in the process of ensuring that data is collected directly from stakeholders in the industry. This section includes the merits and demerits of using this system in the process of collecting primary information.
Benefits of Interviews
Just like in the focus groups, personal interviews would help the research project because it shall be possible to help interviewees with problems that could occur in the process of collecting data, the reason being that both parties will be together. Secondly, It will be possible for both parties to explore various aspects of the issue in a discussion manner. Fact that the interview will involve senior members or representatives of stakeholder groups has a high chance of achieving the greater goals of the project. Thirdly, interviews help the researcher to test ideas they had before embarking on the project (Baker, 2001, p. 350). In this case, the perception that the researcher had on the causes of wheat shortage at both national and international level would be tested through clarifications from industrial representatives. Fourthly, it becomes possible for researchers to understand and interpret non-verbal feedback from the other party (Zaret, & Ragin, 1983, p 740). This would be important in understanding the mood and perception that different stakeholders have regarding other party’s perception of the causes of the problem and the ability of current measures to avert the problem.
Demerits of Interviews
Some of the demerits of using the system are discussed in this section. First, there is obvious bias developing from interviewees (Sarantakos, 1998, p. 50). Secondly, the quality of data developing from interviews develops from the questions being asked by the interviewee. Therefore any bias from the interviewer will be exemplified in the data to be provided by the party being interviewed. This is something that the researcher will have to fight with. As a way of escaping the biasness trap, the researcher will ensure that no bias regarding the topic will get into the study. Thirdly, some stakeholders identified as potential interviewees could be less willing in sharing their information with the researcher, who could be regarded as a third party regarding company information. This will result in the researcher being unable to make some decisions regarding the current effects of sugar and energy prices on the bakery industry.
Significance and Limitation of the Study
This study is of great importance to the bakery industry in the country because players will be in a position to understand how other stakeholders are doing to deal with the problem. For instance, the report resulting from this research will help consumers to understand policies that the government is intending to enact to ensure that the local industry becomes self-sufficient in the production of what and emery. The report shall however be keen in informing consumers that government policies would only be successful in the long run. The reason for this explanation will be that consumers would like to see solutions for the short-run problem, which means what they are going through as of today. However, developing such solutions would only lead to the long run problem again, because policymakers would be forced to keep developing short run solutions. Other stakeholders, especially policymakers will hear what the industry would require to escape closures as well as disrupted production. It should be understood that only through understanding each other can stakeholders constructively handle the crisis.
Ethical Implications
The greatest ethical implication in the study would be asking and reporting on stakeholders who are to blame for the current energy and wheat shortage problems that have engulfed the country’s bakery sector. Choosing one stakeholder over the other could raise some questions on the criteria that the study used to come up with such conclusions. One source of this ethical implication could develop from any bias that the researcher could have on some aspects of the issue being addressed. However, it shall be neutrality is maintained at all stages of the study. Indeed, only then can a successful project can be achieved, much to the benefit of all stakeholders in the industry.
As indicated in various sections of the paper, qualitative methods to develop solutions to the effects of increased commodity process when the market proves to be superior. Using it in this process would provide the most recent and conclusive data regarding the crisis. This factor will have outstanding results on the report resulting from the study, the reasons being that stakeholders will be in a position to make important decisions regarding measures to be applied. Results of the project would also make it possible for the same stakeholders to cooperate in their decision-making processes. In addition, successive usage of this process will make it possible for future researchers to borrow from this research project.
References
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