Chestnut Ridge Country Club

Research Design Case Evaluation

Research design involves the overall strategy used to integrate various components of a study coherently and logically to ensure the research question is efficiently addressed (Babin & Zikmund, 2016). It contains a blueprint for the data collection, measurement, and analysis. Virtually, as Babin and Zikmund elaborate, there are three types of research designs, which include exploratory, descriptive, and causal. Exploratory research is focused on discovering new ideas and getting insights as opposed to collecting statistically correct data. The research design is suitable to explore and understand organization issues, identify areas of potential growth, and help plan on an alternative course of action. On the other hand, as compared to exploratory research, descriptive research is preplanned and structured in a way that data collected is statistically inferred from a population. Usually, descriptive research is used to define an opinion, behavior, or attitude held by a specific demographic regarding a given subject. The other research design is the causal research, which is used to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between study variables. In particular, the causal analysis seeks to understand the cause and effect variables. It also focuses on determining the nature of the relationship between causal variables and the effect. In light of this, the research design used in the Chestnut Ridge Club case study is the exploratory research design. Consistently, the study design is appropriate because the study seeks insights on why membership at the club was declining.

Was it Ethical for the Researchers not to disclose the Sponsoring Organization?

It was unethical for the researchers not to disclose the identity of the sponsoring organization because of the following reasons. Firstly, the purpose of the study was to help Chestnut understand their shortcomings and improve on them. Thus, it was irresponsible and unethical because the organization intended to use the competitor’s information to bring unfair competition. Secondly, it was unethical because the researchers lied about the independence of the study and gave the other parties a feeling that they were not benefiting from the study.

Was it Ethical for the BOD to release names of their Members?

No. It was unethical for the board of directors to release the names of their members in exchange for the report. The organizations have an obligation towards their members to maintain the privacy of their members’ personal information. In light of this, it was unethical to release members’ personal information for the company’s benefits. Another thing, the board gave out members’ information without knowing the use of it. The board risked the members’ personal information, without knowing if it was used for a legal or illegal purpose.

How does Chestnut Ridge Compare to the other three Country clubs?

As compared to Alden, Chalet, and Lancaster, Chestnut Ridge is fairly better in that it has the same or more facilities. In fact, Lancaster is the only club that compares to Chestnut but also scores lower in average ratings. Alden and Chalet lack some facilities such as a swimming pool. Overall, by having more facilities and ranking higher in average rating, Chestnut has a better value and higher competitive advantage.

Areas of Improvement for Chestnut Ridge

Ideally, although Chestnut Ridge scored considerably higher as compared to others, the results in Exhibit 4 indicates that the club should consider improving some areas. The rate was on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 being the lowest and 7 the highest. Consistent with the scale, Chestnut should consider improving areas that scored 5 out of 7, which include addressing the food prices, improving the conditions of tennis courts, and increasing the number of tennis courts.

References

Babin, B. J., & Zikmund, W. G. (2016). Exploring marketing research. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.