Thank you for your feedback concerning the research
You conducted about the Instruments we require to purchase in order to be able to improve the quality of services offered at the institution. From your responses to the concerns I raised, I find it difficult to trust the data you gave because like you mentioned it is mostly guessed. What I require is data that is scientific and is therefore reliable for use in the next project of purchasing additional instruments. The data should be able to show the exact outcome of purchasing a certain instrument and therefore, convincing without any reasonable doubt that it is the best action to take for the company. This is important because inefficiencies are likely to cause the business loses and poor quality music which will drive away clients. This is dangerous for the future of the company as losing clients is losing business and profit.
Methodological Problems in the Research
There are various methodological problems noted in the tables you provided. One is the fact that the first table does not use a scoring system. This makes it difficult to rate different instruments from different brands that can be purchased alternatively. This is difficult in the decision-making process because the yes/no responses do not provide a good feel of the exact quality of the instrument in discussion. Additionally, these kinds of responses are erroneous since they do not give a range of qualities which would be the case if numbers were used. This is something that needs to be changed in the next research that you carry out.
Another methodological problem that comes out is also in table 1. The qualities discussed have some that are not similar but are grouped together. For instance, the ease of playing and the quality of sound are two very different qualities that cannot be rated as a group. This means that the information given can only represent one of the qualities in the group which is also erroneous. The classification of the qualities should be done in a better way in the next research in order to avoid such a case of overshadowing.
Lastly, there is the methodological problem of the rating used from different people. The data that the respondents provided was based on their own biases where some were rating harder than others. This affected the average that was used as the value but may not be a representation of the actual quality of the instrument and equipment discussed. In order to have a better outcome with less bias considerations, more qualities would have been used for the rating so that the rating is based on the many qualities where the bias is shared on a wider range. This will ensure that the dislike of a respondent for one instrument because of one only quality will be neutralized by the responses to the other qualities of the same instrument.
Suggested Improvement with Decision Matrix
In consideration of the responses you offered, I suggest that you do another research using a decision matrix. A decision matrix contains a list of values that are arranged in rows and columns that can be used by an analyst in the identification, analysis, and rating of the relationship between the sets of values. This will be a very efficient decision-making criteria for the business.
Creation of Performance Matrix
In that regard, there are three steps that you will use in the creation of the performance matrix. The first step is the identification of how the evaluation should be done. This is through determining the qualities that the winning option should have, having a ranking criterion based on a certain quality, determination of the criteria or quality to be assessed and coming up with the scoring system. These are all important in the first step.
The second step involves the evaluation of the options on the matrix. The first thing to do in this step is the elimination of the options that do not meet the set criteria in order to remain with only the few viable options. The remaining options will then be ranked according to the scoring system. The best options will be picked after the ranking has been done and further analysis done in order to include other factors such as costs. The best way to come up with the best option is by adding up the various scores for an option then making one final ranking list. This will include all the qualities including the cost score. The higher the cost the lower the costs score.
The last step is making a review of the ranked list and refining the criteria used even further. This will provide an opportunity for a deeper check. Observing the options even at the bottom of the list in order to see if that is in conjunction with their popularity in the market. If the ranking is surprising then more questions need to be asked. When the criterion is refined even further, it will provide better quality results that are the real representation of the data. After all is done then the business will be able to select the winning options.
