Describe the sampling strategy. How appropriate were the various sampling design decisions? The sampling strategy is essential in any survey conducted if management desires to obtain any useful information from the survey. NCR commissioned the McMahon Group to devise a sampling strategy in order to assist with increasing the country club membership. In order to devise a sampling strategy, the McMahon Group needed to answer several questions. These questions are well defined in Business Research Methods by Cooper and Schindler and they consist of defining the target population, parameters of interest, sampling frame, appropriate sample method, and size sample (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). The McMahon Group conducted six focus groups that consisted of 43 members, seven nonmembers, and 12 employees (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). After these six focus groups were conducted, the McMahon Group sent out 1,650 mail surveys to country club members and their spouses.

The six focus groups and 1,650 mail surveys were conducted in order to obtain information on member’s opinions about the country club and to see how satisfied members were. The McMahon Group felt that the focus groups and those selected would accurately represent the feelings and opinions of the current facilities and services of the country club. According to Cooper and Schindler, the McMahon Group had a decision to make about what is the appropriate sampling method. The sampling methods to choose from consist of probability and nonprobability sampling. “Nonprobability sampling: the researcher cannot be sure of a ‘specific element of the population i.e. CASE ASSIGNMENT 2the particular grouping that is being looked at being included in the sample'” (Wilson, 2016). “Probability sampling: this type of sampling comes closer to the objective of sampling, that is, ‘to select elements that accurately represent the total population from which the elements were drawn'” (Wilson, 2016).

It appears that the McMahon Group chose to use probability sampling, which is the best option to use for this type of research. Within probability sampling, there are several sub-types of sampling methods. These methods include: random sampling, systematic sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling, and double sampling (Cooper ; Schindler, 2014).

The case does not discuss what method was used to select those surveyed. However, the method seems to be random. If the selection method were random, I would submit that this would not be the best way to conduct a survey of the country club members. I believe that the best way to conduct a survey of the country club members would be the stratified sampling method.

“In a stratified sample, the population is divided into sub-groups (or strata)” (Tipton, 2014). The reason that I believe this to be the best option for the McMahon Group is due to the fact that more data can be obtained from this method. The McMahon Group can divide those surveyed into different groups. These groups can be divided based on age, members with children, members without children, old members, new members, or any other way that the McMahon group sees fit. These sub-groups will assist in differentiating what is important to different sup-groups. CASE ASSIGNMENT 2What, if any, problems did you find with the questionnaire as a whole? Consider structure, directions, question order, question phrasing, appropriateness of response strategy chosen, etc.

The questions within the questionnaire or survey are arguably the most important part of the entire process. Therefore, a good amount of time and effort should be placed on formulating good questions that will help resolve the issue that management is looking to change. “Even with a good research question, however, many surveys fall short of their promise in that they either do not fully explore the question(s) at hand or ignore the power of surveys to ‘mea-sure’ things. For example, while simple yes/no questions are easy to design and can be informative from a descriptive perspective, they do not always allow the investigator to explore underlying constructs or the qualitative nature of the responses” (Tait, 2015). When reviewing the questionnaire, I noticed that the questionnaire was missing section I and section III. I found this to be strange and I am sure that this would confuse those being surveyed.

Also, the instructions for the questionnaire stated to skip a survey question if that question does not apply or select no opinion. I believe that if a question does not apply to the person surveyed, it would be better to have an option to fill in that says: “does not apply”. If a question gets skipped, the surveyor will not know if the question does not apply or if the person surveyed skipped the question. Having a “does not apply” option will help increase the accuracy of the survey.

It is important for the surveyors conducting the questionnaire to seek the Lord while formulating the questions for the survey. James 1:5 states: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (ESV).