TPO12 Lecture 2 Business
Narrator
Listen to part of a lecture in a Business Class
Professor
Ok, as we’ve talked about a key aspect of running a successful business is
knowing, um, getting a good sense of what the customer actually wants, and
how they perceive your product. So with that in mind, I want to describe a very
simple method of researching customer preference, and it is becoming
increasingly common, it's called----MBWA----which stands for managing by
wandering around. Now, MBWA, that's not the most technical sounding name
you've ever heard, but it describes the process pretty accurately. Here is how it
works.
Basically, Um, the idea is that business owners or business managers just go
out and actually talk to their customers, and learn more about how well the
business is serving their needs, and try to see what the customer experiences,
because that's a great way to discover for yourself, how your product is
perceived, what the strengths and weaknesses are, you know, how to you can
improved it that sort of thing, you know Dortans, they make soup and can
vegetables and such. Well, the head of the company, had Dortans’ topped
executives walk around supermarkets, um, asking shoppers what they thought
of Dortans’ soup, and he use the data to make changes to the company's
product, I mean, when Dortans of all the companies, embraces something as
radical as MBWA, it really show you how popular the theory has become, yes,
Lisa?
Student A
But this is dangerous to base decisions on information from a small sample of
people? Is it large scale market research safer getting data on a lot of people?
Professor
That's a good question, and well I don't want to pretend that W… MBWA is
some sort of, um, replacement for other methods of customer research. Now,
the market research data definitely can give you a good idea of, um, of the big
picture, but MBWA is really useful kind of filling in the blanks, you know, getting
a good underground sense of how you products you use, and how people
need respond to them, and Yes, the numbers of opinion you get is small so you
do need to be careful, but, good business managers will tell you that the big
fear they have an.. .and one of the most frequent problems they come across
is well becoming out of touch with what their customers really want and need,
you know surveys and market research stuff like that, they can only tell you so
much about what the customers actually want in their day-to-day lives.
Managing by wandering around on the other hand, that get you in there give
you a good sense about what customers needs so. So when use combination
then, MBWA and market research were the powerful tools. Oh, here is another
example for you, um, see you executive for a clothing manufacture. It was, um,
Lken, Lken jeans you know, they went in work in the store for a few days,
selling Lken's cloths. Now that give them a very different idea about their
product, they saw how people responded to it; they could go up to customers
in the store asked questions about it, yes Mike?
Student B
Well, I would think that a lot of customers will be bothered by, you know, if I'm
shopping, I don't know if I want some business representatives coming up to
me and asking me questions, it's.. It's like when I got phone call at home from
marketing researchers, I just hang up them
Professor
Oh, well, it's certainly true that well no one likes getting calls at home from
market researchers or people like that, but I will tell you something. Most
customers have exact opposite reaction when they comes to MBWA. Now,
don't ask me why, because I really have no idea, but the fact is that customers
tend to respond really well to MBWA, which is the key reason for a success.
In fact, the techniques of MBWA works so well, they have actually been
extended to all kinds of different contacts like politics for instance, Um, a few
years back, the major of Botamore, Um.. I can guess its name is Shapher or
something like that. Anyway, he decided that the best way to serve the people
of the city, of his city, was actually get out there in it and experience the things
that they experienced, so he right around the city in, you know, all parts of it,
and he see all the prattles; he see how the trash was sometimes, um, not pick
up but off side the street and then they go back to the office and they write
these memos, and these memos to stuff about the problems he had seen, and
how they needed to be fixed, you know that sort of thing, but the thing is he got
all the information just by going around and seeing the different Botamore
neighborhoods and talking to the people in them, and he called it--- small
politics, we'd call it MBWA, or just, playing good customer service.
TPO 12 Conversation 2
Narrator
Listen to a conversation between a student and a Department Secretary.
Student
Hi. Miss Andrics.
Secretary
Hi Bret, how are you?
Student
I’m fine; except I have a question about my paycheck.
Secretary
Sure. What’ up?
Student
Well it’s already been several weeks at the end of the semester my
check was supposed to go directly into my bank account but there
haven’t been any deposits.
Secretary
That’s odd.
Student
Yea, I thought graduate teaching a system for automatically put on
the payroll at the beginning of the semester.
Secretary
They are. Let’s see did you complete all the forms for the payroll?
Student
I filled in whatever they sent me, and I returned like the end of
August.
Secretary
Hum, well, you definitely should have been paid by now. At least two
pay periods have passed since then
Student
I asked the bank and they didn’t know anything. Who should I talk to
about this, payroll?
Secretary
I’m going to contact them for you. There was a problem in processing
some of the graduate students’ payroll paper work. ‘Cause their
computer program crashed after all the information was processed.
And some people’s information couldn’t be retrieved.
Student
Hum. But why didn’t any one let me know?
Secretary
I don’t know how they work over there, ‘cause they couldn’t even
figure out whose information was missing. And this isn’t the first time,
seems like something like this happens every semester.
Student
So how do I find out if my information was lost?
Secretary
I will contact them tomorrow morning to see if you’re in the system.
But you’re probably not.
Student
What then will let me to do?
Secretary
Sorry but you will need to fill out those forms again and then I will fax
them over the payroll office.
Student
And then what… Well, what I really need to know is how long till I get
the money, I’m already a month behind my bills and my tuitions due
soon.
Secretary
That’ll get you into the system the same day they receive your paper
works. So if you do that tomorrow, you’ll get paid next Friday.
Student
That’s a long time from now. Will that pay checking include all the
money I am owed?
Secretary
It should. I will double check with the payroll department.
Student
And another thing, Is there any way I could get paid sooner, I have
been teaching all these weeks…
Secretary
I know that’s not fair but I don’t think they can do anything; all the
checks are computed automatically in the system. They can’t just
write checks.
Student
But there is another one to make mistakes. They’ve never told me!
Woman
I understand how you feel and if I were you, I’d be upset too. I’ll tell
you what: when I call them, I will explain the situation and ask them
if there is any way you can be paid sooner. But I have to tell you that
base on past experiences you shouldn’t count on it.
Student
(Sigh) I understand thanks. I know it’s’ not your fault and that you’re
doing everything you can.
Secretary
Well, what I CAN do is make sure that your first check for total amount
the university owes you.
Student
That’ll be great! Thank you. I will be on campus about 10 tomorrow
morning and I will come back to see you then.
