Chestnut Ridge Country Club
Management (or Decision) Problem
Despite Chestnut Ridge Country Club maintaining a reputation as one of the outstanding country clubs in the Elma,Tennessee, area, Chestnut has been experiencing shortages in the number of people seeking membership. The board of directors believed that the membership applications at the three competing country clubs in the area were not experiencing the same thing. The board is perplexed as to why their club is experiencing these declines.
Research Problem and Objectives
The marketing research problem is to help the board of directors of Chestnut Ridge gain insight into why the suspected decline in the number of people seeking membership is occurring.
The specific objectives of the research are:
1. to outline areas in which Chestnut Ridge fared poorly in relation to other clubs in the area;
2. to determine people’s overall perception of Chestnut Ridge; and
3. to provide recommendations for ways to increase membership applications at the club.
Methodology
i. Research Design
Since the board of directors of Chestnut Ridge did not have any hypothesis as to why the decline in membership applicants is decreasing the researchers used exploratory research to identify possible reasons.
ii. Design of Data Collection
A literature search of published research relating to country clubs uncovered no studies. Therefore, primary data collection through mail questionnaires of members from Alden, Chalet, Lancaster as well as Chestnut Ridge was used.
iii. Sample Design and Data Collection
Sampling Population: The sampling population was all the members from Alden, Chalet, Lancaster, and Chestnut Ridge Country Clubs.
Sampling Frame: The chairman of each club provided the researchers with a list of all the names and addresses of the members of the club. In exchange for each list, the researchers had to provide each chairman with a report analyzing their members’ perceptions toward their own clubs.
Sampling Unit: The unit being used in this sample was individuals (members of each country club)
Sample Selection: A simple random (or probability) sample was used. 87 members from each country club were mailed a questionnaire (348 surveys in total).
Sample Size: 63 usable surveys were returned from each group (252 surveys in total).
Response Rate: There was a response rate of 72 percent. (sample size / number of eligible contacts)
Evaluation and Analysis
Question #1: The researchers used exploratory research as the design. Exploratory research is used to gain insights and ideas into a problem, therefore this design was a good choice because the board of directors did not have any hypothesis as to why Chestnut was experiencing the declines in membership applicants.
Question #2: I do not believe it was unethical for the researchers not to disclose the identity of the sponsoring organization. If the researchers would have disclosed this information the study would not have been successful. However, I do not find it ethical for the chairmen to release the names and addresses of their members [next page]