RESEARCH AND REPORTING 301 RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Submitted to: Dr. Elena Collins

Presented By: Judy Law Mei Ting 3H2 (lame110291) Amy Ng Ching Ying 3H2 (ngch260787) Randolph Un Chon Seng 3H2 (unch210792)

Date of Submission: 12th April 2011

TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................. 2 AIM ................................................................................................................................ 3 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................ 3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 3 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 4 TIMESCALE ................................................................................................................. 6 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 7

To: Dr. Elena Collins From: Law Mei Ting (Judy) 3H2, Ng Ching Ying (Amy) 3H2, Un Chon Seng (Randolph) 3H2 Date: 12 April 2011 Subject: Research proposal AIM The aim of this report is to investigate how the sensor soap flake can influence different organizations towards the idea of getting green by using the lowest cost together with bring down the operation cost. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this research project are: To investigate the current trends of eco-friendly and green To research similar product are currently use To identify the features and benefits of the sensor soap flake To conduct the primary research to conduct is there have any demand for our product To increase the percentage of people who use the soap instead of shampoo To replace shampoo by using soap as the cost of shower gel and shampoo is much higher than soap To minimize the use of the plastic boxing of shower gel or shampoo by using paper wrapping boxing of soap

BACKGROUND As the time goes by, being green plays a more important role in the current society. Moreover, the hospitality industry is in difficult situation according to the economy crisis as luxury hotel chains may also see their balance sheets coming under pressure as ongoing expansion plans, funded mainly by debt, will result in more supply of rooms at a time when demand is softening (Neha Pandey, 2008). Added to that, various products that we are mostly using nowadays are not environment-friendly to our mother planet. According to Recycling NJ, it has been estimated that between 1 and 1.5 million bars of soap are discarded from hotel rooms every single day in the US. This soap makes a considerable contribution to land fill waste and can be easily put to better use (Recycling NJ, 2011). As a result, we would like to introduce an eco-friendly product, sensor soap flake which can reduce the operation cost at the mean time.
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METHODOLOGY Both primary and secondary sources will be used for our project. In terms of secondary source, we are going to use the online resources for most of our information as it is the fastest- growing source in the internet. Documents or articles that are relevant to our topic which is sensor soap flake will be useful for our project. In addition, we will research for documents that related to soap or other existing products like ours. We are using inductive approach because we started the project with an existing product and then develop it to be more generally. In our questionnaire, both closed-ended questions and open-ended questions have been used so that we can collect qualitative and quantitative approaches for our project.

However, some of the information from online resources may not be reliable and as a result, we will also use books for our literature review. Although books are not tend to be less up to date, but they are still likely to be useful as they can provide a good standing point from which to find more detailed information. Primary sources such as questionnaires and observations will be used for our project. We have been sent our questionnaires out on week 5 through Facebook, SHMS and school e-mail to all the students in school. In term of sampling, we are going to use both probability sampling and non probability sampling. For probability sampling, we will use systematic sampling by A-Z in order to send out the questionnaire in facebook. On the other hand, we will use snowball sampling for the non probability sampling as we sent the questionnaire to our close friends and asked them to forward the questionnaire to their friends.

Moreover, non-participate observation will be used. By using the non-participate observation, quantified data can be collected. We started observe the local supermarkets like Migros, Denners and Coops since the idea has been confirmed. In this case, more quantified data can be collected.

As all mention above, we are going to use several topics for our literature review.

Topics of literature review are: Using soap is healthier than using shampoo or shower gel The impact of non-environmental-friendly product The mutual benefits of users and the hospitality industry

TIMESCALE The timescale below displays the critical events and dates that were followed during the research study. Task/Weeks Form Group Conceptualization Read Literature Aims and Objectives Devise Methodology Approach Create Questionnaires Send Out Questionnaires Observation Start writing research proposal Submit research proposal Collect data Analysis data Complete the remaining part Presentation Revise draft and print Submit research paper 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

REFERENCES Recycling NJ. (2011). Hotel Soap and Shampoo Bottle Recycling.Available: http://www.recyclingnj.com/recycle/soap.html. Last accessed 10th Apr 2011. Neha Pandey. (2008). Economic crisis hits hospitality industry.Available: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/economic-crisis-hits-hospitality-industry/76083-7.html. Last accessed 10th Apr 2011. Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis, Adrian Thornhill (2009). Research methods for business students. 5th edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.