Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 1
Benjamin Maple, Robert Gholson, Daniel Williams, Benito Serrano
Business Research/RES/351
28 March 2016
Dr. Kenneth Miller

Preparing to Conduct Business Research: Part 1 * Describe the selected issue, opportunity, or problem facing the organization.

The organization this team agreed on to conduct business research is Playboy. This company has been in business since the beginning of its long life started in December of 1953, it was created by Hughe Hefner. Playboy does not just produce magazines but the company does also television, radio, internet, and clothes. There are various reasons the company chose to go down a different path then it known for, from being a centerfold raunchy naked magazine to a more conservative less revealing type of magazine. Do to the changing times and forever evolving technology, This company has had a problem in the last decade competing with other big companies like maxim and other big companies like them in their sales for their monthly subscription magazine. With the competition of other companies going becoming more prevalent because of the technology advances as mentioned like the internet, Playboy has become sort of obsolete. Consumers no longer really care for the naked centerfold they used to always show and have come up with solutions to stay relevant in the industry while changing the way they have operated for decades.

* Discuss the significance, scope, magnitude, and feasibility of finding a solution to the issue, opportunity, or problem.

For decades Playboy has evolved from their monthly magazines featuring the “Centerfolds” of women including many famous actresses, singers, and prominent figures of the entertainment world. Their marketing has expanded across the world through internet sites, magazine and television, video specials, and retail sales of the Playboy logo. The problem Playboy has been addressing is the competition with internet pornographic websites. The world does not need to go to the store to buy magazines or videos anymore due to the internet being easily accessible to people of all ages especially with the technologies of cell phone advancements and tablets. With the issues arising of losing revenue from lack of magazine sales, Playboy decided to go with a bold new direction in their organization, to keep them competitive with the other old magazines and newer magazines. They always had more than just nude pictures in their magazines like diverse articles, but now they have decided to do away with their nude magazine pictures and decided to go more towards a conservative type of aspect in their magazines to keep themselves more competitive with the rising competition and keep readers buying playboy. Consumers no longer demand the type of magazine it was before because of accessibility. The magnitude of the direction of Playboy’s answer to the issue is huge in many ways considering the decades of gearing the product through different levels of sales. Playboy’s concept of remaining a gentlemen’s organization is a testament to the company not selling out to smut compared to other companies that once tried competing with them. This change will dramatically change how this company does compared to other magazines, and keep itself different from other main stream magazines.

* Justify why the chosen issue, opportunity, or problem facing the organization is important to be researched and whether it can be solved with business research.

This team chose this issue, opportunity, and problem facing the Playboy organization had because it is an interesting topic showing the pros and cons of advancements in technology and consumer demand. Being able to research how changes affect big businesses is important to learn how they adapt to the forever changing market. The world continues to grow but in some ways it can have a negative effect on people and organizations. The issues for Playboy have a chance to be resolved and conducting business research is essential in developing solutions for the company to succeed past the competition of the internet and thousands of other companies.

References
Cooper, D. R. (2014) Business Research Methods, Twelfth Edition, McGraw-Hill Company