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Chapter 6

Problems dealing with qualitative data

Qualitative data is information that cannot normally be expressed in
numerical terms

Much of the qualitative data is:

 subjective in nature and

 can be difficult to capture and transform into useful information.

However, when making decisions and managing performance, qualitative factors still
need to be considered, for example:

 customer opinions about a new product

 levels of employee satisfaction

 the effects on the environment of a particular decision

 legal implications of a particular course of action

 the impact of government policies on decisions

 the timing of a decision.

The judgmental and subjective nature of qualitative data may be dealt with by:

 looking at trends in performance, e.g. employee satisfaction scores

 transforming data into quantitative information, e.g. by applying a 1 to 5 scale
when assessing customer satisfaction.

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