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Research Plan

TNT International
Written by: Eva Konings & Valesca Nieuwenhuis
Supervised by: Antje van Essen
Course: Research skills and techniques

Table of content
Background Information

Supervision

Topic

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Problem description

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Main question and secondary questions

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Types of research

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9. Process

Company description
The current, undesired situation
Desired situation
The objective of our research
Main question
Secondary question

Methods of research

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Background Information
1.
Name: Valesca Nieuwenhuis
Student number: 500
Adress: ?
Phone number: 06
Group: 3IBL1
2.
Name: Eva Konings
Student number: 500666413
Adress: Nieuwe westerdokstraat 18
Phone number: 06-10155768
Group: 3IBL1
Company mentor
Name: Martijn Legemaat
Function: Corporate Account Insight Director AT TNT Express
Telephone number: 0610978558

Supervision
Supervisor
Name: Antje van Essen
What do you expect of your supervisor?
What do you expect of your company mentor?
What does your supervisor expect of you?
What does your company mentor expect of you?
What important arrangements have you made/would you like to make with them? In
other words: how do you safeguard the quality of the process?

Topic
What is the topic of your final thesis?

Company description

TNT international is a European market leader in global express, logistics and


international services. This service company is making sure that your documents;
parcels and freight are delivered safely through their door-to-door integrated air and
road networks.

Problem description
The current, undesired situation

The current undesired situation at TNT international are the communication problems
among the European sales force. This can affect the efficiency that TNT values so much.
Furthermore, it will affect TNTs international sales and relationships. We are focussing
our research on the following countries: Germany, Poland, France and the United
Kingdom. These countries compared to the Dutch business culture.

Desired situation

The future desired situation of TNT is to improve internal communication within a


timeframe of 1 year. The company wants to achieve more efficient communication
between international teams, which includes being more involved, and collaborate more
closely to achieve a higher efficiency level.

What is the problem?


Why is it a problem? What are the consequences?

The objective of our research

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The objective of this thesis is to find a possible solution in establishing stronger


relationships between the European sales forces of TNT international. Through
improving internal communication.

Main question and secondary questions


Main question
Formulate the main and secondary questions in the form of open questions.
Define the relevant technical terms used in answering the main question.

Secondary question
Formulate the secondary questions in such a way that it becomes clear what kind of
knowledge/information/data you will be looking for.
Provide information about the current financial situation. Indicate what financial
consequences your advice will likely have. (Do you foresee any financial obstacles?)

Types of research
descriptive, analytical, exploratory and problem-solving
literature research
qualitative/quantitative research

Methods of research
Desk research
Qualitative research (interviews, observations, focus groups)
Quantitative research (surveys, content analysis)
8. For each secondary question, make sure that you state the sources you are going to
use
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(Dont just say textbook: state the title!).

9. Process
For any process, it is necessary that you realise what you are doing. This means that your
Research Plan should indicate any risks and (ethical, moral) dilemmas you may
encounter and how you are going to deal with these. Secondly, you should ask yourself if
you have the necessary knowledge to bring the process to a satisfactory conclusion. It
may well be that you lack specific knowledge. If so, you should indicate what knowledge
you need to acquire.

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