Reference no: EM1377461

Use the Internet to collect both primary and secondary information regarding the research issue, opportunity, or problem given below for your Research Process Outline in Learning Team Meeting One.

Find at least two different sources of secondary data. Then, prepare a 1,000-word analysis of your collected data. Also, describe the methods you used to collect the data. Be sure to cite and provide your references in the paper.

Introduction
There are many people and businesses across the country who participate in a morning ritual that we like to call "rush hour". During this process, commuters are on their way to work; some driving many miles and some driving only a few miles. For the purposes of this paper, we will be discussing the average commute of the worker in the United States, and possibly road conditions and alternatives to experiencing this commute. With rising gas prices, accident rates, and current trends in road rage, alternatives are most welcome to both workers and businesses alike.
Body
One of the things that people take into consideration when applying for a job is the distance that they must travel during their commute to work. This commute can present many different challenges. One of these challenges is paying for fuel to get to and from your job site. With the price of fuel being what it is today, it can become very expensive to fill your gas tank. There are however, opportunities that exist to combat the rising cost of fuel. There are a lot of consumer reports available now whether they are published on the internet, or in print that allow consumers to gather the information they need to decide if they want to purchase a fuel efficient vehicle or a hybrid with even greater fuel economy.
One of the first problems that is identified in the issue of a persons commute to work is what type of vehicle they should purchase. Many auto manufacturers are now beginning to develop and offer for sale, more affordable and fuel efficient vehicles. Some of these vehicles are regular economy cars that operate on conventional fuel, and more recently developed we are seeing hybrid vehicles that operate on conventional fuel and electricity that is generated by the vehicle itself. So one might ask them self where should this research begin? The starting point for this research should be a comparison of fuel efficiencies between different makes and models. Other factors that should be considered are the cost of a vehicle, the length of the financing, and how far you will be driving the vehicle. Not only are these factors important to come to a personal decision, they are also important to arrive at a business decision.
Businesses must also consider all of the factors mentioned above when they consider what type of fleet expenses they can afford. One of the top factors that businesses usually consider is the cost of fuel when working with the idea of fleet vehicle purchases. Other factors would include vehicle maintenance costs, mileage versus depreciation, and ecological effects (pollution). For the purposes of this essay, the opportunity identified with the issue of miles driven each week for business purposes and the time that it takes, is how we as a business can get the biggest bang for our investment.
The outline for this project will look like something similar to the following:
1. Proposed purchasing decision
a. Hybrid Vehicles
i. Benefits
ii. Liabilities
b. Conventional Vehicles
i. Benefits
ii. Liabilities
2. Alternative fuel vehicles versus conventional fuel vehicles
a. Hybrid Fuel Economy
b. Conventional Fuel Economy
3. Cost savings of hybrid vehicles
a. Maintenance Costs
b. Depreciation
c. Time Value
4. Summary of Research
a. Advantages of Hybrid Fleet Vehicles
b. Advantages of Conventional Fuel Vehicles
5. Final Decision
Not only will this research study attempt to arrive at the best decision for a company to make when considering what type of fleet vehicles to purchase, it will also attempt to determine what steps can be taken to reduce the amount of time spent on the road. For all intents and purposes, the two issues seem to go hand in hand. When a company attempts to reduce their fleet costs they should also look at what they can do to reduce the amount of time that their vehicles spend on the road. This can range from providing their employees with work stations at their houses to avoid the time spent on the road, or offering extra pay for using public transportation. Depending on the type of job that a person has, the company may be able to institute both of these measures, one of these measures, or none at all. This is why it is important for a business to be able to really research the issue and develop some kind of a cost effective means to save operating capital. An example of a company that may not be able to initiate either of these solutions would be a delivery company who clearly needs to have a fleet in place. On the other side of the coin, a company that may be able to initiate one or both measures would be an office environment that provides technical documentation and on-site trouble shooting.
Summary
While employees and businesses alike are looking for ways to battle the effects of rising gas prices and lengthy commutes, it becomes more and more necessary for a company to research alternative means of transportation or other ways to combat rising fleet costs. Some of these methods range from eliminating their fleet vehicles all together or investing in vehicles that operate on alternative fuels, or are a hybrid of both of these types of vehicles. Since there are many different ways of combating this type of expense, businesses need to gather information about each type of alternative to find the most cost effective measure available to them.