Which Car Is the Best Option - Research Proposal Example

The paper 'Which Car Is the Best Option?' is a good example of a technology research proposal.
The problem under consideration is to choose the best-proposed car from the range of options. A car should represent a business-class. A car is going to be used by top-managers of the company for business purposes. That is why, on the one hand, a car should represent the company inappropriate way. On the other hand, the price of a car must meet the requirements of the budget.

Recommendation –

Background information. The company under consideration requires a car from business class to be used by top-managers. They are going to use a car for business purposes. A car should be quite representative in order to create a positive image for the company. A car should be bought for a reasonable price and have reliable technical characteristics and an approved period of usage. The company is going to buy a new car. A car will be bought in the official dealer.

Collection of relevant information

Facts.

Assumptions. A new car is going to be used for five years. That is why depreciation should be calculated for this period. Currently, the automobile market is experiencing growth. That is why it is possible that the prices for cars will be growing too. Thus, the best moment to buy a new car is nowadays.

A car is going to be used by top-managers of the company. That is why it is going to represent the whole company. Thus, a certain car is going to contribute to the image of the company. Therefore, a representative car from a business class should be bought.

Courses of action. Courses of action represent available options of cars for the company, according to the stated criteria. The problem under consideration has the following courses of actions (options):

1. Jaguar XE 
2. Audi A6
3. BMW 3 Series
4. Tesla Model S
5. BMW 5 Series
6.  Audi A3 Saloon
7. Mercedes C-Class
8. Lexus IS
9. Jaguar XF
10. Mercedes E-Class

Criteria

Screening criteria. The final choice between all the courses of action, mentioned above is going to be made according to some particular criteria. Criteria can be divided into two groups – screening criteria and evaluating criteria. Screening criteria are used to select the course of action. Evaluating criteria are used to rate the chosen options. The screening criteria in the case under consideration are the following:

1. Price for a car;
2. Year of assembly;
3. Number of seats;
4. Ecological character of a car;
5. Type of car.

Thresholds for the mentioned criteria are the following:

1. The price should be no more than $100 000.00.
2. Year of assembly should not be older than 2005;
3. Number of seats – five;
4. Type of car – business sedan.

Evaluating criteria. As it has been already mentioned, evaluating criteria are used to rate the courses of action and choose the best one. Evaluating criteria for the case under consideration are the following:

1. The cost of a car is defined as a price for a new car. It should be no more than $100 000.00. Lower cost is considered as better;
2. Fuel usage (economy) Higher fuel economy is considered to be better.
3. Depreciation is evaluated as potential resale value in five period. Less depreciation is considered to be better option.

These evaluating criteria are going to be the main in a rating of the proposed courses of action. Each of these criteria has some weight in a final evaluation. These weights are considered in the following section.

The weighting of evaluation criteria

The overall value of all criteria is 1. Each of the three mentioned criteria has some weight in this value. The cost of a car is the most important criterion since it directly affects the budget of the company. That is why this criterion has a maximum weight of 0.4. Fuel usage and depreciation have similar weight in the overall value of 0.3.

Analysis of the information

Screening results

Price

Assembly year

Number of seats

Type

1

Tesla Model S

$71 200

2012

5

Sedan

2

Audi A6

$47 125

2011

5

Sedan

3

Jaguar XF

$48 445

2008

5

Sedan

4

Lexus IS

$38 275

2013

5

Sedan

5

BMW 3 Series

$34 145

2012

5

Sedan

6

Jaguar XE

$35 895

2014

5

Sedan

7

BMW 5 Series

$51 195

2009

5

Sedan

8

Mercedes C-Class

$39 875

2014

5

Sedan

9

Mercedes E-Class

$53 575

2009

5

Sedan

10

Audi A3 Saloon

$39 189

2012

5

Sedan

Analysis of the information

Conclusion and recommendation