Two “Qs” that Could Determine the Fate of a Printing CEO
You’ve likely heard of the terms “qualitative” and “quantitative,” but have you ever considered how these two elements impact your research, your strategies and your management? Most printing owners don’t, which I truly believe could be the difference between success and failure.
Am I over-dramatizing just for the sake of a catch intro paragraph? Quite frankly, no. People in the printing business are a critical point for our industry. There is very little margin for error. Picking the right strategy is more critical than ever before, which is why you need to understand the two “Qs.”
To illustrate the difference, I’m going to pull from a great piece from James Neill, who highlighted the differences between qualitative and quantitative.
The difference between qualitative and quantitative
Let us first look at how Neill defines the two. (Keep in mind he is referring to research.)
Qualitative research involves analysis of data such as words (e.g., from interviews), pictures (e.g., video), or objects (e.g., an artifact.)
Quantitative research involves analysis of numeric data.
For some reason, people tend to debate which method of research should receive the most credit. Is it strict numerics, or is it the “hunch” you develop from accumulating words, pictures and emotions?
Like any debate between two factions, there are positive and negatives to both sides. I believe the best methodology involves blending the strengths to produce a win-win situation. Consider the following example:
A printing owner takes a look at his financials, and discovers his company is losing money. Determined to track the source, he does a thorough analysis of his company’s output in all aspects, including sales, marketing and operations.
Eventually, he discovers that one of his production shifts is vastly under-performing another shift.
Up until this point, the owner has used quantitative research to diagnose a problem. He has relied strictly on the numerics to hone in on the issue.
From this point, he switches gears. He conducts personal interviews with members of the shift. He visits the production floor. He reviews the employee manual, and the communications the team is receiving.
He then determines that the supervisor is not following company policy regarding operation of the presses, and has neglected to train his operators on several key practices.
In the second part of his investigation, the owner used qualitative research to determine exactly what was causing the problem.
Use quantitative research as your starting point
In analyzing companies, we always start with quantitative data to help us determine the main issues. But we don’t stop there. We always factor in qualitative issues which may be causing the quantitative shortfall.
Using this approach, you can accurately gauge which qualitative strategies are working for your company. If your efforts are causing the quantitative numbers to move, then you’re choosing the right qualitative approach.
Neill’s table further hits home the differences.
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Features of Qualitative & Quantitative Research
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Qualitative
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Quantitative
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"All research ultimately has a qualitative grounding"- Donald Campbell
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"There's no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0"- Fred Kerlinger
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The aim is a complete, detailed description.
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The aim is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed.
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Researcher may only know roughly in advance what he/she is looking for.
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Researcher knows clearly in advance what he/she is looking for.
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Recommended during earlier phases of research projects.
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Recommended during latter phases of research projects.
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The design emerges as the study unfolds.
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All aspects of the study are carefully designed before data is collected.
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Researcher is the data gathering instrument.
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Researcher uses tools, such as questionnaires or equipment to collect numerical data.
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Data is in the form of words, pictures or objects.
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Data is in the form of numbers and statistics.
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Subjective - individuals interpretation of events is important, e.g., uses participant observation, in-depth interviews, etc.
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Objective seeks precise measurement & analysis of target concepts, e.g., uses surveys, questionnaires, etc.
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Qualitative data is more 'rich,' time consuming, and less able to be generalized.
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Quantitative data is more efficient, able to test hypotheses, but may miss contextual detail.
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Researcher tends to become subjectively immersed in the subject matter.
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Researcher tends to remain objectively separated from the subject matter.
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Photo by: Tryg Forsikring
Rock LaManna provides executive coaching for printing owners looking to grow their printing business, merge with a synergistic partner, make a strategic acquisition, or create a succession plan.