Final Report Qualitative Research Methods PDF

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Final Qualitative Research Project Report Course BMT1B: Business Management Topic: Market research on how the federal government of Canada can help business and their finances for small business in Canada battling covid-19

Table of contents Case overview……………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Case Story………………………………………………………………………………………………………….2 Problem statement…………………………………………………………………………………………….3 SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………………………………………………………3 Appendix Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………………………………4 Interview questions…………………………………………………………………………………6

Case Summary To contribute to the efforts to address the covid-19 outbreak, the Ontarian government has been in a province wide shut down since 26 th Dec 2020, but the new “stay at home order” third state of emergency effective from 08 th April 2021 has added another layer of difficulty to small business operations. Canada is home to 1.9 million small businesses and SME’s which contribute approximately 38.4% of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP). More than 200,000 Canadian businesses close permanently during the COVID-19 crisis and one in five businesses are at risk of permanent closure by the end of the pandemic. In order to avoid economic distress, the government has come up with certain benefits and aid for small businesses and workforce to deal with the ongoing lockdowns and state of emergency. Our focus is to find out how effective the resources are for businesses, their employees and self-employed individuals including financial support, loans and access to credit provided by the Government of Canada assisting the owners during the pandemic. By conducting this research, we want to unfold the ways the government can support the surviving small businesses to overcome this pandemic. The main objective is to analyse if the existing grants and economic relief measures provided by the government are sufficient for the small business to stay afloat, to perform ground level research on the requirements of the small business owners and to showcase business ethnographic research through questionnaires and interviews. The research would be carried out using the business ethnographic research with 1,000 small businesses within Ontario across different industries to discover the true market needs through the means of questionnaires online and one-on-one discussions with multiple small business owners across different industries in Ontario in order to arrive at the most authentic research outcomes. For secondary research, the data from small and medium-sized enterprise statistics, statistics Canada publications, innovation Canada etc will be used to understand the current situation of the small businesses. The data relating to financial loss of the small business due to covid-19, employment lay off, government benefits being used by the small business etc. This research can be compared with the primary research results to come to a conclusion. As we see it, having specific objectives would help us conduct better research and recommendations for the topic.

Case Story The global Covid-19 pandemic has forever changed the business structure and experiences. The government of Canada took drastic steps to curb the spread of the contagious covid-19 virus from March 2020 by introducing closure of non-essential businesses, prohibitions on gathering, closure of school, day-care and restrictions on entry into the country. According to Canadian small business statistics 97% of the businesses are small businesses which contributes 30% of the GDP of their province of which 78.5% are service oriented business and 21.5% were related to goods-producing business. Small businesses are the main source of contribution to country’s economic success as they create jobs and growth and demonstrate resilience and innovation. Few weeks into the crisis, we have witnessed mass lay-offs and closures already occurring. The risk of closure is negatively associated with the expected length of the crisis and restrictions considered by the government. This resulted in both the financial fragility of many small business and impact of restrictions on these businesses for weeks into months. With the implementation of emergency order around 19.3% of the business can operate at their current level of revenue and expenditure for less than 6 months before considering staffing actions, closure, and bankruptcy. We can also see around 28.4% of staffs laid off, 39.9% with reduced hours or shifts, 63.7% have availed funding from government programs or credit from external providers. Due to economic instability and restrictions customers spending have been reduced and government is coming up with new aid and reliefs for the businesses to survive. With this report we will be able learn whether government aids/funds/reliefs are helping the small businesses survive and increase the level of productivity and what can be considered by the federal government to make sure the benefits are fully utilized and helpful for the small businesses across all the industries.

Problem Statement • Frequent unplanned lockdown’s hurting small businesses forcing them lay off employees and permanently close or provide partial services. • Economic relief programs are not inclusive for all small businesses. Various businesses do not qualify. Slow program rollouts and complicated paperwork. • Small businesses are forced to close down due to rental dues and Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) is up to the landlords and not the businesses themselves to apply for relief. • Businesses that does not have the capability to go virtual (e.g., gyms, motels, sports arenas, entertainment centres etc.,) are closing down permanently. SWOT Analysis  STRENGTHS - CEBA- Canada Emergency Business Account, a program launched by the government on April 9, 2020, provides a $40,000, zero-interest loan to small businesses that experienced a decrease of revenue because of the pandemic. - The amount can only be used for non-deferrable costs, such as rent, utilities, insurance, taxes, and employment costs. - There is a loan forgiveness of 33 percent i.e., if the organization repays $40,000 of the $60,000 loan by December 31, 2022, then loan forgiveness of the remaining $20,000 will apply. - HASCAP is another program giving minimum of $25000 up to $1 million to eligible business owners suffering due to COVID-19. - Benefit from a 4% interest rate and a repayment term of up to 10 years. - Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP), a benefit program by the government, which is giving up to $6.25 million to help cover the operating costs during the period where revenues have been temporarily reduced due to COVID-19. - Repayment of loan in over 5 years which gives enough time to the business to recover the lost revenue as well as repay the loan. - The Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) is helping businesses and communities that may require additional aide to cope and recover from this current pandemic situation. The RRRF is part of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

The fund will help to: Eliminate the financial pressure experienced by businesses and organizations to allow them to continue their operations, including paying their employees, and support projects for a successful recovery.  WEAKNESSES - These programs only include the eligible businesses. Most of the eligibility requires financially stable companies. For example: If XYZ company was not financially stable before the pandemic (March 2020), they will not be eligible for the government benefits for small businesses. - Programs like CECR - Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance, is providing funds only if it is applied by the landlords of the property.  THREATS - While the businesses are applying for programs to recover the loss incurred, if an employer hires or re-hires an employee through the CEWS, this will impact their eligibility for CERB. This may mean that the employee would have to stop applying for further CERB payments, but they may also have to pay back benefits they have already received.  OPPORTUNITIES - This will help reduce the risk that will create a new alliance of corporate zombies or national champions that restrict competition, increase domestic productivity, distort international markets and hinder economic recovery and, in some cases, tighten economic inequality. - Also, the main reason to give so many benefits is the continuity of productivity of these small businesses. - Programs like Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF) are creating opportunities to minimise the financial pressure experienced by the small businesses and organizations to allow them to continue their operations, including paying their employees and support projects for a successful recovery.

Appendix Questionnaire 1. What industry does your Business operate in? (Choose one)  Service  Construction  Transportation  Hospitality/Tourism  Retail  Agriculture  Healthcare  Non-profit  Other (please specify) 2. In what way has Covid-19 impacted your Business?  Positive  Negative 3. Has your business been forced to close or been restricted due to Covid-19 outbreak?  Yes  No 4. What concerns you most about Covid-19 considering your business? (Select all that applies)  Business cash flow  Access to government support for the business/workers  Overwhelming stress  Debt  Staffing  Reduced consumer spending  Having to close the business permanently.  Other (please specify)  No concerns at this moment  Do not know/Unsure. 5. Did your company have to lay-off employees because of the pandemic?  Yes  No  Might have to, later.

6. Have you experienced disruptions in your cash flow as an outcome of the Covid-19 crisis?  Yes  No 7. Are the current Reliefs/Benefits provided by the government assisting your business in any form?  Yes, it is.  No, not really. 8. Are you planning to apply – or have you already applied for the government relief grants?  Yes  No 9. Overall, how satisfied are you with the government provided resources & grants?  Very satisfied  Satisfied  Dissatisfied  Very Dissatisfied 10. How long do you think it would take for your business to return to its original profitability?  Up to 1 month  Up to 3 months  Up to 6 months  1 year or more  Not applicable (profitability was maintained throughout)  Other  Don’t know/ unsure. 11. How positive are you that your Business will completely recover from the pandemic and the economic downturn that followed it?  Very  Somewhat  Not very  Not at all 12. Do you feel concerned about shutting down your business in the near-future, because of Covid-19 impacts?  Yes  No  May be

Interview questions: (semi- structured) 1. What industry do you work in as a Business-owner? How long has your company been in Business? 2. Has Covid-19 affected your business? What are the issues are you facing because of the crisis? 3. Are the government relief grants and resources assisting your Business? If yes, How? 4. What kind of help do you expect from the government for your business during the Covid-19 crisis? 5. What long term impacts to your business do you expect as a result of the Covid-19 dilemma?

Prepared by1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Anuraag Hanumanthagowdaa Komanahally Sushma Shekar Renny Samuel Xavier Farheen Malik Simran Bains...