Question: Determining the Best Positioning Strategy for North Melbourne Children's Hospital Alan Miles, North Melbourne children's hospital's marketing director, stood to gaze out the conference room windows onto the two ribbons of train tracks that curled near the hospital on the south side of this city. North Melbourne children's hospital being a private hospital, he was thinking about how rival hospitals had recently hired marketing directors like himself. The urgency to advance North Melbourne children's hospital's marketing effort was going to intensify in the next year. Alan's meeting with Kate McDonald (CEO) and Jen Ramsey (Marketing Research Manager) was going into its second hour. So far, what they have agreed on is the goal - "North Melbourne children's hospital wants the hospital to become the preferred hospital in the high-growth areas of the region. Accordingly, we are studying positioning possibilities, so that the board can select the best positioning for next year's communications campaign intended to boost the number of patient cases 10 percent in the following year." However, they do not know which positioning would help North Melbourne children's hospital the most. Assume the role of Jen Ramsey (Marketing Research Manager) and answer the following questions. Questions:

1. Define the management-decision problem confronting North Melbourne children's hospital and a corresponding marketing research problem(s), including specific components; and show the linkages between the management-decision problem and marketing research problems.

2. North Melbourne children's hospital would like to undertake research assisting their positioning strategy. What type of research design(s) should be adopted and why?

3. Use secondary sources to rationalise the variables that should be investigated in the qualitative and / or quantitative phases of this study. At least five areas of investigation should be noted, as well as discussing all relevant demographic factors that should be included as part of the investigation. This should be presented in the form of a literature review with clearly documented sources and references used. (References must include refereed articles and the reference should be made to the actual publication. Reference lists that comprise only of webpage links will not be acceptable.

4. Discuss the role of qualitative research in understanding the problem(s) at hand. Which qualitative research technique(s) should be used, and why?