Data Collection & Preparation Exercise This exercise demonstrates understanding of data collection errors and treatment of unsatisfactory data responses. Read the below scenario for Banana Republic and answer the questions that follow. Banana Republic The Situation For most of its time as a leading retailer, Gap Inc. (www.gapinc.com) has carefully honed its image through its in-house resources, starting from the design of its clothing to the look of its ads. However, that changed as soon as Jack Calhoun, Banana Republic's chief marketing officer, took over. Calhoun launched a complete makeover. The Banana Republic (bananarepublic.gap.com) makeover will be the second in the history of the chain, which started out as a travel catalog and then opened safari-themed stores with beat-up jeeps in its storefronts. After the chain was purchased by Gap Inc., Drexler, known for his ability to spot fashion trends, remade it into an upscale version of Gap. In recent months, Banana Republic's buzz has quieted and sales have not recovered at a pace that's up to speed with siblings Old Navy, Gap, and Piperlime. "The challenge for Banana is the repetition of the fashion lines and marginal quality for the price," said Burt Flickinger, managing director, Strategic Resource Group/Flickinger Consulting, New York. Calhoun said he and Gap management are carefully building a new positioning for Banana Republic, which traditionally had advertising echoing that of the lower-priced Gap. "We want to build an architecturally sound and beautiful house," said Calhoun of the makeover. "We don't want a Cape Cod with a lot of additions." A telephone survey was conducted to determine consumers' perceptions of the Banana Republic brand and how the brand could be positioned to offer more value to the consumers. The Marketing Research Decision The telephone survey resulted in a sample size of 1,008. As the data were being prepared for analysis, the researchers realized that 132 respondents had missing values. However, the variables with unsatisfactory responses were not the key variables. 1. How should the missing values be treated? 2. Discuss how the treatment of missing values that you recommend influences Jack Calhoun's decision to enhance Banana Republic's image. 3. Identify ways to minimize unsatisfactory responses