CXC Economics School Based Assesment

1 KareemJacobsEconomicsSchool BasedAssessment St.VincentGrammarSchool
Table of Contents
TITLE:.................................................................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................3
Purpose of the Project:........................................................................................................................4
Collection and Presentation of Data:....................................................................................................5
Limitations Faced................................................................................................................................6
Presentation of Data:..........................................................................................................................7
Analysis and Interpretation of Data ...................................................................................................13
Findings and Recommendations........................................................................................................16
Findings........................................................................................................................................16
Recommendations........................................................................................................................16

TITLE:
n investigation into the factors that affect the demand for BlackBerry Cellular
phones in the fifth forms of the St. Vincent Grammar School
A

Acknowledgements
The following persons must be thanked for their contribution towards this project:
 My Economics teacher Mrs. Roxanne Williams for her wonderful guidance and patience
 My fellow colleagues of form five for completing and returning the questionnaires to
further complete this project
 Almighty God for giving me the strength to complete this project
 My parents for their guidance throughout the project

Purpose of the Project:
The topic chosen for research is 'An Investigation the factors that affect the demand for
BlackBerry Cellular phones in the fifth forms of the St. Vincent Grammar School'. Over the last
decade, there has been a surge in demand for BlackBerry Cellular phones worldwide. This surge
has been recognized in St. Vincent and the surge has now spread into the schools that provide
secondary and tertiary education.
It the researcher’s aim to:
 Determine the factors that are causing the increasing demand for BlackBerry cellular
phone at the St. Vincent Grammar School
 To provide data which aid in understanding why these factors impact the demand for
BlackBerry cellular phones
 Use the findings of the research to make suitable recommendations to the BlackBerry
providers and consumers on how to adjust the problem identified.

Collection and Presentation of Data:
To complete this research, the researcher gathered data from both primary and secondary
sources. Such as:
Primary:
 Administering questionnaires to the fifth form students of the St. Vincent Grammar
School
 Observations
 Interviews among the fifth form students of the St. Vincent Grammar School
Secondary:
 The Worldwide Web
Primary data were gathered from questionnaires. Fifteen (15) questionnaires were distributed to
fifteen (15) fifth form students randomly. The questionnaires were distributed and they were all
returned the next day.
Interviews were also done with fifth form students.
Fifth form students were observed daily.
Secondary data was gathered from the Worldwide Web

Limitations Faced
 Due to financial constraint, the researcher was unable to use a larger sample population
which would have increased the accuracy in the information obtained.
 It was a challenge for the researcher to spend more time on this research due to the fact
that he had to complete other projects and assignments in the given deadlines.
 Small size population made it difficult to generalize findings.

Presentation of Data:
Figure 1
Figure 2
14-15
13%
15-16
87%
Age of Respondents
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Yes No
Number of Respondentswho own BlackBerry
Cellular phones
NumberofRespondents

Figure 3
Figure 4
0 2 4 6 8
Prize
Gift
Purchase
How the respondents got their Phones
Number ofRespondents
Howrespondents
obtainedthier
BlackBerry
33%
67%
Why don't you own a BlackBerry
Phone
Too Expensive Serves as a Distraction

Figure 5
Figure 6
Instant
Mesaging
Web
Surfing
Emailing Texting Telephone
Calls
7
1
2
1 1
What respondents mainly do with
their BlackBerry phone
17%
75%
8%
What influenced repsondents to
obtain a BlackBerry
Peer Pressure Brand Loyalty The Price

Figure 7
Figure 8
90%
10%
Did you own a phone before?
Yes No
Samsung BlackBerry Nokia Apple
2
14
1 1
If "yes" to number 7, what brand was
it?

Figure 9
Respondent Telecommunication
Provider
Type of Plan Data Plan Average monthly
payment for
Data services
1 Digicel Pre-Paid Yes Over$50
2 LIME Post-Paid Yes Over$50
4 Digicel Pre-Paid Yes $40 - $50
6 LIME Post-Paid No -
10 LIME Pre-Paid Yes $40 - $50
12
13
14
15
Digicel
-
-
-
Pre-Paid
-
-
-
No
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Table1: Shows responses from questions 8-11
3
4
2
1
2
How much respondents paid for their
phone

Figure 10
Figure 11
59%
33%
8%
How respondents pay for their data
plan
Parents Assitance Personal Savings Weekly/Monthly Allowance
1-3 Months 3-6 Months 6-9 Months Over 9 Months
1
5
2
5
How long respondentshave owned
their phone for

Analysis and Interpretation of Data
Sector (2007) defines demand as the willingness and ability to pay a price for a specific product
and service. This definition is supported by www.investopedia.com which states demand is an
economic principle that describes a consumer's ability to pay a price for a specific good or
service at a particular time.
From the data collected, it was found that eighty seven percent (87%) of the respondents were in
the age range of fifteen to sixteen (15- 16) while the other thirteen percent (13%) was in the age
range of fourteen to fifteen (14- 15) and zero percent (0%) in the age range of thirteen to fourteen
(13- 14) and it also shows that twelve (12) respondents own a BlackBerry cellular phone while
three (3) don’t. Seven (7) respondents had obtained their BlackBerry phone in the form of a gift,
while three (3) obtained through purchase and two (2) got it in the form of a prize. Sixty seven
percent (67%) those who said that they didn’t have a BlackBerry phone said that it serves as a
distraction and the others thirty three (33%) said that It was too expensive.
Seven (7) of the respondents use their device for instant messaging, two (2) use it for emailing,
one (1) uses it for web surfing, one (1) uses it for telephone calls and one (1) uses it for texting.
Information gathered shows that seventy five (75%) of the respondents got the device because of
brand loyalty while seventeen percent (17%) got it because of peer pressure and eight percent
(8%) because of the price.
From the information gathered we see that nine (9) respondents who said that they own a
BlackBerry phone use the telecommunication provider DIGICEL and the other three (3) use

LIME. Ten have Pre-paid BlackBerries and a data plan and two (2) have Post-paid and no data
plan with five (5) paying over fifty dollars per month for their data plan, three (3) paying forty to
fifty dollars per month ($40-$50), one (1) paying thirty to forty dollars per month ($30-$40) and
one (1) paying fifteen to twenty ($15-$20) dollars per month. Seven (7) pay for their data
services by parents assistance, four (4) pay using their personal savings and one (1) pay by
Weekly/Monthly allowance. From this we can see that the various users of BlackBerry Cellular
phone use a lot of their disposable income on their cellular phones. The main purpose of table 1
was to show the relationships and differences in Telecommunication providers, type of plan, data
plan and average monthly payment for data services.
It is noted that that two (2) of the respondents paid over one thousand five hundred dollars for
their phone, one (1) paid twelve hundred to fifteen hundred dollars ($1200-$1500), two (2)
paying nine hundred to twelve hundred dollars ($900-$1200), four (4) paying seven hundred to
nine hundred dollars ($700-$900) and three paying three hundred to six hundred dollars ($300-
$600) for their BlackBerry cellular phone. This supports Smith and Carsky, 1996 who stated that
price will always be the key concern of consumers before making any purchase decision.
According to a student interviewed, he said that he bought his phone with his 1disposable income
.Five (5) of the respondents who said that they have a BlackBerry have owned it for over 9
months, two (2) have owned it for six to nine months, another five (5) have owned theirs for
three to six months and one (1) owning the device for one to three months.
From the information obtained, it was seen that eighteen (18) respondents said yes that they did
in fact have a cellular phone before while two (2) respondents said no. Also we see that fifteen
(15) respondents said they had a BlackBerry before, two (2) said that they had a Samsung, one

(1) said that they had a Nokia and one (1) said that they had an Apple. Therefore, we can
conclude that Brand Loyalty is the main factor why persons may obtain a BlackBerry
When Interviewees were asked what the main determinants are for BlackBerry Cellular phones,
they stated that the determinants are: Peer Pressure, The price, Brand loyalty and Style. From the
information gathered, we see that BlackBerry cellular phones are in the price range of three
hundred to fifteen hundred dollars ($300-$1500).
Based on the data collected from the various sources (questionnaires, interviews) it can be
concluded that more than half of the fifth form population owns a BlackBerry cellular phone.
The two possible causes for this are: 1. Peer Pressure and 2. Style (Both mentioned above).
Persons who don’t have a Blackberry phone may feel left out and may cause them to go and
purchase one. Also the BlackBerry Messenger feature that the BlackBerry phones have is also
one of the main reasons why a person may want to obtain a BlackBerry.
Also we see that the "Band Wagon Effect" is important. This is a psychological phenomenon
whereby people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their
own beliefs, which they may ignore or override. When relating this concept to this project, we
can see that it is very true as students will see their colleagues with a BlackBerry and they may
go and get one too. Also we can look at the law of demand which states as price increases,
consumption of that good will increase.

Findings and Recommendations
Findings
It was found that:
 Students don'town a BlackBerry because: 1. It serves as a distraction and 2.
It is expensive to obtain.
 Most BlackBerry phone costbetween $300-$900
 Over 85% of students have a data plan with their BlackBerry phone
 Most students prefer DIGICEL as their telecommunication provider
 Over 55% of students pay for their data plan through parents' assistance
 Most students obtained their BlackBerry phone in the form of a gift
 The "Band Wagon Effect" and the Law of Demand play major roles in a
personobtaining a good
 Brand Loyalty is the main factor why a personmay obtain a BlackBerry
Recommendations
It is recommended that:
 Since the demand for BlackBerries is increasing Providers should keep the
data plan at a low flat rate.
 Providers of the devices especially DIGICEL should lower the prices to
increase profits and profitability.

 Schools should put a ban on cellular phone because it can serve as a
distraction, because the schoolchildren may loose focus.

APPENDICIES

Appendix A
Questionnaire:
Hello, my name is Kareem Jacobs. I am a student of Form Five Business 1 of the St
.Vincent Grammar School. I am conducting a survey as to collect data for my Economics
S.B.A. My topic is "Factors that affect the demand for BlackBerry Cellular Phones in the
Fifth Forms of the St. Vincent Grammar School". Select the answer that best applies to you
and place a tickin the space provided next to the response of your choice
1. How old are you? 13-14 ( ) 14-15 ( ) 15-16 ( )
2. Do you own a BlackBerry Cellular Phone? Yes ( ) No ( )
3. If yes, how did you obtain it? Gift ( ) Purchase ( ) Prize ( ) Other Please state
( )____________
4. If no, why? Too Expensive ( ) Serves as a distraction ( ) Parents forbid ( ) Other
please state ( ) ___________________________________________
5. What do you use your BlackBerry mostly for? Instant Messaging ( ) Web Surfing ( )
Emailing ( ) Texting ( ) Telephone Calls ( ) Other please state
( )_______________________________________
6. What inspired you to buy your BlackBerry Cellular Phone? Peer Pressure ( ) Brand
Loyalty ( ) The Price ( ) Other please state
( ) _______________________________
7. Did you have a cellular phone before? Yes ( ) No ( )
8. If "yes" to number 7, what brand was it? Samsung ( ) Nokia ( ) BlackBerry ( )
Apple ( )
9. How much did you pay for your BlackBerry Cellular Phone? $300-$600 ( )
$601-$900 ( ) $901 - $1200 ( ) $1201-$1500 ( ) Over $1500 ( )
10. What telecommunication service do you use? LIME ( ) DIGICEL ( )
11. What type of plan do you have? Pre-Paid ( ) Post-Paid ( )
12. Do you have a data plan? Yes ( ) No ( )
13. If you have a data plan, what is your average monthly payment? $15-$20 ( )
$20-$30 ( ) $30-$40 ( ) $40-$50 ( ) Over $50 ( )

14. How do you pay for your data services? Parents Assistance ( ) Personal Savings ( )
Weekly/Monthly Allowance
15. How long have you owned you BlackBerry? 1 - 3 months ( ) 3-6 months ( ) 6-9
months Over 9 months ( )
16. Please State what Blackberry Cellular Phone you Have_________________________________
17. Are you satisfied with this device? Yes ( ) No ( )

Appendix B
Interview Schedule:
Person Interviewed Time
Student 1 5 Minutes
Student 2 5 Minutes
Student 3 5 Minutes
Student 4 5 Minutes
Student 5 5 Minutes

Bibliography
Books:
Sector, R.L. (2007) Essentials of Economics. Thomas Scott Western Publishers England
Smith, M.F. & Carksey, M.L. (1996) Grocery Shopping Behavior. A Comparison of involved
and uninvolved consumers. Journal of retailing and consumer services. 73-80
Websites:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawofdemand.asp
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/demand.asp

CXC Economics School Based Assesment

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