Individual Assignment 3:   This assignment demonstrates factor analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) which are procedures for obtaining perceptual maps

Individual Assignment 3:

This assignment demonstrates factor analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) which are procedures for obtaining perceptual maps.

Suppose you were advising a close friend of yours who is considering joining an MBA program.

Assume that your friend is very similar to you in terms of background, interests, and career plans.

You are helping your friend evaluate the following nine schools on eight attributes: Chicago, Wharton, Harvard, Cornell, Stanford, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Columbia, and M.I.T.

NOTE: If you do not know about business schools, create another scenario, e.g., nine schools of engineering, and create your own list of rating scales for eight attributes of your choice.

Please rate each of nine schools on each of the eight attributes on a scale of 0 to 10.

Attribute 1: Analytical/Managerial Orientation

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 2: School Culture (Competitive/Cooperative)

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 3: Teaching Quality and Curriculum

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 4: Prestige of School in the Business World

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 5: Placement Possibilities

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 6: Faculty Research Strength

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 7: Alumni Network

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Attribute 8: Selectivity (Difficulty in Getting Admitted)

0-----1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10

Please evaluate the difference between any pair of the nine schools in your perception, using a 0-10 point scale, where 0 means little difference, and 10 means huge difference

Question 1: Perform factor analysis based on the attribute rating data. How many factors are chosen by SPSS?  Interpret what the factors mean and provide a label (name) for each factor.

Question 2: Create a perceptual map based on the factor analysis based on the two most important factors identified from the analysis.

Question 3: perform the Multidimensional Scaling analysis based on the perceived difference data.  Examine the configuration plot provided by SPSS. What do dimensions 1 and 2 mean? A subjective interpretation is sufficient.      

Question 4: How do the dimensions in your answer to Question 3 correspond to the criteria you used in providing the difference judgments?

Question 5: To what extent do the dimensions in Factor analysis (Question 1) and MDS (Question 3) correspond? Which of these two results makes more sense to you? Why?

PLEASE ATTACH THE DATA (RATING DATA AND DIFFERENCE) AND SPSS OUTPUTS TO YOUR ANSWERS. IF YOU ANALYZE A DIFFERENT SCENARIOR, PLEASE ALSO INCLUDE YOUR LIST OF ATTRIBUTES AND SCHOOLS!