A retail company has 50 large stores located in different areas throughout a state. A researcher for the company believes that employee job satisfaction varies greatly from store to store. Which of the following sampling methods is most appropriate to estimate the proportion of all employees of the company who are satisfied with their job?

Options

A. Selecting one of the 50 stores at random and then surveying each employee at that store
B. Selecting 10 employees from each store at random and then surveying each employee selected
C. Surveying the 25 highest-paid employees and the 25 lowest-paid employees
D. Creating a website on which employees can express their opinions and then using the first 50 responses

Explanation

To determine the most appropriate sampling method to estimate the proportion of all employees of the company who are satisfied with their job, we can analyze the given options step by step.

### Step 1: Understand the Objective
The goal is to estimate the job satisfaction of all employees across 50 large stores. Since job satisfaction may vary from store to store, we need a sampling method that captures this variation effectively.

**Hint:** Always clarify the objective of the survey before evaluating sampling methods.

### Step 2: Evaluate Option A
**Option A:** Selecting one of the 50 stores at random and then surveying each employee at that store.

- **Analysis:** This method only provides insights from one store, which may not represent the job satisfaction of employees in other stores. It fails to capture the variation across different locations.

**Hint:** Consider whether the method captures the diversity of the population being studied.

### Step 3: Evaluate Option B
**Option B:** Selecting 10 employees from each store at random and then surveying each employee selected.

- **Analysis:** This method ensures that employees from all 50 stores are included in the survey. By selecting a fixed number of employees from each store, it captures the job satisfaction across different locations, making it a more representative sample.

**Hint:** Look for methods that ensure representation from all segments of the population.

### Step 4: Evaluate Option C
**Option C:** Surveying the 25 highest paid employees and 25 lowest paid employees.

- **Analysis:** This method focuses only on the extremes of the pay scale and ignores the majority of employees. It does not provide a comprehensive view of job satisfaction across different pay grades.

**Hint:** Ensure that the sampling method does not bias the results by focusing on specific groups.

### Step 5: Evaluate Option D
**Option D:** Creating a website on which employees can express their opinions and using the first 50 responses.

- **Analysis:** This method relies on self-selection, meaning only those who feel strongly (positively or negatively) will respond. This can lead to biased results and does not represent the overall employee satisfaction.

**Hint:** Be cautious of self-selected samples as they can lead to skewed data.

### Step 6: Conclusion
After evaluating all options, **Option B** is the most appropriate method as it ensures a representative sample from all stores, allowing for a more accurate estimation of employee job satisfaction across the company.

**Final Answer:** The most appropriate sampling method is **Option B: Selecting 10 employees from each store at random and then surveying each employee selected.**