Ethical Considerations and Research Reporting Essay

Introduction

In contemporary reality, it becomes harder and harder for managers to process the enormous volumes of information relevant to the decision-making process. To assist managers in making better-informed decisions, the discipline of knowledge management has come into the limelight. Other advancements in the field include decision support systems (DSS), data mining and warehousing, etc. (Davis, 2004).

Knowledge management is making sure that all the relevant information necessary for the efficient functioning of the business be gathered from the personnel of the organization and disseminated to the concerned persons who will be able to utilize it. Since knowledge is a dynamic process continuously evolving with the changing macroeconomic or social factors, companies and even individuals need to have a mechanism through which they could foster an efficient process by which the right information or knowledge reaches the right person (Mclnerney, 2002). For this reason, companies conduct research for making better decisions, and it becomes a key component of knowledge management under the conditions of growing volumes of information available.

The establishment of such discipline as knowledge management is given particular attention nowadays because of the growing importance of intellectual capital. Therefore, that has meant that the role of a business researcher or a knowledge worker has become interchangeable with a knowledge worker blurring the lines (Stratigos, 2001).

With regards to a business such as a shoe retail outlet, I need to know what sort of information I need to make use of from the surrounding environment, which is always changing vis-à-vis demand condition, competitors’ moves, supply chain, marketing, etc. The type of decision taken usually involves tactical in nature which, for example, includes keeping those types of shoes that are in demand by the target market. Since the fashion changes very quickly, I need to make sure that the goods stocked in the outlet need to be in keeping with the demand. Other types of decisions include selecting the best supplier possible to buy the shoes from, who would give me the best rates possible, being the lowest amongst the rest of the deals.

Knowledge management helps this shoe business by making sure that the relevant information is taken into consideration while making the decisions or put another way the information helps reduce the uncertainties of the competitive environment. In addition, knowledge management would ensure that the right knowledge or information reaches the concerned employee in the company. This is important as the information that is passed from the lower hierarchy or even in the lateral hierarchy that the concerned person does not have to sift through the heaps of information. However, the information should be truncated according to the needs of the said person receiving it, who is called an information user (Nonaka, 2007).

Problem statement

A research proposal is designed on the basis of an identified problem. Punch (2000) describes a problem as an unsatisfactory situation that needs intervention. The first step in proposal development is problem identification, which may involve establishing a gap that needs to be addressed or a new opportunity that arises. According to Davis (2000), problem identification and formulation is the most important part of the research proposal and essential in providing information for management decision making. In the company that aims at introducing a new service, the problem identification will be seeking to identify what gap or opportunity is available necessitating the new service.

Problem identification requires the manager to be astute in order to be able to highlight the gaps emerging in the process of work. In this case, the task of management is to identify whether the new service will be cost-effective, whether priority based on the performance of other services and benefits can be realized, whether it is researchable, based on its legality and ethical impact, and whether there are adequate resources for the research. In addition, the manager has to consider the company’s orientation on the research, its development, and capacity to adapt to changes.

Importance of scientific method

The process of scientific study is rather difficult and time-consuming. A scientist has to know numerous terms and skillfully operate with them to complete the study. The process of scientific study can be defined as intertwinement and interrelation of such terms as observations, facts, concepts, constructs, variables, hypotheses, laws, theories, and models. Understanding these terms is necessary for managers because they help in comprehending the business process and interaction of business variables.

Observation is the basis of any study. By means of observations, the scientist notes facts or phenomena, which, as he/she believes, are true. (Davis, 2005) When trying to prove the truth of these facts, the scientist starts a scientific investigation and operates with a number of concepts, or “abstract ideas generalized from particular facts” (Davis, 2005). In the course of the investigation, the scientist invents separate types of concepts, constructs, which are used for theoretical purposes. Another concept he/she operates with is a variable, which is important in measurement because “it sets the limits on the range of values a measurement may make.” (Davis, 2005).

Moreover, all the above-mentioned terms are closely interrelated. For instance, variables and concepts are components of the hypothesis, with the latter being “a statement about the relationship between two or more variables” (Cargan, 2007). Observations, in their turn, are values of the variables, which can be “numeric, verbal, or even visual” (Landman, 2003).

Further, variables, first dependent and then independent, are used as the basis for the classification of theories (Cote, 2002). The theories, which are well tested, can be referred to as laws, and laws can be incorporated into models, which, eventually, help to “illustrate working hypotheses.” (Collinson & Thompson, 2000) Thus, all these terms are interrelated and cannot be used without each other.

Taking all these considerations into account, one has to understand how important the choice of the scientific method appears in the whole scope of consideration of the research – under the condition of choosing the correct research method, and the researcher will ensure achievement of awaited results, the accuracy of received data and efficiency of work being done in the course of research.

Proposal

Before research is conducted, there must be a research proposal that tends to predetermine the necessity and requirements of the research. A research proposal is defined by Davis (2000) as a written formal bid for research that identifies a problem and course of action to solve that problem. This paper tends to explain the pertinent issues of problem identification and proposal development for a company intending to introduce a new service.

From the management’s perspective, the research proposal is important as it affects the decision-making of the company directly. The proposal explains various components that have to be incorporated in the actual research, such as research objectives, data collection methods, data presentation and analysis methods, the implementation and evaluation criteria, and the budget required for the research.

The management role will be control and evaluation of the proposal to ensure proper standards and quality requirements are addressed: this may be done through valuation techniques such as Gantt charts, Program, Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), and cost-benefit analysis. The problem statement has to be specific, address the management’s concerns, have a clearly defined scope, and be free from any personal bias. In addition, the researcher has to ensure the problem has value justification for research, is researchable with given resources and data to solve it, and has the expertise to carry out the research (Davis, 2000).

The researcher benefits from a good proposal that guarantees him the confidence of being in the right direction in addressing the problem requested by the management. A well-stated problem statement perceived by management as valuable gives confidence to the researcher that his work is accepted.

By structuring the proposal well, the researcher is provided with a clear plan of action that defines the scope and strategy to be adopted in the research work. In addition, the researcher focuses his mind on the research based on the outline of the research proposal. The proposal acts as a bridge between the expectations of the management and the researcher’s work. In this case, it sets an agreement between the manager and the researcher based on realistic information to be provided, thus eliminating the unrealistic expectations of management.

Research Design

The research design chosen for the present work is a questionnaire survey that will be conducted in the target group to answer a set of research questions and to be able to make a certain average statistical conclusion on the issue researched. It is aimed at answering a set of questions pertaining to the issue of discounts and promotional offers used by banks to encourage the usage of their credit cards by customers (Mullin, 2002). The survey was designed to answer the following research questions:

1. What developments are being made in the market for using alternative energy for business operations?
2. Do green improvements in technology help reduce the impact of businesses on the environment?
3. What are the most popular alternative energy sources that are being targeted by businesses and developing green technologies?

Secondary data collection

Secondary data is gathered primarily for some other purposes, but that can be used by someone else to make decisions based on already available secondary data (Harris, 2001).

A company can collect secondary data from its internal sources that are more reliable and accurate, including its detailed sales reports, financial reports, inventory-scheduling reports, etc. Other external sources for secondary data may be statistical publications, magazines, journals, books, government census reports, the company’s annual reports, etc. The main reason the company prefers to search for secondary data is its cost-effectiveness and convenience due to time-saving and research which would otherwise require the company personnel to spend time in conducting surveys to gather data for decision-making (Green, Tull & Albaum, 1993). The main focus in the decision is to analyze the most credible sources of data that help in assessing the conditions and environment so that the solution to the discussed problem can be found more efficiently.

Secondary data enables the manager to understand the respondent’s response to a particular product or service that his company offers based on past records of other companies offering the same or similar products/services. Consequently, a manager can effectively define the best target segment for a particular product category by seeing the financial record and sales report of other companies that suggest the most attractive segment to be targeted to enhance the product revenue.

Primary data collection

In organizations, business decisions require extensive research to come up with a viable decision. The data for the research comes from two main sources, i.e., primary and secondary sources. Primary data is the first-hand information gathered by the researcher himself for his use (Harris, 2001).

The questionnaire that will be described in further sections was chosen as a primary data collection source due to the stipulated research design. A questionnaire-based survey would be used to gather quantitative as well as qualitative information from the respondents in the market, while interview-based questions would be inquired from project managers that are involved in the alternative green energy projects.

The first research question pertains to the developments being made in the market for using alternative energy for business operations, so it can be targeted with interview-based questions asked by project managers of such developmental projects. The second research question pertains to the green improvement in the technology that reduces the impact of the business on the environment; thus, it can be targeted through the primary data collection technique of a questionnaire-based survey. The third research question aimed at determining the most popular alternative energy resources being sought after by businesses can be targeted through the primary data collection technique of a questionnaire-based survey.

Survey design

The list of questions in the questionnaire is aimed at obtaining multifaceted information about respondents starting from individual characteristics such as age and gender, personal income, and finishing with more relevant objective personal information on what credit cards they have and what banks they are clients of.

The second part of the questionnaire is designed to obtain more personal and subjective information that would further help in drawing up statistics, illustrating the subjective attitude of respondents to the activities and promotional campaigns of their banks, their preferences for the bank’s choice (including the desire to change the current bank and the reasons for the last change thereof), purposes and frequency of usage of credit cards as well as personal recommendations they would give to other people.

Sampling and analysis techniques

Sampling is an open question yet because the survey design allows wide application of questionnaires, and the size of the sample may be unlimited. Especially taking into consideration the fact that the first section of the questionnaire contains questions that specify the respondent’s belonging to a certain social, age, or gender group, it goes without saying that the survey would yield much more relevant results if it were applied to all categories of population and would allow the collection of statistical data that would then be divided into age, gender and social background categories. Such an approach would give a much more productive result with a series of practical implications for managers of companies engaged in the research.

Analysis techniques are also open and unlimited since the direct interaction with the respondent allows to use a not only literal interpretation of results but apply extra-communicational information as well. The respondent of the interview can be queried extensively on the topic and by keeping the interview questions open-ended. A range of questions can be answered and explored while the mannerisms, the facial expressions, as well as the attitude of the respondents can also be used to determine the quality of their responses. The strengths of the survey-based questionnaire are that they can target a large number of respondents, and both qualitative, as well as quantitative respondents, can be attained using the survey instrument.

Conclusion

With the growth of importance of intellectual capital and information processing in the course of conducting business affairs and in the decision-making process conducted by managers, the discipline of knowledge management has been designed as a powerful tool of information management that assists in making a correct decision based on more structured and thoroughly arranged access to information. Making relevant decisions out of accessible data has become the primary aim of knowledge management – the evolving sphere of managerial activity that acquires wider application and is recognized as an innovative and highly efficient decision of any business.

However, knowledge management represents a sphere of not only business but scientific activity as well, so research needed to collect information relevant for a particular decision-making process should be thoroughly arranged according to all principles of a scientific study. The indispensable components that should be taken a proper account when conducting the survey are a well-structured statement of problem and research proposal, the correct choice of a scientific method, research, and survey design. The researcher should also consider all options of primary and secondary data collection in order to provide accurate and complete data on which to base his or her research. Sampling and analysis techniques should be taken into consideration as well so that the research provides the awaited results and helps the researchers achieve the established goals.

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