Type of Research

Research can be undertaken for two different purposes.

1. Applied research. One is to solve a current problem faced by
the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution.
For example, a particular product may not be selling well and
the manager might want to find the reasons for this in order
to take corrective action. Research done with the intention of
applying the results of the findings to solve specific problems
currently being experienced in an organization
2. Basic, fundamental, or pure research. The other is to generate
a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how certain
problems that occur in organizations can be solved. Research
done chiefly to make a contribution to existing knowledge.
 Applied research.
Globally, colas account for more than 50% of all sodas sold. The challenge for the $187 billion
soft drink industry is giving consumers in developed markets the sugary taste they want
without giving them the mouthful of calories they don’t. Concerns about obesity and health
have led to nine years of falling U.S. soda consumption. The soda giants can’t rely on
existing diet versions of their namesake colas, as consumers are shying away from the
artificial sweeteners they contain. Critics have blamed the ingredients – rightly or not – for
everything from weight gain to cancer. Diet Coke is losing U.S. sales at 7% a year, almost
double the rate of decline of American cola sales overall. So Coke and Pepsi are turning to
research to save their cola businesses, which take in about two ‐thirds of the industry’s U.S.
sales. “If you can crack the perfect sweetener, that would be huge,” says Howard Telford, an
analyst at researcher Euromonitor International.

Source: Stanford, D. (2015, March 19). Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda.
Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news /articles/2015 ‐03 ‐19/coke‐pepsi ‐seek ‐diet ‐
soda‐s‐perfect‐sweetener
 Basic or fundamental research.
Right from her days as a clerical employee in a bank, Sarah had observed that her colleagues, though
extremely knowledgeable about the nuances and intricacies of banking, were expending very little
effort to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the bank in the area of customer relations and
service. They took on the minimum amount of work, availed themselves of long tea and lunch breaks,
and seemed unmotivated in their dealings with the customers and the management. That they were
highly knowledgeable about banking policies and practices was clearly evident from their discussions
as they processed applications from customers. Sarah herself was very hardworking and enjoyed her
work with the customers. She always used to think what a huge waste it was for talented employees to
goof off rather than to work hard and enjoy their work. When she left the bank and did the
dissertation for her PhD, her topic of investigation was Job Involvement, or the ego investment of
people in their jobs. The conclusion of her investigation was that the single most important
contributory factor to job involvement is the fit or match between the nature of the job and the
personality predispositions of the people engaged in performing it. For example, challenging jobs
allowed employees with high capabilities to get job ‐involved, and people ‐oriented employees got job
involved with service activities. Sarah then understood why the highly intelligent bank employees
could not get job‐involved or find job satisfaction in the routine jobs that rarely called for the use of
their abilities. Subsequently, when Sarah joined the Internal Research Team of a Fortune 500
company, she applied this knowledge to solve problems of motivation, job satisfaction, job
involvement, and the like, in the organization.
RESEARCH APPROACHES:
QUANTITATIVE AND
QUALITATIVE
 Business research
Quantitative data are data in the form of numbers as
generally gathered through structured questions) or
qualitative
Qualitative data are data in the form of words as
generated from the broad answers to questions in
interviews, or from responses to open‐ended
questions in a questionnaire, or through observation,
or from already available information gathered from
various sources such as the Internet
ETHICS IN BUSINESS RESEARCH
• Ethics in business research refers to a code of conduct or expected
societal norms of behavior while conducting research.
• Ethical conduct applies to the organization and the members that sponsor
the research, the researchers who undertake the research, and the
respondents who provide them with the necessary data.
• The observance of ethics begins with the person instituting the research,
who should do so in good faith, pay attention to what the results indicate,
and, surrendering the ego, pursue organizational rather than self‐interests.
• Ethical conduct should also be reflected in the behavior of the researchers
who conduct the investigation, the participants who provide the data, the
analysts who provide the results, and the entire research team that
presents the interpretation of the results and suggests alternative
solutions.
 Research Methods For Professional Managers
In sum, being knowledgeable about research and research methods helps
professional managers to:
1. Identify and effectively solve minor problems in the work setting.
2. Know how to discriminate good from bad research.
3. Appreciate and be constantly aware of the multiple influences and multiple
effects of factors impinging on a situation.
4. Take calculated risks in decision making, knowing full well the probabilities
associated with the different possible outcomes.
5. Prevent possible vested interests from exercising their influence in a
situation.
6. Relate to hired researchers and consultants more effectively.
7. Combine experience with scientific knowledge while making decisions.
 Conclusion
• Research is the process of finding solutions to a problem after a thorough study and
analysis of the situational factors. Business research is an organized, systematic, data-based, critical,
objective, inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, undertaken with the purpose of finding
answers or solutions to it. In essence, business research provides the necessary information that
guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. In one form or
another, both theory and information play an important role in research.

• Research can be undertaken for different purposes. One is to solve a current problem
faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solution. Such research is called
applied research. The other is to generate a body of knowledge by trying to comprehend how
certain problems that occur in organizations can be solved. This is called basic, fundamental, or
pure research. The findings of such research teach us something we did not know before. Such
knowledge, once generated, is usually later applied in organizational settings for problem solving.

• Ethics in business research refers to a code of conduct or expected societal norms of

behavior while conducting research. Ethical conduct applies to the organization and the members
that sponsor the research, the researchers who undertake the research, and the respondents who
provide them with the necessary data. Ethical behavior pervades each step of the research process
Reference
Research Methods for
Business, A Skill Building
Approach, Seventh Edition,
Uma Sekaran and Roger
Bougie, A John Wiley Sons,
Ltd, 2016
Chapter 1

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