CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS
1.
To generate interest in research for the students by driving home the point that successful managerial problem solving is nothing other than understanding and analyzing the situation at hand, which is what research is all about.
2.
To help students differentiate between research-based problem solving and "going by gut-feeling", the latter of which might sometimes help to solve problems in the short run, but might lead to systemic long-term adverse consequences.
3.
To create an appreciation in students that research is useful for solving problems in ALL areas of business.
4.
To help students develop an appreciation of the role of the manager in facilitating the researcher or the consultant's work.
5.
To stress the importance of skill development in research, as opposed to mere gathering of knowledge about research.
6.To emphasize that research and knowledge about research enhance managerial effectiveness.
7.To sensitize students to ethical conduct in business research.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Chapter 1 describes and defines research and touches on the excitement of research through the use of software. Exhibit 1 provides several topical areas for research in business. Students can be asked to develop their own topics by using currently available information in Business Week, Fortune, Daily Newspapers, and the like.
Each of the descriptive words in the definition of research is important and the students need to recognize that. The distinction between Applied and Basic research is pointed out.
Next, the discussion on Managers and Research is dealt with. The manager
researcher relationship and issues of decision-making with regard to the
utilization of internal versus external researchers and consultants are then
explained and discussed.
To involve the students from a managerial perspective and, among other things, to offer them a sense of purpose and meaningfulness in taking this course, the chapter discusses the need to know about research for managerial effectiveness.
Research includes the creative search for patterns, discovery, and problem solution. Exploring the internet meaningfully to obtain useful information from across the globe is a growing of contemporary research.
The significance of each of the descriptive words defining research must be kept in mind, since we will be referring to this time and again during the course of the sessions. It is important to emphasize that research is an organized and systematic effort and not a haphazard, hit-and-miss process. It is data based as opposed to hunches, needs critical examination of all aspects, should be objective and not based on pet ideas or theories, and should be scientific as discussed in the next chapter.
In team discussions, students should come up with examples of applied and basic research, of situations where internal researchers would be used, and where external consultants would be better.
While discussing why managers should know about research, the following points may be emphasized:
1.Managers have to understand, describe, analyze, and predict situational factors.
2.They should develop sensitivity to subtle nuances in the situation.
3.They should be able to process information contained in published journal articles and business periodicals.
4.They should be able to interact effectively with consultants engaged in problem solving endeavors.
5.Since all activities are governed by certain values held by individuals and the organization, it is important to identify and articulate such values while engaging in research.
While considering the critical part that ethics plays in the conduct of research, a broad idea of why this is important, may be stated. Unless established norms are followed, there is the likelihood of abuse by sponsors, researchers, and subjects. Sponsors might be tempted to seek self-interests, researchers might manipulate data, and subjects might distort information. Students will learn more about these details in the rest of the book.
Skill development as a goal can be activated by engaging in the problem identification and problem solving process via exercises and projects. This helps students to get actively involved in the research process, rather than be passive learners.
As a first step, students should:
a.
Identify several problem areas which would lend themselves to applied and basic research endeavors. The list in Exhibit 1 of the book might help here.
b.
Make educated decisions on whether to choose internal or external consultants and researchers, given different problem situations as in the examples that follow.
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