Business Research Ethics

Business Research Ethics

Christine Evans

RES/351

Business Research Ethics

Ethics of a business is the foundation a company is built upon. The code of conduct set down by a company’s upper management will set the expectation of behavior for employees in the endeavors or tasks performed for the company. The following will cover actions taken in relation to unethical behaviors involved during marketing research. The objective is to discuss what unethical situations can arise and key points in relation to ethical dilemmas encountered during marketing research.

The article chosen for this assignment is from the University Library named Ethical Problems of Marketing Researchers. This article was written for the Journal of Marketing Research in the August 1984 issue. The article is from 1984; however, the information is relevant even now. The article asks questions, gives information, and descriptions of events in regard to: the ethical problems, codes of conduct of, how extensive are these issues, and how effective is management in reducing the ethical problems of marketing research.

The first issue of asking inappropriate questions is an ethical dilemma best summed up as; “a researcher has the responsibility to treat respondents fairly in a research study. At the same time, a researcher has a responsibility to the client to gather accurate, reliable information” (Hunt, Chonko, & Wilcox, 1984, p. 310). The problem is more apparent when a researcher needs to weigh and balance between deceiving a subject to obtain an accurate survey for the client versus the subject’s right to know what the information gathered will be used for.

Skewing research results to be more favorable for the client is another ethical dilemma faced by marketing researchers. One employee within the article states that “I refused to alter research results and as a result I was eventually fired for failure to think strategically” (Hunt, Chonko, & Wilcox, 1984, p. 315)....