Busi-600 Assignment 1

Case Assignment 1
Liberty Student
BUSI-600
September 4, 2014

Case Assignment 1
The background story for case assignment one starts with Penton Media and the reduction in use of publication reader service cards. Penton Media recognized that participation from its subscribers to its magazines was fading away. The years in question that saw the reduction were 1992 through 1997. As part of this assignment, two questions will be addressed: the first question is concerned with establishing the management dilemma and constructing a management-research question hierarchy and the second will revolve around the ethical issues that Penton Media could or did create by the surveys conducted. The following information will answer
these questions by explaining the multiple steps needed for the hierarchy with an explanation of the ethics, if any, that were breached. The management-research question hierarchy for this scenario will follow this guideline of questions.
The first is establishing the management question. Second will be the researcher’s questions that will need to be straightforward as to achieve a factual survey of the respondents. Next, the responses will need to be investigated for how specific and detailed the researcher compiled the information. The fourth and final question is the quality of the measurement. This area of concern is used to qualify the results as to the depth the researcher went to answer the initial question. The first question in establishing the hierarchy is concerned with the dilemma that Penton Media has found itself. From the case study, Penton Media started to notice a decline in the use of the reader service cards that were in their publications. The company used these cards as a reflection of the type of advertisers that were being benefitted from Penton Medias publication. With the reduction in reader card use the dilemma that Penton Media recognized was: What is the long term viability of a reader card advertiser
service? After establishing the dilemma that Penton Media has emerging, the next step in the hierarchy is establishing the research question and/or questions that would assist in solving Pentons dilemma. From the case study, the researcher decided on focusing the most effort on the question of which method of obtaining information about potential suppliers/products/services for your organization do you most prefer to use. The information supplied in the case study showed that during the years of 1992 to 1997 that advertisers were including more direct contact information with their advertisements. The advancement of internet within the confines of communication opened a service door that Penton Media had been offering as a service that also benefitted them. Investigating the purpose behind the reduction of reader card service use was followed up with the following questions. What was the average number of respondents in 1992 and 1997? What was the difference between the two studies? Which method was preferred in contacting an advertiser? In the first two questions the purpose was to qualify the year’s respondents to show similarity. The last question purpose could have been to show the shift in communication. If the questions are properly formed for the research, the investigation will be successful for the researcher. However, the next part of the hierarchy, measurement, works to strengthen the investigating questions. Measurement question and /or questions work to answer if the researcher gathered the needed information and resolved the management question. In the case study the researcher asked what factors were driving the need for information on product availability and delivery. In the end the three questions research, investigative, and measurement should work together to resolve the management dilemma. The second question for this case assignment revolved around the ethics of the survey and the researcher’s use of the information. In Cooper and Schindler’s Business Research Methods the goal of ethics in research is to ensure that no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities (2014). If the following three questions or concerns were addressed properly in the cover letter, the assumption could be made to the ethical treatment of the participants. The first question or concern is if the benefits of the study were explained. In the cover letter the respondents were advised of the purpose “to better understand and respond to your requests for information”. The second question or concern is if the respondents know their rights and protections. The last question or concern is that the respondents supply proper consent to the use of the information supplied. Looking over the cover letter and survey, the last two questions or concerns were not properly addressed. The rights of the respondents were not explained at the beginning or end. As far as consent, the survey does not seek to solidify the sought out respondent. Although the survey was mailed to an individual within a company, the survey does not attempt to limit the opportunity for mishandling. In conclusion, the ethical issues that are relevant to this study were that the benefits were not completely explained.
The brief acknowledgement of the reason why Penton Media was requesting assistance is not a fulfillment of this ethical concern. In addition, the limited or nonexistent legalities of the protection of the two parties involved are another concern. Although the presented survey is an example of what was sent out by Penton Media the fine print could have been excluded. With the exclusion of the fine print, the ability of the survey to ascertain the specific individual wanted for the survey was not questioned in the survey. If the survey was to seek out a specific position the limited request for information of that person and signature were left off the survey, The opportunity of Penton Media to seek out help with its reader card service was presented in a way that was unethical toward the professionalism of the
respondents.

REFERENCES
Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2014). Business research methods (12th ed.). pg. 28. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill