1. Ethics in Management Research
and Development
PRESENTATION BY:
ISAAC A.RENSON
CHARITY CHEPCHICHIR
BARACK WALUVENGO
AFTEEN
2. Introduction
What is ethics?
What are ethical
principles
Ethical business
behaviour
Brief history of
evolution of ethics in
research
Ethical principles
Ethics in research
Qualitative vs
quantitative data
3. What is ethics?
Societal norms adopted by a group
– A conception of conduct that is right or wrong
Deal with fundamental human relationships
a universal human trait
4. Ethical Principles – What are they?
Guides to moral behaviour
– Good: honesty, keeping promises, helping others,
respective rights of others
– Bad: lying, stealing, deceiving, harming others
Universality of ethical principles: should apply in the
same manner in all countries, cultures, communities
Relativity of ethical principles: vary from country to
country, community to community
5. Ethical Relativism
Is Defined by
– Various periods of time in history
– A society’s traditions
– The special circumstances of the moment
– Personal opinion
Meaning given to ethics are relative to time,
place, circumstance, and the person involved
6. Reasons for Ethical Business
Behaviour
Fulfill public expectations for business
Prevent harming others
Improve business relations
Improve employee productivity
Reduce penalties
Protect business from others
Protect employees from their employers
Promote personal morality
7. Business Ethics Across Organizational
Functions
Accounting ethics – honesty, integrity,
accuracy
Marketing ethics
Information systems ethics
8. Ethics in Research – Why?
To protect rights and welfare of research participants
and
To protect the wider society or community within
which the research is being conducted
9. Mechanisms of Protection
Ethical regulations or guidelines
Law
Universal principles of human rights
10. Ethical Principles
In research, help to make and to justify decisions
Are abstract and difficult to implement in practical
situations
Key phrases:
– Voluntary participation
– Informed consent
– Risk of harm
– Confidentiality
– Anonymity
11. Ethical Principles Guiding Research
Respect for human dignity
Respect for free and informed consent
Respect for vulnerable persons
Respect for privacy and confidentiality
Respect for justice and inclusiveness
Balancing harms and benefits
Minimizing harm
Maximizing benefit
12. 1. Human Dignity
Two essential components
– The selection and achievement of morally acceptable ends
– The morally acceptable means to those ends
- Protect the multiple and interdependent interests of
the person (bodily, psychological, cultural integrity)
13. 2. Consent
Presumption that individuals have capacity and right
to make free and informed decisions
Your research cannot proceed without informed
consent by the research subject
Consent must be maintained throughout
14. 3. Vulnerable Persons
Ethical obligations towards vulnerable persons:
Entitled to special protection, special procedures to
protect their interests based on grounds of human
dignity, caring, solidarity, fairness to special
protection against abuse, exploitation, discrimination
15. 4. Privacy & Confidentiality
Fundamental to human dignity
Standards protect the access, control,
dissemination of personal information
Helps to protect mental, psychological
integrity
16. 5. Harms and Benefits
Balance critical to ethics of human research
Foreseeable harms should not outweigh
anticipated benefits
Harms-benefits analysis affects welfare and
rights of subjects
17. 6. Justice and Inclusiveness
i.e., fairness and equity
Procedural justice
– Application process
Distributive justice
– Harms and benefits
18. 7. Non-malfeasance
Duty to avoid, prevent or minimize harm
No unnecessary risk of harm
Participation must be essential to achieving
scientifically and societally important aims
that cannot be realized without the
participation of human subjects
Minimizing harm requires smallest number of
human subjects that will ensure valid data
19. 8. Beneficence
The duty to benefit others
The duty to maximize net benefits
Produce benefits for subjects themselves
and other individuals
Produce benefits for society as a whole and
for the advancement of knowledge (usually
the primary benefit)
20. Qualitative vs Quantitative Data
Quantitative
– Logic rests on generalizability & representativeness
– Sample size is criterion for judging rigour
– Respondents can refuse to answer questions
Qualitative approaches
– Designed to best reflect experiences
– Therefore most qualitative research less formally structured
– Logic rests on notice of saturation – the point at which no
new insights are likely to be obtained
– Saturation guides sample size
21. Qualitative Issues
More invasive therefore ethical issues more
subtle
Tendency to investigate more completely
Reliance on observations, interviews,
stealthy methods can lull subjects
Easy to violate confidentiality and trust
Power and status differentials
22. Confidentiality & Anonymity
Quantitative
Techniques
– Can be easier
– Anonymity of the firm
sometimes impossible
– Pseudonyms common
but do not eliminate
problem
Qualitative Techniques
– Smaller sample sizes
– Informed consent more
critical
– Problems with data
presentation/ publication
23. Obligations of the Researcher
Follow code of ethics
– Objectivity
– No misrepresentation
– Preserve anonymity and confidentiality
24. Rights & Obligations of Subject
Right to informed consent
Obligation to be truthful
Right to privacy
Right to confidentiality
Right to no harm
Right to be informed
25. Rights & Obligations of Client (User)
Ethical conduct between buyer and seller
Obligation to reduce bias
Do not mis-represent data
Privacy
Commitment to research
Pseudo-pilot studies
26. Language
The language you use is very, very
important. What may be clear to you may
not be clear to the reader. The reader, who
is your prospective participant, is in a
different world than you – don’t expect the
reader to read your mind, to know your
intentions…