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Discussion Questions Chapter 2 (Question 1)
A Competitive Coup in the In-Flight Magazine. When the manager for market intelligence of AutoCorp, a major automotive manufacturer, boarded the plane in Chicago, her mind was on shrinking market share and late product announcements. As she settled back to enjoy the remains of a hectic day, she reached for the in-flight magazine. It was jammed into the seat pocket in front of her. Crammed into this already tiny space was a report with a competitor’s logo, marked “Confidential—Restricted Circulation.” It contained a description of new product announcements for the next two years. Not only was it intended for a small circle of senior executives, but it also answered the questions she had recently proposed to an external research firm. The proposal for the solicited research could be canceled. Her research budget, already savaged, could be saved. She was home free, legally and career-wise. She foresaw only one problem. In the last few months, AutoCorp’s newly hired ethicist had revised the firm’s Business Conduct Guidelines. They now required company employees in possession of a competitor’s information to return it or face dismissal. But it was still a draft and not formally approved. She had the rest of the flight to decide whether to return the document to the airline or slip it into her briefcase.

1. What are the most prudent decisions she can make about her responsibilities to herself and others?
2. What are the implications of those decisions even if there is no violation of law or regulation?

Chapter 6 (Terms in Review 1-6)

Distinguish between the following:

1. Exploratory and formal studies.
2. Experimental and ex post facto research designs.
3. Descriptive and causal studies.

Establishing causality is difficult, whether conclusions have been derived inductively or deductively.

1. Explain and elaborate on the implications of this statement.
2. Why is ascribing causality more difficult when conclusions have been reached through induction?
3. Correlation does not imply causation. Illustrate this point with examples from business.

Using yourself as the subject, give an example of each of the following asymmetrical relationships:

1. Stimulus-response
2. Property-disposition
3. Disposition-behavior
4. Property-behavior

Why not use more control variables rather than depend on randomization as the means of controlling extraneous variables?

Researchers seek causal relationships by either experimental or ex post facto research designs.

1. In what ways are these two approaches similar?
2. In what ways are they different?

Chapter 14 (Discussion Question 7)

Your large firm is about to change to a customer-centered organization structure, in which employees who have rarely had customer contact will now likely significantly influence customer satisfaction and retention. As part of the transition, your superior wants an accurate evaluation of the morale of the firm’s large number of computer technicians. What type of sample would you draw if it was to be an unrestricted sample?