27 Mar MGT 7019 ASSIGNMENT 5 & 6 Module 3 LESSON 5: Ethics in Business Research

Module 3  LESSON 5: Ethics in Business Research

Module Introduction

Welcome to Module 3: Ethics in Business Research 

This section aims to help you become familiar with some of the debates concerning research ethics. While it is crucial to understand ethics in business, you must also explore ethics in research as a doctoral student who will eventually complete a dissertation. This section commences with the history of the discourse on research ethics by emphasizing exemplary cases. Then, you will systematically analyze the numerous ethical dimensions of various types of research, including informed consent, risk-benefit assessment, ethical review, and research with special populations. Finally, this section offers assessment opportunities for more detailed and specific topics concerning ethical assurances, such as international research, research with children, animal research, and data ethics.

This course section focuses on ethical issues related to research in multidisciplinary fields, including business and healthcare. Healthcare is a business industry. Therefore, you will explore the historical and ethical analyses of these matters. For example, researchers are examining investigational drug ethics, also known as the compassionate use or right to try, legislative movement in the United States. These new laws allow some patients to try investigational drugs that have not undergone clinical trials if no other U.S. Federal Drug Administration-approved treatment options are available, and the individual cannot participate in the clinical trial.

Ethical scandals continue to challenge organizations. In some cases, even employees feel moral distress about their manager’s ethical integrity, resulting in counterproductive behaviors in the workplace and even employee turnover. The relationship between ethical leadership, morality, and integrity is integral to organizational effectiveness and success. The implications of integrity in ethics entail a stronger commitment and empathy to embody morality in decision-making, perception, and values. Integrity plays a pivotal role in ethical decision-making processes.

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The History of Ethics in Research 

The history of research ethics presents many examples of organizations, institutions, and individuals who did not fulfill or meet ethical and moral obligations. The ethical norms of conduct distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Standards of behavior, which suit a goal or aim, help provide collective coordination of behaviors. Many societies have legal rules that govern behavior; however, ethical norms are almost always broader and more informal. Ethical universalism and relativism theories are vital to understanding ethical norms in international business.

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Ethical Universalism

Within ethical universalism, what is wrong or right transcends all cultures, societies, and religions. A set of universal ethical standards for all societies, organizations, and individuals across various cultures can be utilized for accountability. Some of these fundamental moral obligations apply across countries and around the world. For example, these ethical norms may include honesty and trustworthiness. Ethical universalism holds that universal ethical norms take precedence over local ethical norms.

Ethical Relativism

Ethical relativism is a perspective that asserts different values in religion, customs, and norms, resulting in multiple sets of ethical standards. Depending on local ethical norms, these can be about what is wrong or right. Because various ethical norms exist, individuals adhering to ethical relativism believe that business ethics can only hold a few absolutes for consistent business operations. Within this theory is the idea that local morality is the prevailing ethical standard. For example, using child labor in developed countries is considered an ethical taboo with implemented legal, and regulatory constraints in place. However, in many nations, using child labor is a custom or at least acceptable. The Bureau of International Labor affairs, a division of The United States Department of Labor, noted that 78 countries still allow child labor or have forced labor within their nations (United States Department of Labor, 2023). An argument often made in developing countries with widespread poverty is that families cannot survive without income earned by their children or without forced labor. As a business professional and researcher, you have an obligation to understand existing conditions and how your research could negatively affect vulnerable or affected populations.

Another way to understand ethics can be in terms of how disciplines study ethical standards and moral obligations, such as business ethics, corporate social responsibility, bioethics, healthcare ethics, or research ethics. Codes of ethics are useful but do not cover every circumstance, situation, or dilemma; thus, it has become increasingly important to learn how to interpret, assess, and apply rules and make ethical decisions in various situations.

Shamoo and Resnik (2015) noted many ethical principles have been adopted in the various codes of ethics of professional associations, universities, and nongovernmental and government organizations, which include honesty, objectivity, integrity, carefulness, openness, confidentially, responsible publication, responsible mentoring, respect for colleagues, social responsibility, non-discrimination, competence, legality, animal care, and human subjects protection.

Heads-Up: CITI Training Program

Every doctoral student at NU must complete the CITI Training Program, which is an online course. All key personnel engaged in human subject research must complete the program prior to IRB approval of a new or continuing review application. Even though it is early on in your DBA program, it is recommended that you visit the Dissertation Center and familiarize yourself with the available resources. A link is included in this week’s resources.

Be sure to review this week’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.

 

Reference

Shamoo, A., & Resnik, D. (2015). Responsible conduct of research (3rd ed.).  Oxford University Press.

United States Department of Labor. (2023). International child labor & forced labor reports. Bureau of International Labor Relations. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor

 

Lesson 5 Required Resources

Articles

• The Oxford Textbook of Clinical Research Ethics

Emanuel, E. J., Grady, C. C., Crouch, R. A., Lie, R. K., Miller, F. G., & Wendler, D. D. (Eds.). (2008). The oxford textbook of clinical research ethics. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.

• Ethics and Clinical Research

Jones, D. S., Grady, C., & Lederer, S. E. (2016). “Ethics and Clinical Research” — The 50th Anniversary of Beecher’s Bombshell. The New England Journal of Medicine, 374(24), 2393-2398.

• The Scientific Self: Reclaiming its Place in the History of Research Ethics

Paul, H. (2018). The scientific self: Reclaiming its place in the history of research ethics. Science and Engineering Ethics, 24(5), 1379–1392.

• Research Methods & Design – Research Ethics & Quality Library Guide

National University. (n.d.). Research methods & design – Research ethics & quality library guide.

Research methods and design foundation information to ensure ethical business research.

• National University Institutional Review Board

National University Institutional Review Board. (2023). https://resources.nu.edu/irb

• Dissertation Center

The Dissertation Center has many helpful resources related to selecting a research topic, forming problem and purposes statements, r research questions, and more.

• Business Ethics Library Guide

National University. (n.d). Business ethics library guide.

A National University Library pages focused on business ethics research and information.

Assignment 5: Interpret the History of Research Ethics

Instructions

This week, you will prepare a presentation with PowerPoint. You will create your video into your PowerPoint presentation.

Assume you are invited as a guest lecturer for an undergraduate business class. You must help your audience understand the historical context leading up to present-day debates about proper research practices.

Begin by conducting a historical analysis of the present-day debate on research ethics. Include the following in your lecture:

• Explain why and how current research ethics have developed and what ethical concerns have emerged.

• Explore how these have been addressed and regulated.  

• Explain why and how current ethics in research developed by using at least two or three of the following cases as examples:

o Case 1: Yellow fever

o Case 2: Nazi experiments

o Case 3: Japanese experiments

o Case 4: Streptomycin

o Case 5: Polio vaccine

o Case 6: Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital

o Case 7: Willowbrook

o Case 8: Tuskegee

o Case 9: HIV research

o Case 10: Gelsinger case

o Case 11: Henri Beecher

o Case 12: Ethics Commission

• For each case example, determine significant aspects that influenced the development of research ethics. Predict whether a similar case could occur again today and explain why.

Support your video lecture with a minimum of five scholarly resources. Be sure to include a transcript for your lecture.

Presentation Time: 5-7 minutes total. In PowerPoint, this equates to about 2-3 minutes per slide.

Your video lecture should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards where appropriate. 

Learning Outcomes: 1, 3

• Evaluate the ethical approaches of the parties who influence business decision making.

• Critique the actions that companies may take to meet ethical considerations relative to social performance, financial performance, and reputation.

Lesson 6: Fundamental Ethical Issues in Research

Fundamental Ethical Issues in Research 

Examining the history of research ethics helped you uncover several ethical issues that can be specific to each study. Fundamental ethical and legal issues are the basis for vital aspects of ethical research about the subject(s) and the researcher. Many ethical guidelines are in place regarding national and international research on topics such as informed consent, confidentiality, incentives, and many other aspects of research conduct.

Yip et al. (2016) noted several relevant organizations and related publications cover many fundamental ethical and legal issues in research, such as the Declaration of Helsinki, the Belmont Report, the Council for International Organization of Medical Sciences, the World Health Organization, and the International Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. Local ethical review committees should provide ethical advice on research because of major differences in legislation from region to region.

Heads-Up: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Resources

Within the Dissertation Center, there is a link to an IRB homepage dedicated to IRB Resources. Here, you will find a variety of useful documents, forms, and videos organized into sections, including an IRB Getting Started Guide, Video Tutorials, IRB Forms and Templates, IRB Resources and Guidance, and links to additional resources. It is recommended that you explore these resources to become familiar with them. There is a link included in this week’s resources.

Be sure to review this lesson’s resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.

Reference

Yip, C., Han, N. R., & Sng, B. L. (2016). Legal and ethical issues in research. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, 60(9), 684–688.

Lesson 6 Required Resources

Articles

• Does Benefit Justify Research with Children?

Binik, A. (2018). Does benefit justify research with children? Bioethics, 32(1), 27–35.

• The Oxford Textbook of Clinical Research Ethics.

Emanuel, E. J., Grady, C. C., Crouch, R. A., Lie, R. K., Miller, F. G., & Wendler, D. D. (Eds.). (2008). The oxford textbook of clinical research ethics. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.

• Ethical Issues in Research: Human and Animal Experimentation

Harper, L., Herbst, K. W., & Kalfa, N. (2018). Ethical issues in research: Human and animal experimentation. Journal of Pediatric Urology, 14(3), 286.

• Dissertation Center

The Dissertation Center has many helpful resources related to selecting a research topic, forming problem and purposes statements, r research questions, and more.

• Research Methods & Design – Research Ethics & Quality Library Guide

National University. (n.d.). Research methods & design – Research ethics & quality library guide.

Research methods and design foundation information to ensure ethical business research.

• Business Ethics Library Guide

National University. (n.d). Business ethics library guide.

A National University Library pages focused on business ethics research and information.

Assignment 6: Explain Fundamental Ethical Issues

Instructions

This assignment aims to analyze fundamental ethical issues in research critically. It is important to understand and then be able to explain contemporary ethical debates, which inform fundamental interpretations of ethical concepts. 

Begin by selecting, researching, and analyzing a specific area of ethics in research that can include:

• International research

• Research with children

• Animal research

• Data ethics in research

• Investigational drugs ethics

Then, prepare an informational pamphlet for those considering participating in the research study or those concerned about how the study will be completed. Be sure to explain the following pertaining to key ethical issues in the area you selected:

• Explain why these key ethical issues are important for the study area.

• Interpret how they are usually addressed. Be sure to provide examples, if appropriate, to support your findings.

• Determine how these issues can be solved or eliminated.

Support your pamphlet with a minimum of three scholarly resources. You should include graphics, charts, and other supportive visual aids.

Length: 2-3 pages, not including title and reference pages

Your pamphlet should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards where appropriate. 

Learning Outcomes: 4, 5

• Assess the extent to which social, ethical, and public issues must be considered in internal and external stakeholder relationships.

• Interpret ethics in a business setting with regards to integrity and code of conduct.