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MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS 137

resource constraints. This trade-off between rigor and resources will be a delib-
erate and conscious decision made by the manager/researcher based on the
scope of and reasons for the study, and will have to be explicity stated in any
written research proposal. Compromises so made also account for why manage-
ment studies are not entirely scientific, as discussed in Chapter 2.
A rigorous research design that might involve higher costs is essential if the
results of the study are critical for making important decisions affecting the orga-
nization’s survival and/or the well-being of the vast majority of the publics of the
system. It is best to think about the research design decision issues even as the
theoretical framework is developed. The researcher has to be very clear about
each aspect discussed in this chapter before embarking on data collection.

Do Exercises 6.1–6.4 at the end of this chapter

MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

Knowledge about research design issues helps the manager to understand
what the researcher is attempting to do. The manager also understands why
the reports sometimes indicate data analytic results based on small sample
sizes, when a lot of time has been spent in collecting data from several scores
of individuals, as in the case of studies involving groups, departments, or
branch offices.
One of the important decisions a manager has to make before starting a
study pertains to how rigorous the study ought to be. Knowing that more rig-
orous research designs consume more resources, the manager is in a position
to weigh the gravity of the problem experienced and decide what kind of
design would yield acceptable results in an efficient manner. For example, the
manager might decide that knowledge of which variables are associated with
employee performance is good enough to enhance performance results and
there is no need to ferret out the cause therefor. Such a decision would result
not only in economy in resources, but also cause the least disruption to the
smooth flow of work for employees and preclude the need for collecting data
longitudinally. Knowledge of interconnections among various aspects of the
research design helps managers to call for the most effective study, after weigh-
ing the nature and magnitude of the problem encountered, and the type of
solution desired.
One of the main advantages in fully understanding the difference between
causal and correlational studies is that managers do not fall into the trap of mak-
ing implicit causal assumptions when two variables are only associated with each
other. They realize that A could cause B, or B could cause A, or both A and B
could covary because of some third variable.
Knowledge of research design details also helps managers to study and intel-
ligently comment on research proposals.