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TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH:APPLIED AND BASIC 7

18. Risk assessment, exchange rate fluctuations, and foreign investment.
19. Tax implications of reorganization of firms or acquisition of companies.
20. Collection of accounts receivable.
21. Development of effective cost accounting procedures.
22. Qualified pension plans and cafeteria type of benefits for employees.
23. Deferred compensation plans.
24. Installation of effective management information systems.
25. Advanced manufacturing technologies and information systems.
26. Design of career paths for spouses in dual-career families.
27. Creative management of a diverse workforce.
28. Cultural differences and the dynamics of managing a multinational
firm.
29. Alternative work patterns: job sharing, flexitime, flexiplace, and part-
time work.
30. Downsizing.
31. Participative management and performance effectiveness.
32. Differences in leadership positions, salaries, and leadership styles.
33. Instrument development for assessing “true” gender differences.
34. Installation, adaptation, and updating of computer networks and software
suitable for creating effective information systems for organizations.
35. Installation of an effective Data Warehouse and Data Mining system for
the organization.
36. Keeping ahead of the competition in the new millennium.

Not only are the issues within any subarea related to many factors within that
particular system, but they must also be investigated in the context of the exter-
nal environment facing the business. For example, economic, political, demo-
graphic, technological, competitive, and other relevant global factors could
impinge on some of the dynamics related to the firm. These have to be scruti-
nized as well to assess their impact, if any, on the problem researched.

TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH: APPLIED AND BASIC

Research can be undertaken for two different purposes. One is to solve a cur-
rent problem faced by the manager in the work setting, demanding a timely solu-
tion. For example, a particular product may not be selling well and the manager
might want to find the reasons for this in order to take corrective action. Such
research is called applied research. The other is to generate a body of knowl-
edge by trying to comprehend how certain problems that occur in organizations
can be solved. This is called basic research. It is quite possible that some orga-
nizations may later on apply the knowledge gained by the findings of such basic
research to solve their own problems. For instance, a university professor may