TYPES OF BUSINESS RESEARCH: APPLIED AND BASIC

Research  can   be   undertaken  for  two   different   purposes.  One   is  to  solve   a  current  problem faced  by  the  manager in  the  work   setting,   demanding a  timely   solution.  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  knowledge   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   organizations  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 be  interested  in  investigating  the  factors  that  contribute  to  absenteeism  as  a  matter  of  mere   academic  interest.    After  gathering  information on this  topic  from  several   institutions  and   analysing  the  data,   the  professor   may   identify    factors such as  inflexible  work   hours,   inadequate  training   of  employees,  and   low   morale   as primarily influencing  absenteeism.  Later  on,   a  manager  who   encounters  absenteeism   of  employees  in  his organization  may   use   this  information  to  determine if  these   factors  are  relevant  to  that  particular work   setting.


Thus,   research  done   with   the   intention  of  applying  the   results   of  the   findings   to  solve   specific problems  currently  being   experienced  in   the   organization  is  called  applied  research.  Research done    chiefly    to  enhance  the understanding  of  certain   problems  that  commonly  occur    in organizational  settings,   and   seek    methods   of   solving    them,   is   called  basic   or   fundamental research.  It  is  also   known  as  pure   research.  The  findings   of  such   research contribute   to   the building  of   knowledge  in   the   various    functional   areas    of business.  Such   knowledge  generated is  usually  later    applied  in  organizational settings   for  problem  solving.

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