BM631: Critical Reflections on Ethical Issues and Report

This report provides a critical reflection on ethical issues in business research, specifically focusing on employee absenteeism and its impact on business performance at Marks & Spencer. The methodology section outlines a deductive research approach utilizing both primary and secondary data collection methods, including questionnaires and article analysis. Data analysis involves a random sampling method with 30 employees. The report emphasizes ethical considerations, including respect, valid consent, confidentiality, scientific integrity (transparency and probability measures), social responsibility (respecting diversity and maintaining organizational values), and maximizing benefit while minimizing harm. The ethical guidelines aim to protect participant autonomy, privacy, and dignity throughout the research process. The study aims to identify the reasons for absenteeism, its impact on business productivity, and the strategies adopted by Marks & Spencer to mitigate absenteeism. References include books and journals that support the research.

Critical reflections on ethical
issues & Ethics checklist
BM631

TABLE OF CONTENT
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................3
Research approach:......................................................................................................................3
Data collection:............................................................................................................................3
Data analysis:...............................................................................................................................3
Research strategy:........................................................................................................................3
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION.......................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

MAIN BODY
Research Aim:
To investigate the reasons that influence absenteeism of employees and its impact over
business performance and productivity. A study on Marks & Spencer.
Research Objectives
 To identify the reasons or factors that influence absenteeism of employees within an
organization
 To determine the challenges faced by Marks & Spencer due to employees' absenteeism
and its impact over business productivity and performance
 To examine the strategies adopted by Marks & Spencer to reduce absenteeism of
employees in the workplace.
METHODOLOGY
Research approach:
There are two type of approach, inductive and deductive. For the completion of this
study, researcher will choose deductive approach to existing theories with quantitative data (Cr,
2020).
Data collection:
It is method of collecting data from different source including primary and secondary
source. For the completion of this study, researcher will focus on both primary and secondary.
For primary, questionnaire will be prepared and for secondary article will be analysed.
Data analysis:
Data analysis is most important element, data collected with different method are filtered
and analysed into final conclusion. For the completion of this study, researcher will consider
sampling method in which random sampling will be performed with 30 employees of Marks and
Spencer.
Research strategy:
Strategies are important while completing the study, researcher will consider effective
strategies that will allow them to effective complete the study and gain max. knowledge (Pandey
and Pandey, 2021). As per the topic, researcher will be using survey as research strategy that will
allow them to complete their study with relevant information by understanding participant and
their viewpoint for the completion of this study.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
Ethical consideration is one of the most important element in research where maintaining
fair process is important, this topic is crucial when it comes to include employee or participant in
the completion of the research. Ethical consideration simply means ethical guideline and
principle that secure participant and their feeling, researcher can not harm participant in any way
and researcher cannot misguide reader with wrong information (Arifin, 2018). Ethics are
common and basic value which will be considered in the process of completing the study,
researcher will focus on careful examination of topic and data collected with the help of topic.
Ethical consideration are important element, There are certain area where researcher have to
focus, these are:
Respect:
Respect is one of the most important element of ethical consideration where researcher
have to respect participant on the basis of their autonomy, privacy and dignity. There are certain
process that will be considered to ensure respect is maintained in the research, these are: Valid consent: This is important, for the completion of this study, participant form will
be provided to every participant allowing them to ensure they are ready to be part of
research and their statement will be considered. This form will clear researcher if any
issue arrived after research as form will be fill by the participant.
 Confidentiality: This is another important area, for the completion of this study,
confidentiality will be maintained by keeping user or participant informed about use of
information provided by them, their consent will be considered to ensure confidentiality
is maintained in the research.
Scientific integrity:
Scientific integrity is important that ensure data collected and analysed in valid form, this
integrity need to be maintained by researcher when providing final conclusion of the study,
scientific integrity simply means use of authentic data avoiding any kind of unethical and
misguided data (Green, 2019). There are certain measure will be taken to ensure data is
authentic, these are;
 Full transparency: Researcher will ensure report is prepared with the help of scientific
finding by providing transparency of the data collected data where reviewer can ensure
data is valid and there is no additional wrong information in the process.

 Probability measure: Researcher will take probability measure that ensure data is valid,
here reviewer or participant can review the report by matching probability standard set
while conducting this study.
Social responsibility:
Social responsibility play significant role in the research, this simply means researcher
have to ensure their research or study will contribute in social development avoiding any kind of
harm to social area. Social responsibility means maintain value of organization while conducting
study, researcher can ensure they follow social responsibility by ensuring certain things, these
are: Respecting diversity: Researcher will show respect to participant and any other person
involved in the research to ensure they compile with social responsibility. Researcher will
respect cultural difference of participant by keeping the process clear and effective.
 Integrity: Organizational value will be maintained by the researcher while completing
this study, avoiding any kind of misinformation about company and their process.
Researcher ensure they do not impact image of company by asking unethical question
and ensure they follow guideline of conducting research properly.
Maximizing benefit and minimizing harm:
This is another important element which need to be considered by the researcher while
completing their study, this area focus on max. benefit provided to participant who will be
included in the research (Rüdiger and Dayter, 2017). There are certain element or area which
will be considered by the researcher for the completion of this study, these are: Personal value: Personal value of participant will be maintained with the help of asking
ethical and respectful question, researcher will remain polite while conducting researcher
with participant which will allow them to maintain personal value of participant. Invasion of privacy: Researcher need to ensure they do not impact privacy status of
participant in any form while conducting the research, researcher can perform filling of
participant form that ensure and involve participant and their consent in the process.
 Psychologically well-being: Researcher will avoid using unethical or hurting sentence,
statement or words that psychologically impact participant and their mind. Researcher
will be polite while addressing these areas because this can impact their study and their
reliability on the information provided by the participant in the process of research.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Arifin, S.R.M., 2018. Ethical considerations in qualitative study. International Journal of Care
Scholars, 1(2), pp.30-33.
Cr, K., 2020. Research methodology methods and techniques.
Green, R.M., 2019. Ethical considerations. In Principles of Regenerative Medicine (pp. 1331-
1343). Academic Press.
Pandey, P. and Pandey, M.M., 2021. Research methodology tools and techniques. Bridge Center.
Rüdiger, S. and Dayter, D., 2017. The ethics of researching unlikeable subjects. Applied
Linguistics Review, 8(2-3), pp.251-269.
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