Data fabrication case study

Data fabrication

©  Prasad Kulkarni, Faculty.

Topic: Marketing research.

      Mr. Suryaputra is working for Suchitra private limited, a marketing research organization since two months. Suchitra is a well known, recognized marketing research company. It offers market research solutions to large clients cutting across various industries.

      Mr. Ganesh and Mr. Narayan are working as business development executives in a marketing department of Suchitra Private Limited. Both of them get the research project from clients and give it to operation team. The operation team analyzes the data and marketing strategy is written on the basis of data interpretation by the research team. The final report is given to Miss Jhanvi Who looks after the operation department.  In turn, this report is handed over to Mr. Ganesh and Mr. Narayan who gives a verbal presentation to clients.        The research projects are assigned to 20 research analysts in the firm on the basis of their workloads. As numbers of clients are large it is very difficult for the company to have fixed analysts working on the project. Therefore operation department allocated the work internally and externally. Internal analysts work on a sample, construction of questionnaire and interpreting the data. Data collection and data processing is outsourced from Shankar Research Limited.

      Mr. Suryaputra’s responsibilities are interpreting the data and provide the recommendation to the clients. He has completed over 10 projects in the last two months and his works are well appreciated by the clients. He has completed the new assignment on a Friday and submitted to Miss Jhanvi. When Mr. Suryaputra returned to office on Monday he saw the changes in the data processed and a note to see Miss Jhanvi.

      Miss Jhanvi explained that Mr. Narayan would not like the report as client probably not agree with it. She explained that Mr. Narayan took permission to do some correction in the primary data and asked Mr. Suryaputra to write a new report.

      Questions for Assignment:

      1. Is it ethical to change the actual findings of the marketing research report? Support your answer.

      2. What is the impact on the business if the un-fabricated data sent to clients?