ACTIVITY 1 - Think about ethics
Discuss the questions presented about ethical issues on research in an organisation
Activity 2 - Ethics: Case Brief
• Discuss what ethical issues need to be considered
• What ethics form is required?
• Review the respective form and what is needed to complete it
• When completing Ethics03, think about what else is needed - e.g. items such as Participant Consent form may be required
Case - Consultancy: Howies
BRIEF
Howies is a small active clothing company based in West Wales who make men's and women's clothing for sports biking, running and the outdoors, as well as for day-to-day use. Their focus is on producing high quality products which lasts longer and have a low impact on the environment. Their t-shirts, sweatshirts and jeans are all made from organic cotton. Howies has a loyal base and a growing market amongst outdoor oriented people who care about the environment and wish to support sustainable production and small companies rather than big chains. They also care about producing stylish and exciting gear that people want to wear. However, they now want to grow and need to find out more about potential markets as part of a strategic review.
What the client currently thinks they want to know
Howies now wants to review the perception of organic and sustainable clothing, particularly by international students. They are interested in the extent to which International students are aware of the concepts around sustainability and clothing, including low impact, organic, ethical based and Fair Trade. They are also very interested to understand reasons for certain preferences by postgraduate students to clothing purchases.
Are postgraduate students uncritical and unthinking when they make their purchases? are they thinking about the wider implications of their purchasing behaviour when they buy their clothes?
Specific questions around buying behaviour include: How much do they spend, where, on what types of clothes, and what might encourage them to consider buying more sustainable clothing?