How Ethical Consumer Behavior of the Individuals Can Affect Environment - Research Proposal Example

Introduction and Rationales Consumers are increasingly become important stakeholders and decision makers in terms of what to buy and what not to buybased upon the ethical considerations as well as the role of organizations in performing ethically. Blood Diamonds or the Conflict Diamonds are those diamonds which are extracted from war zones and are sold to finance the insurgency and war in such areas. The conflict diamond issue is critically important because it is not only recognized at the global level by UN and US but it is also making a reference to the human rights violations and other related issues. Besides using the proceeds for the war, blood diamonds are extracted through bonded as well as forced child labor wherein those mining such diamonds are hardly paid and are kept bonded to work on such mines for longer period of time. (Ayres, 2012) Over the period of time, consumers have become ethical in nature with their buying decisions mostly being affected through their ethics. Global consumers now understand the consequences of their actions more clearly due to availability of more information and globalization effects. Environmental as well as ethical issues which were initially not highlighted are now being highlighted and discussed in public to better inform the consumers. There have been serious discussions regarding consumers in developed countries buying such diamonds and consequently helping finance war in such war torn countries in Africa. Considering the overall improvement in the consumer perceptions and knowledge, this research will attempt to explore and understand as to whether the industry has an impact on the consumer behavior. This research will further explore the efforts undertaken to stop this process and the overall degree of success achieved in this regard besides exploring as to how it can be stopped and whether awareness should be raised about it or not. (Campbell. 2004.)  The overall rationale for choosing this topic is based upon the fact that diamond industry generates more revenues by selling less therefore the overall flow of funds through blood diamonds may be higher and can be used extensively to finance the war. Further, this research is also significant in the sense that it presents a real life example of how industry wide phenomenon can actually have an impact on the consumers and their buying decisions. Literature Review There are many countries within Africa which depend upon diamonds as one of the key source of economic progress and revenue. For such countries, the revenue generated by selling diamonds in international market can help them achieve economic development and progress. However, for some countries, the revenues generated through selling these diamonds are diverted towards the purchase of guns and ammunition to support the war in many African countries. The diamonds which are sold for the purpose of financing the war are called blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. (Campbell,. 2004) In the wake of development in the product development and technology, today’s consumers are faced with multiple choices to buy a large number of goods and services at relatively affordable prices. The variety as well as the prices therefore allowed consumers to buy large volumes of such products and services and resultantly their supply also depends upon how much demand is being generated in international market. (Fram, and Baron, . 2004) The overall history of blood diamonds originates from Sierra Leone wherein a group with the name of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) attempted to capture the diamond mines to fund their struggle to restore democracy within the country. However, this trend flourished in other countries also wherein warlords used it as a credible source for earning revenues to fund their war efforts. Diamonds are considered as luxury goods and buying them at higher prices often involve an uncompromising consumer behavior from the buyers given the luxury and degree of prestige attached with it. Over the period of time, this issue and ethics related with it remained obscure until the movie “Blood Diamond” came into play. This movie highlighted this important issue and kick started a debate regarding consumer ethics and the business of blood diamonds. In the aftermath of this film, the diamond industry also actively involved itself into highlighting this issue and set up the industry standards which resulted into further improvement in the overall consumer awareness. (Harrison, Newholm, and Shaw 2005) It is critical to note that there may be relatively smaller impact on the overall consumption behavior because of the well placed safeguards against the blood diamonds. The Kimberly process as well as the UN involvement in this issue is relatively older and has already addressed the issue of blood diamonds. De Beers is considered as the largest player in the diamonds market with control over more than two-third of the market. De Beers is a cartel of some of the largest players in the market who control both the supply as well as demand side of the business. De Beers obtain diamonds directly from its mines as well as from Russia and Canada and after due process ship the same to its London Office from where the diamonds are further distributed to individual players for the polishing and other process. As such, it may be relatively difficult to actually trace the overall pipeline of the diamonds. It is also critical to understand that the overall market for diamonds is considered as a luxury market with customers using the diamonds as a symbol of their success as well as prestige. Such customers are not already educated and well aware but also have the awareness about the ethical considerations of their actions. What is however, important to note that increasing economic progress and larger income disparities have resulted into luxury brands and goods being available to relatively larger number of people. As such the overall performance of luxury goods and brands therefore largely depend upon the social performance as well as concern for environmental protection and human rights. As such the overall credibility of the luxury items is believed to be dependent upon the ability to take into consideration not only the ethical considerations of the consumers but also the other stakeholders involved in the overall trade too. (Tseng, and Shih, . 2012). Increasingly, it is becoming evident that the concept of deeper luxury will emerge wherein luxury customers, due to their knowledge, prestige as well as influence, will expect that luxury products and services also contribute towards the planet and the society in greater way. The overall notion of quality and deeper luxury will be associated with those products and services which can generate greater good for the greater number of people and as such may require an extensive shift towards more ethical business practices. (Bezen\Ccon, and Blili. 2010) It is also critical to note that the increasing awareness about the luxury products as well as environmental and social impact of such products, it is quite possible that such brands and products may need to invoke a much higher degree of authenticity regarding their products. In order to differentiate from each other, luxury products including that of the diamonds need to invoke a much deeper appreciation of the quality and prestige and this could only be achieved if such products and services can actually show that they have much concern for the environment as well as social concerns.( Blythe, 2013.) The overall issue of blood diamonds therefore needs to be viewed from the perspective of how the ethical consumers of luxury products and services need to behave and dominate the overall buying decision making process. Consumers need to focus more on how their overall ethical buying decisions can result into screening out of the blood diamonds from the market and allow those diamonds which are ethically sourced.( Carrigan, and Attalla, 2001) Methodology and Methods Research in common language is often termed as a search for the knowledge and may also suggest a systematic and scientific approach to study the facts and figures regarding a specific objective or research. It denotes the systematic acquisition of the knowledge and information regarding a particular topic and also involves the use of scientific methods which can help a researcher to achieve the intended results. Research therefore requires an emphasis on using the scientific methods to explore the relationships between different variables and how such relationship can actually have an impact on each other.( Ketchen. and Bergh, 2004) Research Methodology is a systematic use of various statistical methods and tools which allows a researcher to explore and understand as to what is achievable under the research. It allows a researcher to explore as to whether the overall research objectives will be achieved and through which research and statistical tools. A well-defined research methodology therefore allows a researcher to use a range of statistical tools and methods which can be deployed to achieve the desired statistical outcome. The formulation of a research philosophy is considered as important part of the overall research methodology to define and outline as to how the data will be collected and what are the appropriate manners in which the same can be achieved. The overall research paradigm actually outlines the shared values and assumptions which underline the overall research objectives of the researcher. The research philosophy is a term which deals with the development of knowledge as well as the nature of that knowledge. As such, research philosophy indicates what researchers have to undertake in order to achieve the overall research objectives. In order to achieve the overall research objectives of this research, researcher will adapt the realism as the leading research philosophy for this research. Realism tend to believe that whatever we believe now is only some of the approximation of the reality and every new observation can actually bring more clarity about the overall reality and its nature. This research study will adapt a deductive approach to the overall research. (Goddard, and Melville, . 2001) One of the key aspects of realism is the fact that it addresses those issues which already exist in the reality. There are two main approaches when using realism as a research philosophy i.e. direct and critical realism. The direct realism is when an individual actually feels and sees whereas under the critical realism individuals actually argue about their feelings as well as experiences. As such, realism as a research philosophy will actually help the researcher to understand reality in much broader perspective and focus on developing a better insight into how the overall reality can be better understood with the use of scientific methods and statistical tools. There are two different approaches to research i.e. the qualitative as well as quantitative research. Qualitative research is concerned with the qualitative phenomenon whereas quantitative research is associated with the quantitative phenomenon and requires the use of quantitative tools and techniques to achieve the overall research objectives. This research study will be mostly qualitative in nature with focus on exploring the qualitative relationship between how the overall consumer behavior is being influenced by the fact that blood diamonds are being sourced from the suppliers who are using the money for financing the war. Qualitative research also involved with the subjective assessment of the attitudes, behaviors as well as opinions of the research participants. Qualitative research therefore also includes the overall insights as well as impressions of the researcher and helps to formulate a coherent framework around which the overall research can be carried out. Since this research study will focus on understanding the ethical nature of the consumers and how it affect the blood diamond industry therefore a qualitative approach to the research study will be more suitable to achieve the desired research outcome of this effort. This research study will be performed through adapting a case study approach under which a systematic review of the existing and available literature, case studies as well as government reports will be evaluated to understand the overall impact of the blood diamonds on the ethical consumer behavior. The case study approach allows a multi-faceted exploration of the different aspects of the overall research objectives and also offers an opportunity to explore various aspects in depth. The case study approach allows exploration of issues taking place in real life settings and as such will be more suitable for this research. (Ketchen. and Bergh. 2004) The data collection method to be adapted for this research study will be based upon exploring the use of survey methodology. Data will be collected through an extensive review and exploration of the existing literature on the subject. The overall sample size will consist of few countries which are actively involved in the business of blood diamonds. Countries like Liberia, Sierra Leone will be extensively covered along with a better understanding of how the overall supply chain of blood diamonds work and what are its implications. Further, a systematic review of the existing restrictions and legal requirements regarding the greener or clean diamonds will be evaluated to understand the current practices. After the implementation of Kimberly Process, companies are required to disclose about the blood diamonds and also have to follow certain conditions to continue to trade. This section therefore will further explore as to what safeguards are already in place and whether such systematic restrictions have actually resulted into the reduction in the sales of blood diamonds or not. Apart from the review of literature regarding the countries involved in the trade of blood diamonds, researcher will also develop a questionnaire to understand the relationship between the ethical consideration of the buyers and the sale of blood diamonds. A total of 30 respondents will be chosen and will be given a questionnaire to reply. This questionnaire will contain both the open as well as close ended questions and will effectively measure the response of individuals towards whether they will be buying blood diamonds or not and if yes under what conditions. Ethical Issues Ethics in research involve the application of ethical issues towards the research objectives which a researcher has undertaken to achieve. The overall ethical issues in any research are often associated with the design and development of the research methodology, data collection as well as the consent of the subjects on which the research is being performed. This research study is focused upon exploring an ethical issue of how the actions of consumers as well as sellers of blood diamonds can actually finance war and result in murder and killing of other innocents. As such, the overall subject matter of this research has certain ethical considerations which need to be understood from the perspective of larger aspect of this research. The ethical issues therefore may arise due to the overall sensitive nature of this research matter and how it may an impact on the future course of research. Lack of anonymity as well as confidentiality may be another important ethical issue which can arise during the course of this research. Since large organizations are involved in the trade of diamonds therefore exploring the roles of all the organizations and how their overall supply chain management is tied up with the blood diamonds may require confidentiality of the overall names and other details. Further, the involvement of the individuals and identification of particular consumer groups buying blood diamonds may also pose a significant challenge in terms of maintaining the overall confidentiality during the research. Resources This research study will be desktop in nature with most of the research work completed through the desktop research of the facts and figures. In order to achieve the overall objectives of this research, the main resource to be used will be the university library and access to the online academic databases to access the research material, case studies as well as news items. The access to library as well as the support of the research supervisor can serve as important resources to be used for the accomplishment of this research study. Further, in order to complete this research study, it is also envisioned that the research’s focus will be limited and will not actively require large budget or time resources to accomplish the research task. However, to finish this research on time and to achieve the satisfactory grade on this research, a minimum investment of 3 months of time is required. In the first phase of this research, research proposal will be finalized with the supervisor which is expected to be completed within a period of 2 weeks. The next phase of the research will involve actual data collection, survey of literature and reports besides accessing other research sources. The third phase of this research will involve actual writing of the thesis which is expected to be completed within the period of 1 month. Once the research is complete and written, it will be submitted for approval and any subsequent changes if required by the supervisor to complete this research. Conclusion and Reflection Ethical consumerism is on rise as more and more consumers are becoming aware of how their decisions can have an impact on the planet, resources, people and other aspects of sustainable development. Increasingly, consumers are becoming aware of how the money earned from them can end up being used in unethical manner. Blood diamonds is one such luxury product which is being used by the war lords in some of the African countries to finance wars. Blood diamonds are also called conflict diamonds and are extracted from the mines in the war stricken areas under the influence of warlords or terrorists who often force people to work for them. This research study therefore will focus on whether the ethical consumer behavior of the individuals can have an impact on the environment. More importantly, whether the awareness of the consumers regarding ethical issues associated with the blood diamonds has actually resulted in low demand for blood diamonds. This research study will focus on using realism as a research philosophy with focus on understanding as to what is happening in reality and how our understanding of reality can actually improve it. Considering the overall research philosophy, this research study will focus upon using a survey methodology to explore the existing literature on the topic of blood diamonds and will present a case study analysis by analyzing and exploring the real life events. The case study approach will involve extensive coverage of the research topic. References Ayres, C. 2012. The international trade in conflict minerals: coltan. critical perspectives on international business, 8 (2), pp. 178--193. Bezen\Ccon, V. and Blili, S. 2010. Ethical products and consumer involvement: whats new?. European journal of marketing, 44 (9/10), pp. 1305--1321. Blythe, J. 2013. Consumer behaviour. London: SAGE. Campbell, G. 2004. Blood diamonds. [Boulder]: Westview Press. Carrigan, M. and Attalla, A. 2001. The myth of the ethical consumer--do ethics matter in purchase behaviour?. Journal of consumer marketing, 18 (7), pp. 560--578. Fram, E. and Baron, R. 2004. 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