tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5380047909271286603.post9165048116451053364..comments2008-11-13T19:19:33.927-08:00Comments on patterns and profits: Escalation of Commitment and Jonathan Swiftspandrelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07579434668440933447noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5380047909271286603.post-71920852880490969252008-03-06T13:34:00.000-08:002008-03-06T13:34:00.000-08:00This is my favorite posting to the patterns and pr...This is my favorite posting to the patterns and profits blog thus far from Spandrel. Perhaps it's because I share the initials of Jonathon Swift and the quotations chosen are ones that I'd wished I not only said, but believed and lived.<BR/>As with most of your posts, the questions posed at the end are, within the context of the pre-amble (no matter how important and weighty that pre-amble is), the most interesting, leaving us asking, "RIGHT! What's the ANSWER!"<BR/>The first question - can market research that is rational be funded - get to the core moral dilemma of the researcher: Honesty and Rationality, vs. Insuring there is a Paycheck next week/month/year.<BR/>The second question suggests a delicate balance, a dance, to weave the rational with the Escalation of Commitment, in such an artful way that future paychecks are enjoyed.<BR/>The final question - does the reputation of a market researcher suffer if they are not rational any more than it might suffer if they in fact weren't employed and engaged as a market researcher? Does the clients business always need to suffer from the support of irrational hope? Perhaps gain isn't maximized, but engaging in simple hope may, in fact, better insure the survival of the "species".<BR/><BR/>John S.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com