>or that research firm doesn't get hired again.
This is the key part. Research funded by biased parties can produce valid research and results. There is the case of the physicist that was skeptical of global warming that was funded by the Koch brothers to study global warming. As a scientist, at a well known college for physics, he was skeptical but not blinded by money/politics. His research changed is mind completely.
But, like you said, he won't be hired again by two brothers that are wealthily through oil.
Out of curiousity, do you have a link to the study or a writeup? I'd love to read it.
Koch-funded climate change skeptic reverses course:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-kochfunded-climat...
Thank you. I was have a really hard time finding a link I felt was credible. I only know if it from seeing an interview on TV.
Re:Great work Visa, now I hate you
by thebigshane on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @12:05AM
(#4348669)
Wouldn't they just be able to look at their own records to see any trends (or lack thereof)? Presumably Visa is investing multi-millions of dollars of into this, surely they expect to see a return on that investment. If the fail to see that return, surely they would stop. They haven't stopped. I'm thinking that the research firm was probably right.
Visa is not a person. The person who sponsored that campaign probably prioritizes his career over the RoI of the company.
Re:Great work Visa, now I hate you
by thebigshane on Tuesday August 07, 2012 @04:07PM
(#4351993)
I doubt it was one person who decided, negotiated and implemented the sponsoring of this campaign. So what is your point? Does it really seem reasonable to you that no one would notice how entirely unprofitable (hypothetically) the investment is? Over the course of a dozen+ years!?
It could quite easily be one high-ranking manager who decided and pushed through such a campaign, and now uses company money to pay for research that "proves" its success and enables him to brush off those who doubt it but lack similar clout.
This kind of thing is par of the course for company politics. But probably unlikely to persist this long.
Just depends on whether or not the results are meant to public consumption. I find it hard that no one at Visa would want an honest study from time to time, but I can also easily believe that sometimes studies are commissioned with the end-goal being to justify an already set-in-store decision.
When a company is paying for research about its own decisions, the research always comes back that the decision was wonderful, or that research firm doesn't get hired again.