MBA project report

MBA project report

729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 1 Master of Business Administration LEARNING MATERIALS PROJECT 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Synopsis………………………………………………………………………………………2 Project Purpose…………………………………………………………………………….2 Learning Outcomes………………………………………………………………………..3 Content……………………………………………………………………………………….3 Resources…………………………………………………………………………………….4 Assessment………………………………………………………………………………….5 Academic Integrity: Avoiding Plagiarism, Collusion and Other Issues……..7 Online Library User Guide……………………………………………………………….7 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 2 Synopsis Subject Code: 729PROJ Subject Credit Points: 10 AQF Level: 9 Associated higher education awards: – Master of Business Administration Pre- and co-requisites: Before beginning the Project, you must have undertaken at least 8 MBA subjects (normally including the core subjects). This subject focuses on designing, conducting and reporting findings from a business research project. The objective of this subject is to undertake a project related to the chosen specialisation. Students will identify an appropriate workplace-based research problem, conduct a small literature review, engage in data collection in the workplace setting, analyse the data and present findings in a formal business research report. Project Purpose For this subject, you are required to undertake a research Project which addresses an issue of strategic or functional importance to your organisation (or to another organisation of your choice or to a newly forming organisation). You will use knowledge of a research method to investigate a problem issue and to identify potential solutions or improvements for the organisation. The purpose of your Project is explanatory: you provide an account of the issue, of what occurred in terms of a sequence of the events, of the factors contributing to the problem issue, of the roles of key players, and of the impact of past decisions. In order to capture multiple viewpoints and a range of information, you will probably interview relevant individuals in a process of reflection and analysis. The outcome of your analysis should help you identify recommendations to solve or improve the problem issue. One of the core challenges for you is to find the right balance between description and analysis. It is very important to note that description without analysis is not sufficient for this project. Therefore, a business plan, marketing plan or anything similar is not appropriate for your Project as it will not easily lend itself to the required analysis. 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 3 Learning Outcomes This table lists the learning outcomes for this subject. Each of the learning outcomes is assessed in the Project Report. AQF’s subject LO categories On completion of this subject participants should be able to: Knowledge LOs Describe and appraise a variety of practical research methods relevant to business research. Identify a problem, core issue orobjective relevant to the professional workplace as a research topic. Skills LOs Source relevant literature and other information for the research project. Identify relevant stakeholders and source relevant information. Develop a project proposal and present and justify the planned project to key stakeholders. Application LOs Design and undertake research using appropriate methodology. Develop and write a substantial research project report. Content There are four distinct phases in the Project: Phase 1. Orientation and selection of topic  Identify a suitable topic for the Project. For some inspiration you may want to have a look at some of the topics that have been used by other MBA students for previous Projects (see Appendix A in the MBA Project learning materials). Please note that if you want to graduate with an MBA specialisation, you are required to complete the Project in the area of your specialisation as the Project is an intrinsic part of the specialisation.  Undertake directed reading on case study research or action research relevant to the Project. Phase 2. Development of Project Proposal  Develop a Project Proposal and communicate with your Project Adviser to fine tune the Project Proposal to an acceptable standard. Submit the Project Proposal to AIB and obtaining AIB’s approval before starting work on your Project. 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 4 Phase 3. Data collection and analysis  Collect data for the project in a systematic and ethical manner  Analyse the data to identify themes and findings. Phase 4. Development of Project Report  Write the draft Project Report  Submit the draft Project Report for comment and feedback  Re-work and improve the Project Report  Submit the Project Report to AIB. Resources Prescribed text book Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2012, Research methods for business students, 6 th edn, Prentice Hall, London. (Please use the most recent edition of the textbook available.) The Saunders textbook covers topics such as:  Formulating and clarifying the research topic (including how to write a research proposal)  Critically reviewing the literature  Deciding on the research approach and choosing the research strategy (this covers a wide range of possible methodologies like experiments, survey, case study, ethnography, action research, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies)  Negotiating access and research ethics  Using secondary data (especially useful for students doing a finance Project)  Collecting primary data using semi-structured and in-depth interviews  Collecting primary data using questionnaires (for survey research)  Analysing quantitative data (e.g. survey research data, financial reports etc.)  Analysing qualitative data (like the interview data in case study research)  Writing and presenting your Project. The textbook has numerous examples of Project research and writing. Recommended readings You are encouraged to use resources from the list below. Note that Carson et al. (2001) has an excellent treatment of case study, interview and focus group research that can be used in any business field. You are strongly encouraged to use AIB Online Library resources to help identify readings relevant to the problem issue of your Project. Bouma, G & Ling, R 2004, The research process, 5th edn, Oxford University Press. 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 5 Carson, D, Gilmore, A, Gronhaug, K & Perry, C 2001, Qualitative research in marketing, Sage, London. Coghlan, D & Brannick, T 2004, Doing action research in your own organization, 2nd edn, Sage Publications. Hart, C 2001, Doing a literature search, Sage Publications. Workman, B 2010, ‘Work-based projects: what they are and how to do them’, Chapter 5 in Helyer, R, The work-based learning student handbook, Palgrave McMillan, pp. 127–154. Yin, R 2014, Case study research: design and methods, 5th edn, Sage Publications. Zikmund, W, Babin, B, Carr, J & Griffin, M 2013, Business research methods, 9th edn, Cengage Learning. All students have access to electronic database(s) with full-text journal articles through AIB’s Online Library. Assessment In this subject there are three assessment items. All assessment items are reviewed and given feedback; only the final assessment item is formally assessed with a mark. The assessment items are as follows: # Assessment item Mark 1 Project Proposal Feedback only 2 Draft Project Report Feedback only 3 Project Report 100% of grade The first two items are considered formative assessment; these two items enable you to obtain constructive academic feedback to help you improve your Project Report. The final item (the Project Report) is summative assessment and is awarded a mark (out of 100). The mark for the Project Report constitutes the overall grade for the subject. Individual assessment items: 1) Project Proposal The Project Proposal should be 1,500 words in length (plus or minus 10%). The structure of the Project Proposal is set out in the section ‘How to Structure the Project Proposal’ and an example of a Project Proposal is available as an Appendix in the MBA Project learning materials. 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 6 You will have your Project approved (and Ethics approved) and will receive feedback on your Proposal. You can’t start work on the Project Report until you have received both approvals. You are strongly advised to use any feedback to improve your Project Report. 2) Draft Project Report The Project Report should be 5,500 words in length (plus or minus 10%) (excluding your cover page, the executive summary, table of contents, list of references and appendices). The structure of the Project Report is outlined in the section entitled ‘How to Structure the Project Report’ and an example of a Project Report is available as an Appendix in the MBA Project learning materials. You will receive feedback on your Draft Project Report. You are strongly advised to use the feedback to improve your Project Report. 3) Project Report The Draft Project Report with the feedback will enable you to strengthen and improve your Project Report. Make sure to adhere to the required word length 5,500 words (plus or minus 10%) and that the report clearly meets the assessment criteria. The Project Report is assessed according to AIB project report assessment criteria and will be awarded a mark (out of 100). Please note that the Project Report should: o provide a clear description of the problem issue(s) confronting the organisation o demonstrate knowledge of recent relevant literature in the discipline area of the project, outlining relevant principles and theories o describe and justify the use of a relevant research methodology to collect data about the problem issue o analyse the data (applying principles and theory) and evaluate findings relevant to the problem issue (using evidence to support the argument) o summarise conclusions and provide recommendations (or implications). In addition, you need to: o ensure ethical issues of informed consent are observed o acknowledge sources and facts appropriately o adhere to Harvard Style referencing conventions o use a logical structure and effective report format o demonstrate good writing style o adhere to conventions of written English (grammar, punctuation and spelling). 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 7 Academic Integrity: Avoiding Plagiarism, Collusion and Other Issues It is important to adhere to high standards of academic integrity. Academic integrity refers to ethical, honest and responsible conduct in writing and reporting. Breaches of academic integrity include:  Plagiarism – submitting another person’s words or ideas as your own without appropriate acknowledgement and referencing.  Collusion – submitting work as if it is one’s own when in reality it has been completed with others.  Fabrication – submitting work with results or data that do not exist and that have been made up.  Double submission – submitting the same piece of work for more than one subject or by more than one person. Please note that AIB checks assignments for plagiarism (using Turnitin text-matching software) and for other academic misconduct. AIB penalises work and/or people found to have been in breach of academic integrity. For more details please see the Academic Integrity policy on the AIB website. Online Library User Guide AIB uses the EBSCO Host online library. Below are the instructions on how to use the online library. 1. Go to the AIB website www.aib.edu.au. 2. Click ‘Student Resources’. 3. Click ‘Online Library’. 4. Click on the link Access EBSCO Host which will take you to the login screen. 5. Once you can see the login screen, type in your user name and password that have been provided to you. 6. Once logged in, you should be able to see the search bar. 7. Start your research by keying in different key words. Click search to get the search results. 8. Review the article abstract or the full text (depending on its availability). Some articles may be restricted and may need to be purchased. 729PROJ Project Subject Overview ©Australian Institute of Business. V1Jul15 – SLT:2012 8 9. Refine your research by checking any of the option boxes e.g. scholarly (Peer reviewed) Journals. This is the most credible and respected resource for your research. 10. To learn more about EBSCO Host and how to fully benefit from its features you may visit EBSCO Host Support and Tutorials site at http://support.ebsco.com/.

©Australian Institute of Business. V13Sep15 – SLT:2012 1 1 729PROJ Project Learning Materials Master of Business Administration LEARNING MATERIALS PROJECT ©Australian Institute of Business. V13Sep15 – SLT:2012 2 729PROJ Project Learning Materials TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Before you Start……………………………………………………………………….3 2. How to Choose a Project……………………………………………………………4 3. How to Write a Literature Overview……………………………………………6 4. How to Select the Research Methodology ……………………………………9 5. How to Collect Data………………………………………………………………..13 6. How to Address Research Ethics Requirements ………………………….. 16 7. How to Structure the Project Proposal……………………………………….20 8. How to Structure the Project Report…………………………………………. 25 APPENDIX A: Example Project Topics ……………………………………………… 32 APPENDIX B: How to Conduct the Interview …………………………………….34 APPENDIX C: Research Consent Forms ……………………………………………. 39 APPENDIX D: Project Proposal Feedback Form………………………………….42 APPENDIX E: Project Proposal Research Ethics Sheet………………………… 43 APPENDIX F: Example Project Proposal ………………………………………….. 44 APPENDIX G: Example Project Report …………………………………………….. 55 ©Australian Institute of Business. V13Sep15 – SLT:2012 3 3 729PROJ Project Learning Materials Before you Start… Congratulations! As you commence your Project subject, you should be well on your way to completing your MBA course. These learning materials will be an invaluable resource to you as you undertake this subject. Please ensure that you read these learning materials carefully and refer to them often as you complete the Project subject. As will be covered in more detail below, you must complete a Project Proposal and obtain approval to proceed with your project. You will then subsequently complete a Project Report (based on the Project Proposal). The main elements of these materials, which will help you undertake these assessments, are:  How to choose a Project  How to write a literature overview  How to select the research methodology  How to collect data  How to address research ethics requirements  How to structure the Project Proposal  How to structure the Project Report We hope you thoroughly enjoy completing the Project and wish you the best of luck in completing your MBA journey with AIB. 1.1 Research Process Flowchart 1. Identifying the research issue. 3. Conducting literature overview. 4. Identifying the research methodology. 6. Analysing data (Key findings). 8. Discussing findings and relating back to literature overview. 7. Using Key findings to answer research questions. 9. Showing the research questions have been answered and research issue has been addressed. 5. Collecting data. 2. Developing research questions. ©Australian Institute of Business. V13Sep15 – SLT:2012 4 729PROJ Project Learning Materials 2. How to Choose a Project Chapter 2 of the subject textbook, (Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2012, Research methods for business students, 6 th edn, Pearson, London) helps explain how to identify and formulate your research topic. 2.1 What should be the topic area of the Project? If you are undertaking a generic MBA (as opposed to an MBA with specialisation) you can choose to do a Project in any area relevant to the MBA or aligned with any of the MBA subjects. However, if you are undertaking an MBA with specialisation, you must undertake your Project in the area of specialisation, as required by the degree rules of MBA specialisations. The Project can be based on your organisation, another existing organisation of your choice, or a newly forming organisation. The Project can be either an extension of an assignment completed in a previous subject in that discipline area, or can focus on a different issue. The Project should be research involving discussion of existing literature about your research topic, identification of research questions, collection of data, analysis of the data and discussion of findings with answers to the research questions. Please note that a business plan, marketing plan or anything similar is not appropriate for your Project. The development of a business or marketing plan does not clearly involve data collection or data analysis and hence does not provide the opportunity to carry out a PLEASE NOTE The Project is part of your MBA degree. Its purpose is to expose you to an understanding of research processes and the practice of research, which will be useful to you in your profession, your job, or your career now or in the future. It is not the same as, nor should it be confused with studies carried out in higher research degree programs that university research postgraduate students do. Higher research degree programs would usually require more than a year’s work in reading, theory development, data collection, analysis, theory testing, and thesis writing. These would typically lead to a Masters by Research or a PhD, which is not the objective of your coursework MBA. Your timeframe simply does not allow for it. Therefore, think of your Project as a basic research study. It is unlikely that you will be uncovering new knowledge or developing significant results; however, with the completion of this Project, your knowledge of research processes may, in the future, help you carry out more expansive research Projects if you choose to or

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