PGBM73 MBA Dissertation Assessment Brief Module Leader Charles Moss Task Overview

The Dissertation is marked out of 100 and the submission is split into two parts as follows: Assessment 1: A Research proposal of between 1500 2000 words. This is worth 20% of the final assessment mark awarded for the dissertation Assessment 2: A Dissertation study comprising of 15000 words. This is worth 80% of the final assessment mark. The research proposal should be submitted together with the final dissertation.

Assessment 1 Research Proposal

Students should complete their work in the format of the template attached and should ensure that this is completed in conjunction with the early meetings with the designated supervisory Tutor who will be asked to sign off before submission. The Tutor is not being asked to mark the work. The first assessment is to be submitted no later than four weeks after the start of the Dissertation semester. The specific date will be advised in your student guide for the module. If for any reason your dissertation proposal has to change during the course of the subsequent research period then this proposal must be updated and agreed with your supervisor to reflect new objectives and new subject and strategic interventions. The mark for the original submission will stand. The proposal and feedback sheet should be submitted with the final project to ensure that we can assess the new intentions of the project appropriately. The aim of the proposal is to ensure that you become clear at an early stage of the boundaries of your study such that you can work effectively and efficiently as possible. The selection and focus of the project can be one of the most difficult early decisions you make but it is important that you make this as soon as possible. It will allow you to focus on the literature and direct it toward the research objectives effectively. Your reading and research will be more precise and targeted .It will also allow you to think clearly about the desired and valuable business performance outcomes that can be derived from the project. The

philosophy of an MBA is to develop leaders who are able to propose improvement and change that can have a significant impact on an organisation or a business sector e.g. banking, manufacturing etc. The research proposal will be assessed on your ability to achieve the following: 1. To identify a suitable strategic project for an organisation or sector and select a project that could if designed and implemented well can be of strategic importance (not just operational) with a significant impact on results. For example in reducing costs opening up new markets, introducing a new product or service, enhancing skills capability and knowledge, improving quality and or service, redesigning internal business operations etc . This is not an exhaustive list. 2. To define and locate the main academic ideas, theories and business practices evolving from these ideas in a critical literature review. This should cover the main subject area (e.g. service quality) and thereafter briefly review the main ideas: the main ideas and business practices and key areas of possible contention where there are alternative issues either in the nature of the idea or methods of implementation etc. This review should aim to locate some of the primary sources / authors you believe it necessary to review. This will not at this stage be exhaustive as your study is at an early stage in its development. 3. From this you will be required to specify the objectives of the project as clearly as possible. These should be presented as outcomes to be achieved for the project in terms of what business improvement or change the project seeks to implement. The reason and rationale in terms of the sector/ organisation need to be covered under 1 above. You should avoid hypothesis and statements that reflect what you are going to do in terms of say investigation or information review. These are not objectives. 4. Finally you will be asked to identify some appropriate ways that you could investigate (methodology ) the subject you have selected to ensure that the objectives are met and that information is collected from both primary and secondary sources to ensure that the study can be completed in appropriate depth to achieve masters learning outcomes see Dissertation guide. These methods should aim to reflect the real methods that can actually be introduced rather than the theory. Any limitations to data collection can be stated but the methods should reflect the realities of such things as sample size and availability , validity of the methods against the objectives, reliability of data and a blend of primary and secondary sources. As with point 2 above at this stage this aspect will not be complete and you have the opportunity to update and comment in more depth in the final submission of the full dissertation. See section 3 of assessment 2. Marks will be awarded as follows: 10% will be awarded for the quality of the Strategic Project overview and objectives and a further 10% will be awarded for the literature review synopsis and methodological synopsis.

Assessment 2 Dissertation
The final dissertation must be submitted by the due date at the end of the semester in accordance with the student guide. Two copies should be submitted together with a statement of authenticity signed by you. You MUST also include a Turnitin report showing the originality of the work. The format of the dissertation and the outcomes to be achieved are included in the detail of the Dissertation guide. The Dissertation will comprise a number of key sections. 1. There should be an Executive summary (word guide approx 300 words) at the beginning which should review what has been covered and the main outcome proposed. 2. The main body of the report should cover a Strategic Project overview developing and enhancing the first section of the proposal covering the rationale for the project and its importance to an organisation or business sector. This may be expressed in terms of sustaining competitive position or improving that position. This section might usefully consider the subject from the threats, opportunities, and business contextual factors. It should avoid too broader scope. This might discuss improvement to internal business processes: customer care, service quality, improvement in skills and or organisation of resources etc. It might include better service delivery, marketing strategies or identification of new markets and or products or services to the external business environment. These are illustrative only. Word Guide approx 500 words 3. The project will include a robust and critical literature review. The main purpose is to establish the important areas of research and enquiry such that the project objectives can be achieved. It serves an important purpose in expanding the body of knowledge that we have with which to understand current performance and as a secondary base to build better informed practices for the future. It should review both the academic literature and the empirical practices that organisations operate. Your ability to shape the ideas and practices is one of the key skills. It is not just a question of presenting other authors ideas without comment. The better marks are to be achieved whereby you identify areas of difference and consensus and from these works and draw a strong conclusion as to what is important in managing the particular area under review. The outcome is likely to have not much more than 4-6 key ideas and principles in the conclusions and will be framed around the question what makes this a successful strategic business practice- and how can it be managed effectively in practice . These will be the areas you will further examine in your research. This needs to be written in logical and coherent chapters that flow together. It should be clear as to what is being covered and it should avoid

extending into too many areas otherwise critical depth is lost. The number of primary sources will vary. We expect a good range of relevant and contemporary sources but the treatment of them is more important than shear number. Word Guide approx 5000 words 4. The project must include a critical review of both primary and secondary methods that are possible but more importantly those deployed in the project from the perspective of such things as selecting valid and reliable sources of information against the objectives. Discussion of sample sizes and drawing reliable conclusions). It should address specific tools used (interviews, questionnaires, case studies etc.) and the various strengths of these and how they can be best designed and used for the designated project. Word Guide approx 2000 words 5. There must be a strong section looking at the research findings from both primary and secondary sources but emphasising new material collected specifically for the project. This section is important as this is the area where you engage with new and original material that you have collected and the skills deployed here are definitive in terms of the scope final assessment grade together with the recommendations. Data must be presented systematically and structured clearly around tables if appropriate- or in terms of outcomes against the areas identified from the literature and linked back to project objectives. Having presented the data descriptively you will be expected to interrogate the findings by asking questions of your information such as: what is significant here, where is there key agreements between participants /sources what are the main areas of disagreement, how does this information reflect the outcomes (confirm or deny) from the literature review etc. What does this say about important ideas to shape policy /strategy and its implementation etc. Word Guide approx 2500 words 6. You will need a conclusion. This needs to draw together the findings from your research and the literature review and start to feedback and comment on the possibilities that now arise in terms of meeting the objectives. It should shape the agenda and start to define what it is you now think can be done. It should summarise main points and decide what stance you are taking with respect to the practice /policies under review. It should flow naturally from the earlier work .This section should not introduce new ideas or new debates even if you have discovered new information! If this is the case earlier chapters need reworking. Word Guide approx 1500 words 7. Recommendations should follow the conclusions. At this stage you move away from a research stance and adopt a leadership stance. Here you will advocate a possible direction for the organisation or sector. It can be specific as to future strategy and policy or it might offer an alternative view and scenario depending on particular future contexts. It should be carefully presented in management terms. Imagine you are presenting to a body of interested organisational managers with different levels of commitment to what you are proposing! It should clearly state what issue /

opportunity is being addressed and the impact desired. It should state what should be done and it should say something on the implementation around; resources, barriers, risk, timescales and organisation of the changes. It should not overly direct to further work or decisions otherwise the project is likely to be overly contextual and general and not solution driven. Again no new ideas should be introduced here and it should be clear how the recommendations can be derived from the foregoing work. Word Guide approx 2000 words 8. The final section you should address personal development. The MBA is about leadership and developing leadership capability. This section should briefly comment on your current stage of development and the challenges you feel you need to consider in going forward in a management career or to develop further. You should aim to identify and map your skills against an established management /leadership framework and comment on the outcome. You are not required to present a detailed personal development plan though you could include such a document in an appendix if you have one and comment on the main points in this section. Word Guide approx 500 words The dissertation should not exceed 15000 words. However the exact make up of the sections may vary between dissertations so the above word counts are strictly indicative. It is unlikely you will be able to meet the learning outcomes in terms of depth and range of analysis in a study of less than 15000 words. The remainder of the dissertation should comprise your research proposal (final) and the bibliography and any appendices that you have chosen to include. Appendices should be carefully selected. They should be referenced in the main body of the study and should clearly relate to and provide further important reference for the reader. They should not be included if they have no central bearing on the study or simply a catalogue of all organisational information you can find. Please now read the full Dissertation Guide before commencement. Please treat all word guides (except the final overall word guide) flexibly as different projects will emphasise different priorities and weightings so these are indicative only. Charles Moss Room: 103E Tel: ++44 (0) 1919 515 4327 Email: charles.moss@sunderland.ac.uk