What’s the process above?
Over the next seven weeks, you’ll undertake a research process that will take you through the following stages.
Your research project must draw on secondary data only.
Secondary data is data that someone else has collected for their purpose, and you are now re-using it for your own purpose.
Primary data is original data that you collect for your purpose, e.g. through your own surveys or interviews. Primary data collection requires ethics approval, which is a lengthy process and is therefore not possible within the constraints of a seven-week course.
When do I need consent to use secondary data?
If you use secondary data that is NOT publicly available – an organization’s internal data source that is private and confidential to the organisation – you MUST obtain consent from the organisation to use it. Signed consent forms should be submitted as soon as possible in the Assessment section.
Using only publicly available secondary data that you source from company websites, public databases, and industry reports does not require consent.
Academic integrity
As an AIB student, it is important to adhere to high standards of academic integrity. This involves avoiding plagiarism, collusion, and other conduct that compromises the integrity and authenticity of your work. You are required to be ethical, honest and responsible in your writing and reporting. View the examples below to understand how to avoid compromising your academic integrity, and familiarize yourself with the Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure.
Turnitin
To support you in meeting academic integrity requirements, all assignments are submitted to text-matching software Turnitin to be compared with other written work from a variety of sources. Use the opportunity to review your Turnitin report and correct any issues before your submission is marked.
Matching similarity scores may be investigated for breach of the AIB Academic Integrity Policy.
Refer to ‘What is Turnitin and how do I use it?‘ for further details on how to best use this resource.
1. Project statement.
Your first assessment task in this subject is to write a concise 500-word statement, identifying the topic you’ve chosen, its context within the organization, and a brief overview of how you will structure the project.
The Project Statement is a brief and concise document outlining your intent for your Final Project Report. It should provide a clear description of your project topic – the problem or opportunity you have identified that will be the focus of your investigation. It should state the purpose of your research – what outcome(s) you expect to achieve from the research, and how you will go about the research – the aspects of your MBA studies (theories) you will draw on, your methodology, secondary data sources and ethical considerations.
Your statement should contain the following parts:
- Background
Briefly describe the case organization or industry. - Project topic
Describe the problem or opportunity facing the case organization or industry that will be the focus of your research project. Provide evidence to support the problem or opportunity. - Purpose of the research
State the purpose of the research. - Literature review
List the specific theories from the academic literature of your studies that are connected to this project topic. Start broadly and narrow down to the specific theories related to your topic. - Research method
Identify the approach to your research (i.e. case study research), how you will collect data (i.e. using secondary data), and how you will analyze data (qualitatively and/or quantitatively).
2. Project report.
Your final assessment task in this subject is to write a 4,500-word report detailing your research and its findings. Your project report should:
- Provide a clear description of the topic being addressed and its context in the organization/industry of your choice.
- Demonstrate knowledge of relevant literature in the discipline area of the project, outlining relevant principles and theories.
- Describe and justify the use of a relevant research methodology and secondary data relevant to the topic.
- Analyze the data and evaluate findings relevant to the topic (using literature, logic, and data to support your argument). You should include a section for reflections on your findings as well as implications and recommendations for your chosen organization and the industry.
- Summarize
- Report structure
Use the following as a guide to structuring your report. Expand each section to view further guidance for writing the section. The total word count limit of 4,500 words is applied to sections 1-6. The limits for each of these sections below is an approximate suggested limit. For formatting conventions, you are asked to adhere to the AIB Style Guide.
Requirements
Structure, presentation, and style
You are required to use:
- AIB standard report format
- AIB preferred Microsoft Word settings
- author-date style referencing (which includes in-text citations plus a reference list).
These requirements are detailed in the AIB Style Guide.
Referencing
Reference lists for the projects should contain approximately 20–25 relevant references from different sources. All references must be from credible sources such as books, industry-related journals, magazines, company documents, and recent academic articles. Most web-based resources are not sufficiently supported (e.g. peer-reviewed) to be useful as a reference, except where they provide industry information.
Penalties
Your grade will be adversely affected if your assignment contains no/poor citations and/or reference list and if your assignment word length is beyond the allowed tolerance level (see Assessment Policy available on AIB website).
Useful resources
Useful resources when working on your assignments include:
Use the AIB Online Library to assist you in your research, including:
- EBSCO Host
- IBIS World
- MarketLine
- ProQuest ebooks
·Choosing a theme
In identifying your topic, it’s useful to first narrow your selected discipline down to a theme. While your theme may relate to any aspect of your MBA studies, some suggested themes related to the MBA disciplines are listed below.
- b) Compare and contrast two external organisations (neither being your own) against
Finance/Corporate Governance (Theme)
- Board of Directors characteristics, corporate strategy and firm finance (Topic)
·Choosing a topic;
The topic you identify, based on your chosen theme, should relate to your case organization or industry and address an issue of strategic or functional importance to the organisation. It could be a problem or opportunity for your case organisation or industry. You will use the knowledge obtained from the learning materials and readings to investigate the topic and identify potential solutions or improvements in the form of recommendations.
In identifying a topic idea for your project, it may be useful to consider:
- What is happening in the external operating environment of your case organization that could point to a project topic that involves analyzing the external environment and internal capabilities of the organization and making recommendations to respond appropriately.
- Alternatively, what internal policies and/or practices are currently inadequate (resulting in poor performance) that could point to a project topic that involves analyzing those current policies and/or practices and making recommendations for improvement.
Once you have identified a project topic idea, consider what aspect or aspects of your MBA studies your topic connects to. For example, if your topic relates to marketing, consider what aspect/s of marketing does it specifically relate to? Start broad and narrow down. Consult your relevant textbook/s and/or subject learning materials to confirm. Doing this will provide direction for your literature review; which, in turn, will provide direction for what secondary data you will need to collect and analyze to provide justified recommendations for your report.
Considerations for choosing your topic;Analytical tools and frameworks.
When thinking about which research topic you will focus on, it’s useful to consider which analytical model or framework you could apply to guide your research and inform your recommendations. Consider which ones are relevant and will help you to analyze the challenge or opportunity you have identified.
Some examples could include:
| Tool/model/framework | Most Relevant Disciplines |
| • SWOT analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • PEST/PESTLE analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Career mapping | HRM |
| • Training needs analysis | HRM |
| • Workforce analysis | HRM |
| • SOAR analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Porter’s Five Forces analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Porter’s generic strategies | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Marketing Mix: 4Ps or 7Ps | Marketing Management |
| • Perceptual mapping | Marketing Management |
| • Balanced Scorecard/Strategy Maps | Marketing Management/Strategic Management/Change Management |
| • Benchmarking | Operations Management/Financial Management/Corporate Governance |
| • Six Sigma | Operations Management |
| • Seven quality tools | Operations Management/Project Management |
| • SCOR | Supply Chain Management |
| • Ratio analysis | Financial Management |
| • Value Chain model | Marketing Management/Strategic Management/Operations Management |
| • Business model canvas | Entrepreneurship |
| • Opportunity analysis | Entrepreneurship |
| • Descriptive statistics (averages, correlation, range) | Operations Management/Financial Management |
| • Corporate governance principles | Corporate Governance |
Sources of secondary data
You then need to consider whether you have access to the publicly available secondary data necessary to do the analysis (to solve the problem or explore the opportunity). More secondary data is available than you might initially think for many different topics. Publicly listed and Government departments typically have a large amount of publicly available secondary data that can be utilised for different topics. Sourcing data on private organisations may require you to be more resourceful in your approach. Take a look at the videos under Topic 3 if you’re not sure about sources of secondary data.
Sources of publicly available secondary data sources include*:
- company reports
- industry reports
- government reports
- market research reports
- social media
- financial data
- statistics in government databases
- journal articles
- news media
- advertising and promotional materials.
*i.e. anything that is published (in the public domain) that was originally published for another purpose and that you are now using for the purposes of your project topic.
For a better sense of the types of secondary data you might use, view the methodology and data collection section.
Will you need consent?
You may also use secondary data from your organisation that is not publicly available. However, you will need to gain consentfrom an authorised person in your organisation and submit the completed consent form as soon as possible to confirm you have access to the data.
·Literature Review: Getting started
When writing the literature review, you need to introduce and review ideas in previous research on your topic. In other words, you need to provide an overview of the existing knowledge on the topic. In this way, you establish the basis for your project while developing your knowledge.
One strategy to begin the literature review is to narrow your focus from the general, wider view of the literature you are reviewing, to the specific problem. For example, if you are interested in reviewing the role of employee safety in the construction industry, the best place to start is to look at what employee safety is and what it means to different organizations and industries before you finally focus on the construction industry.
This demonstrates the progression from the general to the specific view, and the beginning of that thread which then continues through the text, leading to the aims of the project.
Reading: Reviewing Literature
O’Leary, Z 2014, Reviewing Literature, The essential guide to doing your research project, 2nd edn, Sage, London, pp 85-104.
Complete the reading for further clarity on structuring and writing your literature review.
·Writing effective paragraphs
The secret to good academic writing is to construct effective paragraphs. A good way of understanding a paragraph is to think of it as a mini-essay. The topic sentence tells the reader the point the writer wants to make. The supporting sentences expand on the point or discuss evidence, and the concluding sentence informs the reader of the significance of the point. In this way, the reader knows not only what the point is, but also what evidence there is to make it and, importantly, why that point is being made — it connects the paragraph to the overall argument.
If you analyze the example below you will see that the paragraph in it is written using this model. In academic writing, in-text referencing must be included.
Here is an academic paragraph that would be typical for the body of a literature review:
Self-awareness is a critical skill/ability for leaders. Self-awareness is the capacity to be aware of emotions and feelings, moment to moment (Smith 2013). If one is not aware of one’s own emotions in an interaction, it would be impossible to regulate one’s emotions, which is the second component in Goleman’s model (Goleman 1995; Jackson 2011). For example, if one is not aware of rising anger in oneself in an interaction, the effectiveness of communication may be impeded by an inappropriate outburst of anger. Thus, self awareness is not only imperative for communication but is also considered the foundation of emotional intelligence (Goleman 1995; Mayer, Salovey & Caruso 2008).
·Organising the literature review
It is through paragraphs that we will build the arguments in our literature review.
Let’s review an example which introduces a topic using the literature.
In the literature, it is recognized that a dichotomy exists between agricultural and business marketing because the marketing management approach is not prominent in agricultural marketing theory. Johnson (2013) suggests that agricultural marketing has traditionally incorporated everything that happens between the farm gate and the consumer, therefore encompassing areas which ‘the purist’ may not consider marketing. While analysis of government intervention and policy form the focus of agricultural marketing theory, studies of the objectives and decisions confronting individual businesses are central to business marketing theory.
The text moves on to specify issues at various levels. Although the focus is sharper, the coverage at the same time opens out. Whatever the pattern which fits your work best, you need to keep in mind that what you are doing is writing about what was done before. But, you are not simply reporting on previous research. You must write about it in terms of how well it was done and what it achieved. This must be organized and presented in such a way that it inevitably leads to what you want to do and shows it is worth doing. You are setting up the stage for your work.
McDonald (2009) was the first to identify an agricultural marketing school of thought focusing on business marketing theory, and this school of thought seems to be growing more prominent. For example, Harris (2012) acknowledges that during the 1970s a minor paradigm shift occurred in agricultural marketing with a move towards business marketing. He notes how successive editions of Kohl’s agricultural marketing textbook (1972 and 1980) have changed to describe the marketing concept. Jones (2010) points out a number of agricultural marketers who have partially incorporated the marketing management approach, but mainly focus on the behaviour of agribusiness companies (e.g. McGee 2009; Harrison 2011), rather than individual farm firms.
By the time you conclude your literature review, you should have clearly signalled the discipline and fields to which the literature relates, concisely represented previous work on the topic area, and explained how your research will contribute to the literature in your field.
The apparent differences between agricultural marketing and business marketing theories may not present a problem because both disciplines examine issues which are likely to require different theories and techniques for analysis. However, concern must be expressed at the failure of researchers to comprehensively examine the marketing strategies undertaken by individual farm businesses. Businesses in the agricultural sector include farmers and other often larger and more sophisticated agribusinesses, such as input suppliers and merchants. Business literature contains published articles examining the marketing strategies of large agribusiness companies; however, little research appears to reach down to the farm business level.
Notice also how the research begins by focusing on the main topic area and then narrowing down to the specific topic of the research.
·Writing up your methodology
In your final report, you will need to include a section on your chosen methodology of approx. 500 words. This section includes two parts, each containing appropriate references:
- the research method (case study research) used in the project is described and justified;
- the method of data collection and analysis is described, and any ethical considerations are addressed.
Examples
View the two examples below from former Project students. These examples illustrate that there are different approaches to designing and writing up your research methodology as appropriate and relevant to your project topic.
Case Study Research Methodology
Case study research allows the researcher to look at their research topic in context. In business research, that means collecting evidence about that topic where it is actually taking place, for example in a company or an industry. Case study research is suitable for answering questions that start with “how”, “who” and “why”. Its further strength is that it is particularly well suited for investigating events that are occurring in a contemporary context. Case studies are empirical investigations, in that they are based on knowledge and experience, or more practically speaking, involve the collection and analysis of data (Farquhar 2012).
Case study research is concerned with investigating single or multiple units of study. Your research can involve several organizations, or ‘multiple cases’. You could, for example, study the development of a particular management approach in a number of organizations. A typical study might be research on the strategy of new product development by two or three organizations in different industries or in the same industry.
For the purpose of the MBA project, you will conduct a case study analysis based on the topic you have chosen. The analysis should follow one of these approaches:
- you compare and contrast two external organizations. (this topic for the project)
Data collection
When conducting research into organizations, the researcher needs to collect data about the research problem or opportunity. Before starting to hunt for data you should analyse your project topic to determine what kind of data you will need in order to provide evidence-based recommendations about the problem or opportunity. This will provide clearer direction for your search for data.
Secondary data sources
As we’ve established, you will only be drawing on secondary data sources – data that has already been collected by others. Secondary data can be quantitative (numeric) e.g. sales figures, or qualitative (non-numeric) e.g. a sales strategy. Case study research often draws on a mix of both to provide a complete context for understanding the problem.
Examples of secondary data sources
- company reports
- industry reports
- government reports
- market research reports
- social media
- financial data
- statistics in government databases
- journal articles
- news media
- advertising and promotional materials.
Where do I start?
After considering what kind of data will be useful to your research topic, the starting point for your search is usually determined by the type of organisation you are investigating. Data availability for public organisations is obviously more readily available, however, sourcing data on private organisations may require you to be a little more resourceful in your approach. In the following videos, Julien provides some useful tips for getting started in your data search for both types of organisations.
Analyzing the data
There are two main types of research procedure. Many research projects include both qualitative and quantitative techniques, but usually one of the two dominates. Hence, a project is usually classified as either qualitative or quantitative.
Qualitative analysis mainly focuses on textual, visual and oral information and is interested in the rich description. Qualitative research looks for interpretation in the data that is collected. The data is then analysed and presented logically and systematically. Thematic analysis could be used to identify themes or patterns in the data collected. For example, if you are using various Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies for your project, you can identify various common themes and patterns within the policy documents.
Quantitative analysis focuses on numbers and is interested in statistical information. It tests (i.e. proves or disproves) hypotheses. Quantitative research aims for strength in statistical findings and is usually associated with explanatory (or theory testing) research. For the purpose of your project, it is unlikely that you will be using analytical statistics tools (to measure correlation, levels of confidence, statistical variance, longitudinal analysis, etc.). These methods require more than the time you have available as well as some complex calculations. Instead, you will very likely be using descriptive statistics only.
Descriptive statistical analysis involves describing and comparing variables. Therefore, this involves computing for central tendency (mean, median and mode) and, if relevant, dispersion (standard deviation). It doesn’t need to involve complex number crunching, however, to do your computations and present your findings in the form of graphs, charts, tables, and/or histograms. Use these only as you need to.
Analytical tools and frameworks
Data analysis is typically an iterative process of comparing and contrasting data sets using an analytical tool, model, or framework which will vary depending on your research project topic – consider which analytical tool(s) will be most appropriate and relevant to addressing your topic.
Some examples could include:
| Tool/model/framework | Most Relevant Disciplines |
| • SWOT analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • PEST/PESTLE analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Career mapping | HRM |
| • Training needs analysis | HRM |
| • Workforce analysis | HRM |
| • SOAR analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Porter’s Five Forces analysis | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Porter’s generic strategies | Marketing Management/Strategic Management |
| • Marketing Mix: 4Ps or 7Ps | Marketing Management |
| • Perceptual mapping | Marketing Management |
| • Balanced Scorecard/Strategy Maps | Marketing Management/Strategic Management/Change Management |
| • Benchmarking | Operations Management/Financial Management/Corporate Governance |
| • Six Sigma | Operations Management |
| • Seven quality tools | Operations Management/Project Management |
| • SCOR | Supply Chain Management |
| • Ratio analysis | Financial Management |
| • Value Chain model | Marketing Management/Strategic Management/Operations Management |
| • Business model canvas | Entrepreneurship |
| • Opportunity analysis | Entrepreneurship |
| • Descriptive statistics (averages, correlation, range) | Operations Management/Financial Management |
| • Corporate governance principles | Corporate Governance |
Presenting the findings
When reporting on what the data showed, start with the overall picture first and then go into the details. Describe the business analytics methods used and the outcome of your data analysis. What does the data suggest that is going on? What are the activities, processes and events that are happening? Describe your findings based on the analysis. Use tables and graphs (where appropriate) to summarise information and present the evidence.
Reflection
Once you have analyzed the data and described the findings for your project, sit back and consider what those findings mean for you, for the chosen organization and, if relevant, for the industry. Reflect on the findings in relation to yourself, your organization and industry. Allow about 250-500 words for this, keeping the bulk of your writing for this section for your data analysis.
