BUSI48U60: BUSINESS PROJECT (MSc Management)

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• To provide students with the opportunity to conduct an in-depth specialist investigation at an advanced level of an issue which is applicable and relevant to their degree subject. It will be in the form of a business project.
• To equip students with an in-depth understanding of key principles of research design and methodology in business and management, and to develop their skills in conducting and disseminating research at an advanced level.
• To provide an in-depth real experience of analysing and resolving an organisational problem inside the client/host organisation.
• The business project should be theoretically underpinned and should normally involve undertaking empirical research, but may be a critical essay that draws upon academic literature.

• The topic is chosen by the student and formally approved by the Board of Examiners. It should be one that is suitable for in-depth investigation, and relevant to their degree route.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module students should have:
• a critical understanding of a relevant topic through utilisation of appropriate techniques of research and analysis

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the module students should:
• be able to conduct research into business and management issues through research design, use of appropriate methods, data collection, synthesis and reporting;
• be able to organise, structure and manage a research project effectively at an advanced level;
• be able to critically evaluate published research and assess its relevance to a chosen research project;
• acquired skills of effective project management and effective client stakeholder liaison inside an organisation.

Key Skills:

• Planning, organising and time management; problem solving and analysis; using initiative; computer literacy.
• The ability to think critically and creatively, and to argue coherently and generalise appropriately, based on theory and evidence, for a given situation or organisational problem, including new and unfamiliar circumstances
• The capacity for sustained independent work and learning at an advanced level, including the ability to manage time effectively over a series of projects
• The ability to use a toolkit of specialist skills and practices for inquiry into problems, identifying opportunities and implementing change, working with others in projects and communities, and communicating with stakeholders
• The ability to take responsibility for continuing to learn through reflection on practice and developing their own critical self-awareness, knowledge and skills
• Written communication of research on a chosen topic to a relevant audience(s).
• Effective project management to a deadline in a real organisational setting;
• Effective relationship management in a work setting

• Students work independently on their research, analysis and writing up, under the guidance of a supervisor, modifying their research design if necessary, and in consultation with the host/client organisation.
• Normally the student will meet their supervisor on no more than six occasions. This is considered appropriate, given that the dissertation/business project module is underpinned by lectures and seminars/computer labs from the Research Methods module.
• The summative components of the business project report typically require students to write a short literature review, followed by a detailed explanation of their selected research method, including - where relevant - detail on data collection and analytical methods, and the presentation of their findings, and a short discussion of these results, including recommendations for the host/client organisation.
• Within the report, students produce a short Executive summary providing a business perspective on their research findings.

There is no formal formative feedback on the business project, although students can discuss their research proposal in the supervisory meetings, and receive detailed feedback on one draft chapter/section of their report.

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