Title/Topic - What was Tesco's process for changing their scope of retail business operations?
Description - A proposal of 3000 words (except title and reference pages) with the following segments:
Section 1. Aim, objectives and feasibility of the dissertation
Section 2. Literature Review
Section 3. Research methodology and Methods
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Remove this page before submitting your Proposal Pro Forma. These instructions will help your final product to look organized, well-thought-out, and orderly.
2. Remember the key rules about Harvard citation style and presentation:
(a) All fonts must be 12 (either Arial or Times New Roman are preferred);
(b) All text must be left-justified (meaning you cannot have a straight right margin);
(c) All references are to be in Harvard citation format (use the UOL web site as your primary resource for determining proper form);
(d) References are never indented or right-justified.
3. Do not add or change categories in this Pro Forma. We expect your version to match this template precisely.
4. Present yourself as totally unbiased in all your writings and remember to write in the third person.
5. Consult with the Pro Forma Proposal Notes in the RMT CLASS MATERIALS tab for guidance on specific content of each category.
DISSERTATION PROPOSAL PROFORMA
1. Aims of the Dissertation:
This should include ‘to investigate the following hypothesis or to answer the following research question(s)'. With the same then specified as bullet points.
2. Methodology:
This section is about how you propose to answer the questions above or to investigate the hypothesis. A pilot study is recommended before using a questionnaire with the main sample.
3. Feasibility:
Have you got the resources necessary - e.g. access to data -consent from your firm - some indication of the willingness of subjects to be questioned or interviewed?
4. How Your Work Fits Existing Published Work:
Find about 10 sources of information (references) connected to the work you propose to do and analyze them as to how your work fills a gap or extends them. Compare and contrast them with each other and with your approach. Some (at least 5) must be academic publications, preferably from refereed Journals, which will be found in our online library. Citations from the main textbooks used for your modules are NOT sufficient here
5. Why You Are Doing This Topic:
Apart from the obvious - to get my Masters degree, what is the benefit hoped for to your firm or industry etc. What actions may result from the valuable insights gained?
6. Timing Mileposts
N.B. You must reach stage 8 at least four weeks before your deadline; a month contingency provision is also advisable to allow for slippages. This is to enable your DA to give you sufficient Feedback on your final draft.
You should produce a final Proposal for submission to the SM for approval (as agreed with your DA) in between one and two months from your classroom date. However, please aim for 7 weeks from your start date (class date) at the latest, to ensure time for any necessary revisions and final approval by the 8 week cut-off.
1 Stage 1: Area of interest identified
2 Stage 2: Specific topic selected
3 Stage 3: Topic refined to develop dissertation proposal
4 Stage 4: Proposal written and submitted
5 Stage 5: Collection of data and information
6 Stage 6: Analysis and interpretation of collected data/information
7 Stage 7: Writing up
8 Stage 8: Final draft prepared - submission of dissertation
9 Final Deadline - nine months from classroom date.
Chapter 1: Aims of the Dissertation
The first section of the dissertation body should provide the introduction to the problem to be addressed by the dissertation research. The problem statement may discuss relevant literature as necessary to support the existence of the problem and/or provide pertinent background information, but the literature review is the place for most of this material. At the conclusion of the problem statement, the reader should have a clear understanding of the problem to be addressed in the dissertation.
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
This is an examination of the literature relevant to the dissertation problem, and the problem statement should logically flow out of it. Ideally, all relevant research directly bearing on the dissertation problem should be included, but the most important outcome is that you do not directly repeat research that has been done already and that you identify the theoretical basis of your work. Every effort should be made to include at least some recent relevant literature.
Chapter 3: Methodology
The methodology section presents the details of the research process; it is the way or ways you answer the problem specified in the aims section. Although the exact content of this section will vary as a function of the nature of the particular research, the methodology section should generally include the following topics:
1. Participants and/or sites: This will include detailed descriptions: who or what they are; where they are located; why and how they were chosen; how access will be obtained; ethical concerns regarding access such as confidentiality; when and how often met with, etc.
2. Role of the researcher: This will include a detailed description of what posture(s) you will take as a researcher, such as participant-observer, clinical interviewer, etc. Address how these roles fit with the research questions and theoretical framework, and how your prior experience, research or otherwise, will affect the study in terms of researcher bias.
3. Data gathering or data generation techniques: You will include a detailed rationale and descriptions of what was done, when, how, how long, why, etc.
4. Data analysis: You will describe the proposed analytic process, your rationale for choosing it, and the various steps involved in it, whether graphical, statistical or other.
5. Trustworthiness of the method: Discuss issues such as validity, reliability, ethics, and ability to generalise. Discuss also the validity and reliability of the data.
Chapter 4: Presentation of Results
This is where you explain the data you've collected-tables, summary of findings, etc. Analysis goes in the next chapter.
Chapter 5: Analysis of Data
This is where your analysis of the data appears.
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations
State what you can conclude from the research, the implications of the results and what further research would be advantageous.
Presentational Requirements
You should print your own copy to keep and to verify that your document prints appropriately. You do not need to submit a ‘hard' paper copy to the University.
Submitting your dissertation in electronic format as a Word document is the usual format.
Referencing and text format must follow the Harvard citation style; the library Web site has details of this.
Times New Roman, Arial, or other easily readable fonts are acceptable.
Nonstandard typefaces or scripts are not acceptable.
All text must be double spaced, except tables, which must be single-spaced. Font sizes should be 12 point for text and 10 point for footnotes. Style should be consistent throughout the document, including preliminaries, end matter, table headings, figures and captions. There is no formal limit on file size, but you should use an appropriate resolution. High-resolution photographs add little or nothing to academic value, and you may be asked to produce a smaller version if you have produced an unreasonable size of file. A file size of less than 2 megabytes is usual.
Management Dissertation Proposal
This document is intended to provide some guidance on the development of the Proposal. Carefully read the following as you begin to plan your work.
Your Proposal is a kind of ‘screening document' for your DA to review and approve before the end of Week 8, in order to make sure that you are setting off in the right direction for your main research. It is therefore very useful for all concerned.
1. Aim, objectives and feasibility of the dissertation
In this section, explain your topic area. Include appropriate background information and an explanation of why this topic is of interest to you (and why it should be of interest to others). What is motivating your research? What is the potential benefit to your firm or industry? What actions may result from the valuable insights gained? What is the academic angle of your research? How does it tie in with your management studies from your modules? What underlying academic theories and constructs are of particular relevance to your research?
Next, clearly state the aim of your research. This should be a general but concise statement indicating the purpose of the study. Then, consider what you intend to achieve through your dissertation (i.e. present your research questions). Follow this with the research objectives. What specific objectives (analyse, investigate, explain, etc.) do you intend to meet during the course of the research to achieve the aim of the study?
Finally, include a brief discussion of the feasibility of your study. Do you have the necessary resources (such as access to requisite data, consent of your organisation, some indication of the willingness of subjects to be questioned or interviewed, etc.)? You will need to be able to demonstrate that this is feasible for a 7-month project.
You should start to draft this Proposal section for your RM module during Week 1 & Week 2 Proposal Assignments, then refine it further over the next 2 weeks and then with your DA in Weeks 5-7.
2. Literature review
In this section, you will discuss how your work fits with the existing published work. Find at least 10 sources of academic information (references) connected to the work you propose to do and analyse them to show how your research may fill or extend an existing gap. Compare and contrast the sources with each other and with your approach. Remember that you must paraphrase the articles in your own words (appropriately referenced, of course) and synthesise their potential contribution to your research; they should not be presented as a 'list' of articles. At least half of the sources must be from refereed academic journals, which will be found in the online library. Citations from the main textbooks used for your modules are NOT sufficient here. However, you may find it useful to use the bibliographies in these texts to point you in the direction of some initial, more detailed, academic papers.
List your references in a bibliography at the end of your Proposal, using the Harvard referencing system. These references will comprise part of your full bibliography once your dissertation gets started. They can also be included in your literature review chapter of your final submission.
3. Research methodology and methods
Your dissertation gives you the opportunity to explore in detail some aspect of theory, knowledge or skills that you have encountered during the taught modules of your degree. The research process that you will undertake will require you to engage in some way with theory and its relationship to managerial practice. However, there are different ways that you might approach this task. In this section, you will discuss your research methodology. Consider the epistemological approach that you intend to take-is it positivist, relativist or constructionist? Your epistemological approach will inform the research design you choose (action research, survey, case study, etc.). Next, consider the research methods that you will use to collect both the secondary and primary data. Will you undertake a pilot study? What about your questionnaire design and sample? You must be able to justify your choice in terms of your learning objectives, your research question and your research approach.
Language Style - UK
No of words:- 12/ 3000 words
Attachment:- Management Dissertation Proposal.zip