INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

School of Business

Dissertation
December 2009

Dissertation Basics
Require for every students. 12 credits Must be taken in one semester. No lectures. Supervison sessions are required.

Topics & Supervisors

You must come up with a topic, which you refine into a question with a supervisor Topics usually link to a module you have studied, and a particular industry, personal interest, etc.

What you need to achieve

You must have a suitable question. A good dissertation needs to: 1. Identify a research question and approach. 2. Demonstrate relevant secondary knowledge (literature review). 3. Make a contribution (primary research). 4. Reach a conclusion. A good dissertation demonstrates a general research competence beyond your topic.

Proposal
Introduction (about content and context of research) Indicate the subject area of interest Provide background information putting the problem into context: theoretical/ historical/ geographical/ organizational Rationale for the study

Proposal (cont)
Problem statement: Summary the main problem that will be solved in the study or the research questions Objectives: present the objectives of the study that will lead to solve the stated problems/ research questions

Proposal (cont)
Research methodology:
Show the process through which the topic was narrowed down Present the source of information and data collection methods that will be used in the study Information source: Primary/ Secondary Present/ explain the key concepts/ techniques that use for defining problem/ analyzing problem/ proposing solution

Main Research methodologies

Qualitative (qualitative approach, data) Quantitative (quantitative approach, data)

Proposal (cont)
Scope and limitation of the study Implications of the study Who will benefit from this study Research structure/ organization Present the structure / content of study

Chapter 1 Introduction (of the Study)

Introduction Research Problems and Objectives Research Methodology Scope and Limitations Significant/ Implications of the study Organization of the study

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter presents the concepts/ theory that use as foundation for analyses/ suggestions/ solutions in the study This chapter can also present the related studies Avoid to list all related concepts/ theories should focus on the key ones. Discussion on how and why these concepts/ theories are applied for the study

Chapter 3: Introduction of study context

Introduction about company/ industry

Chapter 4: Main findings

Chapter 5: Conclusions & Recommendations

Conclusions
Main findings of the study

Recommendations
How to implement the solutions action plan What should be done in further study to restrict the limitations of this study

Types of undergrad. dissertation

Descriptive type of research Problem solving approach
(S.G Naoum, 2001)

Example of Descriptive Research

Research Question:
Marketing and the private house building companies: which marketing philosophy do company have?

Rationale:
Peter & Waterman (1982) point out that the most successful US firms were characterized by a common dedication to marketing. The size of private housing market in relation to total construction output is rather significant (14%). Hence the proposed study is an important one and the author will be focusing on the marketing philosophy of the private house-building companies.

Example of Descriptive Research

Objectives:
To survey the private house-building companies and investigate the following: Their business philosophy Marketing information system Marketing planning and policy To test the relationship between the companies marketing philosophy and their financial performance To make the recommendations

Hypothesis: Most of private house-building companies adopt the sales oriented philosophy Private house-building companies that adopt a high marketing profile perform better financially

Example of Descriptive Research

Methodology:
Stage 1: Literature review
Concepts: Marketing and Marketing philosophy Previous research: Construction industry, financial performance, relationship between marketing philosophy and financial performance

Stage 2: Research design

Design the preliminary questionnaire: based on objectives and previous study Sample size and data collection method

Stage 3: Pilot study

To test the validity of the questionnaire through in-depth interview

Stage 4: Main survey questionnaire

Finalize the questionnaire Collect data

Example of Descriptive Research

Stage 5: Analysis the questionnaire
Check the data, test validity and reliability Use appropriate statistical methods to analyze data

Stage 6: writing report

Proposed structure of the dissertation

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Marketing theory and principles Chapter 3: Marketing and the construction industry Chapter 4: Research design and methodology Chapter 5: Analysis of the results and discussion Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations

Example of Problem - solving approach

Research questions
What is the benefit of applying/ deploying the total quality management in the case of ABC company?

Rationale:
The problem of quality and its associated costs has been of great concern to most industries since the early 1960s. Many companies have pursued and implemented innovative quality management techniques such as QA or TQM. Oakland (1990) defined TQM as The preliminary literature review revealed that Boardmans measurement chart is simple but comprehensive and can be used to give a visual representation of the organizations current position in a TQM program Based on this background, this research will be using the matrix model developed by the Trafalgar House Quality Management Services organization as a tool to identify the specific problem in ABC company to make the recommendations for improving the quality

Example of Problem - solving approach

Objectives
To review the concept and principles of TQM and advantages of the TQM system To measure the efficiency of the current quality management system in ABC company and to identify the problem within the system To recommend a new TQM system for the company To evaluate the propose TQM

Methodology
Stage 1: literature research To develop an understanding of previous studies in the field of TQM

Example of Problem - solving approach

Methodology
Stage 2: exploratory interview Use matrix of Trafalgar House Quality Management Services to draft an unstructured questionnaire for interviews some companies that have implemented a TQM system Stage 3: case study Use ABC company as a case to study the possible implementation of a systematic TQM. Interviews with employees will take place to score the level of quality effectiveness Stage 4: evaluation of present TQM system at ABC Bring together and review the information collected in previous stages

Example of Problem - solving approach

Proposed contents of dissertation
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Total quality management concepts and implementations Chapter 3 Designing the case study and research methodology Chapter 4 Analyzing and evaluating the case study evidence Chapter 5 Conclusions and suggestions for further study

Research Topics in Business management

 Corporate strategy  Start-up company (feasibility study)  Production management (Improving productivity, inventory mgt, supply chain mgt., quality mgt. project mgt.; Service quality etc.)  HRM (recruitment, training, evaluation, job satisfaction, employee behavior )  Management Leadership styles, corporate culture  Performance appraisal system

Research Topics in Marketing

         Marketing strategy Consumer behavior (market research) B2B/ B2C marketing (E-commerce) Advertising & PR: impression management, logos, image building Distribution Product development, product innovation Product positioning Branding: Brand loyalty, Customer complaints

Research Topics in International Business

 Issues of functional management (marketing, finance, management ) in an international/ multinational firm  Cross-cultural management (differentiates, leadership styles  Import export management (payment, risk )

Research Topics in Finance

Stock/ Firm valuation Project Appraisal Financial and Business Analysis Capital structuring decision Working Capital Management Tests of Market Efficiency Portfolio performance evaluation Tests of International Parity conditions Risk assessment, exchange rate fluctuations and foreign investment  Tax implication of reorganization or firm or acquisition of companies         

Example
What will be the impact of the Internet on the Marketing of Football Clubs?

1. Introduction 2. Literature review on the impact of Internet on marketing (in general) 3. Literature review on the football industry 4. Questionnaire research on the impact of the Internet on football club marketing 5. Interviews with football marketing managers 6. Conclusion