LO2: Identify an appropriate business management issue and plan a research project to address this

BMP5001 Business Management and Career Development

Learning Outcomes Assessed:

LO2:  Identify an appropriate business management issue and plan a research project to address this LO3:  Apply an effective research approach to a mini project LO4:  Appraise key research findings and make appropriate recommendations

Assessment Brief

 

As part of this module you are required to complete up to 200 hours work based learning (WBL) on a placement in an appropriate (local) organisation. This assignment seeks to capture the results of the WBL activity in the form of a formal report, treating the placement as a practical research project.

Working with your main contact(s) at your selected WBL placement provider, you are to:

• agree a suitable ‘business’ subject area for investigation
• identify  a specific question of interest / value to the employer
• undertake secondary / academic / desk based research  into the subject
• investigate the question in the context of the employer organisation
• develop informed conclusions and recommendations from your ‘research’
• present your findings back to the employer
• write a 4000 word formal report on the research project completed during your WBL placement.

Your report should be appropriately formatted, using the approach discussed in taught sessions during the module and reflecting the highly applied nature of your research, especially as this relates to the sponsoring WBL placement organisation.

As a minimum, you should include the following separate sections, which are outlined for guidance:

1          Front page (Not part of the word count) - Your student ID, the name of your WBL Placement organisation, The title of your WBL placement project (e.g. How can Social Media Help Olympus Fish Bar Find More Customers?”, the Module number (BMP5001) and the words ‘Assignment 2 – Mini Project  Report’

2          Contents Page (Not part of the word count) (including page numbers for each section, but not sub sections)

3          Acknowledgement   (Not part of the word count) – Please write a short note of thanks to your main contact(s) within your WBL Placement organisation, for their help in making your WBL journey possible

4          Section 1 – Introduction (250-300 words) Use this section to set the scene for your WBL placement, describing your WBL placement organisation, what they do, and how you came to undertake your placement with this organisation. Explain what general business subject your placement was focussed on (e.g. marketing, finance, HR etc) and who were the main people you worked with during the placement.

5          Section 2 - WBL Question, Aim and Objectives (200-300 words) Use this section to identify the specific question that you set out initially to find answers to in your placement. Explain the general aim of your research and identify up to three specific / SMART objectives that you agreed with your WBL placement sponsor (these should have been set out in your ToR for Assignment 1)

6          Section 3 - Secondary Research / Mini-Literature Review (1500-1800 words). Use this section to present your findings from having researched the subject area using relevant academic sources (journals, books etc) and any documents provided to you by your WBL placement organisation (reports, manuals, policies, procedures, marketing materials etc.). In terms of your academic research you should aim to include at least 10 sources to demonstrate that you have connected your research question to relevant theory. You should aim to present key issues, themes, theories, models, graphics (pictures explaining theory), writers and their ideas within this section, and link these to your WBL question, aims and objectives.

7          Section 4 – Primary Research (1000-1200 words). Use this section to explain how you went about collecting information & data from your WBL placement provider. Explain why you chose to collect particular information and the reasons for using the sources that you obtained the information from. Explain the relevance and effectiveness of the data collection tools / techniques you used (e.g. questionnaire, interview, document analysis) and identify any limitations or constraints that affected the quality of the data you were able to collect.  Consider how you might approach this part of your research differently if you were to undertake the project again.

8          Section 5 – Evaluation (500-600 words) Use this section to explore your research question in terms of how well it enabled you to learn about the particular aspect of business from an academic (secondary) perspective. What were the most important / insightful / surprising things / findings to come out of your secondary research – why & how were these important / insightful / surprising to you? Comment on how the secondary research informed your thinking about the subject in the context of your WBL placement organisation. How did what you found at the employer site compare to what you read in the literature? Would you modify the question now, knowing what you now know about the subject, the industry context and the employer? Add any further comments as appropriate about things you observed during your placement.

9          Section 6 – Conclusions and Recommendations (250-300 words). Use this section to set out any conclusions arising from the work you undertook during your placement and from the research you completed (secondary and primary). Make sure that any comments you set out are properly supported by ‘evidence’ you include in your report and that they link appropriately to the research question, aims and objectives you started out with (or ended up with, if these changed during your project!). Likewise with recommendations, make sure that there is a logical link to the content of your report, so that these appear to be supported by clear evidence. Set out any ‘Next Steps’ you believe should be taken following the completion of your WBL placement.

10        Reflective Statement (300-400 words) Use this section to outline what you have gained from undertaking the assignment. Consider aspects such as how your thinking has changed around the research process, undertaking project work, the industry in which your WBL placement took place, your perceptions of the WBL employer where you did your placement and in particular, how you have changed personally as a result of the placement.

11        Appendices (Not part of your word count) Use this section to list any sources used in compiling your report, including academic sources (journals, research papers, books, articles etc.) and materials gathered from your WBL placement provider (e.g. manuals, guides, marketing materials, leaflets, policies, letters, email correspondence etc ). In addition, please include a clean copy of any research tools used in your project, such as questionnaires, structured / semi-structured interview scripts.