Posted: June 27th, 2015

MBA Dissertation → Version 1.0 (Framework/Draft)→ Dissertation Proposal given

M10-­‐1
TASK
Dissertation
–
Framework
&
Draft
MBA
Dissertation
à
Version
1.0
(Framework/Draft)à
Dissertation
Proposal
given
Based
on
the
given
Dissertation
Proposal
(uploaded).
FINAL
DISSERTATION:
Total
word
count
of
the
final
dissertation
should
be
between
15,000
to
20,000
words
approximately.
This
DOES
NOT
include
the
cover
page,
acknowledgements,
table
of
contents,
abstract,
references
or
appendices.
It
is
only
the
body
of
the
paper
to
which
this
word
range
applies.
DRAFT:
Approximate
word
count
per
section
of
dissertation
draft,
focus
onto
the
framework
–
it
is
the
first
draft,
which
should
help
you
to
get
things
started.
Your
dissertation
proposal
and
topic
is
the
ultimative
guideline
to
fullfil
this
task.
Dissertation
1.0
(draft)
Dissertation
2.0
Dissertation
n
Final
Dissertation
Timeline
Week
1
Week
2
-­‐
4
Week
4
-­‐
20
Week
20
Cover
Page
needed
needed
needed
final
Table
of
contents
first
version
needed
Confirmation
of
ethics
clearance
extra,
not
necessary
extra,
not
necessary
extra,
not
necessary
Acknowledgements
get
started
ongoing
Abstract
150
-­‐
200
words
Focus
and
finalize,
max.
200
words
Introduction
At
least
500
words
500
+
500
new
words
2000-­‐2500
Lit
Review
1,000
words
1000
+
1500
new
words
3500-­‐5000
Methodology
1,000
words
1000
+
500
new
words
2500-­‐3000
//
interviews
&
data
collection
Get
started,
name
first
needs
and
aspects
out
of
lit
review
prepare
/
get
started
500
new
words
Analysis
not
possible
500
new
words
5000-­‐6500
Conclusion
not
possible
you
might
have
first
conclusions?
2500-­‐3000
Abstract
get
started
Appendices
get
started
References
Min.
20
references
(peerviewed
articles
ONLY)
Harvard
referencing,
focus
onto
given
once
Min.
20
new
references
Harvard
DETAILS
&
EXPECTATIONS:
Abstract
-­‐
Aims
of
the
Dissertation
(150
–
200
words)
You
should
be
able
to
state
the
aims
in
not
more
than
two
sentences.
What
exactly
is
it
that
you
want
to
accomplish?
Once
you
state
the
aims,
you
can
and
should
continue
in
this
section
to
explain
the
reasoning
for
your
aims.
The
aims
of
the
dissertation
are
to:
• put
into
practice
theories
and
concepts
learned
on
the
programme;
• provide
an
opportunity
to
study
a
particular
topic
in
depth;
• show
evidence
of
independent
investigation;
• combine
relevant
theories
and
suggest
alternatives;
• enable
interaction
with
practitioners
(where
appropriate
to
the
chosen
topic)
Chapter
1
–Introduction
–
stay
close
to
the
Dissertation
Proposal
and
focus
(500
words)
Based
on
your
dissertation
topic
you
should
focus
at
the
beginning
onto
definitions:
• What
are
traits?
Different
viewing
onto
traits…
• What
are
projects?
Different
definitions
and
aspects
of
…
• What
are
start-­‐ups?
Differences
to
normal
entrepreneur
firms?
…
• What
is
innovation?
• etc
This
guides
you
through
your
literature
review
and
helps
you
in
the
research
methodology.
The
dissertation
should
be
divided
into
chapters
and
sections
appropriate
to
the
topic
and
type
of
dissertation
chosen.
If
writing
a
dissertation
by
translation/commentary,
refer
to
Appendix
1
for
appropriate
order
of
parts.
The
following
elements
are
typical
of
the
traditional
dissertation.
The
first
draft
and
its
overall
structure
of
your
dissertation
will
be
discussed
with
your
academic
supervisor.
The
context
in
which
the
research
took
place:
• What
is
the
background,
the
context,
in
which
the
research
took
place?
• Why
is
this
subject
or
issue
important
• Who
are
the
key
participants
and/or
‘actors’
in
the
area
under
investigation?
• Are
there
important
trends
or
pivotal
variables
of
which
the
reader
needs
to
be
made
aware?
• A
clear
and
succinct
statement
of
the
aims
and
objectives
that
the
• dissertation
is
going
to
address.
• Have
you
presented
a
clear
and
unambiguous
exposition
of
your
research
aim,
the
objectives
you
will
address
to
meet
this
aim
and
your
research
questions?
The
reasons
why
this
study
was
carried
out:
• Was
this
study
undertaken
for
example
in
order
to
test
some
aspect
of
• professional
or
business
practice
or
theory
or
framework
of
analysis?
• Was
the
research
carried
out
to
fulfil
the
demands
of
a
business
• organisation?
The
way
the
Dissertation
is
to
be
organised
-­‐
stay
close
to
the
Dissertation
Proposal
and
focus:
You
should
write
your
dissertation
with
the
idea
in
mind
that
the
intended
reader
and
reviewer
has
some
shared
understanding
of
the
area
being
investigated,
however,
underpinning
concepts
and
arguments
still
need
to
be
included
as
otherwise
the
depth
of
research
will
be
compromised.
In
this
way,
you
will
not
be
tempted
to
make
too
many
implicit
assumptions,
i.e.
by
making
the
erroneous
assumptions
that
the
reader
has
your
degree
of
knowledge
about
the
matters
in
question
or
can
follow,
exactly,
your
thought
processes
without
your
spelling
them
out.
It
should
be
a
document
which
is
‘self-­‐contained’
and
does
not
need
any
additional
explanation,
or
interpretation,
or
reference
to
other
documents
in
order
that
it
may
be
fully
understood.
This
short
final
section
of
the
Introduction
should
tell
the
reader
what
topics
are
going
to
be
discussed
in
each
of
the
chapters
and
how
the
chapters
are
related
to
each
other.
In
this
way,
you
are,
in
effect,
providing
the
reader
with
a
‘road
map’
of
the
work
ahead.
Thus,
at
a
glance,
they
can
see
(1)
where
they
are
starting
from,
(2)
the
context
in
which
the
journey
is
taking
place,
(3)
where
they
are
going
to
end
up,
and
(4)
the
route
which
they
will
take
to
reach
their
final
destination.
Such
a
‘map’
will
enable
the
reader
to
navigate
their
way
through
your
work
much
more
easily
and
appreciate
to
the
maximum
what
you
have
done.
This
chapter
may
be
about
500
to
max.
750
words
although
in
some
subjects
or
topics
the
justification
of
the
subject
and
scope
may
change
the
length
of
this
chapter.
A
more
detailed
exegesis
(OK!
Unpacking)
of
the
title;
which
may
include
reasons
for
the
choice
of
certain
words,
the
reason
for
the
part
after
the
colon
(which
is
generally
to
qualify
and
restrict
the
aspirations
of
the
main
title);
• “Generating
a
theory
of
everything:
necessity
and
sufficiency
in
explanatory
accounts
of
the
physical
world
by
seven
and
eight
year
old
children
in
an
inner-­‐city
school.”
Why
that
grandiose
first
part?
What
it
meant
by
“necessity
and
sufficiency”
in
this
context?
In
turn
this
may
lead
into…
The
more
specific
research
hypotheses
to
be
tested
or
questions
to
be
answered.
Each
can
be
spelt
out
and
then
commented
on
for
a
paragraph
or
so.
Do
this
with
a
view
to
re-­‐
visiting
them
in
the
conclusion.
(In
practice
you
may
well
be
writing
this
after
writing
the
conclusion,
of
course.
But
you
might
already
have/name
tendencies.)
Tie
these
in
to
the
aims
and
objectives—it
may
of
course
make
more
sense
to
re-­‐arrange
these
items
in
order
to
make
the
links
clearer.
There
is
nothing
sacrosanct
about
the
order
in
which
they
are
presented
here.
Exclusions:
you
have
to
get
these
in
somewhere,
and
up-­‐front
is
the
best
place;
• “The
scope
of
the
study
does
not
extend
to
a
consideration
of…
because
of
lack
of
time/resources/space…”
“
• As
discussed
in
the
Literature
Review
below,
most
previous
work
in
this
area
has
concentrated
on…
On
this
occasion,
however,
attention
is
directed
at…”
Chapter
2
-­‐
Literature
Review
–
stay
close
to
the
Dissertation
Proposal
and
focus
(1,000
words)
As
a
starting
point
for
your
first
draft
you
should
concentrate
onto
given
once.
Structure
them
and
begin
with
your
draft.
GIVEN
ONCE:
please
send
your
email-­‐account;
you
will
get
full
access
to
a
dropbox-­‐link
–
for
downloads
This
is
the
most
important
section
of
your
dissertation
as
without
a
solid
review
of
relevant
literature,
you
will
not
have
sufficient
base
with
which
to
analyse,
recommend
and
conclude
the
questions
and
issues
of
your
dissertation
topic.
Make
sure
that
you
paraphrase
the
articles,
in
your
own
words
and
that
you
cover
all
sections
and
sub-­‐sections
of
your
topic.
The
Literature
Review
must
be
a
critical
analysis
and
through
the
Literature
Review,
the
student
must
briefly
strive
to
determine
the
following:
a.
What
do
some
authors
say
compared
to
others?
-­‐
(Compare
and
Contrast)
b.
What
do
none
of
the
authors
cover?
-­‐
(Gaps
in
the
Literature
-­‐
if
you
can
detect
any)
c.
What
do
the
authors
all
say
consistently?
-­‐
(Commonalities)
d.
What
might
be
the
key
areas
of
debate
and
why?
-­‐
(Differences)
Chapter
3
-­‐
Research
Design
and
Methodology
-­‐
–
stay
close
to
the
Dissertation
Proposal
and
focus
(1,000
words)
• Introduction
to
the
chapter
–
explaining
what
the
reader
will
find
–
and
link
from
previous
chapter
• An
explanation
of
the
research
design
–
how
the
research
will
be
conducted
• An
explanation
of
the
methods
chosen
and
why.
• A
link
between
the
chosen
method
(questionnaire/interviews/focus
groups
etc),
and
the
literature,
hypotheses/sub-­‐questions
and
the
research
question
• Detail
of
population
to
be
investigated
and
why
• Detail
of
sample
size
and
why
• Detail
of
pilot
study
-­‐
you
will
also
want
to
do
a
Beta
test
of
this
study,
typically
using
your
associates,
family
members
or
acquaintances.
You
should
not
use
the
same
group
of
people
who
will
eventually
complete
the
final
version.
• Detail
of
how
reliability
and
validity
will
be
managed.
Does
the
survey
measure
what
you
want
it
to
measure,
i.e.,
is
it
valid?
And
is
it
a
reliable
measure
of
what
you
want,
i.e.,
can
it
be
repeated
with
reliability?
Do
you
have
any
bias
in
your
questions
because
of
1)
what
you
hope
the
outcome
will
be
and
2)
is
your
own
company
or
employer
hoping
that
you
will
obtain
results
satisfactory
to
him/her?
• A
brief
outline
of
the
methodological
weaknesses
and
how
you
will
deal
with
these.
• Chapter
summary
and
link
to
next
chapter
Chapter
4
–
Results
(not
for
the
draft)
• You
will
show
the
results
of
your
surveys
or
interviews
here
but
if
you
have
a
survey
of
20
questions
you
do
not
need
to
provide
a
detailed
presentation
of
every
answer.
You
can
summarise
some
answers,
like
the
respondents’
demographics.
The
entire
survey
should
be
placed
into
the
appendix.
Chapter
5
-­‐
Analysis
of
findings
(not
for
the
draft)
Analyse
the
results
of
your
surveys
and
interviews
with
a
view
of
integrating
them,
if
that
is
possible,
to
your
secondary
research.
Chapter
6
-­‐
Conclusions
and
Recommendations
(not
for
the
draft)
Be
dispassionate
in
this
section.
Don’t
put
something
in
it
simply
because
you
or
your
employer
or
others
involved
in
your
research
hope
that
it
will
turn
out
as
you
originally
planned.
It’s
okay
if
your
research
proves
or
shows
your
hypothesis/hypotheses
invalid.