Final Management Project

Student Handbook
2015-2016

GGSB Postgraduate Programs

Inspiring ideas and talent*

MANAGEMENT, TECHNOLOGIE &
INNOVATION

Grenoble Graduate School of Business

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 2

SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL TRACKS ………………………………………………….…………………… 6

DELIVERABLES………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS………………………………………………………………………. 7

TIMELINE & DEADLINES………………………………………………………………………………………. 8

TOPIC SELECTION ……………………………………………………………………………………… 8

TOPIC RESEARCH……….……………………………………………………………………………… 10

STRUCTURE………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11

CONCLUSIONS AND DEVELOPING CRITICAL ANALYSIS…………………………………………………….. 12

REFERENCING………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

FORMAT OF THE PROJECT…………………………………………………………………………………. 15

INDICATIVE READING………………………………………………………………………………………. 15

GRADING GUIDELINES………………………………………………………………………………………. 16

PLAGIARISM ………………………………………………………………………………………………….16

EXTRACT OF TURNITIN “W HITE PAPER: THE PLAGIARISM SPECTRUM”…………………………………. 18

EVALUATION GRID FOR THE PROJECT PROPOSAL………………………………………………………….19

EVALUATION GRID FOR THE FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT………………………………………………. 21

CONTACT WITH THE SCHOOL TUTOR…………………………………………………………………….. 24

GRADUATION DATES…………………………………………………………………………………………25

1
INTRODUCTION
In order to be awarded a postgraduate degree, students are required to successfully complete a Final
Management Project. It should reflect the learning obtained during their degree program and should
address a real issue. This handbook is designed to help students meet the required standards: to walk
them through the Project process, the expectations, academic and administrative requirements, and
assessment criteria and to provide support for the Research Methodology they will receive in the
course of their program.

STUDENTS ARE REMINDED THAT:

“For the eventual award of a Master’s degree, the following is required:

 a minimum overall average of 10/20 on the taught part of the program, where no individual
module or sub-module mark is below 10/20
 a minimum grade of 10/20 for the Project Proposal
 a minimum grade of 10/20 for the Final Management Project
 a minimum average grade of 10/20 for the language module (where applicable)
To be eligible for the award of a Master’s degree, students must have completed all of the
requirements of the program, including the Final Management Project, in strict compliance with the
schedules and timelines defined for the cohort in which the student is enrolled or deferred.
In order for students to be able to proceed to the project stage of a Master’s program a minimum
overall average of 10/20 for the taught part of the program (excluding language modules), where no
individual module or sub-module grade is below 10/20, and a grade of at least 10/20 in the language
module (where applicable) must be obtained. In the event that a student does not meet the above
conditions he/she will not be allowed to submit a project and will not be awarded a Master’s
degree. In the event that a student has an overall degree average of 12/20 or more in the non-
language modules but has one fail grade not below 6/20 for any one module or sub-module, providing
all required resits and resubmissions have been completed, the Interim Examination Board having
considered the circumstances and overall performance of the student may at its sole discretion decide
to allow the student to proceed to the project with the requisite number of ECTS; or it may require the
student to retake the failed module with a future student intake. In such cases however the student will
not in either case be eligible for the eventual award of a distinction; and any retaken modules will have
the overall module mark capped at 10/20.
The overall average for the taught part of the program referred to in the above does not take into
account the language modules.

If a student has successfully completed the taught part of the program with an
overall average of 10/20 but does not submit a Final Management Project,
he/she will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma.”

―Excerpt from GGSB General Rules and Regulations.

2
SUMMARY
WHY IS A FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT IMPORTANT?
The Final Management Project (FMP) should be the culmination of the students’ postgraduate
program. This is their opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired during the course of their program
to a specific business problem in their field.

Students should demonstrate their ability to develop and execute the Project in a fairly autonomous
manner and to collect and analyze data that is appropriate to explore a specific research question.

A high quality Project also demonstrates students are capable of completing a major project within a
given time frame and of meeting assigned specifications. It is important that the FMP as well as the
information it contains are well presented, logical, coherent and comprehensible.

These skills are valuable and will be beneficial in the students’ future career. Many companies, when
hiring graduates wish to know more about their performance and the quality of work they are able to
produce - the project offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to integrate individual
core subjects and to relate in-class learning to real-world problems and situations.

During their FMP, students will be supervised by an assigned tutor. Regular, scheduled contact with
the tutor is required and milestone checks and evaluations are performed for each progressive chapter
and stage of completion. Further information can be found on MY GGSB.

Two tracks are possible at the end of the taught part: one that will base the FMP upon a professional
experience (internship, work contract, undertaken in Year 2 of the program), or another that is purely
academic. Once their track is chosen, students can start working on their FMP, which is divided into 2
separate deliverables.

WHAT IS THE PROJECT PROPOSAL?

To help students manage their Project development effectively, we ask them to prepare a Project
Proposal (PP) towards the end of the taught part of the program – for more details on deadlines per
program, please refer to MyGGSB.

This PP should be used as a working document for the FMP. It should be word processed, and
approximately 2,000 words in length, excluding bibliography. The PP will serve several objectives:

 It will help students crystallize their thoughts and develop a focus for the project, and avoid an
investment in impractical research.
 It will help students avoid procrastination.
 It will provide a soundly reasoned starting point.

Students should engage in some substantial reading, and perhaps discussions with academics and
practicing professionals, before commencing the PP.

The tutor must approve the Project Proposal and, as a result, students must have formally
passed their PP with a mark of at least 10/20 before they can proceed to succeeding stages of
the FMP. Once the topic has been approved, changes of the topic are not possible.

WHAT IS THE FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT?

The FMP culminates with the submission of a written thesis of 15,000 words in English. The thesis
should demonstrate that the students have treated a current and debatable research problem in an in-
depth and scientific manner. After having theoretically and empirically explored the research question,
they should be able to offer innovative and applicable solutions for organization(s), industry/industries,

3
and/or sector(s) in question. This work should involve a literature review, generation of hypotheses,
empirical research conducted “in the field” and conclusions.

WHAT KINDS OF PROJECTS ARE ACCEPTABLE AS THE FINAL MANAGEMENT

PROJECT?
Two kinds of Projects are acceptable as conforming to the requirements of the FMP:

1. A project which addresses a managerial problem and proposes solutions to these problems.
The final output of this kind of a study could be a graduating thesis involving the case study on a
specific problem or a specific company. In this sense, this would be an action research project.
In this case, students should be careful not to generalize the findings of their study.

2. A more academic research project, which addresses a knowledge gap in existing international
business literature. The final output of this study would be the FMP. Students will be
encouraged to write in the style of a research paper, worthy of being submitted to an
international conference or in certain cases, a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Irrespective of the choice of the kind of project undertaken as the FMP, each student is required to
provide evidence of scientific rigor and credibility. Each FMP should have a section on identifying the
research problem(s), a relevant literature review, hypotheses (where the methodology demands it),
identification of dependent and independent variables (where suitable), justification of methodological
choice, primary and secondary data collection, data analysis, results and conclusions, suggestions for
future research, limitations, and managerial and theoretical implications.

WHAT STANDARDS IS THE FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT EXPECTED TO

ACHIEVE?
The expectations of the FMP are in line with the expectations of the Bologna Treaty (February 2005)
which dictates that a Master’s level program should require students to demonstrate:

 their capacity to develop original ideas or to apply them, often in the context of research,
 their capacity to use their knowledge, understanding, and ability to resolve problems in a new
environment and in a multidisciplinary context linked to their domain of scholarship, and
 their capacity to integrate knowledge, manage complexity, have the capacity to learn in a largely
autonomous manner.

The FMP should help students to cultivate a critical mindset, curiosity, and a spirit of innovation. The
critical abilities and sharpness of thinking developed during the course of this learning experience will
help them to achieve professional success and will facilitate steady progress in their careers.

WHAT KINDS OF TOPICS QUALIFY FOR THE FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT?

The research topic that students choose to work on should be a current business problem without
current answers. In order to have a tutor assigned to them, students will be asked to select a business
domain before the end of the taught part.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE FINAL MANAGEMENT
PROJECT?
 An abstract or executive summary (summary of the essential points of the project)
 An introduction (including the objectives of the project, identification of the research problem
being addressed)
 Key definitions, identification of the key variables (independent, dependent, confounding) if
necessary
 A section demonstrating the significance of the research and how the knowledge gap is being
addressed
 A literature review (a review of the most important pieces of literature in the student’s domain)
 A section on methodology including students’ arguments supporting their choice of
methodology among the different options available to them
 A section on how students collected data in the field. This section may also include a
discussion of the challenges encountered in collecting data and how students overcame them
 A section on data analysis

4
 A section on the results obtained from their data analysis. This section needs to be elaborated
to include a discussion of their findings
 A section on students’ theoretical and managerial implications
 A section on the limitations of their work, both theoretical and methodological
 Bibliography (in alphabetical order and fully referenced)
 Appendices

5
ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL TRACKS
HOW DO STUDENTS APPROACH THEIR FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT?
Students are tasked with developing the ability to investigate and evaluate existing business problems
and suggest solutions for them. In order to achieve this, students must read and research their topic
widely, but they must be careful not to fall into the trap of copying large amounts of factual information
or theory. In addition to extensive literature research, students should plan on doing field interviews,
surveys of hands-on practitioners, empirical testing and extensive analysis, using many of the tools
they learned about in their Master’s program.

It is important that the topic students select is interesting for them and that they feel there is some
value in the topic. The topic may be career-related, to help them prepare for future job opportunities.
All students, especially those undertaking a project of this type for the first time, will benefit by thinking
about the project in advance and starting early to narrow the work to a particular focus.

Students will work with an assigned tutor whose interests are close to theirs and who will help them
with the topic, format, structure, length, citations, information retrieval and mechanics of writing up the
project. It must be emphasized however that the tutor’s role is purely advisory and that the project
must essentially be the students’ own work. At the same time, the Program Director will ensure that
the topic students have chosen fits in with the objectives of the program to form a coherent
qualification.

Two tracks are possible at the end of the taught part: one that will base the Final Management Project
upon a professional experience (internship, work contract, etc.) and the other, will be purely academic.

 Professional Track
In order to base their Final Management Project on a professional experience, students will be
required to perform an internship or engage in a work contract that must last between 10 and 26
weeks and begin once the taught part of the program has been completed (maximum 6 months full
time). If students decide to do an internship, they may only do one and cannot accumulate several
missions in order to comply with the duration requirements. For MSc FDLM students, the professional
track is compulsory (with a minimum work contract duration of 13 weeks).

Students who decide to follow the professional track must plan it in accordance with potential resit
exams that they may have to take as per the academic calendar. Students who need to do (a) resit
exam(s) will need to make arrangements with their company in order be present for the exam(s). No
exceptions will be allowed.

Students must comply with the administrative requirements for internships in order to benefit from the
legal framework associated with internships and this includes the contractual aspects, the visa
requirements and the social security and insurance obligations. All international students must have a
valid “carte de séjour” during the period of the internship. Students must also be covered by the
French Sécurité Sociale for the duration of the internship.

All internships MUST be covered by a “convention de stage” (internship agreement) which will be
edited by the GGSB Internship Coordinator in Grenoble once students have filled in the e@si
database and once the tutors have validated their mission. The “convention de stage” is a contract
between the student, the company, and the School which is responsible for the student during the
internship. All three parties must sign the “convention de stage” before the start of the internship.
No student will be allowed to start an internship without a valid internship agreement.

6
  Academic Track

Except for the MSC FDLM students for whom the Professional track is mandatory, students may
follow the academic track if they have not engaged in a professional experience upon which to base
their Final Management Project (in compliance with deadlines).

To successfully complete the Final Management Project, students are required to address a particular
research question or knowledge gap in the field of their study. This should be business orientated and
coherent with their program’s objectives – in particular, for the MIB program the research question /
hypothesis should be international in context.

DELIVERABLES
 A company evaluation signed and stamped. (Mandatory for the professional track).

The tutor will send it to the student’s company tutor. The evaluation is to be sent to the tutor by the
company but students should take advantage of this opportunity to get some feedback from their
company tutor.

 An Internship report (Mandatory only for MSc FDLM Programs).

An internship report is required from the student (approximately 8000 words / between 20 and 25
pages). The report should be uploaded at the latest 1 month after the end of the internship to the tutor
who will grade it.

Please refer to the Internship Report Guidelines found in My GGSB.

 A Final Management Project (Mandatory for all Postgraduate Programs, regardless of the
track followed)

PART 1 – PROJECT PROPOSAL

Once students have obtained a minimum average of 10/20 for the taught part of the program, their
Project Proposal may be uploaded in order to be assessed by their tutor. This proposal will be graded
out of 20 and will be taken into account in their final overall program average (please refer to the
Program Handbook for relevant coefficients and number of credits).

For the Professional Track, the Proposal must include and be aligned to the nature and purpose of the
Internship or employment scope and clearly establish an inter-relation between the employment
environment and the proposed line of enquiry within the project.

PART 2 – FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT

Once students have confirmation of a minimum grade of 10/20 by their tutor for their PP, they may
proceed to their final project. The final project must be uploaded to and is assessed by their tutor. It
will be graded out of 20 and this grade will be taken into account in their final overall program average
(please refer to the Program Handbook for relevant coefficients and number of credits).

For the Professional Track, the student will demonstrate how the work experience contributed to their
FMP (research methodology, quantitative data, topic linked with the company they were in, etc.).

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS

To assist students in the project process, students will have the opportunity to participate in a research
methodology course. This course is delivered using a variety of teaching and learning methods across
different programs of GGSB. It aims to encourage maximum student participation and further develop
independence in learning.

7
TIMELINE & DEADLINES
April, 15th 1st deadline: Choice of Track & Business Domain
The student must have chosen which track to follow and which field will be the basis
of the FMP

September, 2st deadline: Confirmation of Track & FMP Topic

30th The student must have submitted the Project Proposal’s title for validation by the tutor.
Professional Track: the student must have found a professional experience that will be
used as a basis for the Final Management Project. An internship or work contract
must be signed before that deadline.
Students without an internship or work contract to base their FMP upon will follow the
academic track.

October, 30th 3rd deadline: Project Proposal Phase

The student must have uploaded the Project Proposal (2000 words).

March, 30th 4th deadline: Internship/Work Contract Phase

Professional Track only: The student must have finished the internship/work contract
by this deadline.

April, 30th 5th deadline: Final Management Project Phase

The student must have uploaded the Final Management Project (15000 words).

It is essential that deadlines for handling in project items are respected: failure to respect these
deadlines could result in grade penalties or even non-completion of the degree.

Students should refer to the General Rules and Regulations in the General Handbook and to the
Program timeline of the program for exact deadlines.

With regard to potential requests for extensions on these deadlines, the following policy applies to all
programs:

1. In the interest of being fair to all students, extensions will be exceptional and kept to a bare
minimum.
2. Extensions are not automatic. Requests for extensions need to be officially made to the
Program Director. Program coordinators are to be copied on all emails requesting extensions
from Program Directors.
3. Extensions may be considered as justified for reasons relating to serious health concerns
and/or personal problems (e.g. unfortunate events such as death in the family). When the
request for extensions is due to health-related reasons, it needs to be accompanied with
relevant medical certificates. These supporting documents are to be sent to the Program
Coordinator and not to the Program Director.

TOPIC SELECTION
PERSONAL OBJECTIVES
In general, the first step in selecting a topic for the management project is to identify an area of
particular interest which will help students to develop their skills or learn new ones, has significant
value for them or their organization/company and will help them to develop their career in a particular
direction.

8
Students should decide their personal objectives and the use to which their project will be put (job
hunt, developing a personal competitive advantage in one's own career management plan, pursuing
an academic career, etc.).

It will be helpful to think about who the target audience will be for their project – an existing or
prospective employer, a project tutor, the larger business and/or academic community. This will
provide, from the beginning, a useful focus for their work.

FEASIBILITY
The second step is to test the feasibility of the chosen topic. To do this, students need to consider the
following points:

 Availability and access to data and information

The mere availability of data should not be the prime factor in selecting a topic. However, it is
essential to ensure that sufficient data exists and that students will be able to have access to it. In
addition, they need to make sure that it can be collected within their budget constraints to enable
them to complete the project on time.

 Literature
The project should be based upon a specific area of established literature. Students should be able
to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the literature and how it relates to their research
question. Literature can be obtained by referring to books, academic journals, trade journals and
other credible sources. The Dieter Schmidt Library at GEM has access to a variety of databases
such as EBSCO, Proquest and many others. Students should aim to make the utmost use of these
databases or other databases available from their home universities to access credible literature.
Relying solely or excessively on popular press articles and internet-based literature is not
advisable.

 Time availability
Students need to be careful not to attempt too large a task in the time available. To help to
determine this, their project plan should include estimates for each of the activities for the whole
project and the necessary deadlines required to complete the project in the allocated time. If the
problem looks unmanageable in the time allotted, students should try to break it down into smaller
parts, or limit its scope. The tutor can be of key assistance to the students in this aspect of planning
the project.

 Personal skills and interests

The topic students choose should be within their capabilities and their interests including, perhaps,
their career ambitions. Students should carefully assess their interests and abilities to see whether
they match the proposed project. However, a project may be used to learn new skills or to broaden
their knowledge. Students may need to make sufficient allowance in their plan for the extra time
involved.

 Need for the research

There should be an identified need for the study that is recognized by the students andtheir tutor
and if relevant their company. Although the results may not have immediate application, it is
important for the Profesionnal Track that both the students and their company recognize that the
study is worthwhile. The process of compiling a project can be lengthy and exacting, so the
knowledge that the work will make a practical contribution can help sustain motivation.

 Risk involved
Students must remember that it is a program requirement to successfully complete the
management project. So students need to assess the risk that it will not be finished in the expected
time scale or prove impossible to complete. Students must be certain that they will be able to finish
the project in order to satisfy the program requirements.

Students may find it helpful at this stage to read the relevant section of HOWARD, K., SHARP, J. A.
(1993), The Management of a Student Research Project, Gower, Selecting and Justifying a Research
Topic, pp. 21-45, which expands on how to approach this issue.

9
TOPIC RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH
There are different ways of developing a project and no methodology is perfect. One recognized and
well-established method is to use the traditional scientific approach, which has the following distinctive
features:

 It focuses on a specific issue or problem (or set of issues or problems), or hypothesis which is
clearly expressed at the outset and then tested through research and analysis.

 It makes reference to and builds on a suitable body of literature.

 It establishes a specific research question.

 It has a clear framework for the analysis to arrive at findings from practical research which
enables students to:
a. Make statements that lead to a resolution of the issue or problem or to substantiate or refute
the hypothesis
b. Comment on the suitability of the framework selected for the investigation undertaken.
c. Draw general conclusions.

EXAMPLE

ISSUE Demotivation of knowledge workers in the software sector

Some related RQ1: How can managers ensure that their knowledge workers continue to
Research Questions: maintain a high level of motivation?

RQ2: Are knowledge workers always motivated by extrinsic/external

rewards?

RQ3: What is the relationship between intrinsic motivation and

extrinsic/external rewards?

Dependent Variable: Intrinsic motivation

Independent External/extrinsic rewards

Variable:

Hypotheses: H1: Intrinsically motivated knowledge workers are motivated by

external/extrinsic rewards up to a certain point.
H2: Beyond a certain point, extrinsic rewards will have a negative impact
on intrinsic motivation of knowledge workers.
It does not matter whether students define the task as a problem to be solved, an issue to be
investigated or a hypothesis to be tested.

What matters is that students establish clearly what they are attempting and that they write it
down in such a way that the problem or issue can be clearly addressed or the hypothesis
substantiated or refuted. Students must remember that it is perfectly acceptable to REFUTE as
oppose to substantiate a research hypothesis.

10
STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT PROPOSAL
The following guidelines provide students with the structure of the project proposal. It is advisable to
discuss the development of the proposal with the tutor.

The proposal should be word processed (submitted preferably as a PDF file), and
approximately 2,000 words in length, excluding bibliography.

STRUCTURE GUIDELINES
I. Project title

II. What is the project about?

III. What are the research questions?

IV. Why is the project important?

V. What is the academic literature basis of the project?

VI. How will the students answer the research question?

VII. Project Plan

VIII. Bibliography

STRUCTURE OF THE FINAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT

Students will be normally expected to respect the following guidelines for the contents of the final
management project. These should not be seen as an absolute straitjacket because specific
unusual projects may depart from them but they do give the typical structure and length.

STRUCTURE GUIDELINES

I. An abstract or executive summary (summary of the essential points of the project)

An introduction (including the objectives of the project, identification of the research

II.
problem being addressed)

Key definitions, identification of the key variables (independent, dependent, confounding)

III.
if necessary

A section demonstrating the significance of the research and the how the knowledge gap
IV.
is being addressed

A literature review (a review of the most important pieces of literature in the student’s
V.
domain)

A section on methodology including the students’ arguments supporting their choice of

VI.
methodology among the different options available to them

A section on how students collected data in the field. This section may also include a
VII. discussion of the challenges encountered in collecting data and how they overcame
them

Viii. A section on data analysis

11
 A section on the results obtained from their data analysis. This section needs to be
IX.
elaborated to include a discussion of their findings

X. A section on their theoretical and managerial implications

XI. A section on the limitations of their work, both theoretical and methodological

XII. Bibliography (in alphabetical order and fully referenced)

Appendices
XIII.

LENGTH GUIDELINES (word count)

Introductory 5 - 10% (750 – 1500 words)

Secondary Research 20 - 25% (3000 – 3750 words)

Primary Research Methodology 25 - 30% (3750 – 4500 words)

Primary Research Analysis 15 - 20% (2250 – 3000 words)

Discussion, Conclusions and contributions 20 - 25% (3000 – 3750 words)

Limitations and reliability/validity 5% (750 words)

Student/Tutor flexibility (Variance within agreed wordcount +/-10% (1500 words)

between tutor and student)

CONCLUSIONS AND DEVELOPING CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Students will find it very helpful, early on, to develop a “logic outline” of their project, showing for each
major theme, these elements:

 Research findings
 Analysis
 Conclusions and recommendations

Students will be able to test the strength of their arguments by starting with each
conclusion/recommendation, evaluate the analysis that leads to the conclusion, and then see if they
have both adequate and appropriate research findings that will lead through their analysis to their
conclusions and recommendations. Such a “reverse evaluation” will show them weaknesses in their
research and analysis, and/or weaknesses in their conclusions/recommendations statements that
need attention, further research or analysis, etc.

For many students these logical relationships are often the most difficult part of the management
project. However, the better job they do on these outlines, the easier it will be to write their final paper
and the stronger their paper will be.

A good logical outline for the students’ project begins with a strong preliminary logical outline in their
Project Proposal.

REFERENCING
Students must be careful to ensure that all work from other sources is correctly cited within the body of
the text and at the end in the reference list. The list of references contains the details of articles and
books cited in their text. Their bibliography should identify a book or a journal article in detail to allow

12
others to identify and consult it. Properly acknowledging the sources of information is also important to
avoid plagiarism. Students need to remember that their tutor is an expert in the area they are studying,
who is likely to be familiar with much of the literature in the field.

CITATIONS
Students are expected to cite ideas which they present that are not their own. The citation should be
referenced in the body of the text either as a footnote or as an endnote, so students must be careful to
ensure that all work from other sources is correctly cited. End-notes are preferred. Below is an
example of how a page should be cited and the rules for citations:

IN-TEXT REFERENCES

In-text references to sources must include surname of author(s), year of publication, and page
numbers (unless referring to a whole text).

Example: Wilson (1997:176) states that in recent years companies have been
moving away from mass marketing towards target marketing.
Author (year:page #) Or

In recent years companies have been moving away from mass

marketing towards target marketing Wilson (1997:176).

SHORT QUOTES
Short quotes should be within quotation marks. Quotes of more than three lines should be
indented.

Example: Kotler et al (1989:278-279) outline a number of advantages of target

marketing from sellers:
Quote of more than
three lines
“Target marketing helps sellers identify marketing opportunities. The
sellers can develop the right product for each target market. They can
adjust their prices, distribution channel and promotions to reach the
target market efficiently. Instead of scattering their marketing effort
(„shotgun approach‟), they can focus it on buyers whom have the
greater purchase interest („rifle approach‟).”

REFERENCING ONE AUTHOR QUOTED IN ANOTHER AUTHORS’ TEXT

Example: Peters (in Kotler, 1989:3) described the impact of such theories on
current practice; or “such theories have impacted on current practice”
(Peters in Kotler 1989:3). In the end of list, one needs to put Kotler and
not Peters.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
A full bibliography of all items referred to in the proposal should be provided. It should be obvious to
the reader of the proposal where students have sourced the referenced material that has been used in
the text of their proposal. This bibliography must be presented in a consistent manner and following a
recognized convention.

JOURNAL ARTICLE OR MAGAZINE

Author and initials (in capitals), title of article in quotes, name of journal (underlined or in
italics), volume number, issue, pages referenced, year.

Example: JASSAWALLA, A.R., "An examination of collaboration in high-

technology new product development process", Journal of Product

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 Innovation Management, vol 15, pp237-254, 1998.

BOOK
Author and initials (in capitals), title of book (underlined or in italics), edition, name of
publisher, place of publisher, year, pages referenced.

Example: SOLNIK B., International Investments, 3rd edition, Addison-Westey,

USA, 1996.

INTERNET
Publisher, address, date.

Example: SciCentral, http:\\www.scicquest.com, 1 March, 2001.

INTERVIEW
Subject, title, date, place.

Example: Paul Smith, Product Manager, HP Home Products Division, Grenoble,

France, 20 January 2004.

Students must remember that we are looking for a mix of information from a mix of sources.
Possible and acceptable sources of information are:
- Journals - Statistics - Manuals- Magazines - Trade publications
- Reports - Internet - Consultants- Handbooks- Industry experts
- Professors - Librarians - Databases- Indexes- Government reports

FORMAT OF THE PROJECT

This should be applied to both the Project Proposal and the Final Management Project.

 The project should be word processed in an A4 format and 12 point type (Century Schoolbook,
Times New Roman or Bookman Old Style) and preferably submitted as a PDF file.

 Pages should be numbered consecutively through the document; page numbers should be
located centrally at the bottom of the page.

 Avoid too many decorations, like wingdings and clip-art. Graphics add meaning, so be sure to
include tables, charts and figures but be certain they are properly referenced in the text and that
they are appropriate to a serious academic work.

 All margins should be at a minimum of 20 mm (while student will submit an electronic copy of
their project, margins need to be wide enough to allow a possible printing of the final paper
without losing text). The right margin can be justified or not but it should be the same
throughout.

 Appendices should follow the main text and precede an index (if provided). Appendices may
consist of supporting material of considerable length or of lists, publications, tables or other
evidence which, if included in the main text, would interrupt its flow.

 Where abbreviations are used, a key shall be provided. For an abbreviation not in common use,
the term shall be given in full at the first instance followed by the abbreviation in brackets.

14
INDICATIVE READING
KEY TEXT:
SAUNDERS M, LEWIS P. and THORNHILL A. (2007) Research Methods for Business Students
(Second Edition) Financial Times/Prentice Hall

OTHER USEFUL TEXTS:

 BLAXTER, H., TIGHT, M. (2006), How to Research, Open University
 BELL, J. (2005), Doing your own research project: a guide for first-time researchers in
education and social science, Open University
 CHAFFEE, J. (2008), Thinking Critically, Houghton Mifflin
 EASTERBY-SMITH, M. et al, (2008) Management Research: An introduction, Sage
 GILL, J & JOHNSON, P (2002), Research Methods for Managers, Paul Chapman (2nd
Edition)
 HOWARD, K., SHARP, J. A. (2002), The Management of a Student Research Project, Gower
 HUGHES, W. (2004), Critical Thinking, Broadview
 MARSHALL, L., ROWLAND, F. (2003), A Guide to Learning Independently, Open University
Press
 MAY, T. (2001), Social Research: Issues, methods and processes, Open University Press
 PARKER, D. (2001), Tackling Coursework: Assignments, Project, Reports, Presentations, OP
Publications
 ZIKMUND, W. (2002), Business Research Methods, Dryden

GRADING GUIDELINES
The project will be graded on a 0 - 20 scale, consistent with GGSB guidelines for individual courses.
The proposal should in particular provide clarity on:

 PROJECT AIMS – students should be able to clearly express the overall objectives of the
project.

 RESEARCH QUESTION – this may need refining as the research progresses, but a research
question should be developed as a starting point.

 RESEARCH CONTEXT/LITERATURE REVIEW – students should be aware of the major

researchers/theories/ideas/management practices in the particular area that they are exploring.

 RESEARCH PROCESS – students should be able to coherently and logically explain how they
will answer to the research question.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of 10/20 for the project proposal. In the case that the
proposal does not merit at least 10/20, students will be allowed to resubmit the proposal within 4
weeks and the grade can be reviewed.

If at that point students still have not achieved 10/20, they will not be allowed to submit a
project and therefore will not be awarded a Master’s degree.

15
PLAGIARISM
Over the last few years we have been faced with an increasing number of plagiarism cases. We want
to stress that each student, when delivering their work, either individually or in a group, is expected to
provide an "original".

Plagiarism is detectable and rigorous checks are made. If proven, a fail grade at least is awarded,
which will have serious implications for the students’ Degree, and in more serious cases of extensive
plagiarism students will be called to a disciplinary committee of which the penalties will be even more
severe. Students can avoid this by attributing all ideas where necessary and sourcing all material.

According to the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, to PLAGIARISE means:

 To steal and pass off (the idea or words of another as one’s own)
 To use (another’s production) without crediting the source
 To commit literary theft
 To present as new and original an idea or product knowingly derived from an existing source

In order to clarify GGSB’s position on plagiarism, the following are all considered as
plagiarism at GGSB:
 turning in someone else's work as your own
 copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
 failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
 giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
 changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
 copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work,
whether you give credit or not.

Clause 14 of GGSB General Rules and Regulations refers to plagiarism and cheating in the following
terms:
"Plagiarism is defined as the act of copying another’s work or ideas and passing it off as your
own. This includes sections of books or articles as well as another student’s work or copying
text from the internet etc. It also includes impersonation in assessed work or in examinations.
Please consult the section in this handbook and the handout given to you at the session on
“Academic Writing” (in the Introduction week) for more clarification on what is considered to
be plagiarism.

Adding your name to group work in which you have not participated or letting a student who
has not participated add his/her name to the work is also considered as an offence and will
lead to disciplinary action for all involved.

Plagiarism in any assessed work (continuous assessment, examinations and projects) is

considered as a serious offence and will carry penalties and possibly disciplinary action.
Students are reminded that a large proportion of assessed coursework and Final Management
Projects will be put through anti-plagiarism software in a manner consistent with academic
custom and practice in the assessment and evaluation process".

In order to ensure a common understanding between students and teachers of the above rule and its
scope of application, the following additional guidelines are provided.
GGSB uses the anti-plagiarism software platform called “Turnitin”.
 At the request of the teacher, assignments and deliverables may be required to be uploaded
through “Turnitin”.

 “Turnitin” reveals levels of similarity between a student’s work and that of another source. The
levels of similarity are defined by type and by percentile, which is coded by colour. For more
details on the types and percentile ratings of similarity, please refer to MyGGSB in the
“Continuous Assessment & Plagiarism” section.

 All work submitted for assessment is subject to screening by the teacher for plagiarism.

 Work that reveals a level of similarity of 25% or above will be scrutinized in detail by the teacher
and sanctions will systematically be applied.

16
 The sanction applicable for a level of similarity between 25% and 50% (yellow/orange) will be
defined at the discretion of the teacher, in relation to the type of similarity observed and to the
correlated intention of the student (poor referencing, cut/paste, etc...). Sanctions may include
the deduction of grade points (minimum 2 pts) or a resubmission of the incriminated work, with a
grade thereafter capped at 10/20, for example.

 Work that reveals a level of similarity of 50% or above (red) of the type ‘clone’ or ‘hybrid’ will
systematically receive a grade of 0/20 and its author will face disciplinary action, which may
lead to exclusion from the program.

 Teachers are required to inform the Program Director and Program Coordinator of all incidents
involving plagiarism or sanctions induced by levels of similarity. These incidents will be recorded
in the students’ files for reference.

PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS OFFENCE.

17
EXTRACT OF TURNITIN “WHITE PAPER”

18
EVALUATION GRID FOR PROJECT PROPOSAL
Criteria Insufficient Satisfactory Good Excellent

(10 to (12 to (15 &

(0 to 9,9)
11,9) 14,9) above)
Introduction
Project title and the project environment and background
20%
What is the project about?
(The problem statement)

What are the research question(s)?

Content
Why is the project important?
50%

What is the academic literature basis of the project?

How will the student answer the research question? (The

approach and methodology summary)

Planning
Project Plan – Deliverables Timeline agreed with tutor.
10%
Respecting academic
writing guidelines
Bibliography
20%

Final Grade /20

Note: Additional guidelines are mentioned as appropriate to the Professional Track.

1. Project title
The proposal needs to have a project title. At this stage it is a working title and can be
changed at a later date if a more appropriate wording is found. A good project title is concise,
but at the same time exposes clearly the key variables/topic of research and (if required) the
context/country/industry under study.

2. What is the project about?

This should give a clear indication of the project aims. In a good project proposal the
aims/objectives of the dissertation are stated upfront. Rather than choosing overly ambitious
objectives, students are advised to focus on aims/objectives, which are attainable within the
scope of the study, while simultaneously contributing to the knowledge gap in that area of
work.

Professional Track: Must include an outline scope of the problem faced by the organization
and the background to the rationales of addressing the issue.

3. What are the research questions?

The project question(s) should be explicit. A research question may lead to a statement of
three or four specific objectives, which are to be achieved in order to answer the project
question. These should be investigative in nature and therefore problem-based. Students
need to analyze rather than merely describe.

4. Why is the project important?

The rationale for the project should include statement as to why the project should be
undertaken. This should include business and academic reasons.

19
 Professional Track: Must include a clear description of the organizational decision areas that
the results would impact and the anticipated changes or improvements that the project would
aim to achieve as an outcome.

5. What is the academic literature basis of the project?

Students need to choose a topic for which there is sufficient literature available. In the
proposal students should show how their first reading of the literature has helped them to
define their research question. The key pieces of work in the area under investigation should
be cited.

6. How will the student answer the research question?

This section must detail the way in which the aims and objectives of the investigation are to be
achieved. This means not only a description of the methods to be used, but also a discussion
of the logic of those methods and a justification of the approach and methodology selected.

7. Project Plan
The proposal should indicate the process path to be used. This should detail the way in which
the project is to be achieved, and should, if possible, identify phases or stages, timescales and
an overall timetable. A crucial aspect of this is a clear identification of systematic submission
of work in progress and a chronology of deliverables.

8. Bibliography
A full bibliography of all items referred to in the proposal should be provided. It should be
obvious to the reader of the proposal where students have sourced the referenced material
that has been used in the text of their proposal. This bibliography must be presented in a
consistent manner and following a recognized convention.

20
EVALUATION GRID FOR THE FINAL MANAGEMENT
PROJECT

Criteria Insufficient Satisfactory Good Excellent

(10 to (12 to (15 &

(0 to 9,9)
11,9) 14,9) above)
Contemporary nature of the topic
Introduction of the
topic
Demonstrated relevance of the topic
20% Depth and scope of examples demonstrating currency and
relevance of the topic
Identification of literature and key concepts and constructs
Literature
Pertinent use of the relevant literature and concepts
Main
Body of Relevant choice of methodology
the
Methodology Demonstration of the chosen methodology
thesis
Quality of data collection and measurements
40%
Appropriate selection and use of analysis techniques
Data
Analysis
Validity, reliability and accuracy of analysis results

Indicates theoretical implications

Identification of the main root causes of a problem (if
applicable)
Indicates managerial Implications

Concluding section Indicates theoretical limitations (if applicable)

20% Indicates methodological limitations

Suggestions for future research or application

Personal reflections and analysis of the work

Has chosen a position and defended it (if applicable)

Ink ratio (the ratio between the length of the document and
its contributions)
Readability, flow, grammar and spelling

Respect for referencing and citation rules

Overall writing style
Pertinent use of tables, charts, text boxes, graphs etc. as
15% illustration, presentation or summary of data analysis or
results
Clear and relevant executive summary
Use of Word functions such as styles, automatic insertion
of table of contents, insertion of headers /footers/footnotes
Diligence in Process
Adherence to project plan in terms of frequency and
engagement with Tutor
5%

Final Grade /20

Each of the criteria used for evaluating the final management project is explained in detail below:

Note: Additional guidelines are mentioned as appropriate to the Professional Track, where
relevant

1. Contemporary nature of the topic of research:

The student is expected to identify a topic that is relevant and currently debated in the context
of international business. The topic should evoke a problem that business managers currently
face either in an applied setting or as an academic question.

21
 Professional Track: Must clearly explain the mission and objectives of the employment and
outline how these define and valorize the line of enquiry and serve as a foundation for the
FMP.

2. Demonstrated relevance of the topic of research:

The topic chosen by the student should not only address a current problem faced by business
managers, it should also address a problem worth exploring. In other words, it should not be a
problem that has already been discussed and addressed in several published research papers
and books or has already been implemented and thus provides no new knowledge or decision
levers.

Professional Track: Must clearly explain the contributing value that the project will bring to the
organization and why the organization has or has not required to address this issue
previously. Must clearly outline the value of this delegation.

3. Depth and scope of examples demonstrating currency and relevance of the topic:
It is important that the student (wherever relevant) is able to provide one or more examples
demonstrating the significance of his/her topics. For example, if (s)he is working on a final
management project that explores the nature of radical innovations and its impact on strategy,
it would help to give an example of a radical innovation to make his/her point.

4. Identification of the literature and key concepts, theories and models:

One of the challenges that a student at the Masters level faces is how to identify the literature
that is most pertinent and deserves to be cited in a thesis. The student is not required to cite
everything that has been said about a certain topic, but only the literature that is the most cited
and/or well-known related to the topic (s)he is exploring. In particular, the student is required
to identify the major concepts related to his/her topic and to capture the established
knowledge around them. It is equally important to cite literature that is recent rather than
literature that is outdated and coming from peer-reviewed academic journals. Relying
completely on articles from popular press, manuals, or on internet-based sources such as
Wikipedia is not advisable.

Professional Track: It will be usual to explore not only literature, but the sector or activity
environment that the organization acts in and to provide examples of current benchmarking,
offsets and best practice pertinent to the context of the project.

5. Pertinent use of the relevant literature and concepts:

As mentioned above it is important for the most relevant and pertinent literature to be cited in
the thesis. However, it is not sufficient to merely cite the literature. It is equally important to
understand it, synthesize it and criticize it in light of other approaches/literature.

6. Relevant choice of methodology:

A student who chooses to write a final management project of an academic nature should be
able to justify the choice of methodology. For example, the student should be able to explain
why a certain methodology is the most appropriate for the topic that (s)he has chosen to
explore. Why does this methodology lend itself to the measurement/exploration of the
variables that are being studied? What advantage does this methodology offer over other
ways of studying the same research problem? This item is less relevant for more applied
projects.

Professional Track: A clear explanation of the approaches and research frameworks advised
or required by the employing organization and, if applicable, desriptions of standard processes
and systems that the organization already uses for research and studies.

7. Demonstration of the chosen methodology:

The student also needs to demonstrate how (s)he has applied this methodology in his/her
project. The method of data collection and analysis needs to be clearly explained and
documented. The student should be able to design his/her own measurement instrument and
test it for validity, reliability and credibility.

22
8. Quality of data collection:
The student needs to demonstrate that (s)he has collected primary data of good quality to test
his/her hypotheses or to answer their questions. He/she needs to explain how (s)he collected
the primary data explaining on what basis the guide for interview or the questionnaire was
built, the information selected, how they were administrated, how respondents were selected,
their numbers, etc.. Relying completely on secondary data, even if this is comprehensive and
elaborate, will be considered insufficient for a Masters level thesis. All raw data (tables,
transcripts, fieldnotes, etc.) are to be securely held as these may be requested for audit
purposes).

9. Quality of data analysis:

Irrespective of the choice of methodology, the student is required to carry out in-depth data
analysis. The method of data analysis should be coherent with the method of data collection
chosen, the overall methodology chosen for the final management project and the overall
epistemological approach guiding the project. If quantitative methodology is chosen, then it is
not sufficient to limit the data analysis to the descriptive level. The student is required to carry
out inferential statistical analysis as well in order to test his/her hypotheses (if (s)he has
hypotheses).

10. Indicates theoretical implications:

In conclusion, the student is required to demonstrate the theoretical implications of his/her
work. This means that (s)he is required to point out how his/her work adds to/contributes to/
complements existing literature in the domain. The student is also required to show how (s)he
has challenged past literature in the domain and how (s)he addresses a knowledge gap.

11. Identification of the main root causes of a problem (if applicable):

Whenever possible, the student is required to demonstrate that (s)he has been able to
identify the main root causes of the problem that forms the focus of his/her thesis. For
example, if the topic of the thesis relates to the high employee turnover in the tourism sector,
the student should be able to identify and address the key reasons behind this problem. For
other types of theses, identifying the root cause of the problem is neither required nor feasible.
For example, if the student’s work relates to the diversity of ethical decision making strategies
in a particular country, then there is no need to identify a root cause. This section will be
particulary relevant within the Professional Track FMP.

12. Indicates managerial implications:

Since the final management project by definition focuses on a managerial problem, it is
important that the student can offer guidelines or practical suggestions to managers in terms
of how to address the problem in question. In conclusion, the managerial recommendations
that the student offers should be grounded in his/her results obtained after data analysis.

13. Indicates theoretical limitations:

Every research-based project, article or thesis has certain theoretical limitations. Therefore,
the student is required to identify the theoretical limitations of his/her work and acknowledge
these as part of the Final Management Project. It should be noted that in research circles,
acknowledging the theoretical limitations of one’s work is a sign of introspection and self-
reflection and not a sign of weakness. Not as important for more applied projects.

14. Indicates methodological limitations:

Irrespective of the methodological choice the student makes, there will be certain limitations
emanating from the inherent nature of the chosen methodology. The student needs to
understand, identify and acknowledge these in the final management project.

15. Suggestions for future research or application:

In conclusion, the student is required to elaborate on what (s)he has been able to achieve in
his/her final management project and what (s)he has not been able to achieve. This would
help him/her to identify what suggestions (s)he could give to future researchers in the same
domain.

Professional Track: Must highlight managerial actions and decision areas that would use the
project findings to implement future strategies and/or operational or tactical processes.

23
16. Personal reflections and analysis of the work:
Does the student demonstrate the ability to introspect and comment on the quality of his/her
experience? Does the student reflect on the challenges (s)he encountered in working towards
the final management project? What are the major weaknesses of the work? Has the student
commented on how these could have been overcome? While critical reflections on the work
are welcome, unsupported assertions are to be avoided at all times.

Professional Track: Must detail both the introspective and reflective nature of the project
process and outcomes together with an analytical summary of the feedback provided,
internally from the organization (notably using the company evaluation document), but also
along the trajectory of the project.

17. Has chosen a position and defended it (if applicable)

In addition to integrating the work of other scholars, the student should be able to take his/her
own independent standpoint and defend it. The ability to defend a standpoint in the context of
the graduating thesis comes from the collection of valid and reliable data and appropriate
analysis of the same. The arguments provided to defend a position should be credible and
grounded in scientific thinking.

18. Ink ratio (the ratio between the length of the document and its contributions):
This criterion indicates how well the student has used word-space to communicate his/her
message. In other words, it assesses the student’s ability to say more with less.

19. Readability, flow, grammar and spelling:

Was the thesis easy to read? Did it flow naturally and intuitively from the perspective of the
reader or was it incoherent, unconnected and cumbersome to read? Are there errors in
grammar and spelling?

20. Respect for referencing and citation rules:

The student is expected to follow the standard citation guidelines. A failure to respect these
guidelines not only reflects on poor quality, it also increases the chances of the student being
accused of plagiarism.

21. Pertinent use of tables, charts, text boxes, graphs, etc.:

Has the student been able to use charts, text boxes, tables and graphs when appropriate to
highlight or emphasize the most pertinent or relevant points?

22. Use of Word functions such as styles, automatic insertion of table of contents, Insertion of headers
/footers / footnotes :
Expected level: effective use of at least 3 of these functions.

CONTACT WITH THE SCHOOL TUTOR

Regular contact with the tutor is the key element to successfully completing this project. It is assumed
that the students will generally drive the direction for the project and will work independently most of
the time.

Students should establish regular interactions with their tutor (face to face meetings, Skype calls, etc.),
and identify a timetable for completion of all of the aspects of the project requirements.

For students following the Professional Track, several mandatory emails will be exchanged between
them, the tutor and the company.

It is the tutor’s responsibility to provide feedback that is timely and appropriate, and to guide in the
development of the topic, consultation of appropriate literature, and written aspects. It is NOT the
responsibility of the tutor to correct the students’ English.

Should the unlikely situation arise where personal or professional difficulties inhibit the completion of
the project the Program Director should be advised in writing as early as possible, in order to consider
appropriate action.

24
GRADUATION DATES
The Examination Board meets to review and verify the formal assessment of students’ work leading to
the award of a GGSB degree.

Students must respect the deadline for the submission of projects as specified in their Program
timeline in order to give their tutor the necessary time to grade the project and to submit the grade.

The exact dates of the examination boards and the deadlines for submitting all final management
projects and assignments will be confirmed by the Program Coordinator each year.

25