IBS Hyderabad

The MBA Program

Management Research Project

Student Handbook

Academic Year 2010-2011

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 CONTENTS

1. Introduction ...................................................................................................01

2. Students Responsibilities...............................................................................01

3. MRP Evaluation .............................................................................................02

3.1 Evaluation Schedule

3.2 Evaluation Stages

Annexures:

I Project Initial Information Report (PIIR) ......................................................05

II Project Proposal ............................................................................................06

III Project Report Writing ..................................................................................07

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 Management Research Project

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The objective of the Management Research Project (MRP) is to

broaden the knowledge base and enhance understanding of the
latest trends and developments in the chosen field of management,
provide experience in the application of concepts, tools and
techniques and to develop an overall managerial perspective. The
MRP encourages and drives the students towards autonomous
learning and exposes them to crucial managerial behavioural
practices such as regularity, ability to meet deadlines, sense of
responsibility, initiative and leadership, diligence and adaptability. It
helps to cultivate the regular habit of documentation, effective
presentation and articulation.

Students are required to work on a research project during third and

fourth semester under the guidance of faculty. The project requires the
student(s) to pursue a detailed study and analysis of the chosen
subject in the field of management. It carries a weightage of 6 credits
which is equivalent to two courses.

2.0 STUDENTS RESPONSIBILITIES

All the students have to register for MRP on the scheduled date. The
students will work on the project in the third and fourth semester. Every
student will be assigned a faculty guide at the beginning of the MRP.
Students should be in regular contact with their assigned faculty at all
the stages of evaluation during MRP. In case, any student requires
more time for completion of the project, the same should be informed
to the faculty guide. The student can be granted an extension for a
maximum period of 2 weeks, within which he/she must submit his/her
project. Non-submission of information and reports as per schedule to
faculty guide can lead to award of ‘NC’ (Not Cleared) report. All the
students should join the companies only upon completion of the MRP.

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3.0 MRP EVALUATION

The faculty will evaluate the performance of the student for each
component at all the stages. Evaluation schedule and components
used at various stages of MRP are given below:

3.1 Evaluation Schedule

Date Activity Weightage Marks

30th July, 2010 Project Initial Nil Nil

Information Report

20th August, 2010 Project Proposal 20% 20

6th – 10th December, Project Interim Report 30% 30

2010

7th – 11th March , 2011 Project Final Report 50% 50

100% 100

3.2 Evaluation Stages

The detail of MRP Evaluation at various stages is given below:

Stage 1: Project Initial Information Report (PIIR)

This report is to be submitted by students to faculty guide as per the

format given in Annexure-I. Due care must be taken to ensure that all
information provided in the report is accurate. The PIIR is not a
component of evaluation but it is mandatory and subsequent events
are executed on the basis of the information provided in PIIR.

Stage 2: Project Proposal

The Project Proposal must cover the following aspects:

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(i) Synopsis: A statement of about 1000 words describing what the
project is about.

(ii) Objective: Stating what the project will accomplish.

(iii) Limitations of the study.

(iv) Proposed Methodology.

(v) Schedule: A time frame indicating steps that will be required and
the expected date of completion.

(vi) References: Initial list of bibliographic and internet materials that

would be used to complete the project.

Copy of Project Proposal should be submitted to faculty guide as per

the format given in Annexure-II.

The details of component to be used for evaluating the Project

Proposals are given below:

Project Proposal Evaluation Components

S.No. Component Marks

1 Objective and Relevance of the project 5

2 Usefulness of the project 5

3 Literature Survey 5

4 Methodology Proposed 5

Total Marks 20

Stage 3: Project Interim Report

The Project Interim Report is an interim version of the final report. This
report will show the work done so far by the students and will decide

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the further course of action towards the completion of project. Copy
of the interim report should be submitted to faculty guide.

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The details of component to be used for evaluating the Project Interim
Report are given below:
Project Interim Report Evaluation Components

S.No. Component Marks

1 Objective 05

2 Methodology Used 05

3 Application of functional knowledge 10

4 Ability to Analyze & Develop the Project 05

5 Interim Findings & Observations of the report 05

Total Marks 30

Stage 4: Project Final Report

The project final report is to be submitted by students on completion of

the project. The Project Report is to be prepared as guided by the
faculty guide. Copy of final report should be submitted to faculty
guide. The format for preparation of final report is given in Annexure-III.

The details of component to be used for evaluating the project final

report are given below:

Project Final Report Evaluation Components

S.No. Component Marks

1 Introduction, Objective & Scope 05

2 Methodology Used 10
3 Analytical Ability & Development of the Project 10

4 Findings and Observations 10

5 Suggestions and Recommendations 05

6 Presentation of the report 10

Total Marks 50

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 Annexure-I

Name of the Student:................................................................................................

Enrollment No: .................................. Mobile No: ..............................................
E-mail Id: ......................................................................................................................

Management Research Project

Project Initial Information Report

I. Project Details:
Title of the project: ..............................................................................................
Area of the project: ............................................................................................
Description of the project in brief: ....................................................................
...............................................................................................................................

II. Organizational Details (if any):

Name: ...................................................................................................................
Address: ................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................
Telephone No.: ...................... E-mail:.................................................................

III. Project Implementation & Schedule:

Schedule: .............................................................................................................
Methodology:......................................................................................................
Any other Details: ................................................................................................

IV. I will submit the following reports as per the schedule given below:
Evaluation component: Date Planned:
Project Proposal ......................................................................
Interim Report ......................................................................
Final Report ......................................................................

Faculty Guide Name: ................................................................................................

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(Use additional sheets) Signature of the Student

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 Annexure-II

Name of the Student:................................................................................................

Enrollment No: .................................. Mobile No: ..............................................
E-mail Id: ......................................................................................................................

Management Research Project

Project Proposal

Project Proposed:.......................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
Description of Project in brief: ..................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
Objective of the Project:...........................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
Methodology: .............................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
Schedule: ....................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
Limitations of the Study: ............................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................
References: .................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................

Faculty Guide Name: ................................................................................................

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(Use additional sheets) Signature of the Student

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 Annexure-III

Management Research Project

Project Report Writing

A Project Report is a written presentation of the work done by the students

on a given assignment. It is important to bear in mind that even though the
project report is submitted only at the end of any given assignment, in reality
it is a culmination of continuous efforts on the part of the students.

Writing a Project Report: The parts included in a project report depend on

the type of report you are writing, the requirements of your audience, the
organization you are working for, and the length of your report. In a
generalized sense an ideal project report should cover the following
elements.

i) Cover ii) Title Page

iii) Acknowledgments iv) Table of Illustrations
v) Abstract vi) Introduction
vii) Main Text viii) Conclusions and/or
Recommendations
ix) Appendices (if necessary) x) References
xi) Glossary (if necessary)

i) Cover: This is the first page of the report. It should contain the title of
the report, name(s) of the author(s) and the date on which it is
submitted. The format of this page is given below and should be
adhered to.

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 A REPORT
ON

(Title of the Project in CAPITAL

LETTERS)

By
(The name of the Student)
Enrollment No.

ii) Title Page: This element may contain the following information:

a) Title of the report

b) Name of the author

c) Name of the authority for whom the report was written

d) Contract, project or job number (if any)

e) Distribution list

A REPORT
ON
(Title of the Project in CAPITAL LETTERS)

By

(The name & enrolment no. of the Student)

A report submitted in partial fulfilment of

the requirements of
MBA Program of
The ICFAI University, Dehradun

Distribution List:

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iii) Acknowledgments: There are many persons who may have helped
you during the course of your project. It is your duty to acknowledge
and thank them for their help. Customarily, thanks are due to the
following persons in the given order.

a) Head of the Organization b) Faculty Guide c) Others

iv) Table of Contents: The main function of this element is to give the
reader an overall view of the report. The main divisions as well as the
subdivisions should be listed with the number of the page on which
they first appear. It helps the reader locate a particular topic or sub-
topic easily. While preparing the table of contents you have to bear in
mind the following points about its layout:

• Leave a 1” margin on the left and a 1” margin on the right, the top
and the bottom.

• Write the phrase ‘Table of Contents’ on the top center in CAPITALS.

• Write the number of the item to indicate the sequence of items.

After the number leave three or four spaces and then type the first
heading.

• Indent second-order headings three or four spaces.

• Leave two spaces between main headings and one space

between sub-headings.

An example of a table of contents is given below. Observe that for

numbering pages up to ‘Abstract’ lower case Roman numerals have
been used and from ‘Introduction’ onwards Arabic numerals have
been used.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments ii
List of Illustrations iii
Abstract iv
1. Introduction 1

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 1.1 Purpose, Scope, and Limitations
1
1.2 Sources and Methods 2
1.3 Organization of the Report 3
2. Industrial Analysis 5
2.1 ______________________
2.2 ______________________
3. _________________________ 10
3.1 ______________________
3.2 ______________________

v) List of Illustrations: A separate list of illustrations is given immediately

after the table of contents in case of a large number of (more than
ten) tables and figures. Its layout is the same as that of the table of
contents and it gives information about the number, title and page
reference of each illustration. If the number of illustrations is very large,
divide it into two parts, namely, List of Tables, and List of Figures.

vi) Abstract: The abstract is a summary of what the report is all about. The
purpose of this element is to enable the reader, to gather important
information quickly without having to go through the whole report. An
abstract should be self-sufficient and intelligible, without reference to
any other part of the report. It is never intended as a substitute for the
original document. But it must contain sufficient information to allow
the reader to ascertain his/her interest.

vii) Introduction: In this element the problem is introduced. It should

contain the purpose of the report, limitations, scope of study,
specifying its limitations, methods of collecting data and their sources
and, sufficient background material, including literature survey to
present the reader a clear picture of the work. An outline of the work
should also form a part of the introduction.

viii) Main Text: This section discusses or describes the main business of the
report. The main function of this part is to present data in an organized

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 form, discuss its significance and analysis, and the results that flow
there from. Usually it has several sections grouped under different
headings and sub-headings. It contains the experimental work/ data
collection, the survey done, a description of activities, the results
obtained/illustrations, the discussion and interpretations, etc.

Significant discrepancies in results should be called to the reader’s

attention, even when it is admitted that no reasonable explanation
can be offered.

ix) Conclusions And/Or Recommendations (if any): The conclusions

and/or recommendations are based on the discussions and
interpretations of the results obtained. It would be helpful to the reader
if other possibilities pertaining to the stated conclusions and/or
recommendations are discussed.

x) Appendices (if necessary): The contents of an appendix are essentially

those which support or elaborate the matter in the main text. The
matter, which is essential but which unnecessarily diverts the attention
of the reader from the main problem, is generally put into the
Appendix. Given below some items which normally form part of the
appendix:

(a) calculation sheets, (b) supplementary details of instructions, (c)

flow charts,
(d) computer programs, (e) the questionnaire, (f) large maps, (g)
samples of the work done, etc.

If the project itself is to make a computer program for some problem,

then the flow chart and the computer program have to be in the main
body of the report. You should decide the sequencing according to
your own needs.

xi) References: All references should be given in this section. List

references alphabetically by the author’s last name or, when the
author is unknown, by the title of the reference. Given below are some
examples of writing references :

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 i) Ages, Warren K., Philip H. Ault, and Edwin Emery. Perspectives on
Mass Communication, 2nd. New York: Harper & Row, 1992 (for
books).

ii) “Time to Call in the Boss” Business Week, 27 July 1999, 32-36 (for
periodicals).

xii) Glossary (if necessary): A glossary is a list of technical words used in

the report and their explanation. However, if the number of such words
is small, they are generally explained in the footnotes.

Whether you should include a glossary in your report or not will depend
upon the target audience. If the reader’s field of expertise is the one to
which your report relates, there is no need for glossary. But if the audience is
drawn from different areas, it is advisable to give a glossary.

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NOTE

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