UBS Project Guidelines

PROJECT GUIDELINES – UBS

1.1 Introduction

The Project represents the culmination of your studies. It is an opportunity for you to
research something of interest and importance to you and/or your organisation. You should
also develop an expertise in your chosen area.
This document lays out the requirements of the Project and the process to be followed

1.2 Objective of the dissertation

The objectives of the dissertation are to develop the ability to investigate specific issues
relevant to your Course and to communicate findings in an appropriate manner.

1.3 Requirements

The overall requirement is that the design, execution and reporting of the investigation
must be of an appropriate standard for a Masters degree.

To achieve this, the report must include sections on (a) the background and aims, (b) a
literature review, (c) the research methods adopted, (d) the analysis of the data/research
problem, and (e) conclusions and recommendations:

a the aims of the investigation should be

relevant to the practice of management at a strategic level,
clearly specified, and
should present an appropriate level of challenge.
The background should also be explained to provide motivation for the research.

b the investigation should review, critically evaluate and draw on relevant previous
empirical and theoretical research;

c the investigation should use appropriate research methods (normally involving the
collection and analysis of empirical data), which should be discussed and justified;

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d these methods should be used to provide a clear and critical analysis which meets the
research aims;

e the results, conclusions and recommendations put forward should be supported by

appropriate evidence and arguments;

The report should be clearly written and presented in an acceptable format (see Section 2.2
below). The Project Report to be submitted should be of 100 – 120 Pages.

1.4 Selecting a topic

The Topics chosen should be Micro in nature, pertaining to the Students choice of Industry and
subject, and should have scope to be presented in the manner of a Case Study. There should
be scope for a Survey / Data Collection as well.

You should have studied research methods before starting your project, because this provides
essential guidance for good practice in research and will provide initial ideas for possible topics.

To select an area of study, the following questions may be of use:

- Where do I want to be in five years?

- What skills and knowledge do I additionally need to get there?

- What problem areas are there in my job or company that I would like to see tackled?

- What aspects of the course would I like to pursue further in their practical application
to my present or future circumstances?

- What organisational problems do my MD or other contacts see as being important

to investigate and solve?

- What practical outcome would I like to see achieved as the result of spending
considerable time on a study and investigation?

- Is the proposed project feasible? Am I likely to be able to get access to the required
information?
Each candidate, in consultation with his approved Guides, shall submit to the Institute three
(3) Project topics along with a 250 words Project Synopsis for every topic, for approval and
allotment, on or before the Topic Submission date.

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1.5 Project Guides

Each candidate shall choose two guides, one internal guide & one External Guide for the
duration of his or her Project. These names & detailed profile shall be communicated to the
Institute by the students, on or before the date indicated for the same, for approval or
rejection.

1.6 Organisational support (Internal Guide)

Provisional acceptance of the topic should be obtained from the organisation from which you
plan to collect the majority of the data, before a formal proposal is submitted to the
University.

If appropriate, we recommend a supportive organisational mentor should also be involved

who will be willing to discuss ideas from the organisation’s viewpoint and who will be able to
provide contacts and obtain permission for data to be collected. Whenever possible this
person should write one page on the usefulness of the dissertation to the organisation at the
beginning of the dissertation, to be included in the final dissertation submission as an appendix
before submission.

1.7 Academic support (External Guide)

It is your responsibility to make contact with your Academic supervisor, to arrange a regular
discussion and to make sure you are making satisfactory progress. It is not the supervisor’s role
to check whether you are carrying out the work to the agreed timetable. (The development
of the ability to work independently, and to arrange your own schedule of work, is an
important part of the Research Project process.)

You should also note that you cannot normally expect your supervisor to comment in detail on
revisions that you make in response to your supervisor’s comments. (Obviously if your
supervisor had to comment on every change, the job might never be finished!)

You should make sure you communicate with your supervisor to:

1 Discuss scope and obtain advice on background reading.

2 Discuss the literature review and how this links with your research.

3 Discuss your research design and methods. It is very important to check with your
supervisor before starting to collect empirical data (eg sending out questionnaires or
arranging interviews), and to check that your supervisor considers that your project

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satisfies the appropriate ethical guidelines

4 Discuss your analysis, conclusions and recommendations.

5 Review the final report. Obviously, you will need to allow time for your supervisor to
read the final draft and for you to respond to suggestions – you should check with your
supervisor how long this is likely to take.

Your supervisor may also offer comments and feedback on your work at appropriate points
during the project (eg looking at draft chapters). You should note, however, that a supervisor’s
role is not to provide a detailed check of your work, nor is it to correct your use of English or
your spelling. The supervisor’s role is to provide general guidance and advice on the content
and process of your research project.

1.8 Timescale of dissertation

On an average, dissertations may take approximately 3 months to complete the Project
Work-

15 Days - clarify aims and methods

1 Month - background reading (a typical project is likely to have 30-50
books and articles in the reference list.)
1 Month - data collection
15 Days - analysis, recommendations and report writing

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2.0 Viva Voce

The Viva Voce will be conducted, either Online, or Face to Face, for all students, especially
International Students, at a date decided and declared by the BOE, after the conclusion of the
Semester examinations and submission of Project Report.
Absence in the Viva Voce would lead to cancellation of Project Marks Allotted , and the
candidates would have to resubmit his Project Report afresh the next semester , with a fresh
approval of the guides and Project Title.

2.1 Submission instructions

Two bound copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Institute (UBS). You must also
submit an electronic copy as a single Microsoft Word file on a CD or DVD. (Please put your
name on the CD.)
Students have to send a soft copy of the Project Report to the institute through eMail as well
Project Report has to be mailed on following mailId - projects@ubs.edu.in.

2.2 Marks

The Project shall be given a weightage of 100 marks and the Viva Voce shall be given a
weightage of 50 marks.

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2.3 Layout of final report

The report must use double line spacing or 1.5 line spacing. The report must be typed or printed on
one side or both sides of A4 paper with wide margins (at least 3 cm on the left hand side to allow for
binding), preferably using Times New Roman typeface size 12 pt.. Any system of numbering chapters,
sections, figures, tables and appendices may be used, provided it is clear and consistent. The pages
should be numbered.
(A typical Specimen of Cover Page & Title Page)
<Font Style Times New Roman - Bold>

PROJECT TOPIC
<Font Size 12> <1.5 line spacing>

By
<Font Size 12>

Student Name

<Font Size 12> <Bold - Capital>

Reg. No. /Roll No
<Font Size 12>

A PROJECT REPORT
<Font Size 12> <Capital>

Submitted to the
<Font Size 12>

UBS
<Font Size 12> <Bold - Capital>

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

<Font Size 12> <Italic>

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

<Font Size 12> <Bold - Capital>
By
KARNATAKA STATE OPEN UNIVERSITY,MANASGANGOTRI,MYSORE
<Font Size 12><Bold - Capital>

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2.4 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE FORMAT

Certified that the Project report titled _________________________________ is the bonafide work
of Mr. / Ms. < NAME, CAPS AND BOLD , REG NO,BOLD> who carried out the work under my
supervision. Certified further that to the best of my knowledge the work reported herein does not form
part of any other project report or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was conferred
on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

Signature of Internal Guide Signature of External Guide

2.5 DECLARATION - FORMAT

I hereby declare that the project entitled “(Project Topic)” submitted for the M.B.A. Degree <Course
Name> is my original work and the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award of any degree,
associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

Place: Date:

Signature of the Student

(NAME,BOLD, TIMESNEW ROMAN, 12 PT)

(Note - Both Declaration & Bonafide Certificate have to be on separate Pages)