Guidelines for Summer Project

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 Project Objectives
 Application of knowledge and techniques learned in the 1st year
through the analysis of a business issue involving a substantial
piece of independent work by the student over an extended
period.
 To demonstrate proficiency in the design of a research project,
application of appropriate research methods, collection and
analysis of data and presentation of results

 Understand an organization and the real life situation prevailing

there.
 To improve the understanding of the functional area of the
project (which should normally be your area of major
specialization)
 To appreciate interlinking of different functions and departments
of the organization and the need for coordinated work culture.
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 Project Duration
 ISCS/ ISCD mandates 8 weeks (excluding holidays and
Sundays) to be spent in the company as a part of the
project work.
 The project work can commence immediately after PG
examinations.
 Management Trainees shall finish the project
by the deadline given
 Extension of project duration without the permission
of the Director will be considered as unauthorized
absence and will affect your attendance and TNG
status for 3rd Term. It would also adversely affect your
placement prospects.
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Project Evaluation
1. For PGP - project work is evaluated for 200
marks

1. For SMU- project work is evaluated for 100

marks by the internal examiner and another
100 marks by the external evaluator
( Synopsis 5 marks+ Methodology 10 marks+
Analysis & Findings 25 marks+ Proj. report 25
marks + Viva 35 marks= 100 marks. Same
marking pattern for internal & external
evaluation)
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 Physical Features of the Report
 Report shall be typed on white paper (A4 size bond) and made
in 2 copies for PGP – one copy for the Institute and one for the
student.
 For SMU, the report shall be prepared in the same way- One
copy for SMU and one for the student.
 The typing shall be of standard letter size (12 font) black color
using only one side of the paper with double spacing.
 Margins: left - 35 mm, right - 20 mm, bottom - 20mm, top - 35
mm.
 Binding: Report shall be Rexene bound in black. Plastic and
spiral bound project reports are not accepted.
 Front cover: The front cover should contain the following details.
Cont’d….

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 Physical Features ….. Cont’d
 TOP: The title in block capitals of 6 mm to 15 mm
letters
 CENTER: Full name of the Management Trainee in
block capitals of 6 mm to 10 mm letters
 BOTTOM: Name of the Institute, Year of submission –
all in block capitals of 6m to 10mm letters on separate
lines with proper spacing and centering.
 Blank sheets: At the beginning and end of the
Report, two white bond papers should be provided,
one for the purpose of binding and other to be left
blank.
 The length of the project should be between 8,000 to
10,000 words excluding annexure, tables, graphs etc. 6
 Selecting the topic
 It should preferably be in the area major
specialization
 Before going to the company you should jot
down two or three topics of your interest. This
will be useful in case company gives you a
choice.
 In case company insists on direct selling you
have to explain to them that you are required to
submit a project report and you can do selling
as well as work on the project simultaneously.
It is difficult to prepare research project report if
the sole activity is selling during the project. 7
Selecting the topic (Cont’d)
 Even if you are involved in selling, design a
questionnaire to survey the potential
customers you are selling to and analyze the
data for findings.

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Before reporting to the Company
 Confirm your project title and the scope of
work with the company.
 Try to find out your guide in the company as
well as in the institute and discuss the topic
with them.
 Do through review of literature by going
through all possible secondary sources.
 Prepare a flow chart of the activities for
entire duration of project which will act as a
guide for you.

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 After Joining the Company
 Maintain a daily record of work done in a
separate log book. This should include the
points discussed and the information
provided to you and will be useful in
drafting the report later.
 Find the name of the person in the
company who will be acting as your
external guide (if this is not already done)
and discuss and finalize the project topic
with him.
 Company’s requirements are superior and
should be followed. Cont’d…
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After Joining the Company… Cont’d
 The sincere efforts put in by the Management
Trainee may some times lead to a Pre Placement
Offer (PPO) from the company. Therefore, take
your project seriously!!
 Data collection must be completed while you are
in the company otherwise it will be impossible to
visit the company again.
 Companies may demand tentative report before
you leave. In such a case you may have to
submit two reports one for the company and
other to the ISCS/ISCD according to their
requirements.
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Academic requirements
 Company’s certificate evidencing satisfactory completion
is an essential document.
 Some times the issue of the certificate is delayed by the
company or your external guide. It could be either due to:
 Poor quality of the project work
 Preoccupation by your external guide
 In either case, consider that you are responsible to
get the certificate!!!
 Often restructuring and redrafting the report is necessary
to meet the requirement of ISCS.
 Be in touch with your internal guide
 No two reports can have same objectives, data and
findings. If so ISCS/ISCD will reject both the reports.
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Preparing the Report
 Minimum 8000 words and maximum
10000 words

 The “Annexure” is not considered for

word count

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Preparing the Report Contents
 The Project Report should have the contents in the
following order
1. Institute certificate
2. Company Certificate
3. Acknowledgements
4. Table of Contents with page numbers
5. Executive Summary (This should be a brief
summary not exceeding 2-3 pages consisting of
introduction, objective & scope, methodology, data
analysis, conclusions & recommendations)
.
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Contents
 Part I Company Profile
 7. Brief introduction of
the company.
 8. History of the
Company / Organization
profile
 Part II Project Overview
 9. Introduction
 10 Objectives& scope
 11. Research
Methodology
 12. Data Analysis
 13.Conclusions
 14.Limitations
 13. Recommendations
and Observations
 Part III
 Appendix
 Bibliography
 References
 Glossary
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Objectives & Scope
 Prefer to keep only one main objective
 May have a number of subsidiary objectives.
 A Problem well defined is half solved.
 SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant & Time – bound
 Scope: To what extent and within what
boundaries you plan to explore the topic (e.g.
geographical, Mkt. Potential in south
Maharashtra)
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Company / Organization Profile
 General Information: Products & Services,
Vision, Mission, Philosophy, Founders,
Organogram, etc.
 Functional area related: Marketing / HR /
Finance scenario, department structure,
topic related activities.
 Industry Profile can also be briefly included
in this part as background information if
necessary or, it can be appended in the
end, if exhaustive
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Research Methodology
 Project Design: include flow chart for clarity
 Information needed
 Sources of data: Primary & Secondary
 Designing the Questionnaire: Pains taken in
Questionnaire designing at the start of the project
can save more efforts in Data Analysis later.
Questionnaire should be designed with the
Objectives of the project in mind.( If you do not
include the right questions in the questionnaire, you cannot
get the relevant data and then you cannot reach the right
conclusion !)
 Sampling

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 Questionnaire Design: The Art of
Asking Questions
 What should be asked? Relevance and Accuracy
 How should each question be phrased? Open –
ended questions and fixed – alternative questions
 In what sequence the questions to be arranged?
Order bias, Funnel techniques, Filter bias.
 What questionnaire layout will best serve the
research objectives? Print, Post, Internet etc.
 How should the questionnaire be pre-tested?
Does the questionnaire need to be revised?

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Sampling
 Sample size? Variance (s), Magnitude of
Error (e), Confidence Level (z) n =(zs / e)2
Availability of time & other resources.
 Sampling frame
 Sampling Procedure : Probability & Non –
probability
 Sampling Size – procedure relationship

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 Data Analysis
 Cross tabulation of the Questionnaire by
classification of responses and frequency
distribution.
 The more effort you put in developing the
questionnaire, i.e. aided recall, use a uniform
rating scale, the easier it is to do data analysis.
 Statistical methods; Central tendencies, Weighted
Averages etc. s/w like MS-Excel
 Appropriate Graphical representation of key
questions with comments.
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 Conclusions & Observations
 Observations: Related to
those issues only, which were
NOT included and explored
thru the questionnaire
 Observations may not require
a data support
 Keep your Objectives &
Tabulation sheet before you
when you sit to write your
conclusions.
 Conclusions have to be
strictly based on the
collected data, attempting to
answer the objectives
 Conclusions should match &
satisfy the objectives
 List down the Conclusions
 Write positive Conclusions first
 Key Conclusions can be
Graphically represented
stating the importance and
implications for the company22
Limitations
 Constraints of resources including time
 Availability of data
 Reliability of data
 Academic scope
 Access to information etc.

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Bibliography & References
 Author, year of Publication, Title Sub-Title,
Edition, Name and Place of Publisher,
Chapter & Pages.
 e.g. Kazmi, A. “Business Policy & Strategic
Management” Tata McGraw – Hill, New Delhi,
2nd Edition, 2002.
 E.g. Khandwala P.N. , “Two routes to
turnaround’ in business world, Apr.12-25
1989. pp 17-19.
 Websites

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 Executive Summary
 Prepare a summary of Objectives,
Findings, Limitations & Recommendations
only.
 Overall should not be more than 800 words.
 Though the Executive Summary is
prepared in the end, it is included first in
order.
 Should provide an overview of the project
emphasizing the value added by it.

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Annexure
 Any documents, the inclusion of which in the
main report may hamper the flow e.g.
 Sample questionnaire
 Company formats, e.g. Performance
Appraisal etc.
 Company Leaflets or Handouts etc.
 Copy of Legal documents

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Things To Take Care Of …
 The Company may delay issue of certificate
of completion of project. Please take care to
do and submit a good project report. Also
follow up with the the Company at least 3 – 4
weeks before your project submission date to
ISCS for issue of completion certificate.
 DO NOT wait till the last date to bind your
report.
Cont’d…

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Things To Take Care Of …Cont’d
 DO NOT wait till the last date to submit the
draft report to your internal project guide.
Give him / her a little extra time as they are
busy people.

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Important Dates
 Date for reporting back to ISCS is 5 July 10. And
you should continue to be present in class after
reporting. Attendance in Term III will decide your
eligibility for placement.
 Late reporting will lead to barring from placement. It
is in your interest to treat this stipulation as important
 If in rare cases your project is extended, you should
take written permission from the Director. For this
purpose your external guide should send an email
from his official email id (not personal email id) to the
Director ISCS/ISCD much before 5 July.

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Important Dates (Cont’d)
 The deadline for submission of draft project
report is 7 Aug 10
 The deadline for submission of final project
report after approval from internal guide is
4 Sept 10

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Project interview- IMPORTANT!
 As part of the grading for placement, an
interview will be conducted soon after your
reporting back to college. This will assess
your communication skills, confidence, body
language,domain knowledge and project
knowledge/ experience.
 It is therefore important to know and carry out
your project diligently

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