PROJECT GUIDELINES

SMU 2011 (Submit to: mba4project@gmail.com before 15.01.2012)

Topic Selection
Select a topic from your SPECIALIZATION area. The topic should not be a GENERAL STUDY. It STUDY. should be a focused study pertaining to an organizational issue, problem or event. So select a topic that has got relevance to an organizational event. Before proceeding with the work on your project, you should get approval for your project from the Project Coordinator

Procedure for Seeking Approval for the Project

Once the topic is selected, the summary of the topic should be sent to the Project Coordinator for approval. The summary of the project is termed as Synopsis. Without getting approval of the synopsis, the project work should not be commenced as the approval of the project coordinator is imperative.

Procedure for approval

The permission must be sought by submitting the synopsis of the project to the Project Coordinator and get written approval for the synopsis Once you get approval for your synopsis from the Project Coordinator, you can start your work on your project When the project is over, its soft copy should be submitted to the Project Coordinator and get his written approval for your project

Approvals
Approval of synopsis by the project coordinator is compulsory. Any project done without getting approval of the synopsis will be rejected Approval of final project is compulsory from the project coordinator. The study center will accept the original printed project only on the basis of the submission of the approval letter

Project Guidelines
The project should have a guide and the guide should have MBA degree ( for MBA in Healthcare, the guide can be a doctor) The total number of pages of the project should not be less than 100 and not more than 150 ). The minimum size of 100 pages should be exclusive of the forms, synopsis copy and other attachments. The page size should be A4, with line spacing of 1.5 and font size of 12 There should be minimum of 22 lines in each page (pages having image, pictures, charts etc excluded) The margins, alignments and spacing should be uniform as there is special rating for organizing the structure of the materials

Project Guidelines
The structure of the project is given below as guidelines  Initial first 5 pages of the project are certain forms and the copy of these forms will be released by the project coordinator  After insertion of the forms, there should be TABLE OF CONTENT  The TABLE OF CONTENT should have the following details
 Chapter Numbers of the project along with the content and page numbers  The subheadings of the chapters also should be mentioned and page numbers should be given

(Format of the table of content is furnished as Annexure 3)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
 An executive summary, sometimes known as a management summary, is a short document or section of a document, produced for business purposes, that summarizes a longer report or proposal or a group of related reports, in such a way that readers can rapidly become acquainted with a large body of material without having to read it all. It will usually contain a brief statement of the problem or proposal covered in the major document(s), background information, concise analysis and main conclusions. It is intended as an aid to decision making by managers and has been described as possibly the most important part of a business plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
An Executive Summary : be possibly 10% or so of the length of the main report be written in language appropriate for the target audience[ consist of short and concise paragraphs start with a summary be written in the same order as the main report only include material present in the main report make recommendations provide a justification have a conclusion be able to be read separately from the main report sometimes summarize more than one document

Introductory Chapter
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
Brief Introduction of the study Problem Identification Scope of study Methodology adopted ( brief within one page)

Literature Review
LITERATURE REVIEW
 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE REVIEW
 Define or identify the general topic, issue or area of concern  Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic ( or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence and conclusions or gaps in research and scholarship etc  Establish the writer s reason for reviewing the literature ( point of view), explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing the literature and the organization of review

Literature Review
BODY OF LITERATURE REVIEW
 Group literature studies, reviews, theoretical articles, case analysis etc  Summarize individual studies or articles etc  Evaluate the current state of the art of the body of knowledge

Company Analysis
COMPANY ANALYSIS (ORGANIZATION ANALYSIS)  Since the study is based on an organizational issue, a detailed description about the organization should be given .  For example, the project may be Working Capital Management , Launching a New Product in the Market , Patient Complaints and Availability of Staff , Implementation of a New Technology and its Impact on Organization etc. Such a study revolves around an organization and hence, that organization s details should be furnished furnished.

Company Analysis
STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTER
 Introduction to organization Mission , Vision, Values etc  History of the organization  Organizational structure ( can use management tools to explain it, organizational chart can be shown)  Management structure  Description about various departments  Details of products and services of the organization ( if needed, can use BCG Matrix, GE Matrix etc )  Business strategy of the company ( can use gap analysis, sensitivity analysis etc )  Assess the capability of the company ( Make SWOT Analysis if needed)  Explain how the project is linked to the company and how it will affect the company

Industry Analysis
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS  Since the company exists in an industry, a detailed analysis of the industry is quite relevant as the success and failure, strategy, plans and policies, future prospects etc of the company depends upon the industry in which it operates.  Hence industry analysis is quite important and in certain situation, the industry can be the major weakness of a company.

Industry Analysis
CHAPTER STRCUTURE  Introduction to industry  History of the industry both global as well as local  Current trend of the industry  Competitive framework in the industry
 List major competitors and their strategy  The trend of competition. Explain competitive framework ( Porter s Five Forces Model, SPACE Matrix, PESTEL framework, Competition Profile Matrix etc can be used if needed)  Future prospects of the industry  Explain how industry influences your business and project

Industry Analysis
Who are your competitors? What products or services do they sell? What is each competitor's market share? What are their past strategies? What are their current strategies? What type of media are used to market their products or services? How many hours per week do they purchase to advertise through the media used in this market? What are each competitor's strengths and weaknesses? What potential threats do your competitors pose? What potential opportunities do they make available for you?

Research Methodology
RESEARCH METHDOLOGY  The project is done with the help of data collected from the environment . Without data , there is no project and hence data collection is very important  Two types of data are generally used for a project. They are:
 Primary data  Secondary data

Research Methodology
Your project should be based on both. If you depend upon secondary data only, there are chances of rejection of the project by the viva board. So the data should be collected from primary as well as secondary sources. Questionnaire should be used and the format of the questionnaire should be attached at the end of the project Viva board will ask specifically about the questionnaire and will verify the questionnaire

Research Methodology
CHAPTER STRUCTURE  Introduction  Research design  Population and size of the universe  Sample population and explain why it is selected or on what basis the sample is selected.  Data collection Primary and secondary ( can explain the theoretical side of it first with the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques)

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER STRUCTURE
 Analysis of data quantitatively and qualitatively with the help of statistical tools  Presentation of analysis and results with the help of presentation tools  Comparison of data  Interpretation of the results  Refer Unit 12 Research Methodology Study Material

Findings, Suggestion & Conclusion

Explain the findings of the study in detail Furnish your suggestions on the basis of the findings of the study Give conclusion

Annexure
 After conclusion, there should be annexure and in the annexure, attach the following:  Questionnaires  Attachment of other documents if any

Bibliography & Reference

 After attachments, give bibliography  After bibliography, add the copy of the approved synopsis.

IMPORTANT DATES
 The last date for the submission of Synopsis is 25.11.2011  The last date for the submission of the final project is 15.01.2012 The viva will be conducted by the last week of January 2012 and at the time of viva, the hardbinded approved copy of the project should be ready.