Management Thesis Guidelines

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A MANAGEMENT THESIS / GRAND PROJECT

A management thesis is a written presentation of the work done by you on a given research topic. It is important to bear in mind that even though the research thesis is submitted only at the end of any given period, in reality it is a culmination of your continuous efforts.
Writing a Research Thesis: The Semester-IV of the MBA Program requires submission of research report to the college. Care should be taken to ensure that the quality of the thesis is of a high standard. General guidelines on writing a research thesis are described below
The first part of the thesis should describe the organization you are working for, the type of activity of the organization and the specific focus of your Thesis. In a generalized sense an ideal research report should cover the following aspects:
1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Table of Contents
4. Acknowledgements
5. List of Tables & Illustrations
6. Abbreviations
7. Abstract /Summary
8. Introduction- Objectives & Limitations
9. Research Design/ Methodology
10. Review of literature
11. Empirical Analysis
12. Findings and suggestions
13. Conclusions and/or Recommendations
14. Appendices
15. References
16. Glossary

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

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




by
(The name of the Student)




(Name of the Organization, if any)

2. Title Page: This page may contain the following information:
a) Title of the thesis (an indication of the subject matter)
b) Name of the author, enrolment no., module & course

A THESIS ON
(Title of the Thesis in CAPITAL LETTERS)




by
(The name of the Student)
(Enrolment No.)





A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of
the requirements of
THE MBA PROGRAM (Class of 2008)
(College Name)

Copies marked list:

3. Table of Contents: The main function of this section is to give the reader an overall view of the report. The main divisions as well as the subdivisions should be listed in sequence with page numbers they are on. It helps the reader locate a particular topic or sub-topic easily.
The charts, diagrams and tables included in the report should be listed separately under a title ‘List of Tables & Illustrations’ with the page numbers. While preparing the table of contents you have to bear in mind the following points:
- Leave a one inch margin to the left, to the right, on the top and at 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 by 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. Please note that till ‘Summary’ the pages are numbered in lower case Roman numerals. From ‘Introduction’ onwards Arabic numerals should be used.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments................................... ii
List of Tables……………........................... iii
List of Illustrations………….................... iv
Summary.................................................. v
1. Introduction ......................................... 1
1.1 Objectives and Limitations............... 1
1.2 Methodology....................................... 2
1.3 Findings and conclusions................... 3
2. Literature Survey................................. 5
2.1 ................................................................
2.2 ................................................................
3. ...................................................................10
3.1 ..................................................................
3.2 ..................................................................

4. Acknowledgements: Proper acknowledgement of any help received must be placed on record. There may be a number of persons who might have helped you during the course of the research. Customarily, thanks are due to the following persons in the given order:
a. Head of the Organization b. Organization Guide, if any
c. Faculty Supervisor d. Others

5. List of Tables & Illustrations: A detailed list of the charts or diagrams or illustrations that would be incorporated in the report should be given along with the page numbers.

6. Abbreviations: The abbreviations should be listed in an alphabetical order with the respective expanded forms. e.g.:
PAQ - Position Analysis Questionnaire

7. Abstract or Summary: Summary is the essence of the entire report. The objective of the summary is to provide an overview of the content. A summary should be independent and should stand alone. It is advisable to write it after the report has been written.

8. Introduction – Objectives and Limitations: Introduction should provide the context and scope of the report. It should include the objectives, specifying its limitations, methods of enquiry and collecting data, and main finding / conclusion. This serves as a background to the subject of the report that subsequently follows. The reader should be able to get a fair idea about the research.
9. Research Design/Methodology: This section brings out how the enquiry was carried out, interviews were carried out or if any questionnaire were given. It also looks at how the respondents of the interview were chosen. The data should be presented in an organized and logically sequenced method. Usually it has several sections grouped under different headings and sub-headings. The analysis of the data and description of the activities leading to certain conclusions are contained in this section.

10. Review of the literature: Detailed view of related work did in the past by others.

11. Empirical Analysis: For developing and using analytical skills, the intern should reach to some findings/inferences.

12. Findings and suggestions: once if the findings are over by a research/intern there suggestions should be made for the betterment of enterprise.
The results should be presented as simply as possible. There are a number of ways:
· Tables
· Graphs
· Pie charts
· Bar charts
· Diagrams

13. Conclusions and/or Recommendations: The conclusions and/or recommendations are the most important part of the research that is of interest to the reader. These are to be substantiated by the study done during the research period through the analysis and interpretation of the data gathered. It would be helpful to the reader if alternatives, other than the stated conclusions and/or recommendations are projected.

14. Appendices: The contents of an appendix are essentially those which support or elaborate the matter in the main report. The matter which is not essential to the main findings but related to the main report is generally presented in the appendix. The report should not depend on this. Given below are items, which normally form part of the appendix:
(a) flow charts, (b) the questionnaire, (c) computations, (d) glossary of terms etc.

15. References: In this section all the references should be given in alphabetical order by the author’s last name or, when the author is unknown, by the title of the reference. For instance:
Ages, Warren K., Philip H. Ault, and Edwin Emery. Perspectives on Mass Communication, 2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1992 (for books).
“Time to Call in the Bess” Business Week, July 27 1999, 32-36. (for periodicals). “http://www.harishmorwani.blogspot.com/” (for Websites).

16. Glossary: A glossary is an explanation of the technical words used in the report. If the number of such words is small, they are generally explained in the footnotes.

CHECK LIST
1. Cover
Has the name of the organization been included?
2. Title page
Does it include the: Title?
Author’s name?
Module/course details?
3. Acknowledgements
Have you acknowledged all sources of help?
4. Table of contents
Have the main sections been listed in sequence?
5. List of Tables and Illustrations
Have the charts/ diagrams/ illustrations been included with correct page numbers?
6. Abbreviations
Have all the abbreviations used been listed with the expansions?
7. Abstract or summary
Does it state the main task?
The methods used?
The conclusions reached?
The recommendations made?
8. Introduction
Objectives & Limitations
Does it state the scope of the report?
The limits of the report?
An outline of the method?
A background of the subject matter?
9. Research Design/ Methodology
Does it have?
The information about the way the enquiry was carried out?
The way the data was collected?
10. Review of Literature
Have been collected the Review of Literature regarding Research work.
11. Empirical Analysis
Draw the Inference from sensitivity Analysis of the research work carried out.
12. Findings and Suggestions
Are the illustrations related to the report?
Are the illustrations listed clearly?
Are they labeled?
13. Conclusions and/ or recommendations
Have the conclusions based on the main idea been drawn?
Are the recommendations clear and concise?
14. Appendices
Has all the supporting information been listed?
15. References
Have the references been listed alphabetically?
Are the references precise and accurate?
16. Glossary
Does it have the explanation of the technical words?