Project Thesis Guidelines 2012-2

8/10/2019 Project Thesis Guidelines 2012-2

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GUIDELINESFOR

REPORT WRITING

(STEPS INVOLVED)

1Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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INTRODUCTION

Now that you have completed your classroom studies, the

Institute would like to train you further towards becoming an

efficient and effective manager. Thus now you would be

required to demonstrate your ability and potential to do

independent thinking and understand a real life managerialissue in your chosen functional area of management, viz,

Finance, HRM, Marketing, Operations, etc. Moreover, you are

expected to suggest solution to this kind of problem or at

least report the existing solution.

How do you go about accomplishing this task? Well, the

guidelines follow for your perusal and usage.Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava 2


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OBJECTIVE

To help you develop ability to apply

multidisciplinary concepts, tools, and

techniques to focus on organizational

problems and arrive at/report solutions. The

aim is essentially to test your ability to apply

your knowledge and skills after having studied

management oriented subjects for 4semesters, to a real life situation.



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TYPES OF PROJECT

Comprehensive case study: It covers single

organization/ multifunctional area problem

formulation, analysis, and recommendation.

Interorganisational study: It aims at inter

firm/ comparison/ validation of theory/survey

of management practices.

Field study: Empirical study pertaining to

functional areas.



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PROJECT MENTOR & EVALUATOR

Will be assigned by the college. He will also

evaluate your written report. In addition you

will be evaluated through an oral examination

conducted by a second evaluator.



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PROJECT FORMULATION

You are required to prepare 1 page synopsis

and provide a title. Submit it to your guide

and seek his written approval to go ahead.

Without such approval being granted in

advance your final project report will not be

accepted.



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REPORT WRITING & SUBMISSION

You will submit a rough draft to your guide. Once heapproves the draft you will write the final report.

Then you will submit 2 final copies of the typed

report (on A4 sheets in double space, and in a bound

form) to your guide. Keep one copy of the report for

your own personal reference, since the above 2

copies shall not be returned to you. You have to mail

your report as also to provide a C.D. of the completereport, in addition to the hard copies



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LENGTH OF THE REPORT

Normally your report should contain 10,000

words, i.e. roughly 30-35 typewritten sheets.

You will have to justify a shorter or a lengthier

submission which in any case cannot go

beyond a 5% variation.



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SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

1.Think of a topic you want to prepare a project report on

2.Write a synopsis and give it a title

3. Type the titled synopsis and submit it online/offline to your guide for

approval

4. Do your own research. The research will essentially involve collection,collation, and analysis of primary info. A report based purely on secondary

data will not be accepted

5.If need be, consult your guide as required

6. Write a rough draft of the report and discuss it with your guide

7.Submit the final report if the guide has approved the draft.

Else, bring about the changes suggested, resubmit the rough draft, and then

subsequent to approval submit the final report

8.Appear for the oral examination on the appointed day

9.Strictly adhere to all the deadlines intimated to you in advance. 9Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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STRUCTURE OF

THE REPORT



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1. Title Page:

It will have the following information:

Title of the report (On top)

Submitted by: Name of the student, class, rollnumber, batch (In the middle)

Submitted to: Name of the professor, name of

the institution, month and year of submission

(At the bottom)



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2.Executive Summary/Abstract

This is a summary of the completed paper, from introduction to conclusion, in about 300

words. Broadly, it defines the concepts studied, states the purpose of the study, describes its

scope and analytical tools used to arrive at the conclusions, and then states key findings. This

section is written AFTER you have written your complete report.

One example of the executive summary:

CRM is a philosophy that directs the organization to build its processes around its customers

needs. The call centre (CC) is a CRM-embedded automation that builds long term, strategic

relationship with its customers. It assures high volume performance for organizations, and

fast, consistent service for their customers. Banks and other financial service providers can

benefit most because they deal in information and funds that are electronically transacted.

The CC is a technology cum attitude driven alternative to existing channels of the providers.

American providers have put up a sterling performance in cc for their Indian counterparts.

Indian organization have just made an entry, but awareness and interest in the gains in its

business applications are steadily increasing. The cc is a strategic investment, and therefore

must be driven by top management. However, process changes, technology integration and

absorption, and regular cultural training are vital for success of the investment.



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3.Table of Contents

Here titles of chapters along with their

corresponding page numbers are mentioned.

For example:



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4. Preface

Here you will talk about your report (in not

more than 100-150 words) and acknowledge

the contribution of various sources (teachers,

professionals from the organization, friends,libraries, etc.) who helped you in completing

the report.



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5. Introduction

You will introduce the subject matter of your project here in 4-5 pages. This must

describe the topic and the problem in about 4-5 pages. The first thing is your

problem statement. Emphasize the problem area and its related effects. State the

main objective of your exercise here.

One example of the way Introduction is written is given below:

Depreciation is a method of spreading the cost of a fixed asset over its economic

life. The economic life of a fixed asset is greater than the accountancy periods

across which financial statements are made and presented to stakeholders.

Depreciation therefore allocates the cost of the asset to the accounting periodsbenefitting its use. Companies adopt different methods of depreciation, and may

change these methods from time to time. Consequently, readers arrive at different

conclusions, when they read the financial statements..

(Note: This is an abridged from only of Introduction and is in regular font size of 12

Times New Roman)



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6. Methodology

You have to begin with by doing desk based (secondary sources centered)

research. Then you have to administer questionnaire / conduct interviews

to collect primary data/ responses. If you had chosen either of them, give

your justification for doing so, this section is written in past tense. You

have to describe new process used, if any. This section should be written

in about 600 words.

To illustrate

The sample was drawn from Business Todayslist of 500 largest companies(Sep 22 October 6,2011). Out of these, only the largest 200 in terms of

size of assets were covered, provided they were at least 20 years old, as on

31 March 2009. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire

sent to the CEO/CFO/ Director (Finance) in these companies. The data was

analysed using factor analysis16Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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7. Text of the Project

Here you will write the main body of your report (20-25 pages). In this

section you provide all the details including your findings with particular

reference to the problem areas. Undertake and report statistical analysis

here. Emphasize areas of conformance /divergence from concepts,

assumptions and practices.

For example, the following form part of the main text of 2 different reports:

81% of the respondents listed five factors to be of crucial importance

(see Table3 below)

This identified 11 key areas which organizations must build for competing

successfully in the global market. These are indicated in Table6 below.



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8. Conclusion

In this section you will highlight the main points of your project report and

draw your own conclusion. You may even make suggestions. Consolidate

your findings. Do make recommendations towards a better system.

Critically analyse your report. Also report limitations like size and quality

sample, etc. The length should be about 600 words.

One report, for example, concluded:

Although Deming emphasized the need to adopt an employee centric

approach to implement TQM, the study showed that the companies in ourstudy implemented TQM successfully without undue dependence on their

people. This contradicted the popular view that TQM is effective only if all

the people in the organization participated in the exercise. The study was

limited to one large metropolis, and respondents were wihin a narrow age

group of 35-45. A broader sample is recommended for better results.18Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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9. Tables and figures

Any detailed facts and figures which do not

form the part of the main text can be included

here. (These pages are in addition to 30-35

page report)

Remember, these statistics are the ones which

have NOT been already incorporated at

different places in the main body of the Essay



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10.Bibliography

You will quote here all the books, articles and web based sources. Without this listing your

report will be rejected immediately. It is of utmost importance that you document all your

primary sources and the secondary references while you are researching for your report. DO

NOT wait till the stage of writing since you would not be able to retrieve these sources at that

stage. A minimum of 10 references must be provided, the use of which in your report will be

cross checked by the evaluator. Any fraudulent mention (meaning, no actual use of the

quoted reference for writing the report) will summarily invite an instant rejection of thereport.

You have to follow the following style:

Books:

Bowersox, Donald J. (2008): LogisticsManagement.Tata McGraw Hill, New Delhi

Journals and other articles:

Schemenner, R. W (1999): Company information and Share Prices Movement Journal of

Finance & Economics, Vol. 21, No. 1, PP 83-104

Online Resources:

Measuring Marketing at Retail in Chain Drugsstores.http://www.popai.com (accessed on

September 10, 2011)

Reporting of references any other way will invite penalty20Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava
http://www.popai.com/http://www.popai.com/http://www.popai.com/http://www.popai.com/http://www.popai.com/http://www.popai.com/


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You have to compulsorily follow the following format:

SYNOPTIC VIEW OF WHAT TO INCLUDE WHERE

ABSTRACT

Definitions of concepts to be studied

Purpose of study

Scope of study

Analytical tools used within

Key Findings

INTRODUCTION

Description of topic, problem, and objective of study

MEHODOLOGY

Use of secondary and primary data: Their description

Analytical tools employed, in detail

MAIN TEXT

Details of your project

Findings

Areas of conformance/divergence

CONCLUSION

Consolidated findings

Recommendations towards a better system/ process

REFERENCES

Separate listing of books / journals/sounds/web based sources

(Follow alphabetical order)



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REPORT WRITING: DETAILED GUIDELINES

REPORT WRITING: TITLE PAGE

The Title Page

Allows the reader to easily identify the context /coverage of

the report

Has details of:- Title of the report

- Your name and identity (registration number, batch, etc.)

- To whom it is addressed, including the course it is submitted

for

- Date of submission

Is visible even before opening the report



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REPORT WRITING: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Allows reader to get an overview of the report before focusing

on the details

Gives a summary of the whole report and not the introduction

or recommendations alone

Focuses on FINDINGS and NOT on STRUCTURE of the report

Includes a brief statement of the original problem and the

main argument or evidence that have led you to your

conclusions

Is only one page long

Is best written after you have finished writing the main body

of the report

Is placed even before the contents page23Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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REPORT WRITING: CONTENTS LIST

Shows major and minor section headings

Gives the page on which each section starts

Also gives titles of any attached appendices



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REPORT WRITING: INTRODUCTION

Is written to orient the reader to the subject of the report

Is not merely paraphrasing of the title; goes beyond

Addresses the following questions:

- Why is the topic important?- What is the purpose of the report?

- What is the main argument contained?

- On what evidence is the main argument based?

- How is the argument structured?

- What are the implications of the argument?



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REPORT WRITING: MAIN BODY

Usually contains a number of major and minor

sections

Aims to develop arguments, based on evidence that

build up to your eventual conclusions Incorporates diagrams/tables/figures to support and

clarify the text

Refers to more detailed analysis which is in the

appendices at the appropriate point in the main

body



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REPORT WRITING: CONCLUSIONS

& RECOMMENDATIONS Should follow on naturally from the arguments raised

in the main body

Should contain no surprises or new material

Recommendations deal with the implementation ofthe conclusions

Recommendations are action oriented

Recommendations are given in order of priority Recommendations have to be in consistency with

the prevailing conditions of the environment and the

organization.27Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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REPORT WRITING: APPENDICES

Contain detailed evidence for those readers

who want further details, or for those wanting

more information before they are convinced

of your arguments.

Are referred through letter (A,B,C.) and not

numbers (1,2,3..)



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REPORT WRITING: REFERENCES

List of all secondary data used, but NOT

primary sources

It also includes nowadays the web based

sources



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ILLUSTRATIVE LIST

OF

TOPICS(IMP: You are entirely free to select any other topic, of course with theprior approval of your mentor)



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Finance

Foreign exchange rate fluctuations and Indian textile exports Leasing finance and its influence on automobile sector

Industrial sickness in engineering industry: causes and

remedies

Electronic fund transfer: opportunities, applications, andchallenges

Credit rating agencies in India: case study of CRISIL

Funding options of corporate sector-a comparative analysis

Merchant banking in India: A case study

Financial risk reduction in international trade

Venture capital and its scope in India.

The GAAP and its application in India. 31Prepared by Prof. K. K. Srivastava


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HRM

Computerisation and its effect on employees morale: Case study of SBI

Compensation trends for middle management during 2011

Job satisfaction in an organization: case study of Infosys

Stress and its causes in workplace

Organisational restructuring strategies and actions: case study of Marico Role of TQM in HRD

Performance appraisal and management in entertainment industry

Indian managers and their skill development in new business environment

Motivating sales executives: Experience of HUL

Reward system and its impact on productivity improvement: A case study

of TCS



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Marketing

Brand awareness and purchase behaviour for branded biscuits

Marketing strategy of fast food chains : study of McDonald's

Aftershave lotion: The scope for a new entrant

Hero Motocorp: Competition ahead

Buying process of a prospective buyer of Car in A segment Study of adoption of fashion among college going youth in Delhi

Advertising on internet by booksellers: Issues and future

Media planning and advertising effectiveness

India's foreign trade in textile and clothing: segments and potential, 2012

Vendor selection factors: case study of Escorts

33Prepared by Prof K K Srivastava

Project Thesis Guidelines 2012-2

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