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On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
Apply systematic planning, organisation, comprehension, self-discipline and commitment in the management of a sustained investigation
Generate and process data (including business and academic data) through well-planned and structured investigations
Critically apply appropriate analytical qualitative and/or quantitative techniques applicable to the area of investigation
Elaborate recommendations regarding action to be taken and action plans to implement these recommendations
Communicate the process and results of the investigation in well-argued pieces of written work
This module is designed to give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in modules they completed in their first semester in a truly real-world context. Either individually or in groups (with prior approval), students -in cooperation with a designated mentor in their organisation- initiate and/or work on a project within their organisation. The project is intended to be of real business value for the organisation, and so it is anticipated that the organisation's leadership will have the incentive and confidence to give students access to the data and resources they require for the completion of their project.
Students will address a problem that they and/or their mentor have identified in their organisation, or they will initiate a project that will bring additional business value to their organisation.
Students will be supported academically by their advisor and professionally by their mentor.
From the first face-to-face Strategic Workshop, students will be required to begin thinking about and planning their project. Their projects will be centred on the needs of the organisation in which they are employed, and will require the cooperation of the organisation.
Real-world application of programme content
* This will be time spent at the student's place of employment and is subsumed into their normal working hours.
Hours: 380*
Intended Group size: 1-3
Consultation with teaching staff
Hours: 20
Intended Group size: 1-3
Independent study and research
Hours: 100
Further details relating to assessment
(eg. non-standard ‘qualifying marks’ and marking schemes, how ethical approval is obtained for any research element of the module and how any research proposal or feasibility study contributes to the assessment and grading of the module)
The report will include a longer piece of written work, relating the student's experiences in working on their project to their MBA studies, as well as a collection of supporting material, including:
• a detailed proposal for their project, indicating the resources required for its completion and the benefits it is expected to bring to their organisation or the problems it is expected to help ameliorate or solve;
• a journal or log of their progress, both in implementing their chosen project as well conducting both academic and business-based research to that end;
• Gantt charts showing the break-down and timing of actions required to complete the project (where appropriate);
• detailed records of meetings (both academic and professional) held or participated in during the course of the project, from the initial stages of selection and proposal, throughout its implementation and after its completion (where appropriate);
• detailed descriptions and analyses of any problems or obstacles encountered during the planning and implementation of the project.
The student(s) will also have the option of including in their report a case study prepared by them on the basis of their project. The case study will be prepared as a teaching and learning tool for postgraduate students in the field. The process of drafting a case study based on their project allows students to demonstrate their ability to map academic approaches onto business practice and vice versa, it also allows them to gain a deeper appreciation for the potential of the workplace to act as a site of learning - an idea that it is very much at the centre of MostMedia's ethos.
The contents of each student's report will be negotiated at the early stages of the project with their project advisor and, if need be, their project mentor. The report allows for the assessment of both the students' knowledge and their ability to synthesise and apply this knowledge in novel contexts. Their written communication skills are assessed as well as their ability to formulate logical and coherent arguments. Their ability to plan and conduct independent research, both academic and business-based, is a key component of the assessment.
In addition to this report, the students' performance will be evaluated from the business perspective by their mentor, who will seek input from the relevant organisational units within their organisation.
Given MostMedia's focus on real-world, applied business education, 40% of a candidate's final grade in the Project Module comes from a review prepared by their Project Mentor. The Project Mentor will be a person within the candidate's organisation, usually but not necessarily a direct or indirect superior.
The Mentor will work closely with the candidate on their chosen project, mainly in an observational and monitoring role, but will also be available to provide advice and guidance. The candidate will be required to participate in and log three meetings with their Mentor, at the very beginning of their project, somewhere near its midpoint and at its end. It is anticipated that the candidate will participate in additional meetings, though, and these will also be logged as part of the report component of the assessment for this module.
The Mentor, at the end of the project, will liaise with other members of management and general staff (as needed) in preparing a review of the candidate's performance. The candidate's performance in this component of the assessment for the module will be based on strictly business criteria. Some of these criteria will be taken from the learning outcomes for the module, but the remainder will be negotiated by the candidate's Project Advisor with their Project Mentor at the outset of the project.
Fifty percent of the maximum marks awarded for the Mentor's Review will be awarded on the basis of the relevant four learning outcomes associated with it, as assessed by the Mentor. Each of the criteria will, by default, be weighted equally, although there is scope for the negotiation of the relative weight of each criterion: any such adaptation will have to be justified by the candidate and approved by their Advisor at the outset of the project. The remainder of the marks will be awarded on the basis of the Mentor's evaluation of the candidate's performance according to criteria that are relevant to their organisation (and which are negotiated with the candidate and their Advisor). The number of such criteria is generally set at four, and the relative weighting is to be approved by the Advisor at the outset of the project.
The four learning outcome-based criteria, worth 20% of the candidate's mark for the module will comprise module learning outcomes 1-4, and include the associated programme-level learning outcomes.
The four organisational criteria, worth 20% of the candidate's mark for the module, are expected to be drawn from the following areas:
• the business value for the organisation of the candidate's project,
• the project's adherence to the organisation's stated goals, values, strategy and mission,
• the candidate's efficient and effective use of the organisation's resources, including but not limited to human resources, and
• the candidate's ability to effectively communicate within and negotiate the organisation's particular corporate culture.
Other relevant information
Do all individual components need to be passed to pass the module overall? Yes
Is this module exempt from condonement of marginal failure? Yes
001 Mentor's review equivalent to 3500 words end of project 40%
002 Individual report 6500 words end of project 60%
Module Coordinator - PRS_CODE=
Level - 7
Credit Value - 40
Pre-Requisites - NONE
Semester(s) Offered - S2
