Compare and contrast your organisation (Mc Donalds) against another one (Wendy's)

Title page

The title itself should capture the essence of the research, perhaps by drawing on parts of the research question(s) or the intended impact of the project. The title should not be too long; 10 words or less is usually quite sufficient.

Executive summary

· a short theme sentence to orient the reader

· a clear statement of the purpose of the project

· a brief overview of the project (research method, data collection and data analysis)

· a brief but accurate summary of results or findings

· implications of your work (for example, what are the recommendations for management practice or for government policy)? The implications in the executive summary can often be summarised in one short sentence (for example, that managers in your country or region can use the findings from your project report to improve their practices).

Note that the executive summary should not contain any citations or refer to references. Citations appear only in the body of the report.

Table of contents

1. Introduction (500 words)

· establish the background to the project and briefly introduce the organisation/industry

· state the purpose of the present project and describe its importance for the organisation/industry

· outline of the major sections of the project report.

(Clearly establish the context of your project topic clearly. State what this project sets out to achieve. Establish the importance of your topic. The introduction concludes with an outline of the structure of the project report, providing a brief summary of the sections).

2. Literature review (1000 words)

· Background

First, discuss some general literature about the project’s topic to establish the roots of your discussion. Demonstrate that you understand the main concepts, relevant principles and theories. This discussion of the literature needs to be succinct. It can include a definition of the core terms followed by a brief description of some of the main themes in the literature, usually starting at a very broad level and then narrowing it down to your research topic.

· The present context

This section uses literature to provide detail specifically about your project topic in relation to your chosen organisation (within its industry). Discuss its origins, how it became involved with the business issues in the project’s topic, what it needs to address, and why the present study is required.

3. Research methodology (500 words)

3.1 Research method

Here you describe what research methodology you used to conduct your study.

· Are you doing an industry case study or are you comparing across industries?

· On what basis have you selected the organisations or industry to study?

· How many industries are involved?

· What secondary data will you use?

· Why is your research method appropriate for your Project?

(Give citations (provide references) when discussing your research methodology)

3.2 Data collection (and unit of analysis)

You must provide precise details of the way in which you collected your secondary data and what data you actually used (such as the use of company annual reports, industry magazines or industry data).

Table 1 – Secondary Data Sources

Secondary Data Source	Purpose in the report	Unit of Analysis
ABC limited Annual Report 2018	This report was analysed to assess the profitability of the company	Ratio Analysis

Source: Created for this report

3.3 Ethical considerations

Highlight any ethical considerations associated with your research. For example degree of risk

4. Presentation of findings (1500 words)

Create an introductory paragraph which summarizes the main aspects of the analysis

4.1 Data analysis

· When reporting what the data showed, start with the overall picture first and then go into the details.

· Describe the business analytics methods used and the outcome of your data analysis.

· What does the data suggest that is going on?

· What are the activities, processes and events that are happening?

· Describe your findings based on the data analysis.

· Use tables and graphs (where appropriate) to summarise information and present the evidence.

Important note: do not refer to the literature or compare your findings with wha

See Analytical tools for support.

4.2 Reflection on findings

Once you have analysed the data and described the findings for your project, sit back and consider what those findings mean for you, for the chosen organisation and, if relevant, for the industry. Reflect on the findings in relation to yourself, your organisation and industry. Note these reflections in this section.

Look at the implications of your findings that may be applicable to:

· the literature

· managers in the organisation or industry

· other managers, other organisations or other industries.

First, take a step back and explain how your findings relate back to the literature, that is, to the articles that you have cited earlier.

· Do your findings confirm existing ideas already written about?

· Did you find something new that could now be explored further by other researchers?

Secondly,

· What do you recommend that managers in your industry(ies) do in the future?

· What advice do you have based on the findings of your research?

Finally,

· What are the implications of all that you have done, for managers and for policy makers in your country or region?

· What can other managers, other organisations, and other industries learn from your findings?

(These implications for other managers may often be the same as for the managers in the case(s) you investigated, but if the case is in an unusual industry or has an unusual structure or strategy, you may be able to develop some additional recommendations.)

5. Conclusions and Recommendations (1000 words)

· This final section, you should summarise your research process and its findings.

· Identify the contribution made by your project report and tie up the whole package to show that the purpose of the project report (as set out in the introduction) has been achieved.

· Then, you should identify challenges or issues that remain unresolved. Note that apart from the challenges or issues that remain unresolved, there should not be any new concepts or ideas suddenly introduced in the conclusion.

(The conclusion merely ties everything that has been mentioned before into one concise package. Identify clearly in this section what are the future actions you recommend for managers and policy makers in your country or region).

5.1 Recommendations

· State the recommendation

· Explain it

· Justify it

· Explain how to implement

· Evaluate the impact

References

· Approximately 20–25 relevant references from different sources.

· Within this list aim for a minimum of 12 academic references like journal articles and textbooks.

· The remaining resources in the list could be industry reports, company documents, and other sources.

Appendix

It is important to note that a reader should not have to look at an appendix to understand the main thrust of the points you are making in your project report. Make sure all your main points are in the body of your project report and then refer the reader to the appendices for detail.

The Project Report (85% of the total grade)

a) Components of the report:

i. Introduction to the report and literature review (15%)

The student provides an introduction to the report, including an overview of the literature relating to the topic, critically evaluating its main relevant themes and its application to the topic being addressed.

ii. Explanation of research methodology and identification of the data source (10%)

The student describes and justifies research methods used; explains data collection methods appropriately.

iii. Presentation of the findings (20%)

The student describes and analyses the findings effectively, clearly showing how findings address the research topic. The student demonstrates appropriate reflection on findings.

iv. Implications, recommendations and conclusion (15%)

The student summarises key findings in relation to literature discussed earlier; makes appropriate recommendations based on the findings; presents effective conclusions regarding the research problem.

b) Referencing (10%)

The student acknowledges sources of facts appropriately; uses appropriate number and quality of references; adheres to author-date style referencing conventions.

c) Structure and presentation (10%)

The student structures the content logically; demonstrates clear report from and presentation.

d) Communication style and language (5%)

The student demonstrates good writing style and adheres to the conventions of written English (grammar, punctuation and spelling).