Some suggestions on the kinds of study efforts involved in an academic-oriented MBA dissertation project

Some suggestions on the kinds of study efforts involved in an academic-oriented MBA dissertation project

The basic dissertation report structure is presented below. Some specific study efforts are indicated also.

Dissertation project title

Statement of originality and authenticity

Executive summary

Acknowledgement

Table of contents

List of figures and tables

Chapter 1: Introduction

Study topics to include are:

1a. Personal background as related to specific management topics of personal interest, especially on the topic to be examined in the dissertation project.

1b. Contextualization of the study and research gap analysis on a specific management topic

1c. Research problems and questions

1d. A brief overview of the report structure

1e. Insert research gap table in chapter 1.

Chapter 2: Literature review

2a. Adopt a more mainstream literature review approach, describing literature search and literature review efforts involved.

2b. Specific literature review findings that inform the research design of the dissertation project, e.g. specific hypotheses to test. Such findings should clarify the concept(s) to be investigated and how it is to be operationalized (which is to be further explained in Chapter 3).

2c. Study the video on "how to write a literature review".

2d. Insert theoretical frame-A in Chapter 2.

Chapter 3: Research Methods

3a. Present the overall research methodology and research design, as well as the specific research methods to be used.

3b. Evaluate and justify the research methods, e.g. on research methods quality, to be used.

3c. The chapter structure is depicted in this Youtube video.

Briefly (re: the Video):

    1. Introduction section

    2. Research design

    3. Limitations

    4. Concluding summary

3d. Also consider the good practice of research protocol.

3e. Insert theoretical framework-B in chapter 3.

Chapter 4: Presentation of research findings

Chapter 5: Discussion of findings

** study the video on "how to write a discussion section".

Chapter 6: Conclusions and recommendations

** study the video on "how to write a conclusion".

Chapter 7: Reflection on personal development

Current version: Chapter 7: Reflection on personal development (content same as portfolio report) [no separate mark for personal development]: the guideline is :

"Chapter 7 Reflections on developing your personal competence. This chapter provides the opportunity for you to reflect on your programme experience and the learning which has impacted on the development of your professional identity. Drawing on evidence you have collated throughout the module you are to write a reflective commentary which addresses the following: what were your initial motivations for undertaking an MBA and what were the central components of your professional identity during semester 1? What did you learn about yourself as a developing business professional and how that learning will shape your future professional self? (Approximately 2000 words)".

< word count figure: XXX>

References

Appendix

Useful reading: 3 deliverables for academic-oriented dissertation projects (with ALRA).

Notice: about Facebook ac: Joseph KK Ho

e-resources on discourse analysis (videos)

 e-resources on discourse analysis (videos)

1a. Introduction to discourse analysis.

1b. Introduction to discourse analysis.

2. What is a discourse.

3. Lecture on discourse analysis: part 1; part 2.

4. Laclau and Mouffe - Discourse Theory

Notice: about Facebook ac: Joseph KK Ho

e-resources on content analysis in research methods study

 e-resources on content analysis in research methods study

1. Using content analysis in qualitative research.

2a. How to conduct content analysis.

2b. Conducting a content analysis.

3. Qualitative content analysis.

4. A briefing on content analysis.

5. Content analysis in sociology.

6. Content analysis (in psychology)

Discussion topic: is there such a thing called primary research using secondary data? Is content analysis a reasonable example in this case?

Notice: about Facebook ac: Joseph KK Ho

e-learning materials on theories in research methods study

 e-learning materials on theories in research methods study:

1a. What is theory?

1b. What is a theory: a brief clarification.

1c. Macro, meso, micro theories.
2a. What is Theory Building?

2b. Building blocks of theory.

2c. Theory through research.

3. What is theory testing?

4. What is a theory? Using a theoretical framework.

5. Theory: What it is, How to Search and Where to Write about the Theory?

E-resource on construct, conceptualization, operationalization and unit of analysis (videos)

 E-resource on construct, conceptualization, operationalization and unit of analysis (videos)

1a. on conceptual definitions and operational definitions.

1b. Concepts, Operationalizations, & Measurement

1c: On construct and construct clarity.

2. Conceptualization and operationalization

3. Operationalization and measurement.

4. Unit of analysis.

5a. Unit of analysis and levels of measurement.

5b. Scales of measurement.

6. Concepts and indicators in social research.

Study materials on desk research: a collection

 Study materials on desk research: a collection

I. Readings

1. Desk research: what it is and usage tips

2. What is desk research and how to do it?

II. Videos

1. What is desk research?

2. Desk based methodologies.

3. Desk research : a brief lecture.

A table on research type (primary and secondary), written by me.

Research method and type		Data analysis type	Data capture type
Interview research conducted by the researcher (primary research)	Data analysed by the researcher (primary)		Interview conducted by the researcher (primary)
Interview research conducted by another researcher [A] (secondary research)	Raw data analysed by the researcher (primary)		Interview conducted by the researcher (secondary)
Interview research conducted by another researcher [B] (secondary research)	Analysis content [from another researcher] analysed by the researcher (secondary)		Interview research conducted by another researcher [A] (secondary)
Desk research conducted by the researcher [A] (secondary research)	Statistical analysis conducted by the researcher (primary)		Economic statistics provided by official institutions (secondary)
Desk research conducted by the researcher [B] (secondary research)	Analysis report by a magazine writer analysed by the researcher (secondary)		Magazine analysis report content (secondary)

** regarding the table, primary means first-hand from the researcher; secondary means second-hand from another researcher.

My research interest is a particular type of desk research, which is newspaper-based desk research or what I also call newspaper article study (re: Ho, 2019).

An additional reading: usage of desk research in housing dissertation project works.  [mainly for my housing studies students doing dissertation projects]

Discussion topic: is there such a thing called primary research using secondary data? Is content analysis a reasonable example in this case?

References

1. A collection of video resources on secondary research.
2. e-resources (videos) on content analysis.

How to formulate and evaluate zone 3a items in theoretical framework level-0 of ALRA: a note

How to formulate and evaluate zone 3a items in theoretical framework level-0 of ALRA: a note

The theoretical framework level-0 of the agile literature review approach (ALRA) comprises a set of related high-level research objectives that explicitly respond to the management-concerns items in the management-concerns diagram. Regarding zone 3a (outcomes), the evaluation efforts are on the business outcomes (both financial and non-financial) of an organization. Typical examples of zone 3a items are:

Example 1: to evaluate the high staff turnover of at the retail stores of ABC Ltd.

Example 2: to evaluate the competitive advantage status of ABC Ltd.

Example 3: to evaluate the financial performance of ABC Ltd.

Example 4: to evaluate the customer satisfaction of ABC Ltd.

Example 5: to evaluate the innovation performance of ABC Ltd.

Usually, the theoretical framework items at zone 3a (outcomes-related) are closely associated with the items at zone 2 (organizational capabilities). Thus, for a zone 2 item of "to evaluate the supply chain management competence of ABC Ltd", a logical corresponding zone 3a item would be "to evaluate the supply chain management performance of ABC Ltd". 

Now, on the question of "how to evaluate" zone 3a items? Two advices from me are as follows:

1. It depends on what analytical academic ideas you have chosen via your literature review to be employed to inform the zone 3a item evaluation. [And your literature search is based on the key words, e.g. supply chain management competence, leadership competence, etc., used in your zone 3a item statements.]

2. The evaluation effort could ultimately be based on a comprehensive and high-level perspective which  endorses the balanced scorecard (BSC) and the vision-mission-objectives (VMO) rationale. To be specific, the evaluation question is: to what extent the outcomes (e.g. marketing performance, the operational performance, the financial performance, and status of employee morale of ABC Ltd, etc.) meet the expectations and goals as indicated in the organizational balanced scorecard and the organizational vision-mission-objectives statement of ABC Ltd..

A revision on ALRA diagrams zoning:

Zone 1: environmental drivers

Zone 2: organizational capabilities

Zone 3a: outcomes-related

Zone 3b: solutions-related

A relevant reading: on ALRA zoning: a collection of notes.

The academic topic-based nature of theoretical framework level-0 items: a note on ALRA

The academic topic-based nature of theoretical framework level-0 items: a note on the subject of the agile literature review approach (ALRA)

While the management-concerns diagram is essentially co-created by the researcher and a few major stakeholders using the prevailing language used by them in the case study setting, the theoretical framework level-0 has to be deliberately expressed using the language that involves terms of academic topics [note: one can easily spot these academic topics in the table of contents of management discipline textbooks]. The main reason is that the theoretical framework level-0 serves as the "agenda to do literature review", though it is derived from the management-concerns diagram. As such, the researcher (in my case of my MBA students) needs to make use of his/ her management discipline knowledge, e.g. marketing management, supply chain management, strategic management and human resource management to perform such framework item construction task. Because more generic academic topic terms are used, it is a relatively straightforward task to provide some illustrative example of theoretical framework level-0 items. Examples are as follows [the academic topic terms are in bold]:

Zone 1: environmental drivers

Example 1.1: to evaluate the intensity of competition in the fast-food restaurant sector in Hong Kong.

Example 1.2: to evaluate the increasingly diversified consumer behavior of the sportwear products in Hong Kong

Zone 2: organizational capabilities

Example 2.1: to evaluate the staff recruitment capability of ABC Ltd.

Example 2.2: to evaluate the marketing competence of ABC Ltd.

Zone 3a: outcomes-related

Example 3a.1: to evaluate the staff morale of ABC Ltd.

Example 3a.2: to evaluate the competitive advantage status of ABC Ltd.

Zone 3b: solutions-related

Example 3b.1: to evaluate the existing management development programme of ABC Ltd.

Example 3b.2: to revise the marketing strategy of ABC Ltd so as to more effectively respond to the external challenges facing ABC Ltd.

Note: 

1. the academic topic terms should be able to assimilate the more idiosyncratic language used in the management-concerns diagram.

2. the academic topic terms are employed as the keywords to do literature search in order to construct the theoretical framework level-1a.

 

The two subject disciplines that are targeted for application by the agile literature review approach

The two subject disciplines that are targeted for application by the agile literature review approach (ALRA)

ALRA stream 1

The agile literature review approach (ALRA) was launched by me in 2018. This is the year that the first ALRA article was published (re: Ho, 2018). At the outset, the approach was formulated to support my part-time MBA students to do their final year dissertation projects. In this regard, the ALRA has been employed in the subject discipline of Business Management. Via my reflection of its employment in the MBA dissertation project works throughout these years, I have further published quite a number of articles and blog notes on ALRA. They can be found in the following links:

1. Publications on the ALRA

2. Collections of blog notes: (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2022 and 2023.

The ALRA readings for business management should be of interest to students in Business Management who need to do dissertation projects.

ALRA stream 2

Meanwhile, the ALRA has been adapted for application in the subject discipline of Housing Studies, intellectually as a side project. The main collection volume of blog notes has only recently been published in 2022 (re: Ho, 2022).

The ALRA readings for housing studies should be of interest to students in Housing Studies who need to do dissertation projects.

Concluding remarks

There may be students who have the intellectual curiosity to compare these two ALRA streams (the Business Management stream and the Housing Studies stream). Or, maybe, there are students who have studied Business Management beforehand and are now taking a Degree course in Housing Studies. They may be interested to learn both ALRA streams

Improving quality of reasoning with clear "chain of evidence" in housing dissertation report writing: a note

Improving quality of reasoning with clear "chain of evidence" in housing dissertation report writing: a note

One common assignment and dissertation report writing weakness is unclear "chain of evidence" in the report content. The "chain of evidence" is a concept as espoused in the agile literature review approach (ALRA). In the context of housing studies, the following expressions are illustrative on the "chain of evidence" concept. Essentially, using these expressions is the main way to more clearly establish "chain of evidence" in report discussion. Doing so improves the quality of discussion of assignment and dissertation reports:

Expression 1: related to housing concerns and research objectives:

In response to the housing concern of (....: re: the housing-concerns diagram), the following research objective is put forward: "to evaluate....." [re: the theoretical framework level-0]

Expression 2: related to research objectives and academic ideas:

Regarding research objective 1:...., the following three academic ideas have been chosen, via literature review, to investigate research objective 1..... [re: the theoretical framework level-1a].

Expression 3: related to research objectives and research methods:

Two research methods (RMs), i.e., RM1 (interview research) and RM2 (desk research) are employed to address research objective 2 (RM2)....

Expression 4: related to research methods (RMs) and research findings (RFs):

Regarding research method 3 (questionnaire survey), the following research findings (RFs) are presented:

Research finding 1 (RF1):....

Research finding 2 (RF2): ...

Expression 5: related to research findings (RFs) and discussion findings (DFs):

Based on research finding 2 and the analysis using academic idea 3.4, the following discussion findings are presented:

Discussion finding 2.4: ....

Discussion finding 2.5: .... 

{note: discussion findings [DFs] are theory-driven/ analysis findings based on the empirical and raw research findings [RFs] direct from research methods [RMs] employed in the report}

Using clear ALRA pointers (and labels) in the discussion is the way to establish clear "chain of evidence" in report discussion, which improve quality of analysis of the report.

On the difference between literature review and desk research: a note for housing studies students

On the difference between literature review and desk research: a note for housing studies students

About literature review:

Literature review is useful for informing the whole dissertation project work in housing studies. Nevertheless, there is a chapter devoted to the literature work of a dissertation report, which is Chapter 2: Literature Review. For that, students are expected to review relevant academic literature, mainly academic journal articles, textbooks and dissertation project reports (finished and "published").

The problem is that, quite a number of students made use of desk research (notably Internet Research) and utilized desk research findings (notably newspaper articles and government policy reports) to write up their literature review chapter. This is not correct and indicates poor literature review skill.

About desk research:

This is not say that desk research is not important for dissertation project work. Findings of desk research is valuable to inform the discussion of project background (as presented in Chapter 1 of a dissertation report). Desk research is very often a useful secondary research method, for example to study the external drivers (zone 1 [re: the agile literature review approach]) of a housing topic (e.g. housing affordability and homelessness). To discuss the desk research design, the research student could do so in Chapter 3 "Research Methodology" in his/ her dissertation report; to discuss the desk research findings, the student could do so in dissertation report Chapter 4 "Findings and Analysis". Try to avoid presenting the desk research design evaluation  and its findings (especially not using research methods terms) in dissertation report Chapter 2 "Literature Review".

When is a driver an environmental driver in an ALRA diagram for MBA project works: a note

When is a driver an environmental driver in an ALRA diagram for MBA dissertation project works: a note:

Quite some MBA students learning the agile literature review approach has difficulty to determine whether a particular item belongs to zone 1 (environmental drivers) or other zones. For example, 

[question 1] when the IT Department of ABC Ltd is understaffed, does this management-concern item belongs to zone 1 (environmental drivers) or zone 2 (organizational capabilities)? 

Consider another example, [question 2] when the local banking sector is unwilling to lend money to a private enterprise (called it ABC Ltd), is this management-concern item a zone 1 item or a zone 2 item? 

Before I offer the answers to the two questions, I would like to make some clarification on the topic of "environment" in the systems thinking literature (re: Schoderbek et al. 1985. "Chapter One: The Systems View" Management Systems: conceptual considerations, Business Publications Inc.): The main points from the reference are:

Point 1: "External (and relevant) factors over which the organization has a high degree of control can be considered the resources of the organization";

Point 2: "External (and relevant) factors over which the organization has a relatively low degree of control can be defined as the environment of the organization".

With reference to the 2 main points above, drivers (and factors) that belong to point 2 are environmental drivers (zone 1), while factors that belong to point 1 are zone 2[organizational capabilities]-related.

With this clarification, I now offer the following answers to the 2 questions above:

On question 1, "concerned that the IT Department of ABC Ltd is understaffed" [a management-concern item] belongs to zone 2. Reason: the human resource management function, including staffing, is essentially a factor controllable by ABC Ltd.

On question 2, "concerned that the local banking sector is unwilling to lend money to ABC Ltd" [a management-concern item] belongs to zone 1. Reason: the banking sector's prevailing lending policy is essentially a factor not controllable by ABC Ltd.

Four typical examples of management-concern statements on environmental drivers are:

Example 1: concerned about the increasing intensity of competition in the HK coffee shop market.

Example 2: concerned about the impact of the much tighter supply of experienced nurses in the labour market on the hospital sector.

Example 3: concerned about the impact of fast changing mobile shopping preference of the local Gen Z consumers on the HK retail sector.

Example 4: worried about the impact of the ongoing regional restructuring supply chain landscape on the HK apparel sector.

The last point to make is that "external" environmental drivers can exist at the macro-environmental or micro-environmental levels. A useful discussion on a framework to study at these two levels is my work on the concept of systemic PEST analysis (re: reading 1; reading 2). The only environmental driver that is "internal" (because it can be quite difficult to control by an organization) is organizational culture, e.g. "concerned about the conservative organizational culture of ABC Ltd".

On the "holistic" nature of the agile literature review approach (ALRA) for housing studies

 Some ideas and readings on the "holistic" nature of the agile literature review approach (ALRA) for housing studies:

One of the key characteristics of the agile literature review approach (ALRA) is that it is holistic. In this note, I provide some basic information about what does being "holistic" mean in the context of ALRA for housing studies: 

1. Dictionary explanation: Holistic: adjective: dealing with or treating the whole of something or someone and not just a part:

Examples of usage:

My doctor takes a holistic approach to disease.

Ecological problems usually require holistic solutions.

2. Some basic information on holism.

3. Some basic ideas on the holistic approach.

4. A briefing (video) on holism and reductionism.

5. Some basic ideas about the holistic view in Systems Thinking.

The agile literature review approach (ALRA), specifically, is grounded on critical systems thinking and endorses creative holism as put forward by M.C. Jackson. For example, all the ALRA diagrams are encouraged to be constructed in a co-created, systemic, critical and complicated way with stakeholders, encompassing inter-related factors that cover zones on environmental factors [zone 1], housing topics: nature and characteristics [zone 2], outcomes-related [zone 3a] and solutions/ policies- related [zone 3b]. This zoning practice is done on the ALRA diagrams. Nevertheless, each dissertation project needs to have sufficient research focus as indicated in the core-focus-domain in the ALRA diagrams. The involvement of stakeholders could take a direct form or an indirect form (e.g. via desk research).

Additional reading: a collection of blog notes on the ALRA for housing studies.

On dissertation supervisor style: a note

 On dissertation supervisor style: a note for my MBA students:

Style 1: versatile or specialized in a particular field and perspective (quantitative or qualitative)?

Style 2: close supervision or not?

Style 3: tendency toward a complication or simplification topic?

Style 4: friendly and generous or not?

Style 5: helpful or not?

Style 6: visible or not?

Style 7: exploratory or structured in guidance

What to do in case of supervision process problems?

To uncover elements of project and diagrams titles etc of an MBA project report that uses ALRA

To uncover elements of project and diagrams titles etc of an MBA project report that uses ALRA:

I. About project title:

An example: An investigation of the marketing and innovation competencies of the ABC Ltd: a mixed methods research

Element 1: the marketing and innovation competencies: Information from the core-focus-domain of the theoretical framework level-0.

Element 2: ABC Ltd: the organizational unit of analysis in focus.

Element 3: mixed methods research: informed by the theoretical framework level-1c.

II. About management-concerns diagram:

An example: the management-concerns diagram for the Production Department of XYZ Ltd

Element 1: the Production Department: the organizational unit of analysis in focus

Element 2: XYZ Ltd: the containing unit

Element 3: the management-concerns diagram: an ALRA diagram.

III. About theoretical framework level-0 diagram:

An example: the theoretical framework level-0 for the Production Department of XYZ Ltd

Element 1: the Production Department: the organizational unit of analysis in focus

Element 2: XYZ Ltd: the containing unit

Element 3: the theoretical framework level-0: an ALRA diagram.

IV: About the main research objectives:

An example: to evaluate the Information Systems management competence of the ABC tutorial centre.

Element 1: the whole research objective statement comes from the core-focus-domain of the theoretical framework level-0.

The notion of "organizational unit of analysis" in MBA research projects: a note

The notion of "organizational unit of analysis" in MBA research projects, notably of the consulting-oriented type: a note

"One of the most important ideas in a research project is the unit of analysis. The unit of analysis is the major entity that you are analyzing in your study. For instance, any of the following could be a unit of analysis in a study:

• individuals
• groups
• artifacts (books, photos, newspapers)
• geographical units (town, census tract, state)
• social interactions (dyadic relations, divorces, arrests)"

Re: unit of analysis in a research project

In the context of doing an MBA dissertation project [notably on the consulting-oriented project type], oftentimes, the unit of analysis is a department of an organization, e.g. the IT Department of ABC Bus Service Ltd. In this regard, it can be more clearly called the organizational unit of analysis.

In this case the organizational unit of analysis under investigation is the IT Department while the containing unit is ABC Bus Service Ltd.

Since the MBA student is encouraged to adopt strategic thinking and holistic thinking (notably with the expansionism lens) to study the organizational unit of analysis under investigation [thus also avoiding the pitfall of suboptimization], it is useful to spare some effort to also the management-concerns at the containing unit level. My suggestion in this regard is as follows:

• Research effort at the organizational unit of analysis level: 75-85%
• Research effort at the containing unit level: 15-25%.

The following diagram is illustrative on the relatedness of analysis at the containing organization unit level and the organizational unit of analysis level in terms of the agile literature review approach (ALRA) thinking:

For a set of ALRA diagrams at the organizational unit of analysis level to also include a few items that belong to the containing unit level could be viewed as a set of squeezed ALRA diagrams. For an organized case study diagnosis with the squeezed ALRA diagrams, the researcher needs to show awareness in his/her line of reasoning at which unit of analysis level (the higher containing level or the lower unit of analysis level) in a specific reasoning stage that he/she is in. [Squeezing the ALRA diagrams simplifies the diagramming and analysis somewhat; besides, to do their dissertation projects, my MBA students are not required to learn contemporary systems thinking, which is required to perform more sophisticated ALRA diagram construction].

Note that some students might be interested in studying a particular business/ industry sector, e.g., the logistics sector in Hong Kong as their organizational unit of analysis. In this case the containing sector could be the whole economy of Hong Kong. See the following table on examples for clarification:

Examples	The containing unit	The organizational unit of analysis [the dissertation project focus]
Project example 1	The regional logistics Industry	The Logistics Industry of Hong Kong
Project example 2	ABC Bus Service Ltd	The IT Department of ABC Bus Service Ltd.
Project example 3	The retail sector of skincare products for the elderly in Hong Kong	XYZ Ltd (a startup) that sells skincare products for the elderly in Hong Kong

Lastly, with regard to dissertation reporting writing, the organizational unit of analysis should be explicitly indicated in the dissertation project title and the ALRA diagrams, illustrated as follows:

Project title: An investigation on the managerial competence of the customer service department [the organizational unit of analysis] of XYZ Ltd.: a case study research

Management-concerns diagram title: The management-concerns diagram of the customer service department [the organizational unit of analysis] of XYZ Ltd.

Additional readings: 

1. a Youtube video on the basic idea of unit of analysis. [note again that this blog note examines a particular kind of unit of analysis called the organizational unit of analysis].

2. The holistic nature of the ALRA. (blog note)