A template for creating a dissertation objective

Try the following template to create a dissertation objective:


To:  _____________A_____________
[e.g. evaluate; predict; explain; construct]

 ________________B______________
[e.g. ABC Ltd's]

________________C________________
[e.g. marketing strategy; business performance; marketing tactics; service quality; strategic positioning; corporate culture; competitive landscape]

based on __________D________________
[e.g. Porter's 5-Force Model; Value-Chain model; service quality model of ABC, balanced scorecard methodology, competitive benchmarking, etc.]

- ________________E__________________
[a case study research; a survey research; an exploratory investigation, etc.]

You need to make up your mind on what are A, B, C, D, and E. Item E may be implicit in the actual formulation of a dissertation proposal and only become clear in the discussion of research design.

• While this template does not cover all possibilities on dissertation proposal, it is useful to make the preliminary attempt to formulate a dissertation proposal.
• Also justify your research objective in terms of practical and academic values that meeting the objective can offer.
• A dissertation proposal could have 2-3 core but related objectives, which can be further broken down into a number of sub-objectives. The sub-objectives must be clearly, conceptually and logically derived from its master objective.
• The overall highest-level objective of the dissertation proposal is very much a dissertation report title

How to write dissertation objectives: advice for business students

To write dissertation objectives for dissertation projects for business management students:

a. try to provide a few objectives that indicate a focused research theme. E.g. (objective 1) to evaluate the marketing performance of ABC Ltd using the XXX methodology... (this makes up the core objective).

Then, provide some related objectives, to make recommendation on... (objective 2) and to evaluate and enhance the XXX methodology via the case study (objective 3).

Objective 1 and 2 indicate practical value of the study
Objective 3 indicates academic value of the study.

This guideline offers basic ideas of formulating a focused dissertation objectives. In above example, objective 1, by using a specific methodology, may prompt you to consider evaluating a related concept that has been explicitly covered in XXX methodology.


XXX methodology can be 5-Force model or Value chain model, or a marketing planning framework from a specific writer... (you need to do literature review to firm up on the ideas here).

DO not just provide a set of unrelated to-do list for your dissertation proposal.

Writing consulting report - some guidelines for students

The following are some guidelines for writing a consulting report for GW students:

1. An emphasis on practical value [academic value of your work is irrelevant]
2. Reduced usage of academic jargons
3. Show clear understanding of client's concerns and the language that the client(s) use
4. A simplified literature review and research methods chapters
5. Clarify client and consultant's relationship
6. Writing style should be easy for client(s) to comprehend (bear in mind that clients are not academics)
7. Clear indications of recommendations with action implications
8. Do not provide a lengthy reference list with lots of academic journal articles.
9. Your role as a writer of the report is a consultant.

Videos on housing studies (Facebook-based)

The following videos folders are on housing studies (Facebook-based):

Urban Hong Kong
HK Property Market
Housing for disability
Urban renewal
Affordable housing
Social justice
Urban sprawl
Slums
Social inclusion/ exclusion
Kowloon wall-city
Social relation
Public/ social housing
Social cohesion
Urbanization/ suburbanization
Social class
Homelessness
Space and culture
Gentrification
Housing diversity
Housing Imagination

ecommerce security topics - social engineering, hacking ,email mgt and content mgt

Some Facebook resources on social engineering, hacking, email management and content management - for students of ebusiness, 2014 Oct-Nov.

Social engineering and hacking
email management
Content management

Also the one on e-business model

e-books of Joseph Ho

To test the features of onlywire. A test
http://josephho33.blogspot.hk/2014/09/list-of-ebooks-of-jkk-ho.html

List of my publications - an updated version

Publications:

1.       Ho, J.K.K. (1994). "Is Total Systems Intervention (TSI) no better than common sense and not necessarily related to Critical Systems Thinking (CST)?: A Research Note", pp. 569-573, Systems Practice, Vol. 7, No. 5, Plenum Press.

2.       Ho, J.K.K. (1994). "Management Accounting and Operational Research", at the Fourth Conference of the Operational Research Society of Hong Kong Proceedings, pp. 198-206, Oct. 17.

3.       Ho, J.K.K. (1995). “An Example on the Operation of the MPSB Filter”, pp. 297-308, Systems Research, Vol. 12, No. 4, Wiley, Chichester.

4.       Ho, J.K.K. (1995). “MPSB Frameworks Explained”, in Ellis, K., Gregory, A., Mears-Young, B. and Ragsdell, G. (editors). Critical Issues in Systems Theory and Practice, pp. 487-492, Plenum Press.

5.       Ho, J.K.K. (1995). “Operational Research and the knowledge structure of management disciplines”, Management Research News, pp. 27-39, Vol. 18, No. 8/9, Barmarick Publications, Hull, UK.

6.       Ho, J.K.K. (1995). “The idea of scientific progress in the field of DSS”, pg. 655, The Proceedings of the Third International Society for Decision Support Systems Conference (ISDSS’95) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, June-22-23.

7.       Ho, J.K.K. (1995). "Formulating MPSB Frameworks, using Logistics Management as an example: A Research Note", pp. 223-230, Systems Practice, Vol. 8.2, April, Plenum Press.

8.       Ho, J.K.K. (1996). “MPSB Research Explained”, pp. 843-852, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 47, Stockton.

9.       Ho, J.K.K. (1996). “The idea of Scientific Progress in the Field of Decision Support Systems”, pp. 59-69, International Journal of Information and Management Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 3, Graduate Institute of Management Sciences, Tamkang University, Taipei, The Republic of China.

10.    Ho, J.K.K. (1997) “MPSB Frameworks and Decision Support Systems studies”, pp. 287-293, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Vol. 14, No. 4, Wiley, Chichester.

11.    Ho, J.K.K. (1997) “What can contemporary systems thinking offer to logistics management as a management discipline?” European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, pp. 77-81, Vol. 3, No. 2, Pergamon.

12.    Ho, J.K.K. and Jackson, M.C. (1987). "Building a 'rich picture' and assessing a "quality management" program at Thornton Printing Company", Cybernetics and Systems 18:38

13.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1992). "OR and the Design of Decision Support Systems", pp. 54-63, The Second Conference of the Operational Research Society of Hong Kong Proceedings, May 27

14.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1993). "An overview of Operational Research Theories and Practices", pp. 149-158, The Third Conference of the Operational Research Society of Hong Kong Proceedings, May 2.

15.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1993). "Critical Systems Thinking and Information Systems Design", pp. 685-688, the Conference Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Decision Sciences Institute, Seoul, Korea, June.

16.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1995) “System Complexity and the Design of Decision Support Systems”, pp. 505-516, Systems Practice, Vol. 8, No. 5, Plenum Press.

17.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1994) "A Multi-perspective, Systems-based Framework for Decision Support Systems Design", pp. 551-563, Systems Practice, Vol. 7, No. 5, Plenum Press.

18.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1994). "Computer-based Logistics Management Methodologies", pp. 590-596, The Proceedings of the International Conference on Data and Knowledge Systems for Manufacturing and Engineering, May 2-4, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

19.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1994). "Organizational Change and Soft Systems Methodologies", in Journal of Management Development, Vol. 13, No. 7, pp. 47-58, MCB University Press.

20.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1995). “Organisational Learning and Decision Support Systems Studies”, pp. 585-593, the Proceedings of the Third International Society for Decision Support Systems Conference (ISDSS’95) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, June-22-23.

21.    Ho, J.K.K. and Sculli, D. (1997). “The scientific approach to problem solving and decision support systems”, pp. 249-257, International Journal of Production Economics, 48, Elsevier Science.

22.    Ho, J.K.K., Partington, E.C. and Sculli, D. (1994). "A Meta-framework for Information Systems Design", pp. 592-597, the Conference Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Annual Meeting, Western Decisions Sciences Institute, Maui, Hawaii.

23.    Ho, J.K.K., Partington, E.C., and Sculli, D. (1996). “Soft Systems Methodologies in Organizational Change”, International Journal of Information and Management Sciences, Graduate Institute of Management Sciences, pp. 43-54, Vol. 7(4), December, Tamkang University, Taipei, The Republic of China.

24.    Sculli, D. and Ho, J.K.K. (2001) “Office automation issues viewed from a multi-perspective systems-based framework” Human Systems Management 20: pp. 95-103.

25.    Ho, J.K.K. (2007) “Teaching information systems subjects to part-time accounting students in HK from an entertainer’s perspective” proceedings of Symposium on Hybrid Learning 2007, on July 9 at Open University, HK, organized by HK Web Symposium Consortium, pp.66-77.

26.    Ho, J.K.K. (2008) "E-coaching for management development in Hong Kong: an examination of market potential and business value from knowledge
management perspective"  Hybrid Learning:  A new frontier, proceedings of 1^st International Conference on Hybrid Learning – ICHL 2008, Hong Kong, Fong, J., Kwan, R. and Wang F.L. (Eds) pp. 69-77, Aug 13-15, 2008

27.    J. Leon Zhao, Joseph K. K. Ho, Olivia R. Liu Sheng, and Kar Yan Tam, "Supporting Global Operations via Internet Workflow Technologies", Proceedings of the 1998 Asia Pacific Decision Sciences Institute Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, June 7-11, 1998.

28.    Ho, J.K.K. (2013) “A research paper: Providing e-learning support to part-time students in business disciplines using Facebook from the Multi-perspective, Systems-based (MPSB) perspective”, Systems Research and Behavioural Science 30, pp. 86-97.

29.    Ho, J.K.K. (2013) “A Research Note: An exploration on the intellectual learning process of systems thinking by managers in the digital social media ecosystem” European Academic Research Vol. 1(5) August, pp. 636-649.

30.    Ho, J.K.K. (2013) “An endeavor to render an impressionistic image of Enlightening Management Education in Multi-perspective, Systems-based Research” European Academic Research 1(6), September, pp. 1013-1034.

31.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “A Research Note: A Multi-perspective, Systems-based (MPSB) Framework on Information Systems/ Information Technology (IS/IT) Project Appraisal” European  Academic Research 1(10), Jan., pp. 3303-3320.

32.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “An exploratory exercise to establish the profile of a double-hybrid management accountant with justifications” European Academic Research 1(11), Feb.: 4261-4273.

33.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “On plagiarism-dissolving: A Research Note” European Academic Research 1(11), Feb.: 4274-4290.

34.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “A theoretical review on the professional development to be a scholar practitioner in business management”  European Academic Research 1(12), March.: 5393-5422.

35.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “A Review of the Multi-perspective, Systems-based (MPSB) Research with an MPSB Knowledge Supply Chain Framework” European Academic Research 2(1), April: 705-729.

36.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) ‘A Research Note on the Concept of the Multi-perspective, Systems-based (MPSB) Cognitive Filter for Management” European Academic Research 2(1), April: 686-704.

37.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “A Research Note on the Managerial Intellectual Learning Capability-Building Mechanism (MILCBM)” European Academic Research 2(2), May: 2029-2047.

38.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “An Endeavor to Establish the subject of Housing Imagination based on Critical Systems Thinking” European Academic Research 2(2), May: 2048-2066.

39.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “A Research Note on Home Study in Housing Imagination using Soft Systems Methodology” European Academic Research 2(3), June: 3659-3675.

40.    Ho, J.K.K. (2014) “An exploration of the problem of plagiarism with the cognitive mapping technique” Systems Research and Behavioral Science (to be published).