The MBA Program

Management Research Project

Guidelines
Semester III

KL Business School
Vaddeswaram
2018-19
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 Management Research Project Guidelines
1.0 Introduction
Management Research Project is an important and integral part of the curriculum. While undertaking a
research study, the students gain first-hand experience in a particular industry and get an opportunity to
innovate, add to, and challenge ideas and techniques imbibed in the first year. It is an ideal way to
explore an industry, build a relationship with a prospective employer and pave way for placement, while
deepening the knowledge and skills.
2.0 Objectives
The objectives of the Management Research Project are:
 To provide an opportunity to apply knowledge imbibed in different functional areas viz.,
Human Resources Management, Marketing, Finance, Analytics, etc. to a research area;
 To expose students to apply the management concepts and models to the corporate world and
find solutions to problems/issues through scientific enquiry; and
 To provide an opportunity for an organization to experience the performance of a prospective
employee, evaluate his/her performance and plan to hire the student upon completion of the research
study.
3.0 General Guidelines
a) Management Research Project is a compulsory course during semester III.
b) The student should register for Management Research Project course during Semester III.
c) It is an in-depth study that incorporates a critical and analytical approach to the subject with a
rigorous research focus. Alternatively, it is researching an issue or problem academically to find a
solution.
d) It is a faculty supervised course component carrying 6 credits during semester III of the MBA
Program.
e) Each student will be attached to a Faculty Supervisor during Management Research Project.
f) In cases where a student does not register for Management Research Project, he /she will be
governed by the rules for not registering/withdrawing from a course.
g) Students shall be oriented towards implementation of the Management Research Project at the
beginning of semester III. The orientation sessions would educate the students on the need for
Management Research Project, relevance to the placements, importance of selecting research topics
of student’s interest, importance of quality in implementing Management Research Project, various
stages of Management Research Project, deliverables expected from Management Research Project,
timelines, etc. The prospective employers emphasize on the objectives, research methodology,
findings and recommendations during the recruitment process. The orientation would stress on the
importance of selecting research topics in the area of functional and sectoral specialization of the
students. It would also elucidate the role of Faculty Supervisor in the successful implementation of
Management Research Project and the evaluation methodology.
h) The evaluation of Management Research Project is done in four stages viz., write-up, literature
review, research proposal and interim report. There will be two evaluators for the evaluation of
research proposal, viz., Faculty Supervisor and a subject expert.

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 i) Presentations conducted as a part of Management Research Project evaluations are open
sessions. All interested students and faculty members can be permitted to sit through presentations
after obtaining prior approval from the concerned Faculty Supervisor. However, such students shall
be permitted to raise questions only with the permission of the Faculty Supervisor. Such questions
should be relevant and contribute to the quality of the research work done. This would immensely
help the researcher and the participant.
j) The Management Research Project Coordinator is responsible for implementing and ensuring
strict adherence to the guidelines of Management Research Project.
k) The Principal is responsible for ensuring the qualitative content of the Management Research Project
and to facilitate the learning process for the students.
l) Management Research Project course should be completed strictly as per the calendar.
m) The Principal may review the Management Research Project of the student at any stage of
implementation and can make recommendations for revision/modification and if the quality of the
Thesis prepared by a student does not meet the KLBS required standards, the Principal may seek
repetition of the Management Research Project course.
n) Management Thesis should be written in English only.
4.0 Implementation of management thesis course
a) Allocation of Faculty Supervisor: Management Research Project Coordinator shall ensure
that each student registered for Management Research Project course is allocated to a Faculty
Supervisor. The allocation is done in such a way that the Faculty Supervisor has the required
competence and inclination to guide a student in the topic of his/her interest.
b) Role of Faculty Supervisor: A Faculty Supervisor carries multiple responsibilities while guiding
the student for a Management Research Project course and plays an important role in its effective
implementation.
 He/she shall supervise, guide, coach and mentor the students towards successful implementation
of Management Research Project.
 He/she would ensure alignment of Management Research Project course with the functional and
sectoral specializations of a student so that it will have multiplier effect on placement.
 He/she should work towards alignment of Management Research Project as per the interest of
the student and preferably the company with which research work is taken up.
 He/she should conduct weekly Management Research Project workshops in a combined group
of all his/her students where students shall present their progress/literature review and receive
suggestions from peers and supervisor.
 He/she should identify the placement opportunity for the student in carrying out the
Management Research Project and enable the same.
5.0 Approval of Title for Management Research Project
The topic for MRP selected should investigate the strategic or operational issues of managerial interest to
one or more organizations. A good title is short, specific, and one that conveys the objective and scope of
the study clearly. This can be very advantageous in generating a prospective employer’s interest in the
research project thereby enhancing an intern’s employability. The topic should be of student’s interest
and should contribute towards achieving his/her career aspirations.

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 Along with the title of the MRP, each student is required to submit a write-up of 500 words on the
research work to be carried out by him/her. This shall form the basis of further work by the student.
Title Approval Process
i. The title and the write-up of MRP submitted by students shall be approved by the Faculty
Supervisor. However, the student is responsible for choosing the right title and preparing
appropriate write-up for his/her research work.
ii. Once approved, change in the title of MRP and/or write-up requires written approval of the
Principal KLBS.
iii. The student should submit the title and write-up for MRP for approval in prescribed form as per
the MRP calendar.
iv. A student can begin work on the MRP only after formal approval of the submitted title and write-
up.
6.0 Literature Review
Once the title is finalized, the focus of study would be on literature review. Each student is required to
review five research papers recently published in journals of repute. Review of literature shall be
documented by the students in the prescribed format. The student shall submit the literature review form
to the Faculty Supervisor along with a hard copy of the paper reviewed.
Each student shall present the literature reviewed by him/her during weekly review meetings. Such
presentations shall be evaluated as a part of continuous evaluation and observations and marks shall be
documented in Log Sheet to be maintained for each student. The Faculty Supervisor shall prepare a
schedule for the presentation and discussion of literature reviewed by the students.
7.0 Weekly Review Meetings
Attendance of students in weekly review meetings is compulsory. Attendance below 75% would lead to
cancellation of registration for MRP Course, and the student has to repeat the course by registering for
the summer term.
Weekly review meetings shall be focused on providing direction to the student for effective
implementation of MRP.
8.0 Research Proposal
A research proposal outlines the overall research process for the project undertaken by a student. It serves
as a contract or agreement between the student and the institution/company. It describes the planned
research activities and includes time estimates. It must be a self-contained, short and meaningful
statement that describes a research project. It is a road map of the research for MRP.
The layout of the research proposal includes the following:
i. Title page: This should include a title that clearly summarizes the research project. It should be apt.
ii. Introduction: It shall broadly describe the sector/industry, the functional area of proposed study,
need for taking of the study, etc. It introduces the reader to the proposal by justifying the overall
research project, setting the scope of the project and explaining each section of the proposal to the
reader.
iii. Description of the problem: A brief description of the problem shall be presented. The
significance of the study in terms of the possible benefits and impact needs to be clearly brought

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 out. The purpose is to demonstrate clearly that the intern understands what the problems are, and
what needs to be done in a manner that generates interest in the project.
iv. Objectives of the study: Statements regarding the objectives and/or hypotheses must be made. The
specific objectives of the study shall be presented in a precise way.
v. Literature Review: There is usually prior research work done by other researchers in your chosen
area of project. It is important to identify what areas of literature should be examined. Designing of
relevance tree for research would help in the matter. It allows the researcher to identify all the
relevant issues or theories associated with the topic, how issues related visually to one another, and
to prioritize areas requiring further examination. Relevance tree helps in maintaining the focus.
How much literature is to be reviewed is a tricky question. It depends on whether the covered
literature is comprehensive, and covers all important areas of the research. This section should
include information on how you have chosen the literature.
vi. Methodology: The proposal must clearly state methods of collecting and analyzing data. The
techniques that will be used to collect data (eg. personal survey, content analysis, etc.) and an
explanation of why it is the most appropriate method to answer the research problem should be
answered. The approach to the statistical analysis, including the hypothesis, the sample size
estimation, and the choice of statistical testing procedure may also be included.
vii. Data analysis: A discussion on data analysis techniques answers important areas such as (a)
collection of right kind of data and (b) facilitates mastering the data analysis techniques. Hence this
section shall provide information on the data analysis techniques and how to interpret the results.
viii. Project Schedule: The proposal should provide definite time frame for satisfactory completion of
research project. It would include a tentative timetable (a Gantt chart) presenting the various
activities. It should be feasible. It would serve as the basis for assessing the progress achieved by a
student. While preparing schedule, it would help if you plan with ‘the ends in mind’ and work
backwards.
ix. Conclusion: The proposal should conclude with a basic summary of the project and a statement to
keep to the plan set out in the proposal.
x. References: References should be cited alphabetically and should comply with The APA Style.
xi. Bibliography: The full details of all sources of information (e.g. books, articles, reports, etc) that
were directly referred to in the body of the proposal, such as the prior research or Methodology and
Data Analysis sections, should be presented in the bibliography. This should be made in a consistent
manner.
xii. Appendices: It will contain supporting materials including a glossary of terms to be used in the
study.
The Research Proposal carries a weightage of 20%, of which 10% is for the evaluation of written
proposal and 10% is for the presentation of the Research Proposal.
The Research Proposal Approval Process
i. A draft Research Proposal submitted by students shall be first checked and approved by the
Faculty Supervisor. The student shall then finalize the proposal after incorporating the suggestions
made by the Faculty Supervisor.
ii. Once approved, the Research Proposal should not be changed.

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 iii. In exceptional cases, a change in Research Proposal may be permitted by the Principal KLBS on
the basis of written recommendations received from the Faculty Supervisor.
iv. The student should submit the Research Proposal for Management Thesis in prescribed form as per
the calendar.
v. A student can begin work on the Management Thesis only after formal approval of the submitted
Research Thesis.
Evaluation Guidelines for Research Proposal
i. The focus of research should be contemporary and should have application focus.
ii. The problem or issue identified for research should sufficiently interest prospective company to
consider a student for interview and eventually for placement.
iii. Clarity in thinking, outcome of the research work, process for research and completing within the
stipulated time should be well articulated at this stage.
iv. The student should furnish evidence of sufficient referencing of literature to arrive at the topic for
research.
Presentation of Research Proposal:
Presentation of Research Proposal shall be planned for about 30 minutes including 10 minutes for
questions and answers.
9.0 Evaluation Guidelines for Management Research Project
i. Evaluation schedule as prescribed in these guidelines shall be strictly implemented. No
stakeholder shall alter/modify/extend the evaluation schedule without prior permission from the
Principal, KLBS.
ii. All Faculty Supervisors shall submit marks for Management Research Project before
commencement of viva-voce.
iii. Non-submission of any reports or not attending the presentation should be treated as ‘Absence’
for the evaluation component which may lead to ‘Not Cleared’ (NC) grade.
iv. If a report or presentation submitted by a student is not evaluated by the concerned evaluators it
will be treated as ‘Incomplete’. In such a case the evaluator must explain the reason for not
completing the evaluation component.
v. ‘Zero’ marks shall not be awarded for non-submission of report or for not making a presentation.
‘Zero’ marks should be awarded only if the report submitted or presentations made are so poor
and that the student deserves ‘zero’ mark.
vi. Evaluation of a component shall not be done, unless evaluation of previous components is
completed. Where the previous component of evaluation is marked as ‘NC’, student shall be
issued a letter to repeat Management Research Project by the MRP Coordinator under the
recommendations of Faculty Supervisor, where as in case of ‘Incomplete’ evaluation, the Faculty
Supervisor must complete evaluation.
vii. The evaluation will be strictly based on the merits and performance of a student in his
Management Thesis.
viii. Management Research Project is evaluated for a maximum of 50 marks (Internal Assessment)
Viva-voce will be conducted for a maximum of 50 marks (Final Evaluation). The aggregate

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 marks awarded against a total of 100 marks shall subsequently be converted into grades.
ix. After completion of final evaluation of the Management Research Project, the Faculty Supervisor
shall consolidate all the marks and apply appropriate weightage and arrive at the final marks for
100.
x. The evaluators shall focus on the research methodology, tools used for analysis of data, validity
of the tools used, relevance of conclusions drawn, achievement of research objectives, usefulness
and practicality of the findings and recommendations, etc.
xi. Reliability of research instrument and integrity in data collection shall be borne in mind for
assessment.
xii. The student must submit the Proposal sufficiently in advance so that the evaluators have a chance
to go through it and come up with critical evaluation.
xiii. Evaluation of presentation by a student should focus on the research methodology including
sample frame, sampling method, sample selection, etc.
xiv. The Research Proposal will be evaluated by Faculty Supervisor.
xv. The Research Proposal presentation will be evaluated by Faculty Supervisor and Subject Expert.

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 ANNEXURES

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 Annexure - I
Management Research Project
Semester III, MBA Program

This form is to be filled in duplicate by the student and submitted

to the Management Thesis Coordinator. One copy shall be retained for Office use and the duplicate copy
handed over to the Faculty Supervisor for implementation purpose.

Registration Form
Name of the Student
ID No Section: Semester: Third Year : II

1.
Functional 2.
Specialization courses
for the Semester 3.

4.
Sectoral Specialization

Sector:

Company Name:
SIP Details
SIP Title:

Achievement during SIP:

MT Area Marketing HRM Finance

of Interest

Letter of Undertaking by the Student

I hereby undertake that I will (a) work as per the schedule and (b) attend all evaluation components. I am aware
of the guidelines of the Management Research Project. I will undertake original work in Management Research
Project. I may be awarded “NC” grade if I am absent for any of the evaluation components of Management
Research Project. I am aware that in case of plagiarism in Management Research Project, I will be required to
repeat Management Research Project.

Date: Signature:

Certificate by the MRP Coordinator

Certified that the above student has (a) registered for Semester III (b) no dues to campus and (c) no disciplinary
action is pending against the student. He is permitted to undertake the Management Research Project under the
guidance of _____________________________________________________ (Name of the faculty supervisor).

Date: MRP Coordinator

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 Annexure - II
Management Research Project
Semester III, MBA Program
Title and Write-up Approval Form
Part – A
(Please fill in Capital Letters)

ID No. Semester: III Section:

Name of the Student

Semester III Semester IV

1. 5.
Functional
Specialization 2. 6.
Courses
3. 7.

4. 8.
Sectoral
Specialization

Sector:

Company Name:

SIP Title:

SIP Details

Achievement during SIP:

Faculty Supervisor

Functional Area of
faculty supervisor
Rationale for Proposed Research Project (min. 500 words) – (Enclose Separate sheets): The student
should write about the relevance of the topic in current business environment, placement opportunities based
on the topic under study, its relation to the electives chosen by the student, etc.
Part B

Title of Management Research

Project

Functional Area

Sector

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 Name of the Company

Name of the Company

Supervisor, if any

Is it sponsored by the Company?

Yes No
(Yes/No)

If Yes, terms of sponsorship

1. Write-up of the Management Research Project (500 words) – (Enclose Separate Sheets): The
write-up of the Management Research Project should provide an introduction giving an overview of
the topic and its importance, problem definition stating the objectives and scope of work, proposed
methodology for achieving the objectives of the research project, probable sources of literature
review, sampling plan, etc.

2. Weekly plan for implementation of Management Research Project includes title finalization,
literature survey, literature review, and preparation of research proposal, Term paper, Interim Report
and Final Report. (Enclose Separate Sheets)

Date: Signature of the Student

(For Office Use Only)

Review by Faculty Supervisor (Detailed comments of Faculty Supervisor (Enclose separate sheets, if
necessary)

Faculty Supervisor MRP Coordinator

Date: Date:

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 Annexure - III
Writing a Literature Review

A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference
proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and
critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a
topic. A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-
contained review of writings on a subject. Its purpose is to:
 Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
 Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
 Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
 Point the way forward for further research
 Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature
The development of the literature review requires four stages:
 Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
 Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
 Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of
the topic
 Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature
Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:
 An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature
review
 Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those
against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)
 Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others
 Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their
opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of
research

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 Annexure - III
Format for Literature Review

No. Details of the Paper Reviewed

1 i. Full details of the paper
(e.g. Vachani, Sushil & Craig Smith N ( 2008), Socially Responsible Distribution:
Distribution Strategies for Reaching the Bottom of the Pyramid, California
Management Review, Vol.50, No.2, p52-84)
ii. Source (database/journal):

iii. Theme Relevance:

iv. Scholarly treatment of the subject:

v. Methodology used including sampling procedure:

vi. Comment on contemporary literature:

vii. Observations/findings/conclusions of the author(s) which are of interest:

viii. Critical Evaluation of the paper:

ix. Conclusion, (includes gaps, if any):

x. Remarks/Notes by the student:

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 Annexure - IV
Format for Research Proposal
The Research Proposal shall have the following format:

1) Cover page

2) Introduction

3) Research problem

4) Research objectives

5) Literature review

6) Methodology

7) Data analysis

8) Schedule

9) Conclusion

10) References

11) Bibliography

12) Appendices

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