Java Python Module Handbook
Dissertation in Management Studies - Applied
(MAN00164M)
SCHOOL FOR BUSINESS AND SOCIETY: 2023-2024
Introduction to the Dissertation (Applied)
Welcome to the Dissertation in Management Studies – Applied (MAN00164M)
As part of the successful completion of their study on the Master's degree programmes, all candidates must
complete either: A) a traditional scholarly dissertation in management studies; or B) an applied dissertation related to a core topic within their programme of study. This module is designed for those who have chosen option B, the applied project. You must pass this module to pass your programme.
This Postgraduate Taught (Masters) Dissertation in Management Studies (Applied) module is a student-led module conducted through an independently researched and written dissertation. The assumption is that you have passed all your required modules to date and so have the level of skill and knowledge to decide upon and execute an appropriate piece of applied research. You DO NOT receive one-on-one supervision in this module. However, your study is supported through the content provided in this module (through a combination of online material and face to face workshops) in addition to drop-in sessions during the summer semester (S3). Your module concludes with the delivery of an 8,000-word consultant-style report inclusive of a reflective diary. As part of the assessment, you will also submit a recorded poster presentation of your progress on your chosen project.
It should be evident that the Dissertation in Management Studies (Applied) is a core and important component of your Master's programme. While the module brings together students from across several of our programme, each student’s dissertation must focus on an area directly relevant to their chosen master’s programme. The table below provides a general view of the focus area of your dissertation vis-à-vis your chosen programme. So, for example, if you are on the MSc International Business then the focus of your dissertation must be directly on the core topics and literature in the topic of international business.
| Program | Indicative Focal areas of dissertation |
| MSc International Business and Strategic Management MSc International Business MSc International Strategic Management | International Business/International Strategy/Strategic Management/Strategy formulation, execution and/or evaluation/Innovation Strategy/strategic renewal/M&As/globalization/foreign market entry/corporate governance/market entry strategy/corporate turnaround |
| MSc Management | Business Management/Leadership/Managing Innovation and Technology/Change Management/Work/Motivation/Job design/Business and Society/ Entrepreneurship/sustainability/ESG/equity, diversity, inclusivity/culture/organization change |
The Module comprises 60 credits, representing almost one-third of the total master’sdegree.
This module is designed to provide you with the opportunity to showcase the summation of your learning throughout the year. You will focus on the development of professional skills and attributes based on individually based research by demonstrating and showcasing your mastery of the program knowledge and skills by using the frameworks and theories that you have learned in the core and/or elective modules within your Master's programme. This will allow you to demonstrate the development of transferable skills by using critical and analytical skills to develop actionable managerial recommendations by carrying out research into your area of study. The final part of the project requires you to foster reflexive practice and self-awareness vital for your development as a professional practitioner in the business environment.
Academic and graduate skills
● Ability to undertake independent research.
● Be able to identify a company with a contemporary managerial issue and support their choice with scholarly and reliable sources.
● Be able to identify relevant data and information to analyse the selected case.
● Understand how to draw upon existing secondary data and apply critical thinking to reach justifiable conclusions.
● Synthesise secondary information (e.g., archival data, synthesis of academic insights from literature reviews, or both) to provide a recommendation.
● Demonstrate an understanding of the limitations of the thesis and pose impetus for future research
Skills-related learning outcomes
● Analytical skills and reliability procedures.
● Engagement with multiple sources of data.
● Self-organization to meet internal as well as external deadlines.
● Ability to write a report
● Demonstrate resilience by finishing this significant independent research piece.
This module will run over the summer semester (SS) delivered as 6x2 hour workshops (comprised of single large lectures or smaller intensive workshops), followed by an additional 2 drop-in sessions and optional sessions on an as needed basis. The 6 workshops will focus on core areas of the dissertation, from topicselection to writing for a postgraduate dissertation, doing literature searches and reviews; types and uses of databases, sourcing, conducting and analysing secondary data. Advice on the structure and nature of the dissertation and also models of reflective learning.
The workshops will involve some compulsory reading and guided learning on-line (provided on VLE in clearly marked sections), as well as guest lectures. The drop-in sessions will mainly be concerned with any questions or advice you require in the final stages of your dissertation, drop sessions are not compulsory.
The VLE site is critical. In fact, the VLE site for this module contains everything you need to successfully complete this module, as long as you engage with the content, work smart and do the essential and
recommended readings. Goto: https://vle.york.ac.uk
Key Dates, Milestones and Deadlines
The module comprises one major and one minor assessment. The major assessment is in the form. of an applied consultancy style report (8,000 words) worth 90% of your assessment for this module. The minor assignment is in the form. of a recorded 5–7-minute presentation via power-point submitted through VLE. This is worth 10% of your assessment for this module.
The Assessments are summarized as follows:
| Type of assessment | Length of the assessment | Contribution to overall module mark | Submission |
| Summative (Major) | 8,000 words, excluding bibliography and appendices. The 8,000 words are split into: ● 7,500 Words Consulting report ● 500 Words self-reflection (submitted with your report) | 90% | 10th of September 2024, 11:00 am. |
| Summative (Minor) | Pre-recorded PowerPoint Presentation of your progress | 10% | 22nd July 2024, 11.00 am |
All submissions are due by 11:00 a.m. on the date indicated (assignment posted after 11am will be considered late and penalties will apply).
● The minor assignment is a pre-recorded presentation using PowerPoint.
● You can use other presentation tools if you so wish (e.g. Presi, keynote etc), but it is your responsibility to ensure the presentation recording works. PowerPoint allows voice recording and timing of
presentation slides so is the most accessible and straightforward presentation tool and is the recommended tool to use on the VLE platform.
● The presentation MUST NOT exceed 7 minutes. Assessors will stop watching the presentation at the 7-minute mark. The presentation must not be shorter than 5 minutes. You will be penalised marks if your presentation is outside the time limits of 5-7 minutes.
● You MUST include a written transcript of your presentation
● NOTE: More detailed advice on both the presentation will be provided on VLE and during the module; include advice on structure and content.
The two parts areas follows:
● Part ~1: Individual Strategic Consulting Report. This part consists of a 7,500-word strategic consulting report in response to your chosen project.
o You are expected to research your project extensively; do not over-rely on a single source; and you should go above and beyond the material that you have submitted for other modules (self-plagiarism rules apply in the same way as other forms of plagiarism) . Do not reuse or re- hash previous assignments for your dissertation.
● Part ~2: Self-Reflection. The final part is comprised of 500 words which will feature as the final chapter in your dissertation. This final part of the report is a personal reflection (more about the self-reflection and structure of the dissertation will be explained fully during the formal workshops for the module). While your report might vary in general structure compared to other students in your cohort, the self-reflection is mandatory so all students will include their self-reflection as a final section in their report.
Detailed advice as well as a workshop on self-reflection will be provided within the module. In addition to more resources and advice on VLE.
A self-directed project is demanding and will require you to be motivated, proactive and engaged with your dissertation. Self-director means you will NOT receive one on one supervision as you would in the academic dissertation. This module provides you with everything you need to start, manage and submit your major and minor assignments. In fact, this handbook, along with the VLE site contains everything you need to get your dissertation done. The lectures and workshops will enhance and extend all the information available.
There area lot of excellent resources that will be provided to you on VLE under your module site, in addition to the mandatory seminars and workshops. It is an expectation that you will engage heavily with the information provided, and you complete all tasks and assignments recommended as part of yourself-directed learning.
The major benefits of this are that you are in control of your time, and there is great flexibility in terms of when you choose to engage with the course material and to a certain extent, complete tasks. However, this freedom also comes with a challenge: you must ensure you stay on top of the course content and self-directed reading and tasks, and complete this on time for submission.
Always remember, noone forced you to enrol and study at university. This was your choice and all choices come with a level of responsibility. That responsibility is to enact what your learn, apply it, and use it to reinforce your knowledge where appropriate and adapt and change where new knowledge is gained. The main assumptions are that:
● You have thoroughly read and engaged with this module handbook which contains significant amounts of information.
● You engage fully with the module VLE site by:
o Watching the mini-lectures and “how to” videos.
o Reading the allotted readings for each session.
o Engaging in any tasks or exercises requested of you. Including the online discussions fora
o Approaching your study with a sense of fun, curiosity and eagerness.
o Try to learn at least one thing new during each lesson, reading, or video.
o Reflecting on your learning and its impact on your journey towards becoming a qualified masters in your topic area.
o Completing all assignment tasks to the best of your ability and capability. By that we mean, when you submit, you can say to yourself, no matter what I have worked as hard and smart as I could to do this assignment. This means you read the readings, you did the tasks, you identified where your weaknesses were and sought to address them.
The Dissertation: what, why and how?
The Dissertation in Management Studies (Applied) Module is integral to your Master’s Degree Course. Unlike the scholarly traditional style of a dissertation, the applied dissertation follows a specific formula and so does not vary in structure as much as a traditional dissertation. For example, the methods of data collection are standard for all students in the applied module. All students will need to identify and collect secondary data appropriate to their question/problem. Hence the methods taught in this module are aimed at secondary data collection, how it is used, how it can be analysed and how to write up and present secondary-data-driven research. You will be required to demonstrate competence in secondary data gathering, analysis, and write-up. Eventhough secondary data is a specific kind of data, you will still need to understand the nature and role of secondary data within the broader area of the philosophy of social science, and its ontology and epistemology. Put simply, secondary data can still be pursued through positivism or interpretivism philosophy for example, and secondary data can be analysed inductively or deductively, and it can also be qualitative or quantitative.
So, you do need to be mindful and appreciate that there is still a core element of understanding research methods in this module. The only difference is that there are stricter boundaries to the methods you are using, and you are all essentially using the same method. You must be careful not to choose a research question or problem not answerable through secondary data. Similarly, you should not make conclusions and recommendations based on secondary data that does not allow you to make such conclusions.
The Process: how you will do your dissertation
The best way to think about the dissertation is as nothing more or less than a project. Doing so allows you to demystify the process and focuses your attention onto the fact that a dissertation is a deliverable product that has a beginning, middle and an end. In other words, it’s doable, it’s been done before, and you, too, can do it. There is nothing magical about a dissertation, and as long as you trust in the process, and do what is required, you will complete and submit your dissertation just like many thousands of people studying around the UK have done over the year.
The module will add to and build upon students’ learning throughout their programme of study to allow them to produce a consulting report-style. dissertation. For the dissertation, you will:
● Focus in on and identify a specific problem or opportunity within a topic relevant to your programme of study
● Identify and self-select an organisation facing a managerial or strategic/international strategic issues within your chosen topic
● Clearly identify the industry that your organization is part of (it is recommended you use an industry of which you are familiar, and which has sufficient data available to use in your dissertation,). If you choose an industry you have not worked in, it is highly recommended that you choose an industry that you intend to or wish to work in the near future.
● Draw upon your previous modules to identify a scholarly theory or model that will be applied as a lens to the organization and its problems (you need to show you know how to apply what you learned to the right context and level of analysis)
● Locate, become acquainted with and critically review the scholarly literature in your problem area. Conduct a literature review to help frame. their analysis and substantiate their recommendations
● Collect secondary data about this organisation from multiple data sources, including existing databases, if relevant, and use frameworks appropriate to their programme of study (e.g. IB, Management, Strategy) to analyse the issue and provide recommendations for action. Included here is a secondary data analysis of the industry, the organization and the problem (topic/issue)
● Analyse the data collected and discuss the results of the analyses to reach to make recommendations.
● (for the reflective chapter) Demonstrate a reflexive understanding of their strengths and weaknesses based on experience of developing an individual research project over an extended period, as well as consider the contribution of the dissertation and their programme of study to their own practice.
The Product: what your dissertation should look like
As you have chosen the applied module it is important that you do not compare what you are doing and how you are doing it to your colleagues in the academic dissertation. An applied dissertation such as this one will
vary far less across students within this module compared to those doing a traditional dissertation (where
different methods, different types of analysis, and much longer literature reviews will be used). Even so, in the applied mode, you do have some freedom to tailor the structure to your own particular style. For example,
some of your sub-headings, the focal organization, and how you analyse and present your data may vary to
other students in your cohort. As long as you cover the ‘mandatory’ chapters and sections, you are free to vary other aspects without requiring permission or the ok from your professor. However, if you do wish to be more creative and detour significantly from the mandatory requirements please check with your professor
before you do so – breaching the expected structure can impact on your final mark. It’s safest to adhere to or not vary far from the suggested structure here.
The Mandatory Chapter and Sections
The below information will signal to you what the dissertation ‘should’ contain (indicated by the word
Mandatory in bold text) – mandatory means this section MUST be in the dissertation. However, this does not mean you cannot vary or add parts to your dissertation not covered here. You are free to vary what sections are contained within the mandatory parts, and how these are structured.
You can use this table as a checklist once you have completed your dissertation to ensure you have covered the relevant items, and adhere to the length constraints etc. (N/A) denotes this section is not included in the word count.
Module Coordinator
Professor Tyrone S. Pitsis ([email protected])
Consultation Drop-In Times: (office CL/A/015. or via zoom) Wednesdays 1-2pm.
Contact the Module Coordinator if you have an enquiry about academic policy or issues concerning the Module.
Professional Support Services (PSS)
Postgraduate Support Office ([email protected])
Postgraduate Assessment Team ([email protected])
Contact the Postgraduate Support Office if you have an enquiry concerning administrative processes, or contact the Postgraduate Assessment Team if you have an enquiry relating to policy, processes and procedures for any of the project module assessments.
Please note that the dissertation module runs across the Summer Term and the Summer Vacation where academic and PSS staff will not always be available because of research commitments and annual leave.
We will endeavour to reply to your email promptly, and will normally reply to any email query within five (5) working days. Working days are Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, excluding weekends and UK public holidays. If you do not get a reply after that time, please re-send your email. Please note that if you send an email after 5pm or on a weekend or public holiday it will not be received until the next working day. If you email an individual and you receive an ‘out of office’ notice that indicates that they will be unavailable for a period of time, then you should only expect a reply after they return to work. If the email is urgent, you should send it to the Postgraduate Administrator ([email protected]) who will be able to refer it to a relevant person ordeal with the query.
When sending an email please consider who is the best person to consider your query. Many of the answers to common questions you may have about your Module are contained either in this Handbook or on the VLE. Before sending an email, please check both the Handbook and the VLE first!
Leave of Absence from the Module
The Postgraduate Taught (Masters) Degree is a full-time one-year programme. Students are expected to work on their project throughout the summer months. If you wish to leave York for more than 7 days between May and September, you must obtain permission and inform the School. Please go to your e:Vision account and submit an Authorised Absence request. Note that any such request must be submitted well in advance of any proposed Leave.
In addition, on return to the UK Tier 4 students must report to the Student Office (CL/078/A) on the first working day with their Student ID card for confirmation of return
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