Module overview
The Business Project module forms the third part of the MBA (Mastering Business) and allows students to demonstrate their mastery of business management and leadership in a 'capstone' project for an organisation or business sector. It is an individual and independent project in which students can bring together all their learning on the programme to help solve a chosen business problem or challenge. The Business Project is undertaken in an area chosen by the student and is supervised by a member of Faculty. There is a series of workshops to prepare students for the Business Project, which cover research methods and associated skills such as client management and business planning.
The Business Project involves an extended, independent investigation of a topic of your own choosing and the preparation of a 12,000 word business project describing your work. Essentially, the Business Project is a test of your ability to create and investigate, on your own initiative, a text which demonstrates a Masters level understanding of a particular subject issue.
The Business Project acts as a mechanism for you to synthesize your previous learning and ability to conduct an independent piece of work. The module introduces students to business research methods and requires the initial development of a proposal for the Business Project. Once approved, you can then start the Business Project. Completing a Business Project gives you a unique opportunity to undertake an extended piece of personal research on a topic of your own choosing. You will be allocated a supervisor - if possible we will aim to match your research interests with those of the staff within the Business School. Business Projects can take a number of forms, for example:
- Empirical work involving quantitative analysis of collected data.
- A case study of a particular firm or industry.
- Study of a particular problem in an organisation or industry.
- A survey of business practice in a particular context.
- A business plan which can be used for a new business venture.
The Business Project should not exceed 12,000 words overall and includes the following two pieces of assessed work:
- Proposal (2,000 words)
- Main Project (10,000 words, incl. 1,000 word reflection)
The Proposal must be completed and approved before progressing onto the Main Project.
As a full-time student, you are expected to complete the taught element of the programme over the course of 9 months. You will work on the Business Project during the summer and it will be submitted during September.