The Major Research Project provides an opportunity to investigate a topic in depth. It is designed to test your ability to engage in an investigative piece of work, using business research methods, resulting in a major report that will be of value to practitioners. It is the culmination of the MBA programme and will test your ability to apply and integrate the theories, models and experiences gained throughout your study programme.

What is the project?
The project is equivalent to two papers and should represent between 240 and 300 hours work. We often liken the project to a consulting assignment which would cost the organisation between $20,000 and $30,000.

There are a number of approaches that can be taken, and few fixed rules. We stipulate only that:

• The project must be a topic you are excited about; otherwise it will become tedious and you may not complete it in time
• Your methodology should involve some kind of primary research (e.g. interviews, surveys), and not be merely "desk research"
• Your report must demonstrate familiarity with existing literature about the topic
• Your project must have practical value to developing your knowledge as a manager and, if appropriate, the effectiveness of the participating organisation(s)
• The report should be written to a level that is can be published in your own organisation, or presented to the Board or Senior Management Team.

When selecting a topic, you may wish to consider one of the generic approaches, or you may wish to be more adventurous. Some of the generic approaches are:

• Strategic analysis and redesign of a market, industry, company or business process
• Selecting a topic from the MBA and developing an action research project that will extend your understanding of the topic
• Developing a case study, based on an actual organisation, which applies a theory from one of the MBA topics
• Developing, testing and applying new, integrative theory – for example, showing the relationship between two bodies of management literature by applying these to an investigation involving actual organisations
• Investigating a situation that puzzles you in your own organisation – for example, why the organisation culture stays the same despite changes in management; what could be done to address silo mentality; whether restructuring has any financial benefit for the organisation; how virtual communication takes place best
• Developing a model based on stakeholder views for a holistic new venture or concept – for example developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Such generic approaches are not mandatory. As long as your project proposal meets the five stipulations detailed above, a great deal of flexibility is available.
Some discretion is possible not only with regard to the topic and format of the report, but also with regard to how it is supervised and assessed. For example, with action projects, we will consult with the project client or sponsor in assessing the value of the report.

What is different about the project?
The biggest difference is that you are working alone on the project, with a supervisor from the academic staff. There are no classes to attend and thus a greater degree of self-discipline is required. You will however, be expected to meet with your supervisor at regular scheduled times.During the last part of the MBA programme, there are gaps in the normal class times to allow you to concentrate on the project.

The project is structured so there are several compulsory deliverables, however, you supervisor in consultation with you, may set other milestones. This will ensure that you keep to the time frame for the MRP.

Getting your project accepted
You will be allocated a supervisor at the beginning of the course. Each supervisor will work with around five students from your class. The supervisors role is to guide you and you colleagues through the process of conducting a research project. It is important that you establish a mutually acceptable working relationship with your supervisor early.

Supervisors will meet will all five students together at scheduled times which will be set at the first meeting. Although each student is doing a separate project (MRP), students of each supervisor are expected to meet regularly as a small group where each will read, evaluate and provide feedback on the work of others. This peer support and learning is intended to assist students to improve the quality of their work, prior to feedback from the supervisor.

Working with your supervisor

You should expect to spend about 5-6 hours in meetings with your supervisor and then the supervisor is expected to spend a further five hour reviewing your work and suggesting ways to improve. Remember that your supervisor will have other commitments, possibly including overseas travel, and cannot be assumed to be available at short notice.

Marking of your reports

The draft and final reports should be submitted by Moodle and also emailed directly to your supervisor. Supervisors have two weeks to turn around feedback on your draft. Feedback can be provided to the student as soon as the supervisor has marked the report, however, prior to a grade being allocated all draft and final reports will go out for moderation to an external party. Once all the class reports have been moderated the final grades will be available on Moodle. All reports are moderated by a third party to ensure consistency across both all class members and other MBA classes.

This paper will be facilitated with face-to-face sessions, supported by online resources and contact with your supervisor about your project.

All assessment is compulsory.

It is expected you have read the Executive Education Policies.

PLEASE NOTE: The University has zero-tolerance for Plagiarism.

All assessment must be submitted as a Word document, unless otherwise stated.

Booking of rooms for group meetings.

Please refer to Moodle for assessment details.

Waikato Management School Helpdesk: wms_helpdesk@waikato.ac.nz, 0800 WAIKATO, extn 4599

ITS: https://landesk.waikato.ac.nz0800 WAIKATO, extn 4008

Moodle help files

As a general guide 12-15 hours per week is required over the whole period of the paper.