Live Business Project – Course Guide

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. GENERAL INFORMATION

3. COURSE DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE

4. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

5. ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

6. PROJECT STAGES AND SUPERVISION

7. ACADEMIC MALPRACTICE

8. ETHICAL PROJECT DESIGN AND CONDUCT

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1. INTRODUCTION

The Live Business Project forms a major piece of work over two semesters that
completes your MBA studies. In the project you will apply the academic concepts
and skills acquired through the programme of study to a live managerial problem of
your choice. The overall aim of the project is for your group to first, develop idea
generation and analysis skills; so that second, you investigate and learn from a
complex business problem combining the concepts, theories and methods from
the Global MBA programme with your professional knowledge.

Self-selected groups will work together on a live, real time interdisciplinary business
project of the group’s choice. Typical options include:

 an investigation of a specific problem situation, or business opportunity for a

company or organization;
 entrepreneurial projects such as a feasibility study;
 a sectoral study or comparison of case study organizations.

Sponsoring companies or organizations will usually be self-sourced by the group.

We particularly encourage projects in the Not for Profit sector.

This guide provides brief information with links to material where you can find greater
detail.

2. GENERAL INFORMATION

Academic Year
Term January or July
Course Unit Title Live Business Project
Unit code AMBS
Credit rating [45]
Level 7
Degree programme MBA
As a guide, 6 hours for Project Preparation (virtual) and
Contact hours
12-14 hours for Supervision (virtual or face to face)
Pre-requisite units None
Co-requisite units None
ECT* 22.5
Notional hours of
450
Learning**
Delivery mode Online

* ECT (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System): There are 2 UK credits
for every 1 ECT credit, in accordance with the Credit Framework (QAA). Therefore if
a unit is worth 30 UK credits, this will equate to 15 ECT.

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** Notional hours of learning: The number of hours which it is expected that a learner
(at a particular level) will spend, on average, to achieve the specified learning
outcomes at that level. It is expected that there will be 10 hours of
notional study associated with every 1 credit achieved. Therefore if a unit is worth 30
credits, this will equate to 300 notional study hours, in accordance with the Credit
Framework (QAA).

3. COURSE DESRIPTION AND RATIONALE

The Unit aims to:

➢ Equip students with knowledge and skills to design and conduct an ethical
business study and to analyse evidence.

➢ Provide a live business problem through which students apply selected

concepts, theories and techniques acquired during their Global MBA.

➢ Provide experience of group work and project management within a live

business context, working with a subject area expert (supervisor).

➢ Equip students to:

o Design, research and investigate a business problem, so as to combine

theoretical and practical knowledge.
o Conduct business investigations to ethical standards, avoiding
harm to individuals and organizations.
o Present and analyse project results in written, visual and oral formats.

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4. INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES

Category of
Students should be able to:
outcome
L1: Understand current business theory relating to a
specific situation or complex issue.
L2: Select and apply theory in real life business practice.
Knowledge and L3: Understand how to design and conduct a study, collect
understanding and analyse data, so as to obtain beneficial and
meaningful results.
L4: Understand and apply the principles of ethics and
socially responsible business practice.
L5: Make judgements and solve problems effectively
using researched information, within the context of a
complex dynamic business situation.
Intellectual skills
L6: Make arguments from an informed point of view.
L7: Show ability to debate, analyse and write about a
specific business issue.
L8: Develop skills in business practice through exploration
of a new or challenging opportunity.
L9: Deal with businesses, people and information to
Practical skills
ethical standards.
L10: Recognise the strengths and limitations of different
methods for approaching a business situation.
L11: Demonstrate professional and ethical standards in
interactions with peers, academic staff and external
organizations.
L12: Manage the project effectively, including managing
time, resources and deadlines, and key relationships.
L13: Participate and work constructively with group
members in investigating, developing and recommending
Transferable skills solutions to unstructured problems.
and personal L14: Identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual
qualities members of the group and manage them effectively.
L15: Critically reflect on progress and adapt to changing
circumstances.
L16: Show enhanced skills in written, visual and oral
presentation.
L17: Write project reports which meet the rigorous
standards of Master’s level study that generate and test
relevant concepts for a specific business situation

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5. ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Project task Length Weighting Deadline

A1 Individual essay 1,800 words 15% Week 7

A2 Group project 4,000 words 15% Week 15

proposal including abstract
A3 Project plan 2,000 words 10% Week 30

A4 Interim Set of 30 slides 10% Week 38

Presentation (30 maximum)

A5 Final report 12,500 words 50% Week 46

+/- 20%

All assessments are submitted to Blackboard.

Please check exact submission dates on Blackboard/timetable.

A1 Individual essay: choice between:

a) analysis of a particular research method for your project
b) analysis of a particular theoretical framework for your project
c) a literature review on the topic for your project

A2 Project Proposal Outline of project scope, methods, task, timeline and group
work practices. Abstract to be used for supervisor allocation.

A3 Project Plan
Revised project aims, objectives, scope, methodology, project plan of key activities.

A4 Interim Presentation
To supervisor, on progress, data collection, and group management.
All group members to attend except by supervisor approved group consensus.

A5 Final Report
Presentation of aims, methods, analysis of results and recommendations, executive
summary.

Details of the marking criteria can be found in the Assessments folder on Blackboard

The marking turnaround for the A5 is longer than all other assignments. The first
marker has 20 working days and the supervisor a further 10 working days.

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Feedback

Your supervisor will provide feedback to develop your knowledge and skills, and on
progress towards the intended learning outcomes, your marks and grades. Feedback
will suggest how the work could have been better and can be improved. Supervisor
feedback takes two main forms; informal on a regular on-going basis through the
communication methods you have agreed between the group and the supervisor; and
formal through assessment of assignments.

Penalties

If you experience problems that may result in your assignment submission being
delayed, you must talk to your supervisor as soon as possible. Please refer to the Late
Submissions and Penalties section of the Programme Handbook.
Requests for extensions Extensions must be formally approved in advance
providing evidence of mitigating circumstances, submitted to Global MBA
Assessments team. Extensions must be formally agreed by the Course Convenor or
Projects Director.

Frequently asked questions can be found on Blackboard Phase Two Supporting

Materials F A Q s .

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6. PROJECT STAGES AND SUPERVISION

The 12 month Live Business Project has several stages, each of which will require
careful thought and planning. At each stage, your group project should aim to
combine business relevance with academic strength.

Prior to the project, students form self-selected groups and notify group
membership
Students will be expected to work in a self-selected group of five people from the
beginning of the preparatory course and throughout the whole project.

The initial preparatory phase comprises an online preparation for the project that
includes:
The purpose of business research; ethics and standards; study strategy and design,
design of a project proposal; and managing a group project.

A project proposal must be submitted by the group for approval of the project scope
and to allocate an appropriate supervisor.

During the live project implementation phase groups will work together on a live,
real time interdisciplinary business project of the group’s choice.

Standard elements include: explicit business question to be investigated; literature

critique and conceptual synthesis; explicit methodology; critical use of appropriate
frameworks; Harvard reference style.

A project may have greater or lesser emphasis on:

➢ Academic analysis (more of a dissertation style and synthesis of material)
➢ Business consultancy (real world situations and managerial action)
➢ Entrepreneurship (opportunities for business start-up and market entry)

E-learning and appointment of a Supervisor

The development of the project will take place initially through e-learning, live online
sessions and discussion forums. Later, you will be notified by the MBA Office of the
name and contact details of your project supervisor by the implementation start date in
January or July.

You should contact the supervisor directly to agree arrangements for conducting the
supervisory relationship.

Details of your and the supervisor’s responsibilities, and guidance about good
practice in the Supervisory process can be found on Blackboard Phase Two
Supporting Materials.

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 Working as a group

Group-work is an essential component of the project at all stages. From the outset,
students need to attend to the roles and relationships as well as the tasks that are
required for successful project completion. Unfortunately groups may experience
internal problems.

Details of common problems in groups and how to address them can be found on
Blackboard Forming your Group section.

7. ACADEMIC MALPRACTICE

Plagiarism Detection Software

AMBS checks all project work submitted for assessment using the Turnitin
plagiarism detection software. Submission of an assignment or project for
assessment as part of your MBA programme is taken as permission for checks of
this nature to be undertaken.

Please read the section on Academic Malpractice and Plagiarism on Blackboard

and understand its contents prior to submitting any work for assessment.

Assignments and Projects must be your own work

Plagiarism is regarded very seriously by all Universities. It is an attempt to deceive
your examiners by presenting as your own the work of other writers and the severest
penalties will result.

You should not plagiarise your own work by submitting the same or any similar
material for assessment twice, either in the same course, in different programme
courses or as part of your live business project.

8. ETHICAL RESEARCH DESIGN AND CONDUCT

Your project may include library and desk based research as well as your own
fieldwork and a typical project usually includes the following elements:

 Critical analysis and/or synthesis of the academic concepts, theory and

literature on a managerial issue, in a short literature review.

 Critical analysis of (possibly publicly available) data to shed light on a business

issue.

 A sound, ethical study design, and collection of quantitative or qualitative

primary data or a combination of the two, typically using a survey questionnaire,
or interviews.

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  Analysis and discussion of your study results.

Ethical approval and confidentiality

Students need to be aware of their responsibilities on behalf of the University of

Manchester to meet professional, ethical and academic standards. Useful material and
links to resources on ethics are found on Blackboard Phase Two Supporting
Materials.

We ask students to act with mutual respect, personal integrity, and academic rigour.
You have a duty of care to all involved in business research, and not to intentionally
mislead others. We ask you to include the Declaration and Intellectual Property
statement in your final report.

Confidentiality
The client organization may ask the students to sign their confidentiality agreement.
AMBS has appropriate documentation for confidentiality in two main parts: an
agreement between the client organization and the University of Manchester; and an
agreement between MBS and the student. Copies are available from and should be
processed through the Global MBA Assessments team.

Approval of research methods

Supervisors must check and approve schedules and questionnaires before use.
It is the student’s responsibility to submit any questionnaire for approval to the
supervisor before using it in the project. You should run a pilot test of any
questionnaire before full distribution, to identify and address any aspects of possible
concern. If you have any doubts, please check with your supervisor about ethical
approval processes.

All data collection relating to minors (under age 16) must have prior ethical approval.
It is not appropriate to survey MBA students.

You must always document carefully your research. We expect you to present results
that were legitimately obtained and documented by you as part of your learning
experience. File and retain any data that you collect in a secure manner. Use
Blackboard and university approved communication methods to share and store client
information. You can minimise risks by removing personal identifiers from the data.

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The final report

The final report is 12,500 words in length +/- 20% (excluding appendices and
bibliography).

The format and structure of the final report should contain specific elements and
should be in an appropriate style.

Resubmission of the Live Business Project

The Live Business Project will be considered as a taught element on the programme
rather than a dissertation. Students will, however, be eligible for an automatic
resubmission of their final report providing they have achieved a grade of 30+.

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