Mike- Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Right, this is super off topic I know. I'm a Masters student in International Business and Strategic Management. I have attended one hour of lectures in 2013 and need to hand in a dissertation proposal in 6 days time which will basically outline what I plan to write about and what data I will gather etc. I have an advisor, but I honestly have no idea what to write about, so can't really go see the guy with nothing in hand. So I would like to appeal to all you lovely people for inspiration. It needs to be something that encompasses the realm of IB and management, but it can be literally anything. Preferably not car related as a few of my essays have already been about this. So if anyone has done a dissertation in a similar field and would like to share some pearls of wisdom, please do so. I was thinking something about music distribution and future of big labels etc. But I don't know. It needs to be broad enough to cover 12,000 words, but specific enough to answer a set question. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngy Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) I just finished my honours degree dissertation, 15k words on project management and health and safety. I don't have any ideas as I have no idea about your course, however you can change your topic up to any point until you hand in the final dissertation. I changed mine many times to suit the research I found. My initial proposal was worth 5% of the mark, and I got a 69% with an intended topic of 'How universities prepare engineering students on becoming successful project managers' until I realised that it was going to be very difficult to accomplish, so I focused on something smaller. With regards to your topic, your advisor wants to help you, the more you speak to him the more he will help you, doesn't matter if you don't have loads of ideas, go to him with what you have and work something out together, after all he will probably mark your final piece of work so its best to use him while you can. Also remember that the 12k words will also need to include your methodology, which will obviously have to be related to your topic but will mostly be detailing the research method and techniques you will be using to answer your question, mine was around 3k words. You'll be fine. Edited May 14, 2013 by ngy RickyZ and Mike- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickyZ Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 (edited) I've handed mine in last Friday for an Undergraduate BSc honours degree in Computing but I would imagine you could tie it into the digital copyright aspect which was largely built into Windows Vista's Kernal but then removed largely (or at least not operational - code still there) in Windows 7 onward Could easily do 12000 words with enough research I would have thought, lots of managment of material and ownership and def covers international business Maybe a hypothesis like Modern Day Music is Impossible to Digitally Protect Edited May 14, 2013 by Trickster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 With regards to your topic, your advisor wants to help you, the more you speak to him the more he will help you, doesn't matter if you don't have loads of ideas, go to him with what you have and work something out together, after all he will probably mark your final piece of work so its best to use him while you can. Yeah I'm going to meet with him next week, but I'd rather take at least a shred of an idea. The trouble with my course is that's so broad, if it was narrowed down to even Health and Safety I'd be laughing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngy Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I did Civil engineering so site health and safety is a huge topic still. Have a look online at some journals and stuff, see what material there is plenty of and maybe that will help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Turko Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I did Business Management with Accountancy. I cant even remember what exactly the title of mine was, but it was along the lines of 'The introduction of international accounting standards and their influence on UK companies'. Needless to say I struggled for motivation LOL To be honest mate, I would pick a strategic theorist you like, start brain storming and take it from there. You have so much scope, so pick something good and just apply it to a segment on international business. Porters 5 forces? Fayol? Hertzberg? Mayo? Taylor? Drucker? There are loads.. Once you relate it to International Business and start padding out your research etc, you will soon reach a good word level. At the very least brain storm for when you go to visit your lecturer - so you at least seem like you know what you're doing :-) Mike- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I've just finished my BSc one a few weeks ago, but it was in computing (looked at wireless propagation models and power/rate relations), so I can't give any help on the topic thing. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with mine, but wasn't sure how to tie in into a manageable area until I spoke to my supervisor. The problem I faced was though that she proposed an idea which I quickly lost interest in which made completing it a struggle. I guess what I'm trying to get at is, while supervisors may suggest things, don't rush into them but take a bit of time to think it over first. Good luck however it goes! Meeting the word count is easy enough, I managed just over 12,000 words and mine was mostly analysis of my own data, rather than researching. I had another 2,000 words in appendices which I couldn't fit into the main body either. Mike- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I did Business Management with Accountancy. I cant even remember what exactly the title of mine was, but it was along the lines of 'The introduction of international accounting standards and their influence on UK companies'. Needless to say I struggled for motivation LOL To be honest mate, I would pick a strategic theorist you like, start brain storming and take it from there. You have so much scope, so pick something good and just apply it to a segment on international business. Porters 5 forces? Fayol? Hertzberg? Mayo? Taylor? Drucker? There are loads.. Once you relate it to International Business and start padding out your research etc, you will soon reach a good word level. At the very least brain storm for when you go to visit your lecturer - so you at least seem like you know what you're doing :-) Yeah this is probably quite wise, build it around existing theory rather than start my own. I struggle for motivation with my entire degree if I'm honest, such a vast waste of money, but only quitters quit innit. Meeting word counts isn't a problem generally, I can type for days about absolutely nothing, padding stuff out is the one thing I can do. This post was originally 2,000 words. Maybe I'll just do it on BMW then I'll love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momo Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 I did a degree in Business Administration and Management with a specialisation on International Business in the Pacific Rim. I work in IT as a techie now.. lol We didn't have to do a dissertation though, it was project-based. We were grouped with people we didn't know and had to organise and create a presentation based on a given subject. Funnily ours was teamwork. I was grouped with an oriental gal who (no offence to anyone intended) had NO idea how to write/speak the English language and a hippie!! Safe to say we bombed but the oriental lass got a decent mark for some reason! How odd.. lol. Anyway, what about using BMW's business as a basis for your dissertation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Turko Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Can you not do it on Just In Time strategists and their influence on the international car manufacturing industry? That way it keeps you interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngy Posted June 3, 2013 Report Share Posted June 3, 2013 How you getting on with this? I found out last week I got a second in my Honours degree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalize Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 I'm about to go in to my third year of Photography and have to submit my Dissertation Jan '14, seems a long way away but I'm dreading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 How you getting on with this? I found out last week I got a second in my Honours degree Whipped off my proposal, something along the lines of media distribution, which used wikipedia references and some other nonsense. TBH it's not in for September I'll do it later. Averaged 68 this semester without showing my face and spending roughly 2 hours on each assessment, so I'm not too worried Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) That title sounds. . . fun? Having seen this reminds me I get the results of mine on Monday. 60% average needed this term to get a 1st overall, so fingers crossed! Edited June 6, 2013 by TriggerFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Is it an undergrad? I found out my university doesn't even give grades for Masters degrees, just you either have one or you don't, so that takes some pressure off lolz. Best of luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriggerFish Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Yeah, a BSc. I'll do a masters one day, but I'm sick of education for now! That's pretty lucky, I thought most did pass, merit, distinction etc. As you say, pressure's removed anyway! Cheers, you too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) I'll probably get flamed for this, but if you only attended one hour of lectures you should resit the year. I did a SWOT analysis on BMW at uni. Learnt a lot, fascinating history and business model at the time, and a fair bit to write about as they'd just bought Rover and were gunning for Rolls Royce Edited June 6, 2013 by mit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermitthefrog Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 I did one last year for my final year in Electrical Power Systems. 28k word report on a large sawmill that burned any waste e.g. sawdust, bark and scraps to produce electricity and thermal energy for drying commercial timber. Ended up saving them 2.5 million euros a year on their gas bills plus selling power onto the grid! Thank god it's all behind me now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted June 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 I'll probably get flamed for this, but if you only attended one hour of lectures you should resit the year. Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I'll probably get flamed for this, but if you only attended one hour of lectures you should resit the year. Why? Because you haven't learnt the course material? Unless you're on some pansy worthless degree that doesn't require you to put any effort in or learn any discipline; the kind that you think will get you a job but really just keeps you off the unemployment figures temporarily. I don't know anyone who would have got away with only attending 1 hour of lectures on any course when I was at university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john.med Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) I did a dissertation for my BA in 2002. I'm embarking on an MA at mo, and the thought of another dissertation fills me with dread!!!! P.S. If he's getting the grades Mit, he's demonstrating all he needs to... Can't see a problem there! Edited June 7, 2013 by john.med Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I'll probably get flamed for this, but if you only attended one hour of lectures you should resit the year. Why? Because you haven't learnt the course material? Unless you're on some pansy worthless degree that doesn't require you to put any effort in or learn any discipline; the kind that you think will get you a job but really just keeps you off the unemployment figures temporarily. I don't know anyone who would have got away with only attending 1 hour of lectures on any course when I was at university. In a sense I agree, but if the assessments accurately reflect the course material and its content, and I am completing them successfully, then job done. Surely it's on the university to assess its students correctly. To be honest my postgrad is very much related to my undergrad, and having attended the majority of semester one it was clear that there wasn't material on the course I wasn't already 90% aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebgreen Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Something about the whole international corporations not paying enough tax, morally. It's a hot topic right now as its not illegal. What would happen if the uk government did impose tighter tax laws? Would the foreign corporations leave the uk? Something like that will do well as its really current. Mike- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mit Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 In a sense I agree, but if the assessments accurately reflect the course material and its content, and I am completing them successfully, then job done. Surely it's on the university to assess its students correctly. To be honest my postgrad is very much related to my undergrad, and having attended the majority of semester one it was clear that there wasn't material on the course I wasn't already 90% aware of. Fair enough Hope it goes well anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike- Posted June 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Something about the whole international corporations not paying enough tax, morally. It's a hot topic right now as its not illegal. What would happen if the uk government did impose tighter tax laws? Would the foreign corporations leave the uk? Something like that will do well as its really current. I quite like this one actually, the affects of closing tax loopholes and such, might look into it. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
