Research Project (Management) (756N1)
Credits 30
Term Summer term
Workshop A recorded lecture will be available on Canvas on the 12th of May.
This will be followed by an online feedback session (via Zoom)
and/or email exchanges to address student questions. Details about
the feedback session will be send in May.
Module convenor Dr. Dimitra Petrakaki
Email: [Link]@[Link]
Assessment Dissertation 8,500 words (100%)
Introduction
The Research Project module provides an opportunity for students to undertake a significant
independent piece of research, drawing upon the knowledge and skills that have been learned
during the taught components of the course. Students will apply concepts, theories and research
techniques, draw on internationally published literature, and develop and interpret knowledge
about management theory and practice. Students undertaking this module will write a
dissertation of 8,500 words (plus/minus 10%) in length. Each project will be supervised by a
member of academic staff.
Students whose performance in the first term has been 60% and higher will have the choice to
either undertake a traditional dissertation or do a more structured project. Traditional
dissertations require that students formulate a research question(s) and plan their research
design individually, following guidelines from their supervisor.
Students whose performance in the first term has been lower than 60% will do a structured
project, information about which is presented in the following section.
Overview of the Structured Research Project
Choose a private, public or non-profit organisation located anywhere in the world in order to
analyse and discuss the management of organisational change. You are free to select an
organisation of your choice drawing upon case studies in the literature and articles in the press,
which indicate a significant organisational change has happened.
In your research project you should draw upon secondary information but you may also gather
primary data (subject to supervisor’s approval). Please note that prior to the collection of primary
data you should submit a research ethics application, information about which will be provided
to you in due course.
The research project should make use of relevant bibliography (suggested bibliography is
provided below for reference) and it should cover all the questions below:
1. What were the reasons that led to organisational change and what was the purpose of
change?
2. Who were the involved stakeholders and what role did each of them play in the process
of change?
3. Describe, using relevant theory and/or framework, the process of change that occurred
in the organization you’ve chosen.
4. Describe how the changing organisational context has influenced the changes that have
been undertaken
5. How would you evaluate the outcome of change?
Your project should also analyse and discuss in more depth two questions from the following
list:
I. Discuss the role that leadership played in this organisational change
II. Analyse the challenges of changing organizational culture
III. Describe the role that Information Technology played in organisational change
IV. Discuss the role of innovation (in products and/or services) in the changes that have
been observed
V. Analyse the politics that occurred in the process of change and report instances of
resistance to change
VI. Report on what were the lessons that we can learn from the reported organizational
change
Research projects should be structured in the following way (please note that the word limit is
an approximation only; you may go above or below this limit):
• Abstract (300 words)
• Introduction (600)
• Literature Review (2000)
• You are expected to review literature on organisational change (theories,
frameworks etc.) in broader terms but also more specifically in relation to aspects such
as leadership, information technology, innovation, culture etc. depending on the issues
(as described above) you choose to discuss.
• Research Methodology (1000)
• You are expected to provide a description of the methods you used to gather
information, the ways in which you analysed it, justification of the methodology you
followed and reflection on the limitations of the project drawing upon relevant
literature
• Case study (2500)
• You are expected to provide information about the company (background and
profile) and to describe its organisational change responding to the five points
mentioned above. You should also be mentioning here but not covering thoroughly the
two issues (out of the six mentioned above) you will be discussing in the following
section (for signposting).
• Discussion (1500)
• You should discuss and analyse in depth two issues of the organisational change
your selected organisations has gone through using relevant literature. Ideally, the
review of the literature should be discussed in line with your case study.
• Conclusions (600)
• References (not included in the word limit)
• Appendices (optional)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course a successful student should be able to:
1. Develop and devise a suitable topic for a research project in the field of management and
demonstrate a systemic and critical understanding of the relevant theory
2. Appraise, reflect, interpret and synthesise the relevant theory and previous empirical studies
to inform own research
3. Critically evaluate methodological approaches in previous studies and develop an
appropriate methodological design to meet the specified aim and objectives of the research
project
4. Appraise, reflect, interpret and synthesise the evidence gathered
5. Demonstrate the ability to plan, execute, analyse and synthesise autonomously and think
independently
Readings and Resources
Knights, D. & Willmott, H. (2012) Introducing organizational behaviour and management (ed),
2nd edition, Cengage Learning EMEA.
Linstead, S. Fulop, L. & Lilley, S. (2009) Management & Organization A Critical Text, 2nd edition,
Palgrave Macmillan
Burker, W. (2014) Organization change: theory and practice, 4th edition. SAGE.
Demers, C. (2007) Organisational Change theories: a synthesis, SAGE
Academic journals
You all have access through the electronic library to a number of academic journals. You can
access and browse journals at: [Link] (username and password are
required).
Module Delivery: a User’s Guide
1. This is an individual research-based assignment that relies heavily on independent
research.
2. You will identify the case study or your research question individually and also in
collaboration with your supervisor, if and when needed.
3. You are responsible for initiating contact with your supervisor. You are expected to do so
early in the summer term. The supervisor will provide advice and guidance throughout
your research project through emails and online meetings, given Covid-19 social
distancing restrictions. Please be advised that your research project takes place during
the summer term, when most faculty staff are on annual leave or on conferences. Meetings
will thus need to be arranged on mutually agreed days, times and modes.
4. You will be receiving helpful feedback on the basis of which you are expected to revise
and improve your work. Please note that your supervisor will also be marking your
project. Feedback on dissertation drafts a few days before submission is discouraged.
5. We have a very firm approach to plagiarism, personation and other forms of misconduct.
You are expected to be familiar with University rules for using references. Ignorance is
not an excuse as we provide ample information to help people write their assignments
using correct citations.