TheInstituteofAdministrativeManagement

Level5DiplomainBusinessandAdministrativeManagement
Markingguide
509Businessresearch


Centreguidance

509Businessresearch

2012IAM Level5DiplomainBusinessandAdministrativeManagement Businessresearch Version1

Thispageisintentionallyblank

509Businessresearch
Centreguidance

2012IAM Level5DiplomainBusinessandAdministrativeManagement Businessresearch Version1

Whatisabusinessprojectreport?
Abusinessprojectreportisanindependent,individualpieceofwork.Thebusinessprojectoffers
anopportunityforcandidatestodevelopskillsincriticalanalysis,interpretationandpresentation
ofinformation.Candidateswillbeabletoincludetheirownoriginalobservationsandideas
supportedbyappropriateevidence.

Thereportwillpulltogetherinformationfromseveralfunctionalareas,thussupportingcandidates
indevelopingaholisticapproachtobusiness.Candidateswillbecomefamiliarwiththetheorythat
underpinsresearch,withtheelementsofformalresearchandwithresearchmethodsand
techniques.

Thisunitwillsupportcandidatestocompleteresearchandreportwritingassignmentsintheir
presentorfuturejobroles.Itwillalsohelpthemtoconductresearchprojectswhencompleting
level6qualifications.

Normallythebusinessprojectwillinvolvethestudyofapracticalbusinessidea,opportunityor
challengemetwithintheirchosenorganization.

Helpingcandidatestochooseasuitablebusinessproject
Thequalityofthebusinessprojectreportwillbeinfluencedbyhowwellthetutorhelpseach
candidateto:
selectasuitableidea,opportunityorchallenge
clearlydefinetheidea,opportunityorchallenge
chooseaprojectthatcanbecompletedwithinthetimeandresourcesavailable

Rememberthatthefinalreportrepresentsanexerciseinprojectmanagementbythecandidate.

Ifthecandidateisabletobasetheprojectonaworkbasedsituation,oneaimmightbetodeliver
somebenefittothehostorganization.Howeverstresstothecandidatethatthemainaimhasto
betomeettherequirementsoftheIAMLevel5Businessresearchunit.Thebusinessproject
reportshouldbewrittenintheformofanacademicdocumentnotamanagementreport.

Helpingyourcandidatestogetstarted
Thefirstthingtheprojectsupervisormustdoisadvisethecandidateonhowtocompletethe
projectspecification(businessprojectproposal).Adateshouldbeagreedforsubmissionofthe
proposalform.Oncethebusinessprojectproposalhasbeensubmittedameetingwillbeneededto
discusstheproposalandagreeanychanges.

Oncethebusinessprojectproposalhasbeenagreed,theprojectsupervisorwillbeabletodiscuss
witheachcandidatetheirideasforthetheme/scopeoftheproject.Thismaybeachallengetobe
addressedoranopportunitytobetackled.Helpherewillincludeformulatingasuitableresearch
question.

Workwiththecandidatetoconstructaroughoutlineofthestructureoftheproject.Perhapsyou
couldhelpthemtocreateaworddocumentwithatableofcontents.
509Businessresearch
Centreguidance

2012IAM Level5DiplomainBusinessandAdministrativeManagement Businessresearch Version1

Bystartingwithaworkingdocumentthecandidateisablebegintoorganisetheirworksothatthey
haveaframeworkaroundwhichtheirthemecanbedeveloped.

Nextyoucanhelpthecandidatetoidentifyorconstructanacademicframeworkforanysecondary
researchrelatingtotheirproject.Thiswillincludealiteraturesearch(whathasalreadybeen
writtenaboutthisidea,opportunityorchallenge)e.g.whathashappenedbefore.

Thecandidatethenneedshelptodecidewhatprimary(new)researchtheywilldo.Thisisnew
researchcarriedoutbythecandidatetocreatenewknowledgeordevelopexistingknowledge.

Thiscanbecontrastedwithanypreviouswork(secondaryresearch)andwillhelptoformabasis
fortheirconclusions.

Agoodwaytoprepareforadiscussionwithcandidatesistothinkaboutwhatarethemostdifficult
aspectsofcompletingaprojectreport.Thesecanbesummarisedas:
choosingasuitableidea,opportunityorchallenge(researchquestion)
formulatingasuitableresearchquestion
producingastructure(framework/outline)fortheproject
choosingthemostappropriatemethodology(questionnaires;interviews;casestudies)
beingclearonthemainthemeandscope
agreeingclearaimsandobjectives
identifyingrelevantsecondarydata

Stresstothecandidatesthattheyshouldfeelfreetosendyoutheirworkatanytimefor
review/comment/furtherguidance.Itwillhelpifthisisanelectroniccopy.

Beforestartingworkonthebusinessprojectreportcandidatesshouldhaveagreedthefollowing
withtheirtutor:
asuitableresearchquestion
themethodologytobeused
aplanofhowtheywilltackletheproject(actionplan)
astructureforthereport
adraftsetofquestionsforuseinprimaryresearch

Structureofbusinessprojectreport
Sowhatshouldthebusinessprojectreportlooklike?Theoverallstructureshouldbe:
1. anintroductionwhichsetsthescene
2. aliteraturereview
3. setofresearchmethodswithjustificationoftheirselectioninthecontextoftheselected
researchapproachesandstrategy
4. awriteuptheresultsoftheresearch
5. asetofconclusionsincludedinthefinalsummary
509Businessresearch
Centreguidance

2012IAM Level5DiplomainBusinessandAdministrativeManagement Businessresearch Version1

Inordertoavoidplagiarismyoushouldalsoremindcandidatesoftheimportanceof:
supplyingalistofreferences(includingtextreferences),usingtheIAMreferencingconvention
providingabibliography,usingtheIAMreferencingconvention

Agoodideawouldbetothenremindyourselfofthecontentsoftheunitdescriptor.Insummary
theunitrequiresfromthecandidate:
anintroduction/scenesetting(includesscope)
explanationofthemethodologychosenforworkontheproject
content
structure
completionofsecondaryresearch(literaturereview)toprovideanacademicframework
preparationfor/completionofappropriateprimaryresearch(includeswritingquestionnaires
andconductingsurveys)toprovidenewinformation
analysisandexplanationbythecandidateofwhattheyhavefoundout(includescomparing
primaryandsecondaryresearch)
productionofrecommendationsandconclusions

Itisimportantthatyoucheckwhatthecandidatehasdoneactuallymatchestotherequirements
setoutinthecentremarkingguide.