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PROJECT WORK:
Dear MBA students, we welcome you all to the IV Semester. We now draw
your attention to an important practical activity to be carried out by
you during this semester i.e., PROJECT WORK. The rationale behind this
practical paper is to:
• Expose you to the various operational and practical aspects of
business
• Train towards application of concepts learned in theory classes
• Help in developing written / communication skills required for a
practical business executive
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT?
Considering the importance of Project Work for an MBA student as well
as the limitations in the distance learning exercise, the Directorate
has proposed easy and flexible guidelines.
• All Project Works should have a Guide/Project supervisor,
preferably in your own city or in the Organization in which you intend
to carryout your Project Work.
• Projects can be guided by any Post Graduate degree holders
with/without a Doctorate Degree working in academic institutions
(Preferably teaching MBA / M Com level Industrial Enterprises or Banks
or Financial Institutions with knowledge in guiding MBA Project Works.
Unguided Projects or self guided projects will not be accepted.
• Project Work should be either a Field Survey study,
Comprehensive Case study on the functioning of a business organization,
Inter-organizational study, application of optimization techniques for
business decisions, computer systems development for business
operations
• Choose any organization which is convenient to your location,
preferably a medium sized or a large enterprise and approach its HR
manager / PRO for necessary permission
• Make a thorough reading of your I semester paper titled
“Research Methodology” and adopt the procedures explained
in it. Description of Objectives of the work, Methodology, Sampling,
Hypothesis, statistical data analysis and Report preparation should
largely be explicit and adhere to the standard Project Reports
• Make as many visits as possible to the selected organization to
gain a thorough understanding of the Problem of your study and collect
information either through structured questionnaires / interview
schedules. Collection of information and data should be done in
consultation with your Project Guide.
TOPIC / AREAS OF THE PROJECT WORK:
Students are advised to carryout their Project Works only in their area
of specialization. For example, the students of MBA (Finance) should
take up their project works only in the functional area of Finance of a
Corporate Enterprises, Banks or a Financial Institutions, Stock Market,
NBFCs, Stock Broking / Forex Dealing firms, etc.
Suggestive List of Topics for Project Work:
Finance:
1. Financial Performance of select Textile Units in Coimbatore
2. Working Capital Management of select Electronic Units of Guindy
Industrial Estate
3. Risk and Return on Equities in Indian Securities Market
4. Performance Evaluation of select Mutual Funds in India
5. Financial Management in ABC company (Case study)
Marketing:
1. Survey on Consumer Choices of different brands of Two-wheelers in
Chennai City.
2. Market Potential for Logistics Business in Hyderabad city
3. Brand Equity in select FMGC products in Mumbai City
4. Service Quality and Consumer satisfaction of Maruti Service Centers
5. A Case Study on Marketing Strategies of HLL in South India
6. Impulse Buying Behavior of Customers in Bangalore City
Human Resources Management
1. Philosophy and Management of Human Resources in select large sized
Indian Industries
2. Leadership styles – A comparison of Indian and Foreign Banks
in Chennai City
3. Job satisfaction and Job involvement of employees in select Textile
Mills in Tirupur
4. Status of Industrial Relations and Implementation of Labour Welfare
Measures in select Coil Mines
5. HR Practices and Organizational Strategies in select IT companies in
India
International Business:
1. WTO and India’s Exports: Integrated Strategy for New Millennium
2. A study on Cross Cultural Practices of select MNCs in India
3. FX Dealer room strategies : A study on select Banks/Forex Dealers in
Mumbai City
4. Study on Operational and Practical dimensions of GDR and ADR issues
of Indian Companies
5. Marketing Strategies of Large Multinational Automobile Unit in
Chennai City.
THE REPORT:
After collecting the necessary information from primary and secondary
sources, substantial number of visits to select companies /
organizations and administering questionnaire / Interview schedules, if
any, the students are advised to discuss with their Project Guides for
necessary directions on how to analyze the data. Based on the PROJECT
GUIDE’S advice, carryout necessary tabulation of data,
application of statistical tools, testing of hypotheses if any, and
then prepare a plan of chapterization to prepare a PROJECT REPORT. Your
compliance with the following format, may enrich the quality of the
Report (Please refer to your Research Methodology course material for
deeper details)
Chapter
I: Background of the Problem under study
(Company
Profile/ Industry Trends etc)
This Chapter may contain a brief background of the problem under study
starting from Macro economy dimension to micro trends, contemporary
developments in the given aspect under study. Brief survey on different
studies/ Review of Literature on this theme may add richness to the
work. For case studies, a brief profile of the company / industry
should be given
Chapter II: Objectives and Methodology
This Chapter should contain the Objectives of the study, Methodology
and Sample selection, Research Design, Period of the study, sources of
data, tools of data collection, Statistical analysis, broad hypotheses
put for testing, limitations, etc. Further, the technical terms used in
the study, a priori relationships expected between the variables,
Models intended to be developed / tested are to be specified in this
chapter.
Chapter III and IV: Empirical Results
/ Data analysis & Discussion
This chapter should contain a logical presentation of the empirical
results after completing the data analysis. This should contain neatly
tabulated results, results of Hypotheses tested, graphs and figures, if
any, along with necessary interpretation. A comparison of results with
earlier studies may add novelty to the work. A detailed discussion on
the basis of results of analysis should be given in this Chapter.
Chapter V: Summary and Conclusions:
This Chapter should focus on broad observations made by the study
against each objective specified in the 2nd chapter. All observations
should neatly be bulletined along with suitable captions. This chapter
should also give a brief list of conclusions drawn by the study and
then provide necessary suggestions for the policy makers / managers on
future course of corrective action.
Bibliography
Every Project work should contain a list of books consulted for the
topic studied, Research Reports, list of research articles and popular
academic articles published in different journals be documented in
standard pattern. It is also better to mention the websites referred
for the secondary sources of materials.
Annexure:
Every Project Report should contain necessary annexure wherein the
Proforma of Questionnaire / Interview Schedule should be enclosed in
original. Further, the annual reports, research reports, used as
supporting documents, if any, may also be enclosed here. The large
database collected by the students may be enclosed (preferably as CD)
as Annexure to the Research Report.
Subject matter organized as above has to be neatly typed (with one and
half line space) and submitted in hard bound / spiral bound form.Please
type only one side of the page. Use only A4 size paper and the report
may be with in the range of 100 -150 pages.
COVER PAGE AND CERTIFICATES:
The Cover page of the Report must contain the Title of the Report,
identity particulars of the student, name, Enrolment number, etc. A
Proforma of the same is given in your Research methodology materials.
Every Project Report should contain a declaration by the student
stating that the said report has not formed part of any other title /
diploma or associate ship and is a bonafide work carried out by
candidate himself by adopting the necessary standard methodologies
under the close supervision of Project Guide. Further, the Project
Guide should also give a separate Bonafide Certificate on his/her
letter head stating that the said work is original and the candidate
has done under his/her supervision.
SUBMISSION OF THE PROJECT REPORT
One typed copy of the PROJECT REPORT has be to be submitted to the
Controller of Examinations, Pondicherry University, Puducherry –
605 014 by Registered post. The cover should contain that the contents
are Project Report on specific MBA programme of DDE. Since these
Project Reports are evaluated by the same examiners of your answer
scripts, the Project Reports should reach the Controller of
Examinations with in 10 days after the last examination of your forth
Semester. (Therefore, the students are advised to start different
activities of Project Work from the month of November / December
itself, as it involves time consuming steps ranging up to 6 months
time). Late submissions will be accepted only during November (on or
before 20th) or June (on or before 20th).
PROFORMA
Students are advised to follow the following Proforma while finalizing
and Printing of their Project work reports. The DDE suggests the
following sample pages:
• Title Sheet
• Certificate from the Guide
• Declaration by the Student
• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• Bibliography
• Appendices
Title Sheet:
The Cover Page of the Project Report as well as the first inner page of
the Report should contain the details regarding the Main Title of the
topic, Sub title (if any), the name of the company / industry where the
work has been carried out (in case of Case study), branch of MBA
programme the report submitted, Name of the Student, Enrolment
/Registration Number, etc. A Proforma of the title page is given below.
University emblem can be downloaded from the University website
www.pondiuni.org
Sample title page:
BRAND PREFERENCES WITH REGARD TO DECORATIVE PAINTS
(A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ASIAN PAINTS
AND BERGER PAINTS)
PROJECT REPORT
(A Report Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Business Administration in Pondicherry University)
Submitted by
Mr./
Ms……………………………
Enrolment No:………………….
MBA:……………………………………
Emblem
DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
PONDICHERRY UNIVRSITY
PONDICHERRY – 605 014
(YEAR OF SUBMISSION)
Certificate from the Guide:
DDE suggests the candidates to approach either an academic guide or
internal guide within the company to get the necessary guidance while
preparing the Project Report. These guides are expected to certify that
the Project work is a bonafide work and not copied from other works.
Such certification increases the authenticity of the work done. It is
preferable to get such certificate on the official letter head of the
Guide. A sample of such certificate of the Guide is given below:
CERTIFICATE OF THE
GUIDE
This is to certify that the Project Work titled “ Consumer Brand
Preferences with regardto Decorative Paints ( A Comparative study of
Asian Paints and Berger Paints)” isa bonafide work of
Mr./Ms…………………………..
Enroll No:…………….. Carried out in
partialfulfilment for the award of degree of MBA
:…………………….
(Branch) of Pondicherry University under my guidance. This project work
is original and not submitted earlier for the award of any degree /
diploma or associateship of any other University / Institution.
Place:
Date: |
Signature of the Guide
Name and Official Address of the Guide
Guide’s Academic Qualifications,
Designation and Experience |
Student’s Declaration:
In addition to the Guide’s certification, student should also
give a declaration stating that the said work is original. The Proforma
of such declaration is as follows:
Students’ Declaration
I,
Mr./Ms………………………..
hereby declare that the Project Work titled “Consumer Brand
Preferences with regard to Decorative Paints (A comparative study of
Asian Paints and Berger Paints)” is the original work done by me
and submitted to the Pondicherry University in partial fulfilment of
requirements for the award of Master of Business Administration
in……………………………..(Area
of specialisation) is a record of original work done by me under the
supervision of Dr / Mr.
Sri……………………….of
……………………………………
(Organization of the guide)
Enroll No:
Date
Signature
of the Student
Acknowledgements:
This is the place where the students can express thanks to different
persons who helped them in carrying out their work.
Executive Summary:
It is preferable to have one page write up about the work, objectives,
sample, broad observations made by the candidates in a summarized form.
This executive summary should be comprehensive and able to reflect the
entire work in a capsule form.
Table of Contents:
Table of contents gives an index of major chapters of the thesis; the
introduction, different chapters with sub sections, bibliography and
appendices along with their page numbers in the report. The titles of
the chapters generally should provide a sequence of logical order of
presentation made by the student. While first couple of chapters
provides the setting of the problem, the later chapters should
concentrate on the analysis carried out to examine the objectives of
the study. The initial pages like Acknowledgements, List of tables,
List of Figures, Bibliography and Appendices are numbered in lower case
Roman letters and the Page numbers of all Chapters are given in regular
numbers. It is customary to specify the Chapter numbers with Roman
Capitals. A sample of table of contents is given below:
Table
of Contents
Acknowledgements
|
i |
| Executive
Summary |
ii |
| List of
Tables |
iii |
| List of
Figures |
iv |
| CHAPTER:1. |
|
| INTRODUCTION
|
1
|
| 1.1 Measures of
Economic Restructuring |
3
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| 1.2 Economic
Growth during Liberalization Measures |
5
|
| 1.3 Growth of
Paints Industry during recent decade |
7
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| 1.4 Competition
among brands and Marketing strategies |
10
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| 1.5 Consumers
Preferences |
12
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| 1.6 Brief Review
of Studies |
15
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| 1.7 Problem of
Study |
22
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| 1.8 Objectives
of the Study |
23
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| 1.9 Methodology
and Sample |
25
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| 1.10 Period of
the study |
27
|
| 1.11 Sources of
Data |
28
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| 1.12 Tools of
Analysis |
29
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| 1.13 Scope and
Significance |
31
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| 1.14 Chapter
Plan |
35
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| 2.
DECORATIVE PAINT INDUSTRY :A
PROFILE |
|
| 2.1 An overview
|
37
|
| 2.2 Problems and
Prospects of the industry |
40
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| 2.3 Profile of
the sample units |
45
|
| 2.4 Major
characteristic differences between Brands |
49
|
| 2.5 Competition
and Marketing strategies |
52
|
3. FACTORS
INFLUENCING THE BRAND LOYALITY OF CUSTOMERS
|
|
| 3.1 Brand
Preference of different categories of respondents |
55
|
| 3.2
Demographic factors and Brand Preference |
59
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| 3.3 Economic
factors and Brand Loyalty |
65
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| 3.4. Product
Characteristics and Brand Loyalty |
70
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| 3.5 Marketing
Factors and Brand development |
76
|
| 3.6 Social
Factors and Brand Loyalty |
82
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| 3.7
Advertisement and Consumer Behaviour |
89
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| 3.8 Celebrity
Endorsements and Quality |
94
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| 3.9 Price and
Quality factors and Brand Preferences |
99
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| 4 RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION |
|
| 4.1 Major
observations |
105 |
| 4.2 Hypothesis
tested |
115
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| 4.3 Comparison
of Results with Other studies |
120
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| 4.4 Major Policy
issues |
129
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| 4.5 Significance
of Observations |
135
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5. SUMMARY AND
CONCLUSIONS:
|
|
| 5.1 Research
Problem |
140
|
| 5.2 Methodology
and Sample |
142
|
| 5.3 Major
Observations |
143
|
| 5.4 Conclusions
and Suggestions |
145
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
|
i
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| APPENDICES
|
ii
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| Appendix A:
Questionnaire / Scheduled |
iii
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| Appendix B:
Details of Secondary Data |
|
BODY OF THE REPORT:
The main body of the report is the most important part of the Project
Report. This body may be segmented into handful of Chapters arranged in
a sequential order. The project Report generally consists of three main
parts, viz., Introductory chapters, Analysis and Interpretation
Chapters, Concluding chapters.
Introductory Chapters: First one
or two chapters are called Introductory Chapters. The student should
provide the setting of the problem of study in these chapters. While
first chapter is to give brief background of the problem, review of
different studies, objectives and methodology adopted, sample drawn,
data sources, tools of analysis, hypothesis formulated for testing and
broad limitations of the study, the second chapter concentrates on the
brief profile of the sample units / respondents and likely influence of
these characteristics on the problem under study.
The third and fourth chapters naturally
have to concentrate on data analysis, interpretation of results,
discussion based on observations made, results of hypothesis tested.
The last chapter i.e., summary and
conclusions is to start with a brief summary of the problem understudy,
sample and methodology, objectives and then summarize the observations
made in earlier analysis chapter. A brief summary of discussion on the
basis of results and major implications to be listed out. Then the
report should go for making major suggestions for any improvement
required in the policies and procedures followed by the enterprise
under study.
Bibliography:
The Bibliography refers to the reference material consulted by the
student in connection with the Project Work. Published studies
conducted by different authors, Text books dealing with the subject of
study, Industry Reports, Business Magazines, Government Reports and
Websites generally constitute the reference material. Students are
expected to give the details of all sources referred for conducting the
present study. The presentation of such reference material often
referred as Bibliography. It should follow a logical arrangement in
alphabetical order. Each reference should give the details regarding
the author(s), the title of paper / book, details regarding its year of
publication, place of publication, name of the publishers / name of the
Journal in case of a research article, etc. Few examples are as
follows:
Published Journal Articles: In
case of Published Journal article, the logical order of citing a
reference is, first authors name, title of the research paper, name of
the journal (to be underlined), year of publication, volume number and
issue number, year of publication and the pages of the said article in
the given Journal. E.g.:
1. Anand, M ., Ajay Arora., “Economic Value Added: Business
Performance Measure of Share Holder Value”, The Management
Accountant, , Vol. 25, No: 4, May 1999, p.25
2. Banerjee, Ashok and Jain S C., “Financial Variables: Measuring
Performance”, Chartered Accountant, Vol. LX., No: 2, Feb 1999,
pp. 65-73
Published Research Books: In case
of Published books the logical order is to start with author (s), year
of publication, title of the book (to be underlined), name of the
publisher, place of publication and page number refered. For example,
1. James R Gregory. (2004),“The Best of Branding: Best
Practices in Corporate Branding”, Tata Mc Graw Hill
Publishing Co Ltd, New Delhi, pp. 24-37
2. Sharma, DD.(2004), “Total Quality Management :
Principles, Practice and Cases”, Sultan Chand & Sons,
New Delhi, pp. 312 – 325
(The students should take utmost care that the citation in the text
must match with the citation in the bibliography)
APPENDICES:
APPENDICES:
Appendices refer to the annexure enclosed to the report. These
enclosures help the reader of the report to refer in case of any
clarity required on the type of instrument used by you in eliciting the
information from the respondents, etc. Usually, the appendices contain
a copy of the questionnaire administered in the study, published raw
data collected and used in the study, etc. Some times, large tables and
checklists of the study are generally given in appendix to provide
greater continuity to the study report for a reader.
SUMMARY OF SOME SELECT STUDIES
In the following pages, the Directorate wishes to provide you couple of
studies in a summarized form to enable the students to get the first
idea of a Project Work study. In order to help the students of
different functional specialization, the topics of these studies cut
across subjects like Marketing Management, Financial Management, Human
Resource Management and International Business. However, these studies
are only suggestive and students are not expected to take the same
studies for their Project Work. All the studies below mentioned are
published in different professional Journals and minor modifications
are made to enable the students to understand them
The studies provided in the following pages are as follows (click one
by one to view):
Marketing Area:
Consumer Brand Preference with regard
to Decorative Paints
Finance Study:
Housing Loans: A Comparative study of Institutions
Human Resources Area:
Executive Problem Solving Behaviour through Various Training Modules
International Business Area:
Competitiveness of Indian Cotton Textile Industry in Global Textile
Market: A Perceptional Analysis.
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