1.  A FEW INTRODUCTORY POINTS

 

1.1.  Objectives of the Final Year Dissertation

 

The objective is for students to acquire an expertise in one managerial topic of their choice, preferably one which is relevant to their professional projects, possibly but not necessarily, linked to their final year internship.

 

If this Final Year Project gives students the opportunity to relate theoretical input, courses and practice, it is also an exercise in developing their competencies in several areas:

• critical analysis,
• sense of perspective, –            structuration of ideas,  – analytical mindset.

 

1.2.  The Topic

A Final Year Dissertation is an opportunity to look into a specific managerial topic of today. The point is for you to show an expertise in a domain which attracts you and will be useful in your professional project. It must contribute some added value to your study path; the topic must be of a kind that can be mentioned in your CV in order to differentiate and valorise your study path.

The topic, if it is directly linked to professional experiential activity, must then go beyond immediate experience by setting it into a rigorous academic framework. Thus, as mentioned before, it is recommended to root the issue in the academic or professional literature which refers to the topic. It is up to the author of the Dissertation to define the general theme and then the topic of his/her Dissertation. At this stage, the tutor will help in the definition phase of those objectives pursued. If he/she considers the topic does not meet the demands of the Bachelor programme, he/she will then bring the student to revise his/her topic.

 

 

Before making a final decision as regards the topic, the author should consider the following points:

 His/her motivation for the topic.

 The relevance of the topic  (Is the topic really in line with managerial and academic concerns?)

 The point of the topic.

 Feasibility as regards:  o Time span and resources required to achieve this study;  o Access to those sources of information needed;  o Mastery of the concepts and methodology required.

 

1.3.  The Research Question

Any research work deals with a research question. To define the research question addressed in his/her Final Year Dissertation, the student may draw from his/her experience as well as from academic literature, research journals, the specialised press and the topics discussed in colloquia and professional fairs. The issue question might thus be for instance: ‘To what extent RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) alters management practice in storage and distribution companies?’

It is impossible to formulate a research question without some minimal prior knowledge of the topic.  A research question with too wide a scope or not sufficiently explicit, will be detrimental to the value of the work.

 

2.  STRUCTURE OF A FINAL YEAR DISSERTATION

 

2.1.  The Table of Contents

The table of contents is usually included at the beginning of the work. It will mention the various sections, chapters and main subdivisions of the Dissertation.

Headings should of course be identical in both the table of contents and the Dissertation itself.

It can be generated automatically by Microsoft’s Word Software (Menu + Insert + Tables + Table of Contents), provided each heading has been selected and given a level (Menu + Format + Style + Heading 1 or 2 or 3, etc.).

The table of contents will thus be automatically updated whenever you open the file.

 

 

2.2.  Introduction

The introduction is one of the most critical elements in a Final Year Dissertation/Thesis, as it clarifies for the reader the issue dealt with in the Dissertation and the methods used to do so.  The introduction may comprise several pages.

Firstly, the topic should be stated in a few sentences.

Secondly, the core research question will be introduced.

Thirdly, a brief review of the literature demonstrates the relevance of the research question and presents the state of knowledge on the subject.

As a result of the problem, hypotheses can be formulated in response to it.

The last part of the introduction is the logical follow-up to the core issue and announces the plan. The plan is an answer to the issue, which means that hypotheses will be tested one by one, in a structured demonstration. The plan must be detailed down to the level of sub-headings minimum.

2.3.  Literature Review

 

 Synthesis of readings: academic (2 articles minimum) and professional (7 texts minimum)

 

 The analytical framework

 

NB: this section will be explained in full during the Methodology course.

 

2.4.  Methodology

 

 Qualitative Approach

 Interview Guide

 Coding

 

NB: this section will be explained in full during the Methodology course.

.

2.5.  Conclusion: Results and Recommendations

 

This section will bring an answer to the issue question, and state whether the starting hypotheses have been eventually confirmed, invalidated or refined upon.

The conclusion also underlines the contributions and limitations of the work as well as the further research required, which will open up new roads for other works or research.

At the end of the conclusion, recommendations may be formulated which are the outcome of the analysis.

 

2.6.  Bibliography

 

Thus college has adopted the Harvard System format for the preparation of all references. The School librarians have produced a guide (Guide pour la rédaction des références bibliographiques) accessible at http://fr.calameo.com/books/00009016854cead9ba6ff .

 

BERNARD, O. & JOFFRE, C. (2017). QCM – Comptabilité quotidienne. Caen : Editions EMS.

BOURDIN, S., & CORNIER, T. (2017). Au-delà de la mesure du bien-être en milieu urbain : quelle perception de la qualité de vie dans les villes européennes ? Géographie, Economie, Société, vol. 19, n°1, pp. 3-31.

MANDJAK, T. & PIRICZ, N. (2016). Cultural Aspects of Trust in Business Relationships. International Journal of Business Insights and Transformation, vol.  9, n°2, pp. 4-9. NADOU, F. & DOUAY, N. (2016). Développement et protection, quel(s) arbitrage(s) dans la planification métropolitaine de Marseille et de Nantes ? La délicate gestion du foncier des zones d’activité économique. Revue Internationale d’Urbanisme, vol. 2, pp. 1-37.

2.7.Appendices

Information or texts related to the topic but not directly linked to the demonstration, which cannot be placed in the main document, will inserted at the end as appendices.  This may include a company’s internal documents or extracts from work produced by the intern.

Appendices should be referred to in the main text, mentioning the number of the Appendix and the page. Appendices may include passages downloaded from the Internet or copied, on condition the source is expressly mentioned.  Photocopies of articles are to be avoided and should rather be listed in the bibliography.

If Annexes and Appendices are very numerous, they may be edited in a separate document.

2.8.  Other Useful Sections – Summary

 

• Flyleaf;
• Declaration of Originality (dated and signed);
• Acknowledgements;
• Abstract+ Keywords (10 lines or so);
• Table of Contents; – Introduction;
• Text divided in sections: literature review, methodology and data, results and discussion etc.
• Conclusion: Results/Findings & Recommendations;
• Glossary;
• Standardised Bibliography;
• List of Figures & Appendices with page numbers; – Appendices.

 

3.  WRITING STANDARDS

3.1.Lay-out

The dissertation will be 30-40 pages long, appendices and annexes not included.  Spiral binding is to be preferred to all other forms of binding.

Lay-out Standards

• Times New Roman / Font:12;
• Margin: 2.5 cm on the left left / 2.5 cm on the right;
• Spacing: 1.5 pt;
• Pagination is compulsory;
• Text should be justified; – Footnotes for quotations.

Each section in the Dissertation corresponds to a topic. It must have a mini introduction and a mini conclusion, presenting the plan and linking all parts together.

Unintended line breaks and paragraph breaks render reading very arduous. A line break should correspond to the appearance of a new idea, whereas a paragraph break indicates a new elaboration.

Footnotes (Menu + Insert + Footnote) are used to give additional clarification (source of figures, reference and page in a book for a quotation, etc., give a personal comment or develop an idea which is not crucial in the logical sequence of the paragraph.

Page headers and footers (Menu + Insert + Header or Footer) are appreciated. They will usually include the topic in the header and the name(s) of the student(s), the programme and the page number.

Diagrammes and tables produced by the student are much appreciated, especially to present numerical data. Diagrammes should be built using the relevant office software and not by hand. Any diagramme, table or graph which includes numerical data must indicate the source.  Beyond a certain number of numerical values (about 10), a graph (produced automatically on Excel) becomes a must.

3.2.  The flyleaf

This page should include the following:

• Author’s First Name & Surname
• Programme attended by the author;
• Academic Year;
• College Name;
• Final Year Dissertation;
• Topic (Font: 20 pts minimum);

The flyleaf should not be numbered and will be followed by a blank page.

 

3.3.  Font and Punctuation

The usual font size for headings is 16 to 20 points, 12 points for the text itself and 10 points for footnotes.

A quotation should be between ‘quotation marks’ and should end with the references (author(s), date, page). If you skip part of the text, this must be shown by using these symbols […].

 

‘Search engines (and first of all Google) are of course the kings of research tools nowadays, more widely used than metamotors or directories. Over the years, they have become essential companions for web users to get answers to all their questions […]’  (Mesguich & Thomas, 2010, p. 38)

 

Up to four co-authors, references should indicate all authors: ‘The advantage to the first entrant gives to the competitor who is the first to make a new offer an edge over those which follow.’ (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington & Fréry, 2008, 124).

 

When more than four co-authors, only the first one’s name should be mentioned followed by: ’et al’.

 

A paraphrase will state only the gist of the ideas of an author. This should be however followed by the name(s) of the author(s) and the date of the publication of their work: According to Mesguich & Thomas (2010), ‘engines have replaced all other search tools over the Internet ‘.

When a quotation is very long, it is wiser to have wider margins which will give the quotation the status of an illustration, like a table or a diagramme.

3.4.  Writing

This dissertation is meant for specialists in the topic and to Management lecturers so that generalities should be listed in appendices.  Information should always be the most up to date and always mention the source, especially when putting forward figures, tables, etc. All passages which come from external sources (downloaded, copied, photocopied, etc.) must be listed as appendices if they are quoted in extenso, or quoted between quotation marks in the text if only reproduced in part, with compulsory mention of their source.

Synthesis is one of the prime qualities of a Dissertation, and it is clear that the mark is not proportional to the size of the document.  Nowadays, the most likely risk is not scarcity but overabundance of information. Each sentence must have a rationale and be part of a logical set of arguments. It is not wise to write out sentences before having built a detailed plan.

For the sake of clarity, long and complicated sentences are to be avoided. The style should remain understated: superlatives, passive and negative forms, exclamation marks (and even worse, several exclamation marks in a row), some adverbs (i.e., very much, always, never, etc.) and some adjectives (incredible, amazing, enormous, etc.) which bear evidence of the student’s enthusiasm.

Use of acronyms (ex. ASAP, OTC etc) must be moderate and the latter must be explained on their first appearance and be listed in a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations. If the name of the host company is long, you should define an acronym from the start.

 

3.5.  Spelling

Repeated spelling mistakes cannot be accepted in a written document. The spellcheck software must always be used to check both spelling and grammar.

Asking third party to read over the document is highly recommended.