BA (Hons) Business Administration and Management

De Montfort University
Work-based Portfolio (BAMG3109)

Guideline for project proposal

By Ronald Wong; hkeducator@gmail.com

May 15, 2018
1. Select a topic that is familiar to you and
your field of works.
1. Please think the module you like most or the one with the highest
grade.
2. Review that module basic text book – Table of content
3. Pick the specific topic or the topic chapter focus and review the
concept in-depth
4. Associate that module / chapter / concept to your currently
working company setting
5. Associate that module / chapter / concept to your desired company,
only if your company is too small or you do not have sufficient
information
2. How to establish an effective topic

Concept
Company

outcomes

Research topic
3. Construct the topic along with 3 key
components
1. Concept
• Identify the core theme of your research/ topic and in specific area.
• Subject / modules to consider
• Marketing → Services Marketing, Brand marketing, Marketing communication, product strategies,
supply chain management, etc.
• Management → HR management ? Leadership, motivation, job satisfaction, job enhancement, power,
office politics, organization development, organization behavior, etc.
• Other like international marketing areas → culture issues, languages, international consumer
behavior, etc
• For example
If you decide to do a topic relate to services marketing concept, you also need to consider whether you
want to focus on customer satisfaction? customer loyalty? SERVQUAL? Services Gap 1 or 5?

Golden Rule : You have to be very focus and specific !!!

3. Construct the topic along with 3 key
components
2. Company
• Select a company that you have experience with
• The best option is your current company, Then you have to decide which division or
department, region, function encounter the most challenging business issues
• For example. A service marketing concept can apply in toy manufacturing company,
merchandising function? Sales function? And the level of concept applications may be
various.
• In other words, when you apply the same concept in different functions or perspectives may
make the overall discussions different. And that is the whole purpose of WBP – apply
concepts that you familiar or interest to the practical workplace

• Golden Rule: Focus on company business challenges 1 -2 points from marketing or HR area
3. Construct the topic along with 3 key
components
3 The research outcomes
• Consider what would be the intended outcome of your study
• for sales growth? Retain existing? Recruit new customers? Build brand? Increase
market penetration? Increase word of mouth? Customer loyalty? New product
adoption? Product trail?
• Talent retention? Talent acquisition? Enhance effective and efficiency of employee
communications? Effective leadership? Boost staff morale? Enhance productivity?
Fair selection process?

Golden Rule: Think as if you are the CEO of the company and to study ways to solve
the existing company challenges; rather than to conduct a research to proof the
existing challenges
4. Example of establishing a research topic
• Research topic
• Motivation / leadership style / training and development /
compensation and benefits / office politics / culture / Job satisfaction
/ job rotation (A ~ Concept)
• Hong Kong Police force (B ~ Company)
• Enhancing job performance/ morale / loyalty (C ~ Outcome)

= The study of leadership style (A) to enhance morale level (c) – a study
of Hong Kong Policy force. (B)
5. Establish the research objectives
Golden rule: Establish ONLY 3 – 5 objectives
Objectives ONLY
1. A (Concept) & B (Company)
What is the leading leadership style of Hong Kong Police force

2. B (Company) & C (Outcome)

How Hong Kong Policy Force performance can be measured

3. A (Concept) & C (Outcome)

How leadership style would enhance job performance
5. Establish the research objectives
Objectives
1. A (Concept) & B (Company)
What is the leading leadership style of Hong Kong Police force
Q1 To find out the current motivation / morale level of HK policy force
(questionnaire questions 1-3)
Q2 To identify the top 3 factors that motivate employee in HK policy force
(questionnaire questions 4-6)

2. B (Company) & C (Outcome)

How Hong Kong Policy Force performance can be measured
Research questions Golden rule: Make sure your topic
Q1 The perception of general citizen, etc … / objectives and research question
are aligned !
6. Review concerned literature / journals and
articles
• Start from textbook, the reference page should have certain journals and
article names there
• Go to CityU e-library and use Proquest for keyword search
• Download them and print them out at least 20 in the initial stage
1. Identify domain concept
• E.g. leadership → what kind of leadership you are going to study indepth i.e. situation
leadership in application of HK police force or others?
2. Concept elaboration → should consist of positive views ( not only
advantages of the model / concept) AND negative views (not only disadvantage
of the model / concept but also the insufficiency or inadequacy of them) →
identify the concept gaps
Deliverables
1. Basic company background with some model use i.e. SWOT or value chain models
2. The research topic, research rationales (why you interest in this topic), area of interest (i.e.
Leadership – are you going to study leadership style or leadership competence?)
3. Basic literate review to support your area of interest; with comparative view +ve and –ve
views of certain concept – say the +ve and –ve views of using celebrity and can be
explained by similarity, familiability and likeability, etc.
4. Provide the research plan, steps with key dates – a list of activities – at least 25 activities
5. A brief methodology section, what to collect, how to collect, how to coordinate
information and what information to be presented
6. Harvard Referencing should be strictly followed.
The End