Completing the International Business Project for Masters Degree

Welcome to the Module

1. Welcome to the Module
Now you have completed all the taught elements of your post-graduate programme of study and you are asked to complete and pass a final piece of assessment - the Project – to complete your master’s degree. This is a major piece of independent research that will enable you to apply the theoretical, methodological and substantive knowledge that you have acquired during your study of international business to real-world situations as well as devise possible solutions. This is, in fact, one of the most interesting, enriching, and rewarding learning experiences of all your academic studies. However, be advised that for this to be possible, the project requires total commitment from you. It is an original work of scholarship that is of high quality and incorporates new ideas and knowledge-supported recommendations for business and/or policy decisionmaking. Use this project as a platform to showcase your critical thinking and analytical skills to a prospective employer. This means that your project should be relevant, should have a clear International Business focus, and should contribute new knowledge to an industry or company’s operations. Alternatively, the project can highlight new opportunities for business practices. Do your best and be assured that hard work, dedication, and gradual but substantial improvement of your research and writing skills will lead you to a most satisfactory achievement.
This document provides you with the basic information you need for the Project. It needs to be read in conjunction with your module guides for BUSI 1604 (Foundations of Scholarship and Research). Please also refer to your programme handbook.
Normally, your supervisor for the project is the same tutor you had for BUSI 1604 (Foundations of
Scholarship and Research). Exceptions to this rule are rare, but possible. If the Department reassigns you to a new supervisor, you will be informed at the end of BUSI1604 or earlier if possible. If instead, it is you who believe you would benefit from a change of supervisor, please be aware that any supervisor swap request is unlikely to be accepted unless you provide very strong reasons for it, notably concerning your (and your desired supervisor’s) research topics and interests.
Please bear in mind that your supervisor is also your personal tutor during this time. You are welcome to contact the BUSI 1359 module leader for any Project-related matter that you cannot resolve with your supervisor.
However, queries that are not strictly related to the project but pertain to the master’s programme as a whole, such as internships, visa, overall timing, other modules/exams, or School administration issues, such as resits, deadlines, graduation ceremonies, and results letters, should be directed to the School office. This handbook provides essential information that you will need during your undertaking of this module. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but should help you to see at a glance key information about the module such as the aims and learning outcomes, the proposed schedule of delivery, assessment details, reading list and any additional resources that will be needed by you. Please ensure that you familiarise yourself with its contents.
The university will do all that it reasonably can do to provide educational services to support your learning. Sometimes circumstances may mean that we cannot provide such educational services or that the university has to withdraw or change aspects of this module and/or student
services detailed in the information you have been provided with by the university. This might be because of, for example:
• industrial action by university staff or third parties;
• the unanticipated departure or absence of key members of university staff;
• acts of terrorism;
• the acts of any government or local authority;
• academic changes within subject areas; or
• where the numbers expected on a module are so low that it is not possible to deliver an appropriate quality of education for students enrolled on it.
In these circumstances, the university will take all reasonable steps to minimise the resultant disruption to those services and to affected students, for example by making reasonable modifications, but to the full extent that it is possible under the general law, the university excludes liability for any loss and/or damage suffered by any applicant or student as a result of these circumstances.
The modifications we make may be to:
• the content and syllabus of modules, including in relation to placements;
• the timetable, location and number of classes;
• the content or method of delivery of your module;
• the examination process; and
• the timing and method of assessment
Many of the changes that we make are in response to feedback from students and are intended to improve the experience of students and student outcomes. In making any changes, the university will aim to keep significant changes to the minimum necessary and will notify and where reasonably possible also consult with you in advance about any significant changes that are required.

Key Module Specification Details

3. Key Module Specification Details
Department: International Business and Economics
Number of Credits: 30
Term of delivery: Term 2
Site of delivery: Greenwich Maritime site
Aims:
The module will enable you to:
• complete a substantial piece of written work (about 10,000 words, ± 10%), professionally structured, argued and verified on the basis of relevant theories and evidence;

• study independently and take responsibility for going through the successive steps of the research process, with a view to meet a deadline;
• apply theoretical perspectives to a real-world economic, business or policy question;
• gain in-depth knowledge of the economics and/or business literature in the area chosen, with awareness of the state of the art;
• identify and use appropriate data and evidence;
• follow a logical flow of thoughts to draw conclusions (and possibly, recommendations) from evidence
Learning Outcomes:
When the project has been successfully completed, you will be able to:
• perform a literature review
• apply appropriate economic and international business/management principles to the selected topic
• know how to identify, locate and use appropriate data and evidence
• present conclusions and analysis that are based on evidence, and
• complete a substantial piece of written work of about 10,000 words
4. Enquiry-Based Learning and Research-Led Teaching Enquiry-Based Learning (EBL)
Defined as ‘an approach based on self-directed enquiry or investigation in which the student is actively engaged in the process of enquiry facilitated by a teacher. EBL uses real life scenarios (for example, from case studies, company visits, and project work) and students investigate topics of relevance that foster the skills of experimental design, data collection, critical analysis and problem-solving’.
EBL will be used in the development of the thesis structure and the dissertation which aim to investigate real and relevant issues in international business

Research-Led Teaching (RLT)
An element of Enquiry Based Learning links to RLT, which involves faculty introducing students to their own research where it is relevant to the curriculum being taught as well as drawing on their own knowledge of research developments in the field, introducing them to the work of other researchers. RLT sees students as active participants in the research process, not just as an audience. This is achieved by discussing such developments in lectures and classes, and setting reading lists including recent research publications at the frontier of the field. The definition of a diverse assessment regime at the programme level (incorporating an expectation of familiarity with, and use of, such publications in assignments) and the inclusion of projects at every level of the programme is also fundamental to achieving these objectives. RLT will be a crucial part of the module and will drive the discussions in the tutorial in which students will develop the skills necessary to conduct academic research.
5. Employability Skills Gained
The module will help you developing a range of employability skills. In particular,
a. Cognitive skills. You will develop research questions. This will provide a unique opportunity to develop independent problem solving skills.
b. Personal and professional development. You will write a substantial written work, thus developing crucial and transferable skills such as such formatting, spelling, and story telling.
c. Technical ability. You will learn how to pose and answer research questions. Furthermore, you will learn how to collect and analyse both qualitative and quantitative data.