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provide me with everything related to the strategic plan, administrative and marketing plan, and a financial plan that includes income statement, cash flow, balance sheet, and all the analyzes required for the salon market and its literature in Kuwait. I would like to apply for applications to submit the first page, as my idea is to establish a salon specialized in serving the elderly, in the State of Kuwait, and it will be home service. Because the elderly prefer that we serve them in their homes or in hospitals. This is not available in a professional manner in Kuwait.
For Academic Research
Title
Your thesis title should reflect at least three main dimensions: (a) the direction/action in
form of “Doing” of what are you planning to do e.g. “Developing, Proposing, Studying,
Assessing, Discovering, Understanding, Comparing, Evaluating, etc.”, (b) the
phenomenon, which is the main variable (Y), concept, construct that you are planning to
study, e.g. “Performance, Brand Equity, Quality of Service, Merge/Acquisition, Risk
management, Consumer behavior, Adoption or Acceptance of …, Failure and/or Success
of …etc.” (c) the business, or the sector e.g. “banking, financial, manufacturing, textile,
telecom, ICT, … etc.”. Of course, the location is assumed to be “Your Country”
,
nevertheless, cross-nation study can be also conducted. There is a 4th dimension which
is related to “specialization”
, where you may want to specify the context of application
of your topic, e.g. “generation Z”
,
“for females or males only”, etc.
So, your title will immediately help the reader to know what your thesis is about.
Introduction
In this section you are asked to write the modified content of the 1 pager (the validated
topic/the idea) as per the 5-paragaraph structure.
Literature Review
In this part, you might need to show how much (depth and breadth) you have read and
explored the current and actual literature in the field of interest to date. A brief
introduction regarding business and its evolution “trend” (growing or deterioration)
world-wide will give an idea to the reader how important the business you have
1 Please note: This guideline is to help you organize your thoughts in a structure and standard form. This
document was not meant to be used as a comprehensive material for explaining all details. Please refer to
the class notes and other specialized books in research methods and design for more explanation and
details.
selected as a topic of your thesis (research/project). In terms of signs and symptoms
(evidence or the triggers) of the problem, you might be able to show why you see this
topic would be a research point (it is like you have been motivated somehow to study
this point, and you must say why it is a point of research?
The complexity in our reality can be explained by either us or others or even both. When
it comes to us, we are inclined to rely on our point of view, but in many situations, we
will be biased to our opinions. On the other side, the reality can be explained by the
help of others’ views such as theories or best practice of other researchers. It would be
a very strong argument when we use both but more from the others’ point of view to
strengthen our position. By doing so, we as researchers will be more objective and less
biased to our claims.
In this part, you might need to talk briefly about the potential theories (the theoretical
side of the subject) that have been used previously by other scholars to explain certain
issues (phenomena) in the business you have chosen. Meanwhile you perhaps need to
pinpoint some cases in the context of worldwide that have similar challenges and issues
and you want to use them as practical evidence to prove your point (the best practice).
The last section or paragraph in this part should be dedicated to the local case, i.e. you
need to show the signs and symptoms in the local case/context (your local market;
country), and why you think it is an issue and it needs to be studied. Of course, this part
needs from you some preliminary investigation with the SME’s (Subject Matter Experts)
who you think they have the experiences and the knowledge (wisdom) to assure you
that your point is wanted, and it is a hot/critical issue and deserved to be studied and
maybe they (re)direct you to the valid direction to study and tackle. The bad news is
when you talk to the SMEs, and you know from them that your point is already solved or
there is no practical solution for it. Don’t be frustrated or disappointed, it still would be
considered good news. Simply you need to try again, and you may just need to tweak
and adjust your initial idea a little to come up with a new and fresh and even more
valuable and valid one. So, my advice is not to talk to the SMEs before you get the
knowledge from the literature (not in depth), but at least a certain level that will enable
you to talk with them and to get the maximum during your talk (remember, people you
talk to are not always available and you might not be able to get another chance to talk
to them again, so you better use it in the best form). Then you will need to continue
reading to update your thoughts and writing.
Problem Definition – the Big Question
After stating the motivation in the introduction, now you are ready to formulate a big
research question, which you think your research will try to answer. Make sure that it
matches (aligned with) the title, or the title matches it and that it goes in line with the
previous section.
You need to differentiate between research problems and business problems (or
business issues). A business issue or business problem is the sign or the symptom that
triggered the whole study (see the introduction). As for the research problem, it
indicates “what is the knowledge that indeed is missing”. In other words, we always
think (and we may be right) that in order for the business issues to be resolved (or
solved) we just need to create new knowledge that was not known before. For this
reason, we initiated our study or project with the purpose of creating (discovering) this
missing knowledge. With this clarification, you need to indicate what is missing in terms
of knowledge, this is the research problem. It would be even helpful if you write on a
draft of paper this statement: “After I carefully investigated the issue in the introduction
and the literature and after I talked to the SME’s (see the introduction) it is clear to me
that we (I) do not know the effect of or do not know the factors of …”. Doing so, you help
yourself define the research problem very clearly. Then it would be easy to formulate
the major (big) research question which is simply asking about the missing knowledge.
Research Objective
According to the research problem and hence the big research question, your role now
is to define the research objective. It could be to develop a framework to solve the
problem you just mentioned above. It could be to test or evaluate or assess or compare
or discover or develop, etc. Most importantly, to use one of the templates we discussed
during the course depending on whether your research is following a qualitative or
quantitative paradigm.
Research Methodology and Design
You might have a Methodology (e.g. survey, experiment, case study, etc.) in your mind
for how you are going to achieve your objective. A Methodology is your strategy and
plan for How are you going to tackle the study, basically how are you going to answer
the research question? (of course, you get this idea from reading similar research
“literature review”). Remember chapter 2 in the final project (literature review) is the
knowledgebase (the knowledge backbone of the whole research) within which you
should find the answers for all your questions that are related to the methodology, such
as theories, variables definitions, sampling criterion, sample size, data collection
instrument, data analysis tools etc.
Here I will summarize for you what you need to tackle under this part:
Framework:
List the theory (theories/models/frameworks) that you are going to adopt in your study.
You should know in simple language – theory is nothing but a tool to be used to look at
and to filter reality. By filtering we mean, to what factors, variables, constructs,
concepts should we, as researchers focus on and what not to focus on (limitations). We
believe, think and hypothesize that with those factors, variables, constructs and
concepts that we will be able to explain the reality and the phenomena under
investigation. So, list those variables, factors, constructs and concepts as well as get
their original definitions (conceptual and operational definitions) in order not to get
confused and do not let the readers define them according to their perspective
otherwise, they will understand the reality differently. Also, indicate which construct
structure you are referring to; reflective (from construct to items or indicators) or
formative (from items to construct).
Assumptions:
We cannot move forward without a starting point (the base and the foundation). We
never start from an undefined point. What is known is considered assumed and then we
continue. Assumptions give us not only the starting point but also the direction to go.
Remember weak or wrong starting point will lead to weak and wrong directions and
hence weak and wrong findings. Strong assumptions are the ones that are backed up
and supported by strong evidence, which stem from rigorous reading of the current
literature and thoughtful discussions with the SME’s. Remember one of the questions
you will get in the defense of your work will be about the quality of the research
assumptions. Assumptions can also be seen as inputs (in form of knowledge) to your
research. So, ask yourself this question: What should I know before starting to
investigate my main research questions?
Limitations:
Framework tells us not only what to study and focus but also tells us what not to tackle.
We cannot study everything, that is why we need boundaries to show our research
limitations. We will be very happy and glad to see our findings being generalized and
having no boundaries, but unfortunately (maybe it is not that bad) that this is not the
case. Our findings can only be generalized within a limited context. Context can only be
defined by assumptions and limitations. So, you are requested here to list what are the
limitations of your study where the findings will be valid or not valid. Limitations can be
related to the variables or factors that are not in your model or framework.
Nevertheless, you must justify why you did not include them (the variables). You must
have good practical and scientific reasons.
Research Questions:
You need one major research question “MjRQ”, which is in alignment with the big
research question “BRQ” (see problem definition above). The difference between both
of them is that the “BRQ” emerged from the literature and through the preliminary
investigation with the SMEs without referring to a particular theory. The “MjRQ” on
other hand, is a specific question and generated from the Framework (theory) by using
the same terminology (variable or factor names of the model/theory) which are used in
the framework or the theory. This means the “MjRQ” is being formulated after
developing the research framework, while the big research question is formulated at the
start of the research before even knowing which framework will be adopted.
Moreover, you need to generate a list of minor research questions from the theoretical
framework, which we call Specific Research Questions which stem from the framework
using the exact variables. Answering these minor research questions will build up the
answer to the major research question and hence the big research question (defined
above). Each question usually will investigate one of the relationships in the framework
(especially for quantitative research). So, you should expect you will formulate the
number of minor research questions as the same number of the relationships in the
framework. Remember the questions might be non-directional 2and might be
directional depending on the assumptions (the starting point, i.e., the prior knowledge,
whether we know that there is relationship between the X and Y, or we do not know).
Hence, it might take the form of “is there relationship between factor X and factor Y?”,
this was a non-directional question. Furthermore, it might take the directional form
such as “to what extent does factor A affect factor B?”, this is a directional question.
Hypotheses or Propositions3 (claims):
We usually use the term “Hypothesis” (pl., hypotheses) for quantitative research, and
we use the term “Proposition” (or claims) for qualitative research. It is, in fact, a very
easy task to formulate hypothesis or proposition (claim). Just think of the expected
answers for the research questions (major or minor ones) that you already have
developed above. Somehow and based on the literature review along with your
discussions with the SMEs, you started to develop tentative answers to the research
questions. These tentative answers can be considered as hypotheses for quantitative
research and (initial) propositions for qualitative research. All these expected answers
will be written in two-mutually-exclusive-statement forms, with the most likely answer
to be written as the alternative statement (hypothesis, Ha which is your claim about
what is going to happen) and the reverse of it is known as the null hypothesis, Ho.
Example:
Ho: No relationship between X and Y
Ha: There is relationship between X and Y (it is your bias and claim as researcher)
Data Collection:
Hypotheses and (initial) propositions are developed to be tested or validated using
scientific techniques, mainly statistical tools for hypotheses and qualitative tools for
2 Non-directional question is when you ask question like this: Is there relationship between X and Y? or
does X affect Y? Since we start with now prior knowledge about the relationship, then the question is
considered as non-directional. In case the question takes this form: To what extent does X affect Y? this is
considered a directional question because, asking this question we assume that there is already
relationship between the two variables.
3 We also prefer to call them initial propositions due to the fact that usually qualitative research produces
final propositions that we call them just “propositions”. So, basically, we start with initial claims, and we
try to prove them through the research to be qualified to be propositions.
propositions. However, to be able to test them you need to have the right data in a
specific format. One of the most critical steps in research is the way to collect the data
“Data Acquisition”. This section should answer the following questions: (a) what data to
be collected “this what we call it operationalization process”, in which a construct can
be modeled as a formative (items to “
->” construct) or reflective (construct to “
->”
indicators/items), (b) how to be collected, you need “data collection instrument, such as
interviews, questionnaire, focus group, etc. …”, (c) what scale should be used for each
question such as ordinal, nominal, interval, or ratio, or just textual (or even multimedia)
for qualitative research (d) what are the population characteristics from which the
sample will be chosen/drawn for data collection and how the sample is going to be
selected “randomly, networking, judgmental, stratified, etc. …”, (e) what is the size of
the sample, (f) what data analysis tools will be used to test the hypotheses or
propositions. Once again, most (if not all) of the issues above can be found in previous
literature, this is why reading is a good idea. Every credible article you read will provide
you with a piece of information for the methodology.
Timeline:
As any project management, you need to put all tasks and activities on timeline (week
based)4
.
The report you write should not be more than 10 pages.
How to name your file
Whether your final project is Academic Research, Business Plan or Consultancy Project,
please use the following pattern when you name your file before you upload it into
Moodle, example (make sure to write your correct intake):
MSMKW-MBA15A-RM-Research Proposal-Your Name-Your ID.pdf
4 Please note that this document is always under enhancement and improvement. Last update was in
March 2024.
Final Notes Regarding5
Business Plan and Consulting Project
Important Note:
This section is just a brief view of the other two project types. It is highly recommended
to consult any other provided documents that may explain in more detail the
requirements. Nevertheless, this section will give you necessary information.
As you can see, the above description suits mainly and directly the pure academic
research project (thesis, whether applied or basic, whether quantitative or qualitative).
Nevertheless, most of the above content can still be applied to both business plans and
consulting projects. If you are planning for a business plan project, your investor or the
bank will be more confident in your outcomes when they know that your business plan
is backed up and supported by real research with scientific evidence. The same applies
for consulting projects as your client will be more comfortable with your solutions or
recommendations when they know that you applied scientific methods to reach the
conclusions.
But the question is how to fit them into your project. Here below are some suggestions:
For Business Plan Project6:
The fundamental and basic rule here is “Do not assume”. Step number one in risk
management (mitigation) is to make sure that the inputs (information) for the business
plan are supported by strong evidence and not assumed. The only way to support the
input is to conduct relevant research. Research depth and breadth (and its degree of
complexity), at this stage, depends on the information you want to get and support.
Information can range from the price of a product or service to the profile of your
customers and the business model. Probably the most difficult one is to project the
demand of your product or service. Then applied market research can be of immense
value to get the missing information and to validate many assumptions.
The very step in any business plan is to start by studying the market. There are a lot of
tools (lenses) in the literature that could help you achieve this step, e.g. SWOT Analysis,
PESTEL, Boston Consulting Group and more7
.
Another difficult piece of information to get is the benchmark for each input. As an
example, if one of the types of information is to enter the salary of staff, you need to
5 Get back to the practical advice document PAD 2.0, latest release for more details regarding the three
types of the final project.
6 For more information regarding how business plan is going to be assessed, get back to the course manual.
7 https://getlucidity.com/strategy-resources/the-best-strategy-tools-to-analyze-your-market-and-
business/support it by certain salary (wages) benchmarking studies. Another example, when you
arrive at the final calculations of the overhead, make sure the number (value or %) you
reached is falling around the benchmark of your industry and business. All the above
inputs for your business plan will need a certain degree of research, quantitative or/and
qualitative (see handouts of the course).
Some investors are looking for some information about the opportunity cost, probably
you are too. Whenever you suggest a certain scenario, you need to estimate the
opportunity cost associated with this scenario. Moreover, make sure to define very
clearly the business model.
Opportunity Cost Definition: A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given
up to acquiring or achieving something else. Since every resource (land, money, time,
etc.) can be put to alternative uses, every action, choice, or decision has an associated
opportunity cost. Opportunity costs are fundamental costs in economics and are used in
computing cost benefit analysis of a project. Such costs, however, are not recorded in
the account books but are recognized in decision making by computing the cash outlays
and their resulting profit or loss.
Last, but not least, you always need the literature review part but not with the same
volume nor magnitude as for the academic thesis. As an example, you may want to
know, what are the other factors that should be involved in the demand (or revenue)
formula or cost formula. In many cases, we depend on our understanding (intuition) of
reality and hence we incorporate the factors that we think are important. Nevertheless,
there are other business planners (researchers) who thought about your business but
somewhere else. They have a lot to share, and they published their outcomes. Your role
is to find them out and make use of the relevant ones.
Obviously, on the internet you can find a lot of business plan templates. I do suggest
looking at a couple of them and building your own. Nevertheless, here is very short list
of what business plan should include (the below structure is relevant for the final
project document and not for the proposal):
Table of contents
• Executive summary
• General Company Description (History if already established, timeline)
• Products and services (definition)
• Marketing and Sales Plan (both are the research part of your business plan)
o Industry, Distributions, Customers, Competition, Position, Pricing, Image
and Packaging (if product),
o Marketing Goals
o Marketing Strategy
8 Source: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/opportunity-cost.html
o Sales Forecast (Demand)
• Operational Plan
o Production, Location, Legal environment, Inventory (if applicable),
Suppliers, etc.
• Management and organization (The Human Capital)
o Board of directors
o Management advisory board
o Attorney, Accountant, Insurance agent
o Banker, Consultant or consultants
o Mentors and key advisors
• Personal financial statement
• Startup Expenses and Capitalization (in case of startup)
• Action Plan for implementation
• Financial Plan
• Appendices (if needed)
For Consulting Project9:
As we discussed before, the difference between a business plan and consulting project
is that business plan is usually related to start ups and new ideas for a new business. As
for the consulting project, it is more related to a single case study, which is the company
or maybe related to a department, business unit or maybe related to a product
(launching new product or service). There are some similarities between consulting
project and business plan project. For this reason, read the above section before
continuing with this part. Most of the above can be applied to consulting projects. For
this reason, there will not be repetition of the same information unless needed.
Mostly, consulting projects will undergo certain processes that start with a meeting(s)
with the client (company’s CEO, unit’s director, etc.). Remember in any consultancy
assignment, make sure that the problem and the solutions are coming from the client
through your research. Many clients hire consultants to help them express their views,
and this is your role. They are the best to know their pains, and, on many occasions,
they know even the solutions but struggle in the execution. I hope you are not a client in
this case 😉 Ok, maybe you are a client, then you have to be very careful by removing the
bias as much as you can. One of the useful advice is to forget that you are the client and
that you are only the consultant hired by you, I mean the client 😉
Literature review will be very helpful in such consulting projects. Indeed, it does not
need to be so comprehensive as for academic research, nevertheless, literature review
will be very useful for suggesting (validating) a solution or even finding the fundamental
problems. Nevertheless, you must follow certain protocol that requires more or less a
9 For more information regarding how Consultancy project is going to be assessed, get back to the course
manual.
qualitative research type, probably focus group and/or interviews. The data collection
part can be collected from all involved stakeholders; internal (employees and
management) or/and external (customers, suppliers, etc …).
Finally, your client will be interested to be aware of the risk and the opportunity cost of
the solution you are suggesting as opposed to other possible alternatives.
Below is a proposed structure for the final document and not for the proposal. The
proposal for consulting project should be similar to the academic research.
Proposed Structure for a Consulting Project
• Executive Summary
• Introduction (company, industry, trends, facts, etc.)
• Problem Definition (Business Problem)
• Objective of the Project (what will be delivered, a solution for the problem)
• Literature Review (about related phenomena to the business problem, such as
HR, Marketing, Supply Chain, Culture and Organizational Development,
Customer Care, Financial, Decision-Making, etc.)
• Design of the Project (Research, mostly following Case Study methodology by
Robert Yin, including propositions, how data will be collected and analyzed)
• Execution of the Research and Findings (collecting and analyzing the data and
discussions)
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• Action Plan (time based)
• References (related to literature review)
• Appendices
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