Giving the talk

							                    Information Regarding MBA Projects

                           Jessica Chen-Burger (Ed.)
                              September 29th, 2008

    http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~jessicac/project/BDE-public/2-info-for-MBA-project-
                                       proposal/


A MBA dissertation could comprise:

      A piece of research into a company or industry wide issue.
      A business plan which comprises a strategic analysis, feasibility study and
       implementation plan.
      A business report which looks at a particular issue, focusing in upon
       establishing and interpreting a set of facts and recommending implementable
       solutions.
      A study to improve the effectiveness of the collection of donations for a local
       charity.
      A case study which describes a specific event or situation in a company with
       appropriate teaching notes.

Recent Example MBA dissertations are:

      An analysis of the merger between Deutsche Bank AG and Bankers Trust
       Corp.
      Appraisal of Strategic Options in the Pharmaceutical Industry.
      Edinburgh Investment Trust: a case study.
      Market Opportunities for Impact Plus Plc in the HR Consulting Sector.
      Setting up Grange Capital Management: a business plan.

Timescales

Full-time students are required to submit a detailed proposal for approval to the
School by late April. By this time the student will have discussed the topic informally
with their chosen academic supervisor and any participating companies.

Between late April and late June the student carries out background reading and
preparatory work. From the beginning of July up to mid September, the dissertation
deadline, the student devotes their entire study to the dissertation. The timelines for
Part-time students are April for submission of their proposal and the following April
for completion of the dissertation.

Supervision and Grading of a MBA dissertation:

Upon picking a topic, the student will source a relevant supervisor from a list of
available academic staff from Business School. They do this by signing up for one
and, assuming the supervisor is not oversubscribed, they then get together to discuss
the proposed dissertation topic and appropriateness of the supervisor.
The dissertations would be marked by the Business School as these would be
regarded as individual efforts by the Business School students. Outwith the student’s
academic supervisor, each student can ask for advice from other members of staff
though there is no obligation for non-supervisors to provide this.

Location of the Business School

The business school is between the new Informatics Forum and the Bristol Square
Dome. It is sitting on top of a health centre. You can access it via the external
concrete stairway.

Once you arrive at the top of the stairs and entering a glass revolving door, you will
see a relatively large sitting social space.

There are a number of lecture theatres on that floor where we normally give proposal
talks, once you enter the business management school itself you should be able to see
signs on the walls. Otherwise, please consult a staff there, there is normally someone
sitting at the inquiry table at the entrance of the business school.

MBA Project Proposal Topics from Informatics 2008/2009:
http://www.edinburgh-entrepreneur.man.ed.ac.uk/events/informatics-pitches.html


More information regarding a MBA’s project is provided below:

http://www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/corporate/dissertation.html

For more specific information, please contact

Aidan Hetherington
Careers and Corporate Relations Officer
University of Edinburgh Business School
Edinburgh EH8 9AL
+44 (0)131 650 9841
www.business-school.ed.ac.uk