Dissertation guideline:
Based on Literature review only dissertation: no need to do research
Topic: Valuing cultural diversity for increased project team performance –Based on multinational corporations
This topic gives the opportunity to explore cultural diversity form different perspectives. By examining the different needs of those from different national cultures, the understanding of their incorporation into team performance can be outlined.
As globalisation increases in the world, cultural diversity in the workplace also increases. There is a wide array of literature that embarks upon the advantages and benefits of having culturally diverse workforce in and teams within organizations. However other literatures also states that these benefits are not reflected in actual practice, or at least not as strongly as in theory.
Theories about culture like Hofstede’s dimensions of national culture and other cultural theories.
Project team management and performance theories.
Please do not write too broad, give more detailed and specific writing. The researcher can use case study if suitable. This depends on researcher’s understanding of this topic.
I have uploaded another file called ‘impact of the wise leadership….’ This is provided as a guide to the style and presentation of a good dissertation. Do not copy.
The structure of dissertation:
1. The Preliminaries
The preliminaries tell the reader where specific information can be found; these preliminaries are shown below. You must follow the ‘Guidance for the presentation of Taught Masters Dissertations’ in respect of the order in which the preliminaries are included in the dissertation.
• The title page
The title of the dissertation must reflect the contents of the work. It is usual to use a ‘working title’ whilst work on the dissertation progresses; then to review it and to change it if appropriate, before submission, to one that reflects the contents more closely.
• Contents page
• List of tables (if appropriate)
• List of figures (if appropriate)
• The abstract
The abstract is a short statement (included after the ‘Contents’ and other lists), no more than 300 words long, stating what you set out to do, how you have done it, what you found and what this means. It should give the reader an accurate summary of what the dissertation is about, and its conclusions. It needs to cover the:
Main aim of the dissertation
Methodology used
Main findings or conclusions reached
A declaration
• An intellectual property statement
• Acknowledgments (if appropriate)
• Ethics Committee Approval documentation as specified in Section 5 (this must be included
2. The Introductory Chapter;
The introductory chapter should include the following:
• An overview of the project topic area
An overview describes the background to, and context of, your area of research. In some
circumstances it may be more appropriate to provide a very brief overview in the introduction with a more detailed background, context and history in a specific chapter later in the dissertation.
You need to show how your topic area and your specific project relate to those topics that are affected by it or affect it. Topic areas can be too large and complex to be satisfactorily dealt with within adissertation and so you may need to choose one or two specific issues to research or investigate indetail. In that case you need to show that you are aware of the extent of your topic area. The overviewalso needs to explain the importance or value of the topic and project. You need to justify yourcomments on the topic’s importance by, for example, including references to published sources.
• Aim and objectives
The dissertation aim and objectives must be included, together with explanatory notes, and can sometimes refer to, or be accompanied by, a research question or questions. The aim and objectivesshould form the basis of the main theme (the ‘golden thread’) that runs through the dissertation. Youshould also state why it is important to investigate this specific aim and these objectives. The aim is themain focus of your investigation. The objectives are the steps or intermediate stages you undertake toachieve that aim; they must be logically derived from the aim, and you should explain the relationshipbetween the aim and objectives. The aim and objectives must be critically reviewed in the conclusions.
• The scope and limitations of the dissertation
You should identify and justify the scope of the work by setting out, with reasons, the context and boundaries you have chosen for your investigation. You should also set out the implications of thecontext and those boundaries for the nature and applicability of your findings and conclusions.
You should explain how your topic area impacts on or is influenced by its context and related topics.
This will show the reader that you are aware of the wider picture. In some cases it will be better to include detailed information on the context in the main body (main chapters) of the work.
All research has limitations or constraints on what you can achieve, perhaps due to time restrictions or the difficulty in collecting data. These limitations should be closely connected with your recommendationsfor further research, which is a separate section included immediately after the conclusions.
• Guide to the contents and dissertation structure
You should discuss how the contents are structured and the contribution of the various parts to the dissertation as a whole. It is useful to include a mind map, a flow chart or a diagram showing how all thespecific issues or sections of the dissertation relate to each other. This overview should provide aguide to and explain the reasons for the dissertation structure that follows.
• The definitions and/or glossary
The topic or discipline-specific terminology included in your work needs to be defined so that the reader is aware of your level of understanding of the topic, and so that you establish a basis to communicateyour information and ideas. For example, the term ‘client’ might mean an individual or an organisationthat funds a project, or might mean the user of that project. Your intended meaning needs to be madeclear to distinguish between alternative interpretations of any word or phrase, such as indicated in theexample of the different meanings of the word ‘client’. This is especially important where the terminologyor context relating to the particular study, discipline or topic area differs from that more generally applicable.
If appropriate, it may be useful to provide here, or in a glossary as part of the preliminaries, or as an appendix, a list of definitions of standard technical terms, abbreviations or acronyms.
On writing the introductory chapter you should seek to achieve a reasonable balance between the various sections identified above. For some dissertation topics you may need to provide a moreextended background, or discussion of definitions, than can readily be accommodated within theoverview section of an introductory chapter. In such cases a separate background chapter, or sectionon definitions within a chapter, may be appropriate.
3. The Methodology:
The second chapter should present the methodology you have followed to achieve your research aim and objectives. The methodology should be supported by relevant references from published literature. Theproposed methodology should be developed at the beginning of your work on the dissertation, and used as aworking framework, but may need to be re-written when the research has been completed. This enables youto comment on any problems encountered in collecting or analysing data and how these were resolved. Themethodology should include enough detail, description and explanation to enable another individualto replicate the work you have done and achieve the same results.
The methodology should explain the methods, processes or procedures used to achieve the dissertation aim and objectives. It should explain how you collected and analysed the data included in the dissertation. For aliterature review only dissertation you will be collecting only secondary data from sources such as books,peer-reviewed journal papers, government reports, newspapers and the Internet.
Since a literature review forms a major part of any dissertation you should also describe and explain what a literature review is, its purpose, and how it is carried out. It is important that you critique all types of literature sources included in the dissertation;for example, peer-reviewed journals are considered as the most robust source of data while data obtained
from the internet might be considered as the least robust since websites are not typically audited. It is useful to include a discussion of the alternative methods you considered for conducting your research and thereason, or reasons, for choosing a particular method.
The methodology is a crucial part of the dissertation and should not be just a list of sources! Neither should it be primarily a theoretical description of a range of research methods without specific descriptions of theirpotential application to your particular research. You are expected to identify and evaluate a range ofmethodologies to research and then select an approach that best meets the requirements of thedissertation’s aim and objectives; reasons must be provided for the approach selected together with theiradvantages and limitations. Any research or investigation is the process of finding ways of achieving anoutcome by testing various means by which to progress the work. Any problems of finding or analysinginformation, and the solutions you arrive at to overcome these, should be described in your methodology.
Structure : short introduction, research design, research method, search strategy, data collection methods and techniques, research ethical issues and limitations
4. The Literature Review, Main Content and Critical Analysis of Data
The literature review must be based on an extensive enough range of relevant publications to present a full,coherent and detailed picture of the current state of knowledge and research. In general, an adequateliterature review will be based on around 100 or more relevant publications.Any review of literature should be based on a wide range of sources, so each point being made must be supported by a range of sources, and not just one reference. Basing each point on one source only wouldnot result in a review of the literature,
The literature review focuses on achieving your aim and objectives and can represent the ‘main body’ of a dissertation. It is not a simple summary of the literature you have read. Each issue, concept orargument must be supported by the discussion, analysis and synthesis of a wide range of data, notjust one source. The review is a critical analysis of the literature and a discussion of its strengths,weaknesses, and any controversial issues, (for example, differing views found in the literature) or otherpoints that it raises. A good literature review indicates that you have understood your area of research; italso indicates that you are aware of, and have consulted, the main sources of material available. A goodliterature review provides an analytical review of, synthesis of and insight into, the current state ofknowledge and research in a specific area, and should lead to evidence-based conclusions andfindings.
Many dissertations are based entirely on the critical review and analysis of existing literature and existing research work or published data. This is an acceptable form of research, but here it is crucial that there is avery high level of analysis and critical evaluation of the information gathered.
A literature review involves finding and interpreting material that has been developed by other people. The ability to critically analyse this material and then use it to develop your arguments is a crucial aspect ofwriting a dissertation. You should not simply summarise other people’s work; you need to developarguments and provide evidence to support these arguments. A good critical review should cover the entireresearch area (or as much as can be covered in the time available), and should identify the strengths andweaknesses inherent in the material compiled as well as any gaps that your research might fill.
The structure of a Literature Review:
In a literature review based dissertation the main body of the dissertation should be divided into chapters, each of which addresses one or more of the objectives set. Each chapter then has a title reflecting its content, and there is no chapter entitled ‘literature review’.
In all dissertations, sufficient explanation should be included to allow the reader to understand how the content of each chapter links with the preceding chapter, and how each chapter links into and developsthe overall theme and argument.
In all dissertations, the structure of each chapter determines how clearly the contents of the dissertation are communicated to the reader. It is useful to start each chapter with a short introduction orsummary, linking it to the previous chapter or showing how it relates to the aim and objectives; it shouldend with a short summary and conclusion to show what stage has been reached in the development ofyour argument. Some chapters may also conclude with a short section that provides a link to the nextchapter, or indicates how or where in the dissertation, the understanding reached in the current chapterwill be further developed.
Generally, peer-reviewed publications should form the basis of a literature review; however, in some cases a wider range of sources can be used.
In general, if the dissertation is based mainly on a critical analysis and review of published information and data, then the main body of the work should be divided into chapters, each of which should include both a review of the literature on that specific issue or sub-topic and a criticalanalysis of those published data.
When undertaking a literature review it is crucial to accomplish the following:
• Find and read all the relevant literature;
• Use critical analysis to highlight the salient concepts, themes, trends, and gaps in understanding or knowledge;
• Structure the review (or review sections or chapters) in such a way that the characteristics of the information and data, for example the historical development of concepts and trends in recordeddata, changing theories or practice are clearly identified.
A literature review must therefore be organised so that it:
• Relates directly to the aim and objectives of the dissertation;
• Identifies concepts, themes or trends and the level of current knowledge an understanding;
• Identifies the characteristics of the sources and information;
• Establishes whether specific information relates to specific contexts;
• Establishes whether any bias can be detected or substantial differences of opinion exist;
• Determines whether there appear to be gaps in the knowledge or data.
5. The conclusions:
Conclusions are not a summary!!! They are findings or deductions developed from the research and based on reasoning and evidence. It is important to communicate and present your conclusions in a logicaland clear manner, since they form the outcome of your research. The conclusions should therefore bestructured so that they remind the reader of the salient issues set out in the dissertation, refer back to the aimand objectives, and state whether these have been supported, or proven or not, and why.
Conclusions develop from your analysis, observations, critical evaluation, and synthesis of the data gathered and should include a discussion of how the findings are justified or contradicted by the literature and/or theempirical data. Conclusions are therefore what you have deduced from the information researched and/orgathered in previous chapters and so new material must not be introduced. Conclusions may result innew knowledge being added to the topic area and/or new insights being given into published data.
You must include your personal comments, observations and reflections on the information gathered.
These must be based on reasoning and evidence and, where possible, supported by references. Your comments, observations and reflections should represent the added value that your investigation hasprovided to the knowledge that existed prior to your undertaking the dissertation.
The conclusions should form a substantial part of your dissertation. In some circumstances it may be appropriate to present them in more than one chapter. For example, there might be a chapter in whichspecific findings from the analyses undertaken earlier in the dissertation are critically discussed, and theirimplications are considered in the form of a synthesis. This might be followed by a separate chapter in whichconclusions are drawn, which evolve from this synthesis and are a reflective assessment on the dissertationaim and objectives. This should lead to a summary of the key outcomes of your work.
Analysing and undertaking a critical evaluation of the information being gathered is something that you should do continuously throughout your work on the dissertation. In other words you should continuouslythink about, and analyse, and note down your response to, and reflections on, the information that you read.
6. The Recommendations:
You should include a short section, at the end of the conclusions, setting out recommendations as to how the research could be developed or progressed in the future, or how the findings could be used by others.
Recommendations should relate to any previously identified limitations of the research and flow from the conclusions. Recommendations can indicate what other research should be done, together with how thisresearch might be undertaken. You could include comments on the success or otherwise of methods youhave used and their potential for use elsewhere. You could make recommendations on the possiblepractical application of your findings or concerning procedures that could be adopted in practice. Forexample, you can suggest how an industry could implement procedures to improve quality or performance.
7. The Reference List:
The reference list of works cited in the dissertation must be included at the end, using the Harvard format,and in alphabetical order by author.If appropriate a bibliography should also be included.
8. Appendices:
In some cases appendices can be included in a dissertation but should be used only for information that is essential and not to make the dissertation look bigger than it is! Appendices are useful to incorporatedetailed information, such as responses to, or the analysis of, a questionnaire, that are necessary for athorough appraisal of your work, but if included in the main text would disrupt the discourse. All material inappendices must have been referred to in the main text. It can also be useful to cross-reference the relevantportions of the main text from within the appendix.