Order Description

1) This is a Research and Analysis Project (RAP)

2) Requirement to write a Business related Research Report

3) Successful RAP: you have to evaluate and / or analyse information from a range of sources. This means creating some meaning of what you have found, or making a judgment or coming to a conclusion. If you only report the information that you have found or generated, you will not pass the RAP. The ability to evaluate and / or analyse information is a very important graduate attribute and the grade that you are awarded for your RAP will be significantly influenced by how well’ you demonstrate your evaluative and/or analytical skills in your RAP.

4) Your RAP will focus on accounting and / or business issues within an organisation. It is very important to remember that the reported financial performance of an organisation €“ is the outcome of the organisation’s business activities.

5) A private sector company (I have chosen Breadtalk Group Limited) competes against other companies to sell its goods and services and its success in doing so is reflected in the company’s financial statements and financial performance indicators. Therefore in order to explain why a company’s financial performance has changed and how key stakeholders are affected, you must look into the company’s business environment and identify those actions taken by the company, its competitors (in this case, I have chosen Auric Pacific Group Limited), government etc. which have led to changes in the company’s business performance. To understand change, you may need to look outside of the organisation chosen for your RAP.

6) Your RAP must have a single organisation as its focus.

7) You must be independent and unbiased when undertaking research. You may think very favourably about a company and / or its products. However if you choose this company for your RAP you have an obligation to look at the range of differing views about the company that exists and to evaluate all of these views within your Research Report. You should not only use those information sources that support your own view of the company.

8) The purpose of the Research Report is to give you an opportunity to demonstrate a range of Technical and Professional Skills in:
– Understanding of accountancy/business models
– Application of accountancy/business models
– Evaluation of information, analysis and conclusions
– Presentation of project findings
and Graduate Skills in:
– Communication
– Information gathering and referencing
– Information technology.

9) Good projects are characterised by:
– Specific and achievable report objectives;
– A logical structure to the research report, underpinned and guided by a clearly explained overall research approach;
– A systematic approach to information gathering, relevant to the topic issues in the organisation studied, and the report objectives;
– An analytical and evaluative approach to information gathered based on integrating and applying knowledge of relevant theories /concepts/models from accounting and business to meet the original research report objectives.

10) The RAP is an example of applied business research, with a focus on business problems and issues set in the context of a single organisation. The purpose of applied business research is to contribute to the solution of that problem or issue, or increase understanding of its significance. It may result in certain recommendations being made to an appropriate person in the organisation studied. There is a highly practical and problem solving aspect of such work, with some similarities to a consultancy project.
– However, there is also an academic purpose underpinning the design of the RAP, namely to ensure that certain transferable or graduate skills are mastered, demonstrated by achieving a pass.
– These skills include those of:
o Completing an independent research based project;
o Information gathering and referencing appropriately;
o Effective written presentation;
o Using information technology;
o Problem solving, analysis and evaluation;
o Self-managed learning.

11) Applied business research requires the use of a systematic investigation process. The key word here is systematic, which implies that it is planned and methodical, in line with established research methods and takes account of other published work in the relevant field.

12) The practical implications for the student are that there must be a systematic approach to:
– Information gathering;
– Interpretation and analysis of information gathered; and
– An overall evaluation which provides either answers to, or increased understanding of, the original problem / issue studied.

13) The requirement to explain your overall research approach is best understood as the underlying structure which shapes and guides your research report. It links a statement of what it is you are trying to find out to an outline of the methods you have used to provide the required answers. It sets out a series of important parts of the research process. These, related to the RAP, are set out below:
(a) The original problem or issue €“ defined by the approved topic you select €“ in the context of your chosen organisation.
(b) The specific research questions and report objectives which you set and propose to answer or meet.
(c) Reviewing relevant literature on accounting and business concepts/ theories/ models in order to determine which you will use, and their limitations, to develop your understanding of the issues in the context of your chosen organisation
(d) Methods of information gathering you use including a discussion of the limitations of your information gathering, and any ethical issues arising and how they were resolved.
(e) The analysis and evaluation you conduct, based on the business/accounting techniques etc. applied to provide answers to your research questions and meet your stated report objectives
(f) Conclusions and any relevant recommendations of practical benefit arising from your report.

14) Try to write a brief statement outlining your proposed approach before you commence your detailed information gathering that is after 13c) above and certainly before stage 13d). Then ask yourself some important questions:
– Will this approach enable me to answer the research questions and meet the report objectives I have set?
– If not, do I need to gather more information from a wider range of secondary sources, or conduct some primary research, or both?
– Or do I need to review and revise my research questions or project report objectives?

15) Once you are reasonably satisfied that you are on the right lines then you can proceed further with your investigation. Thinking clearly about your overall research approach and writing a clear statement about it will act as a guide through the research process which will shape and structure what you do and how you do it. In addition, a clear statement about your overall research approach enables the marker to see that you have adopted a systematic and appropriate approach to meeting your report objectives.

16) Set realistic, achievable research questions and report objectives €“ so limit yourself to what you can achieve within the constraints of the word count, structure and content of the research report. Many students do not do this, and produce either a long list of objectives €“ or else no objectives at all €“ both of which can lead to failure.
– The criteria for effective objectives are sometimes defined as SMART objectives: that is:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic and
Time bound
– And it is just as well to think about these criteria in relation to the objectives you propose to set.

17) There is a recommended structure and content €“ so follow it, and take account of the suggested word count in each of the three sections. Remember also that presentation is important, so check your report carefully for style, use of language, clarity of expression, appropriate use of tables, diagrams, graphics and appendices- and make sure you stick to the limit of 7,500 words

18) The nature and type of information you need to gather will be determined by your choice of project topic area and the specific research questions and report objectives you set. Depending on the specific research project objectives you set in the topic area, all of the approved topics could be addressed using secondary sources of information only. There is no requirement to conduct primary research although in selecting your topic and organisation and setting your objectives you must consider whether or not you will need some primary information.

19) You do need to look at a wide range of information sources, including Internet sources. A common error is to rely far too much on a single source of information €“ e.g. company annual reports, without considering additional information sources, such as analysts’ reports, the financial press, consumer journals etc. for an alternative viewpoint.

20) You must consult academic sources in order to judge which accounting and business concepts, theories, models and techniques are likely to be of use, both in understanding related issues in your chosen organisation, and also in analysing and evaluating all the other information you have gathered.

21) A business relevant model in this context is a representation of part of either what may be termed as the business system or business processes. Its purpose is to facilitate understanding, analysis and assessment of that part of the business system or business processes to which it relates. There are a variety of such models or tools, which can be used.
For example,
– A PEST model identifies those factors which shape and influence the business environment in which the organisation operates;
– A SWOT identifies the key issues emerging from an examination of the organisations internal strengths and weaknesses in the context of the opportunities and threats which its business environment presents;
– PORTER’S 5 FORCES identifies those factors which determine the level of competition in the industry in which the organisation exists, and thus key aspects of the competitive environment which an organisation faces;
– The VALUE CHAIN model enables an organisation to analyse and assess its competitive strength.

22) A common fault here is to outline and describe a number of these models without discussing their limitations or applying them to increase understanding of relevant issues in the organisation and its business environment. Neither are they used in analysing and evaluating the information gathered in order to judge how well the original report objectives have been met. The lesson here is to use a smaller number of relevant theories/models etc. but to discuss their limitations and apply them both to evaluating the issues in the organisation studied and in explaining your findings and drawing conclusions related to your report objectives.

23) A common cause of failure relates to failure in both analysis/evaluation and information gathering/referencing. This arises when a lot of information, not referenced in the text, is included in Section 3 of the report: Results, Analysis, Conclusions, and Recommendations.
– For example, a detailed SWOT is listed without any referencing at all €“ there are no sources shown regarding any of the information presented. In some cases parts have been extracted from an annual report, in others from other sources, but none have been properly referenced in the text. When this occurs, you must realise that you are likely to be failed both in both the technical and professional skill of analysis/evaluation on the grounds that it is not possible to judge where the information used comes from and in the graduate skill of referencing.

24) Referencing is an important graduate skill. It acknowledges the work of others, thus avoiding plagiarism, and provides evidence of the extent of your reading. It also enables markers to check cited sources and evaluate your interpretation of them if required. You are required to reference information sources in your report, both in the text and in a comprehensive list of references
25) You must use the Harvard Referencing System for your referencing in your Research Report. This system and how you apply it to individual references in the text of your Research Report, and the preparation of your List of References’ at the end of your Research Report

26) A major cause of failure stems from insufficient analysis and evaluation of information gathered and presented. Students seem to have some problems with analysis and evaluation. Analysis implies a detailed study of the elements of a complex phenomenon in order to explain or interpret it more easily.

27) Evaluation is a process of forming judgments about something, in terms of its significance, size, quality or impact. It implies processes of measuring, appraising, estimating, and judging. In order to do this just looking at the organisations performance year on year is insufficient. It needs to be considered against the performance of similar organisations. Hence the use of comparator organisations, benchmarking against the best in the industry, or using industry norms is required if one is to arrive at a more objective conclusion about performance €“that is, establishing in relation to others performance, whether or not the performance of the organisation you have studied is judged as good or poor.

28) When considering performance, you also need to recognise that the judgments of different stakeholder groups are likely to be based on different criteria or indicators.
– Shareholders will look at indicators related to capital growth and dividends;
– Customers will tend to focus on a price/quality dimension €“such as value for money;
– Suppliers may be much more concerned with liquidity /longevity of a business relationship, and
– Employees may be most concerned with those indicators related to increased security of employment and promotion opportunities, such as growth and liquidity etc.

29) A perspective, which takes account of such different indicators and viewpoints, and includes both short and longer-term criteria is likely to be helpful in evaluating performance. The actual perspective which is taken in this case will ultimately be determined by the specific objectives established for your research report. The need to ensure that your report demonstrates the required analytical and evaluative skills will be important.

30) In selecting the topic on corporate governance, you need to able to define what it is, the factors or elements which it consists of and how you propose to judge or assess whether or not it is good, and in comparison with which particular yardstick. You might, in this topic, select one of the reports which sets out a code of good practice and use this as the basis on which to judge the quality of corporate governance in the organisation you have studied.

31) Every Research Report requires information as the basis for analysis. Information sources can be categorised as either primary or secondary data. There is no requirement for you to collect primary data within your Research Report; it is wholly acceptable to undertake your Research Report using only secondary data. You will need to explain the source of information (i.e.) Primary Data versus Secondary Data and explain the methods and limitations of information gathering.

32) As part of your demonstration of graduate skills you have to show reasonable evidence of having accessed online information sources and having used a spreadsheet and / or other software in preparing your Research Report. You have to word process your Research Report document and this contributes towards meeting this requirement. However Oxford Brookes University also needs evidence of the use of other software used to process data. For example, this could be done by using a spreadsheet to prepare financial ratios / performance indicators or by the preparation of graphs / tables / pie charts from a database that records questionnaire findings. You should include sample printouts of spreadsheet formulae or database queries to illustrate how you processed your data.

33) Structure Word Count and Presentation
– The word limit for your Research Report is 7,500 words. Oxford Brookes University recommends the following structure and approximate word distribution for your Research Report. It is important to note that words included in tables within the body of the report are included in the word count, appendices including financial statements are not included in the word count and the list of references is also not included in the word count.

TITLE PAGE
CONTENTS PAGE

PART 1 €“ Project objectives and overall research approach €“ 1,000 words
The first part of your Research Report sets the scene’ It should include the following:
(i) A short introduction
(ii) The reasons for choosing your project topic area and choosing the particular organisation that was the focus of your research work
(iii) What you wanted to find out in your research work. i.e. your project objectives and research questions
(iv) An explanation of your overall research approach. This should provide the reader with an understanding of the overall framework that you developed to meet your project objectives and answer your research questions.(i.e.) obtaining information from models, internet sources, audited annual report, applying financial ratios

PART 2 €“ Information gathering and accounting / business techniques €“ 2,000 words
The second part of your Research Report should provide more detail about (i) the information that you have gathered and (ii) the accounting and business techniques you have chosen to apply to this information. It should include the following:
(i) The sources of information from which you have obtained relevant data
(ii) A description of the methods used to collect information, including online access
(iii) A discussion of the limitations of your information gathering
(iv) Identification of any ethical issues that arose during your information gathering and how they were resolved
(v) Assumptions if any, clearly stated
(vi) An explanation of the accounting and / or business techniques you have used, including a discussion of their limitations. (i.e.) financial impact on Corporate Governance

PART 3 €“ Results, analysis, conclusions and recommendations €“ 4,500 words
The third part of your Research Report should provide a detailed account of what you have found from the application of your chosen accounting and business techniques to the information that you have gathered. It should include:

(i) A description of the results you have obtained and any limitations
(ii) Presentation of your results in an appropriate form e.g. tables, graphs, pie charts
(iii) A critical analysis / evaluation of your results which includes an explanation of your significant findings
(iv) Your conclusions about your research findings and how well you have met your project objectives and research questions
(v) If appropriate, recommendations on specific courses of action to identified individuals within your chosen organisation.

LIST OF REFERENCES
APPENDICES (You should use appendices only for supporting data and information. You should not include written text that properly belongs in the main body of your Research Report. You should keep the number of appendices as low as possible and no more than 8 sides excluding any extracts from financial statements.)