This module provides the opportunity for students to undertake the MBA Impact Project, a self-managed process of systematic practitioner inquiry, to address a business and/or management challenge or opportunity with the option of working with an organisation. This project enables students to integrate, apply and develop the knowledge and skills that they have acquired during the MBA programme. Students may select one of three approaches: (1) traditional academic enquiry (dissertation), (2) strategic business plan, (3) working with an organisation as a consultancy-based project. Each approach expects the use of relevant and reliable primary or secondary data sources.
Students will explore a business and/or management challenge or opportunity in significantly greater depth than during the taught modules. They will outline the nature of the challenge or opportunity and provide justification for their choice of topic and process of inquiry in their initial project proposal, as well as the intended impact of their project. Students will plan and execute appropriate business management research and / or management consultancy data collection methods, such as primary qualitative or quantitative research or running an investigative workshop(s) and apply a rigorous process of analysis to their evidence-base. Based on their analysis they will generate recommendations for actions to address the business and/or management challenge or opportunity. On completion of their research and analysis, students will produce a final project impact report targeted at senior managers/investors (depending on the approach taken), where they share their findings and recommendations.