IA+1.+The+Basics

=INTERNAL ASSESSMENT:= **Welcome to the Inquiry-based project we refer to as the "IA". You are going to practice all 5 skill groups in doing this, and maybe even help a firm get more profitable : Exciting times!!**


 * 1.1 The BASICS **


 * It is Compulsory
 * It is a __ Research __ Project
 * In which you are required to ultimately make a recommendation
 * Focused mainly on Primary Research, though some supportive Secondary Research should be evident
 * This research should provide you with the data to genuinely apply some of the Decision Making tools studied in Unit 1.
 * The Title of the Research Project must be in the form of a Question - which outlines a 'problem' facing the business.
 * It is worth 25% of your final IB grade
 * It should take approximately 30 hours.
 * It consists of 2 parts
 * (i) A Research Proposal : roughly 3%, and a max of 500 words
 * (ii) A Written Report : roughly 22%, and a max of 2000 words //[+ an Executive Summary, which has a maximum of 200 words and is not include in the word count]//
 * You will be given some lesson time to make progress on this. You will also be expected to work on it outside of lesson time too.
 * It has an expected structure - you should not think you can write this up however you like.


 * Your Research Question must focus on one firm - and this firm must be real, the 'problem' it faces must also be real.

In terms of deadlines and feedback you will be given It is expected that informal, simple, verbal feedback is given on an on-going basis. Normally initiated by the student, and limited to reasonable levels of support.
 * Research Proposal (RP) First Draft : formal written feedback given
 * RP Final Draft + Written Report (WR) First Draft : formal written feedback given
 * Full final IA (RP+WR). No feedback given

- and thats the end of the headlines.



 GETTING STARTED THEN..


 * STEP 1 **:  Decide which organization you have contacts with.

 IB warn that they read a lot of Projects where students investigate their own family businesses – and these Projects tend to carry an abnormally high levels of bias in the Research. If you can avoid this then great, but you’re in the minority : if you are unsure if you can, then a good piece of advice is find a peer who is in the same situation and swap businesses

 Are my contacts with Firm X good enough for me to use them?  You will need [i] access to their key decision-maker (a brief interview) [ii] permission to do some kind of research with at least some of their staff [iii] permission to do some kind of research with at least some of their customers.


 * STEP 2 ** : Make first contact with the firm. Be prepared.

 Make this first contact **brief**. The objective should be to establish a rough project title ie identify a 'problem'*. A pre-existing issue might exist [that’s a bonus!] if the decision-maker you speak to can't think of one you may need to carry out a SWOT to identify an issue. You should also have a rough idea of what your Research Plan is (see Step 1) ahead of this meeting so the business understands what they are committing to when you return for second contact.

This * 'problem' can be negative //ie sales are falling what should we do to stop this?// but doesn't have to be, it could be positive //ie we have a sum of money, how should we best spend it?//


 * A COMMON ERROR TO AVOID ** : The decision maker you contact in Step 1, should also be the person you finally present the Report to. That's pretty much all the contact you should have with them : 'whats a problem' and then 'here's my recommended solution'.

If this person gives you too much information directly then the Report you give back to them will be "not very useful" : because they already know most of what's in the Report, as the Report is largely based on information they gave you.

Here's the same point being made in a picture :-)



Using the results of the brief interview with the Decision-Maker at your chosen firm (from Step 2) - you now need to CREATE YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION.
 * STEP 3 ** : Creating the Research Question

A bad question almost inevitably leads to a bad project - so lets get this right.


 * The Research Question must ... **

eg //"What was the key cause of Firm Xs decline?"// - this is a question well enough, but does not require any real recommendation to take Firm X into the future. It is wrongly focused on past events. while //"What would be the best strategy to help Firm X recover market share?"// is also clearly a question but is better as it sets you up for making a recommendation about what Firm X should do in the future - after you have handed in your Report.
 * ** [1] set you up for a recommendation that is forward looking **

you need to show this isn't just any Research Project, it is an IB BM Research Project. You can chose any area of the syllabus, but it makes more sense to chose a unit we have covered. By the end of Year 11 we have covered Units 1, 3 & 5. We will be starting Unit 4 simultaneously to the IA. It must be focused. 2000 word limit is not a lot of word count. You can't meaningfully cover an entire Units worth of material in this. So focus in on one part of a unit.
 * ** [2] have clear and focused links to the IB Business Management syllabus. **

You hand over your Report to the firms Decision Maker in January //(not really, that is a made up date for this example!) &// she implements your recommendation. By end of March she wants to know if your Recommendation was worthwhile. She wants to measure the success of implementing the strategies you suggested to her. In order to do that there needs to be something to measure, a goal that your strategy what aiming to achieve. //"How can Firm X improve the level of staff motivation?"//- this is not a bad question and you might be able to do an IA that passes, but it has no success measure and so limits you from getting a top grade. Say you suggest 'Pay more' and the Decision Maker likes your Report and Recommendation and does this. In March how will she know if your Recommendation has brought her success? What will she measure? //"How can Firm X motivate workers better to improve their sales performance?"//- this format does the trick. In January (before your recommendation) she measures Sales, then in March (after your recommendation has been implemented) she measure Sales again and makes a comparison to identify success, or the lack of it.
 * ** [3] include a 'measure of success' in it. **

Further Examples

Lets imagine you have contacts at a ABC Hotel and from the brief initial interview you have found out that the Decision Maker believes there are 'problems' with their Marketing.

You formulate some Project Questions... __"What is the Marketing Mix of ABC Hotel?__" __"How can ABC Hotel improve its Marketing?__" __"How can the ABC Hotel improve its promotional strategies and increase room occupancy?__"
 * :-) ** it is linked to the syllabus, but ** :-( ** its lacks focus by linking to the entire Unit. You won't do it justice in 2000 words, ** :-( ** there is no measure of success in the question ** :-( **there is no requirement to make a forward looking recommendation
 * :-) ** it is linked to the syllabus, ** :-) ** it requires a Recommendation but ** :-( ** it still lacks focus by linking to the entire Unit and ** :-( ** there is no measure of success in the question
 * :-) ** it is linked to the syllabus, ** :-) ** it requires a Recommendation, ** :-) ** it is now focused on a specific part of a Unit and ** :-) **there is now a measure of success in the question

__//**Finally**//__, a short list of questions that have produced decent grades in the past..


 * 1) //Should XYZ outsource production of its Galaxy range to improve existing profit margins?//
 * 2) //Should XYZ open a new exclusive boutique in Seoul to improve its brand image?//
 * 3) //Should XYZ use franchising to increase its market share?//
 * 4) //What policies can XYZ introduce to tighten control of its debtors to improve its liquidity position?//
 * 5) //Should ABC invest in E-Commerce to achieve its objective of increasing sales by 29% by 2010?//

<span style="color: #16a124; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i hope that is guidance enough for you to devise your Research Question (and then move on to 1.2)

//IN-CLASS ACTIVITY ://

//Read the two 'cartoon strips' below and create an appropriate Research Project Question from each of them//



//Answers on this document.//