Dissertation Guidelines
 
MA ABC
MSc E-Business
MSc ICE
 
 
 
Academic Year 2019-2020
 
 
 
 
 
 
Staff Contacts
 
Your contact for the dissertation will primarily be with your allocated supervisor who will be officially assigned to you early 2020. However, each programme has a dissertation co-ordinator responsible for co-ordinating the assignments. Their names and contact details are listed below:
 
Dissertation Co-ordinators
 
ICE/ABC        Dr Paul Richter paul.richter@ncl.ac.uk
E-Business   Dr Arturo Vega Arturo.Vega@newcastle.ac.uk
 
 
Contents
1       Beginning the dissertation. 5
1.1 The dissertation in your programme of study. 5
1.2 Some readings (for more, see research methods module reading lists) 6
1.3 Goals for Postgraduate Dissertations. 6
1.4       Empirical material 7
1.5       The Literature Review.. 8
1.6       Method. 9
1.7       Ethical Issues, risk assessment, and GDPR.. 9
1.8       Sources for Topic Ideas. 12
1.9       Guidelines for suitable topics. 12
1.10         Writing your Full Dissertation Proposal 13
1.11 Submission deadline for Research Methods Assignment 2 – Full Dissertation Proposal 13
1.12 Submission of final dissertation.. 13
1.13 Penalties for late submission.. 14
2 Assessment Criteria. 15
2.1. The scope of assessment 15
2.2 How your work is marked. 15
2.3 Presentation and format 19
2.4 General points. 22

3. Citation and referencing. 24

3.1 Plagiarism.. 24
3.2 Referencing. 26
3.3  Definitions. 26
3.4 Why write references?. 27
3.5  Harvard Referencing System.. 27
4   Student’s responsibilities. 28
4.1 Meeting Guidelines in this Manual 28
4.2  Selection of Topic. 28
4.3  Contact with Dissertation supervisor 28
4.4   Managing the Dissertation Supervision Sessions. 29
4.5  Meeting Deadlines. 31
4.6  Originality. 31
4.7  Referencing. 31
Appendix A.. 32
NUBS Ethical approval form for student projects. 35
Risk Assessment 40
Risk Assessment form – No travel outside University. 40
Newcastle University Travel Risk Assessment 42
GDPR DATA MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT. 52
Appendix B (example Contents page) 54
Appendix C –  The Harvard Referencing System.. 55
 
 

1       Beginning the dissertation

1.1 The dissertation in your programme of study

The words “Dissertation” and “research” can seem quite daunting. However, most of you will have completed some sort of project during your previous education, and, in many ways, a dissertation is just an extension of individual project work.  The key differences are:-

1. You choose your own question/problem/issue – preferably one in which you are interested and/or engaged in some way.
2. You must review the relevant academic literature and explore the methodological issues in your project area.

 
The dissertation forms a major part of your Masters programme, counting for 60 out of the total 180 credits (or up to 33% of your Masters degree). Strictly speaking, students are only entitled to ‘proceed’ to the dissertation once they have successfully passed the teaching component of the programme. However, in practice work on the dissertation begins earlier in the academic year. You undertake postgraduate research methods training (NBS8062) as a preparation for the dissertation work and will prepare an initial/developed research proposal for your dissertation as part of that module.
 
These guidelines are intended to help you in the dissertation process. Given that a dissertation is an individual piece of work there is no intention unduly to restrict you in your approach.  This document presents guidelines to support your work, therefore, and is not a set of absolute rules or procedures to which you must adhere.  You will talk in more detail about your own project with your dissertation supervisor.  Nonetheless, it has been carefully prepared and you should read it to understand the important aspects of the dissertation process, as well as the standards required within the Business School.
 
In accordance with the module guidelines (NBS8039/8241) for the ICE and ABC dissertations, students on these programmes may choose to have a more explicit practice-orientation for their research project. In all cases, however, the research project will always include a critical review of the relevant academic literature and will explore the methodological issues in the project area.

1.2 Some readings (for more, see research methods module reading lists)

Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2011) Business Research Methods, 3^rd Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press
 
Saunders M, Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2009) Research Methods for Business Students, 5^th Edition (Prentice Hall).
 
Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R. and Jackson, P. (2012) Management Research, 4^th Edition, (Sage: Sage Series in Management Research)
 
Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009) Business Research, 3^rd Edition, (Palgrave)
 
Alvesson, M. and Deetz, S. (2000) Doing Critical Management Research (Sage: Sage Series in Management Research)
 
Silverman, D. (2013) Doing Qualitative Research, (Sage)
 
Silverman, David (2011) Interpreting Qualitative Data, 4^th Edition (Sage)
 
Yin, R. K. (2014) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 5^th Edition, (Sage: Sage series in Applied Social Research Methods)
 

1.3 Goals for Postgraduate Dissertations

The primary goal of the dissertation is to allow you to integrate your academic study with the analysis of some material, preferably empirical.
 
More specifically, dissertations should:

1. Be based on either:
   1. Empirical work undertaken by the student; And/Or
   2. A very in-depth review of current academic theoretical work;
2. Provide an academic framework within which that empirical or theoretical work is evaluated;
3. Include a discussion of appropriate research methods issues;
4. Arrive at a conclusion justified by the empirical and/or theoretical material.

Putting this in a different way, your research may be:-

• Descriptive – describing the features of a setting or a case, or the views of a group or individual; And/Or
• Explanatory – testing or attempting to derive a theory or model.

Your research methods may be:-

• Qualitative (e.g. observation, interpretation of interviews); And/Or
• Quantitative (e.g. survey or experimental).

1.4      Empirical material

This may include any one or more of the following:-

• Financial, economic and statistical information (e.g. from Datastream, Labour Force Survey, Household Survey, etc);
• The results of questionnaire surveys you have conducted yourself;
• Interviews or Focus Groups you have conducted;
• Participant observation of an organisation – e.g. a place of part-time work; a voluntary group or an organisation for which you have previously worked;
• Non-participant observation (also known as ethnography) of an organisation to which you can gain regular and reasonably extended access – e.g. a company where a friend or family member works;
• Written or multimedia documents whose independent existence can be verified
  • Newspaper articles; Film, Television, Radio, Videos;
  • Official records and reports from companies, trade unions, professional associations, voluntary bodies, local & national government, independent research units and ‘think tanks’, industry forums & trade associations;
  • Confidential documents internal to an organisation – be very careful of the confidentiality and ethical issues
  • Published diaries, biographies & autobiographies, histories of companies, industries or other relevant organisations;
  • Archived correspondence;
  • The archived content of an internet discussion forum;
  • Historical academic literature (generally over 15 years old).

 
In rare circumstances it may be feasible (but only with the full agreement of your dissertation supervisor) to conduct a totally theoretical dissertation – for instance on the philosophy of Business Ethics or the social theory of organisational analysis.  Even with this type of dissertation, it is usually wiser to relate relevant theoretical argument to empirical or practical issues, such as current debates on corporate governance or research methods.
 
Whatever data are collected (e.g. interview recordings; completed questionnaires etc.), along with the data analysis outputs (e.g. interview transcripts/coding schemes; database files etc.), these should be kept securely in case they need to be made available to the marking team. Further, if these are electronic, you should ensure they are securely backed-up.
 

1.5      The Literature Review

The literature review should be a separate chapter. It should review the relevant literature in order to provide a framework within which your empirical material can be evaluated. It should be succinct (i.e. you should not attempt to describe a whole body of literature in detail, but focus on those areas which are relevant to your research aims and questions) and should link directly to your own investigation. Be critical in your approach: be clear about areas of disagreement, in terms of views or research findings. Attend the relevant library sessions on the Research Methods course and make good use of the library resources available.
A good literature review does more than simply restate the literature. You need to consider the difference between a literature report and a literature review.  A report of the literature simply describes what theoretical and empirical work exists in the topic area under discussion, summarising perhaps but not adding analysis or commentary.  A literature review goes much further.  It discusses theoretical and empirical work thematically, bringing out inconsistencies and controversies and relates your detailed research questions to that discussion. Ideally a literature review will develop an argument that justifies your research question/issue/problem.

1.6      Method

If you have formulated your research question/issue/problem fully, then it may already suggest a particular approach to the design of the research project. In any case, in selecting a method you must ensure that it is appropriate to your research question. This chapter should first describe and briefly justify your overall research strategy, with reference to the research methods literature.  The specific data collection methods you employ – surveys, interviews, observation, analytical models – should clearly fit within the overall methodology. For instance, it would be inappropriate to adopt a qualitative interpretive methodology and then rely mainly on quantitative tools or SWOT analyses. You should clearly describe and justify the methods and tools you employ. Where there are constraints on the kind of investigation that you can conduct, you should acknowledge them. You should include samples of the data collection instruments you have used (e.g. copies of your questionnaire) in the appendices, where appropriate.

1.7      Ethical Issues, risk assessment, and GDPR

 
You are required to comply with the Newcastle University Code of Good Practice in Research. This is available at:
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/research/researchgovernance/goodpractice/
 
Prior to commencing your dissertation you are required to consider the Newcastle University Ethical Approval Process for Research, the School’s Fieldwork & Travel Risk Assessment, and GDPR regulations (3 forms in total). Further details can be found in Appendix A, where you will find the appropriate forms and guidance. It is essential that you complete the forms and submit them with your full research proposal (assignment 2 on NBS8062 Research Methods module) by uploading them via Blackboard (please create one document consolidating the three forms prior to uploading it). Your dissertation supervisor will then consider the forms for approval (clearly indicating if they give approval or if they are passing it to the Ethics Convenor for further consideration). You cannot proceed with your research until these forms have been completed and approved. If approval is not granted by the time of the Board of Examiners (end of semester 2) you may be prevented from proceeding to semester 3 – you are responsible for ensuring that the forms are approved by your supervisor by the end of semester 2. During semester 3, you may be away from the university for short periods conducting fieldwork for example. If this is the case, you will, of course, still need to consider the university’s notice of absence and attendance monitoring procedures. As a general rule, you should treat semester 3 as a normal semester in terms of your availability even if there are no formal lectures during this period.
 
Please note that if you change your research design at some point after getting your original research design ethically approved, you may well need to obtain further ethical approval and fieldwork and travel risk approval, and reconsider GDPR issues in the light of the revised research design. This issue should be discussed with your supervisor as appropriate.
 
Within your discussion of Research Methods in the dissertation, you should show that you are aware of the ethical issues raised by the practice of writing about other people’s lives. If it is appropriate, ensure that your research subjects are aware of the kinds of thing you are planning to write. If necessary, use pseudonyms and change identifying details.
 
Discuss these issues with your dissertation supervisor.
Topic Selection
 
It is your responsibility to ensure that your approach to the project topic is reasonably original and unique.

1.8      Sources for Topic Ideas

You can explore ideas for topics from many sources: any work placement experience; past work experience; current part-time work; other empirical material to which you can gain access; course work; academic readings, especially current and recent issues of academic journals; regular reading of business & management trade press.

1.9      Guidelines for suitable topics

You can assume that the topic as you initially conceived of it will evolve as the project progresses. By “evolve” we mean that the particular aspect of the topic which becomes central to the project may well change, in one direction or another as the project progresses. As a result, you may adjust your dissertation title, final research questions or data collection method as you develop your work.  This evolution or ‘fine tuning’ of a project is quite usual. The goal is to find a topic which is general enough to be significant, but specific enough to become focused.
 
You are expected to identify a research topic in line with the programme that you are studying (e.g. Arts, Business & Creativity; Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship; E-Business) in order that you can demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of your discipline, including a critical awareness of current issues.
 
Here are some examples of purely imaginary but conceivable dissertation titles. See if you can identify how they might match the styles of research and the types of empirical material set out above.

1. The Tensions Within Family Owned Firms: A Case Study.
2. The impact of WTO membership on small businesses in China: a case study.
3. Applying Virtual Ethnography (Hine, 2000) To Internet Shareholder Discussion Forums.
4. A Comparative Study of the Adoption and Use of information systems in SMEs
5. The Impact Of The Euro On The UK North East Textile Industry
6. From Bloggers To Dot.Coms: E-News, E-Leisure, Or E-Business?
7. Open Innovation adoption in dynamically evolving SMEs In North-East England

1.10   Writing your Full Dissertation Proposal

You will discuss this in detail as part of the research methods module; the full dissertation proposal is Assignment Two for this module.  In general, you should be clear about the aims of your research: What is it that you are attempting to achieve?  Will the research be descriptive, explanatory, or both? Will it use quantitative or qualitative methods, or both? What will be your empirical material?  – this is one of the most important questions to settle before writing your outline. There is no point proposing a wonderfully original dissertation if you cannot get access to the required material.  You need to remember that a dissertation operates as a research project and is, therefore, a combination of both practical and theoretical elements.  You need to pay careful attention to both aspects if your work is to be successful.
 
Again, consult with your dissertation supervisor!
 

1.11 Submission deadline for Research Methods Assignment 2 – Full Dissertation Proposal

The Deadline for submitting your full proposal is 10am, 23^rd March 2020.  Remember that you are required to submit copies of your completed ethical review form, fieldwork and travel risk assessment form, and GDPR data management form with the assignment (see above).
 

1.12 Submission of final dissertation

The deadline for submitting two soft bound copies of your final dissertation (as well as the turn-it-in copy) is 4pm, 1^st September, 2020.
 
Be careful! Work backwards from this date, remembering that you will also have semester 2 exams/assignments around the middle of May. Always allow at least two weeks slippage, and remember that it always takes longer to write up your dissertation than you had allowed for. Aim to be able to send draft chapters to your dissertation supervisor throughout the duration of the supervision, preferably by email, allowing plenty of time for their response.
 

1.13 Penalties for late submission

It is your responsibility to hand in your dissertation by the due date.  Any dissertations handed in after the date, without prior agreement of the senior tutor, will be penalised.  Work submitted up to one week after the deadline will be marked at a maximum of 50%.  Work submitted more than one week after the deadline will be awarded a mark of zero.  In exceptional circumstances, such as illness, you may be able to arrange for an extension to the deadline and/or appeal for mitigation in the marking of your work.  The process for arranging extensions and mitigation is similar to the process for other modules.  If you have any resit examinations or need to resubmit any coursework, you will automatically be granted an extension according to the following rubric:
 

• 1 re-sit                        1 week (4pm, 8^th September 2020)
• 2 re-sits                      2 weeks (4pm, 15^th September 2020)
• 3 or more re-sits        3 weeks (4pm, 22^nd September 2020)

2 Assessment Criteria

2.1. The scope of assessment

Ideally, your dissertation should reflect:

• A clear statement of the problem you have chosen to investigate
• A thorough reading of the relevant literature
• Appropriate selection of empirical material
• An ability to synthesise various academic perspectives
• A good grasp of the theoretical and practical issues

• A critical stance (in relation to the literature and your own research) and an ability to evaluate evidence, drawing appropriate conclusions and acknowledging ambiguity;

• A set of arguments that are logically and coherently developed
• Clarity of presentation
• A fluent style

2.2 How your work is marked

The dissertation will be double marked by your Dissertation supervisor and one other member of the teaching/research staff.  Double marking means that they mark the work separately, and then come to an agreed overall mark.  The Second Marker will be assigned on the basis of staff expertise and workloads. In addition, a sample of dissertations will be read by an External Examiner. Although they will not generally have the right to alter your specific mark, they will be asked to validate the overall assessment of dissertations.
 
In the table below are the set of criteria that will be used to mark your dissertation, so read it carefully and understand the distinctions between the marking bands.
 
 
 

2.3 Presentation and format

 
Length: The Dissertation should not exceed 12,000 words, not including references and appendices. Your Dissertation supervisor may refuse to read anything beyond this limit. On extremely rare occasions it may be appropriate to exceed this limit, but only with the full prior agreement of the Dissertation supervisor.
 
You must submit two soft bound copies, one for your Dissertation supervisor and one for the Second Marker, and you must also submit an electronic copy via turnitin in the usual way. The requirement for an electronic copy is in order for the University to easily check for plagiarism (see below).
There are no specific rules for content and presentation. Different parts of your dissertation may have a different weight depending upon, for example, the nature of your project and the availability of a background literature.
However, dissertations will normally comprise:

• A Title Page (this is essential): including the title of the dissertation, your name and degree course, and the institution awarding the degree (usually Newcastle University Business School).  The title should be succinct yet clearly specify the content of the report. This should be brief, descriptive and explicit rather than poetic or implicit. Thirty (30) words is normally the maximum length. It should be agreed and finalised as part of the final draft. It may be different from the original working title.
• An Abstract (essential): stating briefly the mode of enquiry and any conclusions reached.  This should be brief, certainly no more than one page in length.
• A Contents Page – (See Appendix B for an example)
• Acknowledgements: acknowledging any help, advice or support received during the dissertation process, including from people outside the Business School.
• An Introduction (essential): the purpose of this chapter is to introduce and contextualize the study.  This means that the significance or importance of the topic is set out. If there is no apparent importance to the study to any external reader, the topic may not be appropriate. Personal interest may inspire selection of the project topic, but ultimately, its importance to others as a research project should be specified. This can best be done by positioning the dissertation in relation to other work that has been published, whether in agreement with that work or otherwise – in other words, you should summarise here the main points from the next chapter, the Literature Review.

This Introduction should also describe the setting in which your research was undertaken, and discuss the questions your dissertation addresses. This section should also tell the reader how the topic will be unfolded and the order of forthcoming material.

• Literature Review: See above
• Method: See above
• Results or findings: these should be clearly presented. Avoid over- burdening the reader with masses of data: produce summaries of the main findings. Depending on your method, these might take the form of appropriately headed numerical tables with descriptive accounts of their content in the text, or qualitative analyses with examples of material to enable the reader to judge the relation between those data and the conclusions drawn. Where statistical procedures are employed, these should be described. It is often useful to include samples of data, calculations and computer printouts in the appendices (appendices do not contribute to the word count).
• Discussion: this should summarise your findings, and indicate their implications for your research questions. You should discuss how your findings support or challenge the theoretical / empirical context set out in the literature review. Do not overstate your conclusions: remember that your method may be incomplete, your sample unrepresentative and your conclusions open to different interpretations by different readers.  When editing your work, try to anticipate any weaknesses that a reader might find in your discussion and acknowledge / incorporate / change what you have said to take them into account.  Evaluate here any deficiencies in the way you designed the research or practical difficulties in carrying it out in the way that you intended. You may also want to discuss alternative approaches that could be employed to gather data relevant to your questions.

The Discussion chapter functions as an appraisal and criticism of your work, in relation to the issues and any hypotheses raised in the introduction. It should not simply repeat chunks from your introduction or findings.
There are of course exceptions, especially with these two main chapters on Findings and Discussion. For some styles of dissertation, for instance ethnographic, historical or case studies, it may be more appropriate to integrate the discussion with the presentation of empirical material.

• Conclusion (essential): a brief statement of any conclusions you have reached as a result of your enquiries. What do you want the reader to know as a result of having read your dissertation? How do your findings and/or discussion relate back to any broader issues you have raised in the Introduction? The conclusion may also suggest further work or study needed on the topic, as well as ways the new work can be used or applied in other cases. It is not meant to be a summary or restatement of the entire project, which belongs in the abstract. If you have developed any strong personal opinions about the subject which seem appropriate to relate, this is the place where such content is appropriate.
• References: a complete list, properly set out, with all relevant details. All references cited in the text should be included here – and vice versa. See the section later in this Guide on the Harvard Referencing System.
• Appendices: if appropriate. As a general rule, if figures, tables, charts or quotes are less than a full page and can be conveniently included in the text, you will want to do so, since reference to appendices is awkward for the reader. All such material, in the text or at the end, should be titled and sequentially numbered. Tabular material which is presented in landscape format should be bound with the top of the table to the spine.  Appendices are labelled alphabetically, although if there is little such material and it is all of a similar nature, it may all be included in one Appendix.   Appendices are not included in the final word count.  Equally, however, they are not included in the main marking of the dissertation.  Do not put into an appendix any information, discussion or data that is essential for your argument or conclusions.  Appendices are intended to support and provide additional, substantiating information for your work, not as a ‘dumping ground’ for anything that you couldn’t get into the main text because of word count restrictions.

2.4 General points

Writing Style:  The level of writing must be appropriate to the level of your degree. Specifically, you should pay attention to correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and clarity of style. Remember that the Second Marker (and possibly the External Examiner) will not necessarily be a specialist in your topic, so do not rely heavily on specialist language.  It is your responsibility to edit the text for typing errors, even if the document is copy-typed by someone else.
 
Page Layout:  Pages should be numbered, starting with and including the title page. This is especially important when giving draft copies of chapters to your dissertation supervisor.
 
Margins: Please leave sufficient margins to allow for binding.
 
Tables and charts: should be numbered in sequence by chapter, e.g. Table 3.1 is the first table in Chapter 3 Each figure should be accompanied by a descriptive title which explains the contents of the figure.
 
Legibility: The dissertation must be word processed, and the Two final copies must be on A4 paper. Line Spacing must be at least one-and-a-half lines and not more than double-spaced.  Both the draft and final copies of the dissertation must be produced in such a manner that the text is entirely legible, and at least suitable to produce an image that a photocopier could easily reproduce.
 
Binding: For a document of this length you will need a form of binding that is more durable than the common forms used for essays. Thermal binding and Comb-binding, with soft or plastic covers, are both equally suitable. You do not need to use ‘perfect-binding’ with hard covers.

3. Citation and referencing

3.1 Plagiarism

• The intellectual work of others that is being summarised in the dissertation must be attributed to its source.  This includes material you yourself have published or submitted for assessment here or elsewhere (in the case of your assignments for NBS8062, it is possible that you will wish to develop certain parts of your proposals in your dissertation – that is fine).
• It is also plagiarism if you copy the work of another student. In that case both the plagiariser and the student who allows their work to be copied will be disciplined.
• When writing dissertations and essays, it is not sufficient to just indicate that you have used other people’s work by citing them in your list of references at the end. It is also not sufficient to just put “(Bloggs 1992)” at the end of a paragraph where you have copied someone else’s words. It is essential that the paragraph itself be IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
• The only exception to this is if you are quoting a source. In that case you must put the quotation in quotation marks and cite the source, including page reference, immediately afterwards.  If the quotation is longer than a sentence, you should indent and set off the whole passage; when the quotation is indented in this way it is not necessary to use quotation marks, but, as always, the author, date, and page number should be cited.
• It is assumed that all ideas, opinions, conclusions, specific wording, quotations, conceptual structure and data, whether reproduced exactly or in paraphrase, which are not referenced to another source, is the work of the student on this dissertation.  If this is not the case, an act of plagiarism may have occurred, which is cause for disciplinary action at the programme or University level. IT MAY LEAD TO DISMISSAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY.

Here is a real-life example of plagiarism. We first quote an extended passage from a text-book, then a passage from a real student essay.
A quotation from Mike Featherstone, Consumer Culture and Postmodernism (London, Sage), p. 14 (emphasis added – some passages have been underlined to indicate where the student has plagiarised):
If from the perspectives of classical economics the object of all production is consumption, with individuals maximizing their satisfactions through purchasing from an ever-expanding range of goods, then from the perspective of some twentieth-century neo-Marxists this development is regarded as producing greater opportunities for controlled and manipulated consumption. The expansion of capitalist production, especially after the boost received from scientific management and ‘Fordism’ around the turn of the century, it is held, necessitated the construction of new markets and the ‘education’ of publics to become  consumers through advertising and other media (Ewen, 1976). This approach, traceable back to Lukács’s  (1971) Marx-Weber synthesis with his theory of reification, has been developed most prominently in the writings of Horkheimer and Adorno (1972), Marcuse (1964) and Lefebvre (1971), Horkheimer and Adorno, for example, argue that the same commodity logic and instrumental rationality manifest in the sphere of production is noticeable in the sphere of consumption. Leisure time pursuits, the arts and culture in general become filtered through the culture industry; reception becomes dictated by exchange value as the higher purposes and values of culture succumb to the logic of the production process and the market…
Student essay:
From the perspective of some twentieth century neo-Marxists these developments produce greater opportunities for controlled and manipulated consumption. On the one hand critical theorists from the Frankfurt school stress that the same commodity logic and instrumental rationality manifested in the sphere of production is also noticeable in the sphere of consumption. Leisure time pursuits- the arts and culture become filtered through the ‘culture industry’: the mass media and popular culture. (Adorno and Horkheimer, 1979). Reception becomes dictated by exchange value as the higher purposes and values of culture succumb to the logic of the production process and the market.
 
Clearly, this student did not express the ideas in their own words; there is no way of knowing whether he or she understood the original. The student was convicted of plagiarism.
 

3.2 Referencing

A most important feature of academic work is the proper acknowledgement of the work of others in relation to your own work. When planning any kind of study the first thing to do, after defining your subject area, is to review the literature available on the subject. It may be helpful to consider recording all the information that you have consulted as a database on a computer. This will save a lot of time later on, and in particular it is important to note where you found the information as well as the details of the reference itself so that it may be traced again.

3.3  Definitions

A reference is any piece of information (book, journal article, or video) to which the writer of a dissertation refers directly either by quotation or by the author’s name. A reference gives information about the source (usually an original source) from which the writer of the dissertation has taken or used material. The purpose of a reference is to enable the reader to locate that information as easily and quickly as possible. Individual references used in the text are, in addition, compiled in a list at the end of a piece of written work.
A bibliography is an extended list of references dealing with particular subject matter, and may include not only the references made by the writer in the text of an dissertation, but also others the writer has found useful, perhaps as background reading, even though they are not directly referred to in the written work itself.
For your dissertation you will only supply a list of references directly used in the dissertation; DO NOT supply a bibliography.
In summary, you are expected in your written work to refer directly by source and/or author to any material that you have used in your dissertation, and to provide a list of those references on separate pages at the end of the dissertation (in other words, NOT within footnotes).

3.4 Why write references?

References are needed both to give credit to authors whose work has been used and to enable readers to find out where material came from in which they may be interested. Readers may wish to check that the reference is a correct citation of a source, and to follow up by reading that source.
References help support an argument and validate any statements that are made. Any phrases, sentences or paragraphs taken from another source must be acknowledged, as must ideas from such a source; if the acknowledgement is not made it is called plagiarism and your own work will be discredited, and sanctions imposed if this is discovered.

3.5  Harvard Referencing System

There are many methods of writing and arranging references so that they may be accurately and systematically recorded. We believe that the Harvard system is the most appropriate to use for your dissertation, and it is mandatory – you must use it. The Harvard system is based on the author’s surname and is easy to use and to check. Do NOT mix it up with any other referencing scheme (such as ones using numbered references in the text). You must read Appendix C of this Guide, which gives a full description of The Harvard Referencing System.

4   Student’s responsibilities

4.1 Meeting Guidelines in this Manual

It is your responsibility to comply with the guidelines in this manual. Failure may cause the final dissertation mark to be reduced or may invalidate, delay, or prevent the successful completion of the dissertation.  However, in most matters these guidelines may be overridden by the Dissertation supervisor, Dissertation Co‑ordinator or appropriate Business School administration. However, any such changes will only be valid and binding if they are committed to writing, circulated and signed by the relevant parties before submission of the final work.

4.2  Selection of Topic

Selection of a suitable dissertation topic rests with the student: however, any member of staff may be approached for broad guidance on potential topics, at their convenience. The student cannot be required by a member of staff to undertake a topic that is not acceptable to the student.

4.3  Contact with Dissertation supervisor

Once a Dissertation supervisor is assigned, you will be advised who he/she is. The member of staff coordinating the allocation process will always try to take into account students’ chosen research area and/or approach to research in order to find a suitable fit with the interests/experience of the academic staff who are taking on supervisory duties in the year concerned. Notwithstanding this, all of our academic staff are more than able to carry out Masters dissertation supervision regardless of the research topic given staff’s generic knowledge of research processes and the process of completing a Masters dissertation. Students will be allocated to a supervisor who is supervising a maximum 10 students. A supervisor will be allocated to this group of students to provide support, guidance and facilitate meetings.
 
Supervisory meetings will be a mix of individual and group sessions. There will be a maximum of 2 individual supervision meetings and 4 group supervision meetings. Group sessions will still allow students to ask individual questions as well as to discuss common problems or issues as a group. The precise content of meetings may vary depending on students’ progress at a particular time but it is suggested that the group supervision meetings have this focus:

• late May – research design
• June – data collection
• early July – data analysis and findings discussion
• late July/August – writing up and conclusions

 
As for the individual supervision meetings, it is a good idea to try to arrange the first of these with your supervisor soon after the allocation process is complete and, ideally, before the detailed research proposal (NBS8062) is due to be submitted to discuss the development of the initial proposal. The other individual supervision meeting should be arranged in conjunction with supervisors at a mutually convenient time.
 
Your dissertation supervisor’s task is to help you develop your research ideas and put them into practice in a fruitful manner, not to dictate a specific topic to you. In other words, their role is to guide and support your research, even though this may involve asking difficult questions about rationale, practicalities, and contributions of your study – all of which will be aimed at making your research more robust. However, it is important that you understand that the dissertation is intended to provide an opportunity for students to pursue a research project independently. It is your research and your responsibility to design, conduct, and write the dissertation. If you have any concerns about your supervisor’s advice, you should discuss these first as part of a supervision meeting. In the very rare instances when your concerns cannot be alleviated by such discussion, you can contact the dissertation module leader.
 

4.4   Managing the Dissertation Supervision Sessions

It is in your interests to attend supervision meetings and to plan carefully for them. If you are unable to attend group supervision meeting, you should not expect your supervisor to arrange a substitute individual meeting. The supervision process should be used to discuss ideas with your Dissertation supervisor and to get feedback on whether the work you are planning to do is at the appropriate level for the Masters qualification.  You may contact your Dissertation supervisor by email if you have a question to ask. It is likely that staff will be unavailable during August as this is a holiday period. It is a good idea to ask supervisors about their availability well in advance.
 
Try to follow these rules:
 

1. All meetings with your Dissertation supervisor should be arranged by appointment and you should attend all. You should arrive at the agreed meeting place on time.

2. If you have work for the Dissertation supervisor to appraise then it should be submitted to them sufficiently in advance of the meeting to allow them time to read and comment on it. This should be at least a week before the meeting.

3. Always arrive at a tutorial meeting with an agenda of the areas that you wish to discuss

4. Be prepared to show the Dissertation supervisor the sources of information that you are currently consulting for your dissertation.

5. Maintain contact by email with your Dissertation supervisor throughout the dissertation period and if you are having problems let them know.

 
As a student you can expect:

• A maximum of 6 meetings (see above for details of individual/group meeting format) with your dissertation supervisor and contact over email where necessary (extended e-mail contact may count as a meeting).
• Guidance on the standard of your work and its structure
• Staff to meet you at the arranged time
• Comments on ONE draft of your dissertation providing that it is submitted to your supervisor in July.

 
As a student you cannot expect:

• Your Dissertation supervisor to provide you with substantial reference material.
• Your Dissertation supervisor to read and comment on copious drafts of your dissertation and correct your English.
• Your Dissertation supervisor to give you specific direction on the content of your work, or in general to take decisions on your behalf.
• Your Dissertation supervisor to state in advance of the examination of the dissertation as to whether it will pass.
• To change Dissertation supervisor without just cause. Problems should be raised with the dissertation co-ordinator

 
Remember: your Dissertation supervisor (along with another member of staff) is also your examiner and as such must restrict their input into your work.

4.5  Meeting Deadlines

The deadlines specified in the manual are set to assure that the dissertation moves forward in a timely fashion and that undue pressure is not placed on the student, dissertation supervisor, or other school staff.

4.6  Originality

It is the student’s responsibility to verify that the title and the approach of the dissertation are reasonably original. However, a student may not claim exclusive rights to a topic area.

4.7  Referencing

See Appendix C

Appendix A

NUBS Policy on Research Ethics and assessing fieldwork and travel risk and GDPR (2019/20)
The University has a duty of care to the human subjects of research carried out by students under its aegis and therefore needs to institute safeguards to ensure their interests are properly protected. In addition, the Business School needs to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and the protection of the University’s good name. You must not proceed with any empirical research until you have been granted approval by your supervisor. If you do not gain approval you cannot submit your dissertation. You risk failing the module if you have not gained the required approval. As soon as your supervisor has approved your forms (notified to you via email or through Blackboard), you may begin any fieldwork you are undertaking.
 
The following ethical approval form is based on the university’s ethics form that is used to identify high-risk projects that require full ethical review. Please note that student projects ought to be low-risk projects and generally must not be of a type that requires faculty ethics committee approval. Supervisors need to ensure that a project under their supervision does not have the potential to harm the participants, the student or the university. They should not sign off projects where there are doubts about this, as this may lead to a loss of insurance cover and/or the incurring of personal liabilities! Projects that are too risky need to be changed and/or specific safeguards need to be put in place to turn it into a low risk project. Supervisors need to assess the risk of a project as a whole. For example, the use of a gatekeeper is generally a factor that increases risk. However, if a student wants to survey all business schools students about an uncontroversial topic, he might need to use the programme secretaries to send out an email. Technically, this is use of a gatekeeper, but this case does not really raise ethical issues. The case is different if a student wants to interview employees in a firm where his father is HR director and would serve as a gatekeeper. This latter case is ethically problematic as it raises concerns that (a) the gatekeeper has a conflict of interest and (b) whether participants can really give consent voluntarily. It becomes more problematic if the topic of the project is employment relations and less problematic if the student asks questions about gardening. It should usually be possible to drastically reduce the risk of a project by putting some safeguards in place (such as altering the time and place of data collection). If any of the sub-questions in any section is answered affirmatively, supervisors will need to provide a written justification why the project as a whole is still low-risk at the end of the form.
Alterations to an approved project require further ethical approval. Unauthorised deviations from an approved project plan constitute research misconduct and – depending on severity – can lead to disciplinary consequences for students up to the expulsion from the programme.
In addition to this form please be aware that both fieldwork, including primary data collection, and travel requires appropriate risk assessments. Please consult the school’s fieldwork and travel policies for details. Please complete all sections of the form (this may just involve ticking “no” for the first question in each section). Some explanatory notes on specific points in these sections can be found on the following pages. Additional guidance on ethical approval as well as details on things like informed consent, etc. is available at: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/research/researchgovernance/ethics/
 
Guidance notes on specific sections (as of August 2015)
Note that these are specific guidance notes in relation to aspects likely to be relevant for NUBS projects. They will be updated in the future to reflect lessons learned from past projects. The general guidance can be found at: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/research/researchgovernance/ethics/
 
Project synopsis: Please be clear about aims and scope, proposed methods and where relevant details on data collection, participant recruitment, consent, briefing and debriefing. Please focus on the nuts and bolts here – for example, if a student wants to do an email survey, the form will need to state how he plans to obtain email addresses. If a student wants to ask people on the street, the form should state where, when and how this will happen.
Section 4. In the past this was often understood as “no research on the NHS”. This is not the case. Students can obviously use publicly available data on regional NHS spending and, say, regional morbidity rates for various diseases or use anonymised secondary data from, say, the Health Survey for England to look at health care usage.
Section 5 (e). This is not relevant in cases where the project involves only the analysis of secondary, anonymised data, such as, say, the study of victimisation using the British Crime Survey (available via the UK dataservice). It is relevant in all cases where respondents can be potentially identified and for all primary data collection, regardless of whether the student intends to anonymise the data later. There are also restricted use versions of otherwise available datasets covering more sensitive topics (such as the domestic violence modules on the British Crime Survey) – these should generally be avoided by students.
Section 6. Note that this is highly relevant for a lot of NUBS dissertations involving data collection abroad or for cases where data was collected in the UK and the student wants to return home to write up the dissertation. You will need to ensure that these data transfers do not fall foul of relevant data protection laws (in the case of the UK mainly the GDPR (2018) legislation). Whether data is sensitive will depend to some extent on the specific project and on local laws. Please be sensible with the definition of “commercial contract” or “license”. For example, most government data is technically released under the Open Government License. Clearly, this does not mean that students should avoid a project that regressed UK GDP against growth. Similarly, we have a subscription to Bloomberg data. This is clearly a commercial contract, but again this is not problematic. Please draw a line where violations of license conditions can cause harm to the student/the university (such as cases where data abuse can lead to more than trivial punishment or can restrict the university’s future access to data, i.e., where data abuse leads to a ban of all of the university’s users). Please also ensure that students are aware of any eventual conditions attached to data, for example, in relation to sharing the data with others.
Section 7. Please be aware that all international travel by students, inside or outside of the UK, needs to be risk-assessed by the student and signed off by supervisors. If the risk associated with a student conducting fieldwork in a specific country cannot be judged, the project should not be signed off.
 

NUBS Ethical approval form for student projects

SECTION 1: Applicant Details

 
SECTION 2: Project Details

 
SECTION 3: Project Type

 
If you ticked YES, please complete the remainder of the form and append a copy of the information sheet and consent form for your research.
If you ticked NO, please sign the form on the last page and submit it to your supervisor for sign-off.
 

 
If you ticked YES, please complete and append the risk assessment form ‘travel’.
If you ticked NO, please complete and append the risk assessment form ‘no travel’.
 
SECTION 4: NHS, Health & Social Care: Facilities, Staff & Patients
 

 
If you ticked YES, Please discuss alternative research questions / settings with your supervisor as a matter of urgency. The School does not support student projects involving patients of the NHS (or another health system in the UK or abroad) or their relatives.
If you ticked NO, please go to Section 5.
 
SECTION 5: Human Participants in a Non-Clinical Setting
 

 
If you ticked YES, please complete the sub-questions below and provide details.
If you ticked NO, please go to Section 6.
 

 
If you have answered YES to any of the sub-questions in Section 5, please provide details about the research, the issues that you have identified and the actions through which you seek to mitigate against them. Particular attention should be given to the procedures by which informed consent (the form should include the student’s and supervisor’s details to protect both researcher and interviewees) is sought and by which participants can withdraw from the research. Please append a copy of the information sheet and consent form for your project. The text box can be increased in size.
 

Please note that only low-risk projects are supported. Your supervisor may demand alterations to your research to ensure that it is low risk before being able to sign off this form.
 
Please continue with the Section 6.
 
SECTION 6: Data
 

 
If you ticked YES, please complete the sub-questions below.
If you ticked NO, please go to Section 7.
 

 
If you have answered YES to any of the sub-questions in Section 6, there is a presumption that dissertation/project proposals will need individual ethical clearance. This would normally be incorporated in the existing project/dissertation proposal approval process.  In addition, ensure that data management protocols are in place to conform with GDPR (2018) legislation. To comply with GDPR – ensure that all data is securely transferred via an encrypted USB when off-site, confidential, anonymous, the right to be forgotten and data will be destroyed post study. Similarly, if students are conducting lone interviews they should conform to the ‘Lone Worker’ protocol. The text box can be increased in size.
 
 
 

 
Please note that only low-risk projects are supported. Your supervisor may demand alterations to your research to ensure that it is low risk before being able to sign off this form.
 
Please continue with Section 7.
 
 
SECTION 7: International Projects
 

 
If you ticked YES, please complete the sub-questions below.
If you ticked NO, please go to Section 8.

 
If you have answered YES to any of the sub-questions in Section 7, please provide details about the research, the issues that you have identified and the actions through which you seek to mitigate against them. You should abide by the University’s ‘Lone Worker’ protocols in informing family or friends of your whereabouts when collecting data. Particular attention should be given to differing expectations between the UK and the country in question and any risks associated. The text box can be increased in size.
 
 

 
Please note that only low-risk projects are supported. Your supervisor may demand alterations to your research to ensure that it is low risk before being able to sign off this form.
 
Please continue with the Section 8.
 
 
SECTION 8: Declaration
 

 
 
SECTION 9: Supervisor sign-off and comments
If any of the sub-questions in Sections 5 to 7 has been answered with “yes”, please provide a written justification below as to why the project as a whole is still low-risk. Special attention should be given to the conduct of the research, particularly when human participants are involved, when a gatekeeper is required and/or the research takes place internationally. Details about discussions with the student about key ethical issues and their mitigation should also be provided here.
 

 
Please attach any risk assessment forms and other applicable documents (such as information sheet and consent form) and submit them for sign-off as advertised in the module guide.
 

Risk Assessment

In addition to the ethical approval form, you are required to complete one of the following two risk assessment forms. The first should be completed if the project does not require any travel outside the University. Other projects require the second, longer risk assessment to be completed. The form needs to be completed and submitted with the ethics approval form and the GDPR data assessment form (see later in document) along with the detailed research proposal.
 

Risk Assessment form – No travel outside University

Newcastle University Travel Risk Assessment

Travelling without appropriate risk assessment may prejudice subsequent insurance claims
Traveller

Add more rows for additional travellers
Emergency Contacts

 
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Travel Advice
What is the FCO travel advice for your destination(s)? For trips to more than one country please tick all the levels of travel advice which apply for all the countries you are planning to visit.

Itinerary
If travel and accommodation has been booked using Selective Travel Management or one of our preferred group travel agents the traveller only needs to complete the ’Summary of Travel and Meetings and Events’ sections on the next page. I confirm I have booked using Selective Travel Management or approved group travel agents ☐
 

Add additional lines as necessary

If accommodation changes whilst ‘in country’ please update risk assessment & share with School/ Institute ASAP

Add additional lines as necessary

 
Risk Assessment
When carrying out the risk assessment the following four hyperlinks will provide useful information:

• Occupational Health and Safety Service– University policy, guidance and risk assessment form
• UK Government Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)– country specific travel advice
• Control Risks– a more detailed travel advice service available at bottom of staff homepage
• UK Government – Travel Health Pro– country specific advice on all aspects of health and vaccinations

 
Approval
Traveller

The completed risk assessment form should be e-mailed to authorising staff member to provide an audit trail.
 
Authorised by (line manager, supervising academic, PVC)

 The authorising staff member should approve, refuse or modify risk assessment e.g. suggest further controls. A copy of the final risk assessment should be kept by the traveller/ travel authoriser and central location e.g. shared drive maintained by Unit office in case of emergency outside normal hours.
The final form that you need to complete relates to the University’s processes for complying with GDPR regulations. Below you will find further guidance on GDPR. After that, is the form that you are required to complete. This needs to be completed and submitted with the ethics approval form and the risk assessment form along with the detailed research proposal. Please create one document consolidating the three forms prior to uploading it.
 
Newcastle University Information Security Guidance (authored by Jason Bain, 6 February 2018)
 
Introduction to GDPR
What is GDPR?

1. What is the GDPR?
2. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new, Europe-wide law that replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK. It is part of the wider package of reform to the data protection landscape that includes the Data Protection Bill. The GDPR sets out requirements for how organisations will need to handle personal data from 25 May 2018.
3. The (UK) Data Protection Bill:
4. seeks to repeal the Data Protection Act 1998;
5. transposes the GDPR into UK law so it continues to have effect in UK after the UK leaves the EU;
6. applies GDPR standards to additional areas of processing not covered by the GDPR and EU law (e.g. the processing of unstructured manual files by public authorities);
7. gives effect to the EU Law Enforcement Directive.
8. Who does the GDPR apply to?
9. The GDPR applies to ‘controllers’ and ‘processors’.
10. In the vast majority of cases the University acts as a data controller.
11. A controller determines the purposes and means of processing personal data.

iii. A processor is responsible for processing personal data on behalf of and at the direct instruction of a controller.

1. As a processor, the GDPR places specific legal obligations on you; for example, you are required to maintain records of personal data and processing activities. You will have legal liability if you are responsible for a breach.
2. As a controller, you are not relieved of your obligations where a processor is involved – the GDPR places further obligations on you to ensure your contracts with processors comply with the GDPR.
3. The GDPR applies to processing carried out by organisations operating within the EU. It also applies to organisations outside the EU that offer goods or services to individuals in the EU.

vii. The GDPR does not apply to certain activities including processing covered by the Law Enforcement Directive, processing for national security purposes and processing carried out by individuals purely for personal/household activities.

1. What information does the GDPR apply to?
2. Personal data
3. The GDPR applies to ‘personal data’ meaning any information relating to an identifiable person who can be directly or indirectly identified in particular by reference to an identifier.
4. This definition provides for a wide range of personal identifiers to constitute personal data, including name, identification number, location data or online identifier, reflecting changes in technology and the way organisations collect information about people.
5. The GDPR applies to both automated personal data and to manual filing systems where personal data are accessible according to specific criteria. This could include chronologically ordered sets of manual records containing personal data.
6. Personal data that has been pseudonymised – e.g. key-coded – can fall within the scope of the GDPR depending on how difficult it is to attribute the pseudonym to a particular individual.
7. Sensitive personal data
8. The GDPR refers to sensitive personal data as “special categories of personal data” (Article 9).
9. The special categories specifically include genetic data, and biometric data where processed to uniquely identify an individual.
10. Personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences are not included, but similar extra safeguards apply to its processing (Article 10).
11. ICO Principles
12. Under the GDPR, the data protection principles set out the main responsibilities for organisations such as the University.
13. Article 5 of the GDPR requires that personal data shall be:
14. processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals;
15. collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes;

iii. adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed;

1. accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay;
2. kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals; and
3. processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures.
4. Article 5(2) requires that:
5. The controller shall be responsible for, and be able to demonstrate, compliance with the principles.
6. At Newcastle University
7. The NUIT Information Security Team has lead responsibility for providing guidance and advice related to GDPR;
8. As a public authority the University must appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who:
9. Assists in monitoring internal compliance;
10. inform and advise on data protection obligations;

iii. provides advice regarding Data Protection Impact Assessments; and

1. acts as a contact point for data subjects and the supervisory authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioners Office).

A member of the NUIT Information Security Team is nominated as the University’s DPO (see http://www.ncl.ac.uk/data.protection/PrivacyNotice.htm for the current nominee). The DPO is independent, an expert in data protection and reports on data protection matters directly to the University’s Senior Information Risk Owner, the Registrar.

1. Working with academic and service units across the University NUIT Information Security Team coordinates responses to individuals who have rights under GDPR.
2. Guidance and process information regarding the rights of individuals under the GDPR as well as the legal bases available for processing personal data are available on the University’s intranet site.
3. At the time of writing, the UK’s Data Protection Bill has not completed all of its parliamentary stages nor received Royal Assent, and hence guidance on the UK’s derogations under the GDPR, or any subsequent changes to the Bill that apply solely to the UK are subject to change. Updated guidance, as well as a summary of the changes will be published when it is available.

GDPR DATA MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT

Appendix B (example Contents page)

 
Table of Contents
 
Title Page                                                                                                                     i
List of Tables                                                                                                                ii
List of Figures                                                                                                               iii
Acknowledgements                                                                                                       iv
Abstract                                                                                                                        v
Abbreviations                                                                                                                vi
 
Chapter 1 Introduction
 
1.1        Purpose of the Study                                                                                        1
1.2        Methods of Analysis                                                                                         3
1.3        Plan of Work                                                                                                     5
1.4        Data Sources                                                                                                    7
1.5        Synopsis of dissertation                                                                                                9
 
Chapter 2 Literature Review
 
2.1        The need for risk management in business                                                         11
2.2        Theoretical approaches to risk management                                                       17
 
Other Chapters
 
Chapter X – Conclusions
 
X.1       Overview of the process                                                                                                70
X.2       Recommendations                                                                                            74
X.3       Opportunities for further research                                                                       78
 
References
 
Appendices
 
A          Interview schedule for interviews
B          Names, dates, times of interviews
C          Sample transcript of interview
 
 

Appendix C –  The Harvard Referencing System

Using Harvard References in the Text itself
 
In the text, if you summarise what an author has said in your own words, you need only reference the author’s surname and the year of publication of the book or article concerned e.g. Walters (1989). However if a book is lengthy and you are referring to an argument in one chapter or even a page number, rather than the whole book, you should add the chapter or page number in addition e.g. Walters (1989 Chap.1) or Walters (1989 p.325).  A brief paragraph illustrating this approach is as follows:
 
Walters (1989 Chap.1) argues that the deregulation of public service broadcasting has lead to a decline in programme choice for viewers.  This view is contested by Veljanovski (1989).  However, in the specific area of news it finds support in claims made by Murdock (1990:22).
 
If you quote directly from a book or journal and you want to quote only a few words you do so as follows within the text of your essay:
 
It has been argued that ‘currently the most dynamic approach to media reform is inspired by classical neo-liberalism of the “free” market’ (Curran 1988:16).
 
If you quote directly from a book or journal and want to quote a slightly longer piece to assist your argument you would normally indent the quote and of course refer to the page number from the source thus:
 
Industrial democracy in the press can be implemented directly by statute.  Alternatively it could be encouraged in new ventures through the terms of reference of the media enterprise board. (Curran 1988: 24).
 
Do not use direct quotes unnecessarily, but they are useful if they add to the significance of your argument, and are not too lengthy.
 
If you refer to more than one work by the same author in the same year you can distinguish between the works by using the suffix a, b etc., thus Turner (1990a), Turner (1990b). Where authors have the same surname you will need to give their first initial to distinguish them, thus Turner V. (1991), Turner B. (1991).
 

• Footnotes

There are a number of different academic styles for footnotes (numbered notes at the foot of the page) and endnotes (numbered notes at the end of the essay).  Footnotes are generally easier for the reader and thus also the marker and examiner. You should use either footnotes or endnotes, not both.
 
You should not use footnotes simply to cite a single reference. Although such a style is used in many academic books and journals, it does not fit well with the Harvard system, which is designed for references given in the text.
 
You should use footnotes or endnotes sparingly and generally only to say something additional which cannot sensibly be incorporated in the text. Examples might be:
(a) To mention an additional implication or issue which is interesting but not directly relevant to the current argument;
(b) To give further informative details, for instance the background to a piece of research, which again is useful but not directly relevant;
(c) To give a long list of references – this should in any case generally be avoided, with references given for discrete points or arguments.
 
 
 
A Harvard List of References at the End of a Text
 
At the end of your dissertation on separate sheets titled References you list all the full references alphabetically by author’s surname using the following rules. Do not show separate lists for books and journals; all references used should be given in the same list.
 

• When there is more than one work by the same author, order these works by the date of publication in ascending order (thus 1994, 1995 etc.).
• Where there is more than one work by an author in the same year, order thus 1990a, 1990b etc. within each year.
• As in the case of the ‘Turners’ above the initial will be used to decide alphabetic priority in the reference list, thus Turner B., would come before Turner V.
• If there is more than one author then the references are listed alphabetically by the first author.
• Single authored works by a particular author are all placed before multiple authored works by the same author, overriding date of publication, thus Kleinman (1985) would come before Kleinman and Good (1983). But if there are several single or multiple authored works then they are ordered within ascending date order WITHIN each group, thus the order would go Kleinman (1985), Kleinman (1986), then Kleinman and Good (1983), Kleinman and Helman (1982).

• In the unlikely event that a bibliography is needed to indicate the additional reading you have undertaken but not referred to in the text, this should be placed on a separate sheet headed Bibliography.

 
 
 
More Information on Compiling a Harvard Reference List
 
 
The Sequence of Information Required in Referencing a Book
 

• First, author’s surname followed by initials. The convention is that you use the author’s name exactly as s/he has used it in her/his book. If there are more than three authors, use the first author and initials followed by et al, although if there are three or fewer authors all should be named.
• If the author(s) edited the book, put (Ed.) or (Eds.) after their names
• Second, year of publication (in brackets).
• Third, title of work (in full, including any sub-title) – use bold type, or underlining, or italics to make the title stand out, and choose only ONE of these methods for each reference list you compile.
• Fourth, edition of the work if there has been more than one.
• Fifth, title of collection or series if it belongs to one, and the volume number.
• Sixth, place of publication (use the British one if there are multiple places mentioned).
• Seventh, publisher’s name.

 
 
 
Examples
 
Weick, Karl E. (1995) Sensemaking in organizations, London: Sage
 
Westwood, R. & Clegg, S. (Eds.) (2003) Debating Organization: Point-Counterpoint in Organization Studies Oxford: Blackwell
 
Barker M. (1984) The Video Nasties: Freedom and Censorship in the Media London: Pluto.
 
Thompson, P. and McHugh, D. (2002) Work Organisations: A Critical Introduction, 3^rd Edition London: Palgrave.
 
 
The Sequence of Information Required in Referencing an Article
 

• First, author’s surname, followed by initials. If there are more than three authors, use the first author and initials followed by et al, although if there are three or fewer authors all should be named. If the author is unknown (for instance a non-attributed editorial or news report in a newspaper or magazine), then list the newspaper or magazine title as the author.
• Second, year of publication (in brackets)
• Third, title of the article in lower case characters apart from the first word, and also in single quotation marks. Do NOT use bold type, italics or underlining for the title of an article.
• Fourth, the title of the journal in full, using bold type, underlining or italics. Use whichever system you have used for book titles, do NOT use two different systems (e.g. underlining and bold) in the same reference list.
• Fifth, volume number of journal and issue number within volume. It is sometimes helpful, although not absolutely necessary to include a date or month when the issue was published (thus Vol. 80 No. 6 September 5). If referencing an article or news item from a newspaper or magazine, always give the date of publication (day, week or month).
• Sixth, the number of the first and last page numbers of the article.

 
Examples
 
Smircich, Linda (1983), “Concepts of culture and organization analysis”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 28(3), pp. 339-58.
 
Willmott, H. (1993) “Strength is ignorance, slavery is freedom: managing culture in modern organizations”, Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 30(4), pp 515-52
 
Knights, D. & Morgan, G (1991) “Strategic discourse and subjectivity: Towards a critical analysis of corporate strategy in organisations” Organization Studies Vol. 12 (3), pp 251-273.
 
Financial Times (2002) ‘Shining light down dark tunnels’, Editorial, Monday November 11^th 2002, page 22.
 
Remember that, as with book titles, the name of a journal is either underlined, put in bold, or italicised.  Again, choose only ONE method (the same as for book titles) and stick to it.
 
 
 
The Sequence of Information Required in Referencing an Article in a Book
 
Social science articles often appear in edited collections in books; they are referenced in the following way.
 

• First, surname of the article’s author followed by initials. If there are more than three authors, use the first author and initials followed by et al, although if there are three or fewer authors all should be named.
• Second, year of publication of the edited book (in brackets).
• Third, the title of the article in lower case characters apart from the first word, and also in single quotation marks. Do NOT use bold type, underlining or italics here.
• Fourth put ‘In’ and then the surname of the book’s editor followed by initials. The convention is that you use the editor’s name exactly as s/he has used it in her/his book. If there are more than three editors, use the first editor and initials followed by et al, although if there are three or fewer all editors all should be named.
• Fifth, the Editor or Editors (in brackets) thus (Ed.) or (Eds.).
• Sixth, the title of edited book (in full including any sub-title) – use bold type, or underlining, or italics to make the title stand out, and choose only ONE of these methods for each reference list you compile.
• Seventh, the edition of the work if there has been more than one.
• Eighth, the title of collection or series if it belongs to one, and the volume number.
• Ninth, the place of publication (use the British one if there are multiple places mentioned).
• Tenth, the publisher’s name.
• Eleventh, the first and last pages of the article in the edited book.

 
 
Examples
 
Robinson I. (1990) ‘Clinical trials and the collective ethic’ In Weisz G. (Ed.) Social Science Perspectives on Medical Ethics Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press pp.19-40
 
Nichols B. (1986) ‘Questions of magnitude’ in Corner J. (Ed.) Documentary and the Mass Media London: Edward Arnold pp. 107-124
 
Adams P. (1994) ‘The three (dis)graces)’ In Bal M. And Boer I (Eds.) The Point of Theory Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam Press pp. 232-38
 
Secondary Referencing

• When you make use of a reference that is quoted in the work of another author, and you have the full reference to the original, you must cite both references. Thus you give the original reference, and say ‘cited in’ and give the full reference where the citation occurred.

• In general it is bad practice to use secondary sources, apart from being a rather lazy and suspect way of deriving evidence for an argument. It may be the case that the citations are incorrect and this has, on occasion, led to a sequence of errors originating from one incorrect citation which has then been perpetuated by other authors who have not checked the original themselves. In any case the secondary interpretation of an original source may not be one that you would agree with on re-reading the original.

 
 
Referencing Institutional Reports and Publications

• Works that are not the responsibility of an individual should be listed under the name of the organisation concerned, e.g. Department of Trade and Industry (1999)/Age Concern (1990)/Department of Health and Social Security (1993)/THERIP (1990)/CFAR (1999).  For the purposes of referencing, these should be considered to be books with an institutional author, and placed alphabetically in the reference list at the end of your written work.

 
 
Referencing Electronic Documents

• Increasingly often it is useful to refer to electronic documents in written work (with due caution about the quality of unreferenced publications like web sites). Electronic documents might be World Wide Web pages, contributions to newsgroups or bulletin boards, or files made available by the author for downloading from the Internet. As with conventionally published documents, it is crucial to give reference information for electronic documents in a standard and complete fashion. You should choose a standard way of citing electronic documents which, as far as possible, would enable a reader to trace that document. A number of different standard schemes for referencing electronic documents have been developed. You can find links to some of these at http://www.ifla.org/I/training/citation/citing.htm

• One particular problem which can arise with web pages is that the information you have is incomplete: there may be no author or publication date. In these cases you should give information which is as complete as possible. If the date is missing you can at least give the date on which you accessed the page: readers will then at least know the page was produced before that date.

• Here are three examples of common situations when citing electronic documents.
• A WWW page with no date

Morgan, Gareth (no date) Strategic Termites: The Power of Self-Organization, available at
                        http://www.imaginiz.com/provocative/organize/termites.html
[Accessed Sept. 18^th 2004]
 

• An electronic journal article

Robbins, Peter (2004) ‘Global Visions and Globalizing Corporations: An Analysis of Images and Texts from Fortune Global 500 Companies’  Sociological Research Online, vol. 9, no. 2, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/9/2/robbins.html  [Accessed Sept. 18^th 2004]
 

• An online Working or Discussion paper

Bolton, Sharon (2003) “Introducing A Typology Of Workplace Emotion” Lancaster University Management School Working Paper Series No. 2003/064   http://www.lums.co.uk/publications/viewpdf/209/  [accessed Sept 19^th 2004]
 
Remember, if you have any problem over referencing, that the object of the process is to provide as accurate a means as possible for someone else to locate the exact source of material you are using.  This way you cannot go far wrong.
 

Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order now and Get 10% Discount! Use Coupon Code "Newclient"

Running Mate Ltd
 
 
 
Table of contents
Executive summary…………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
Business details………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
What we do and how we do it…………………………………………………………………….. 3
Business background………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Our goal/mission………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Our strategy………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
Current team……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
Market analysis………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Competitor analysis……………………………………………………………………………………. 9
SWOT analysis and strategy………………………………………………………………………… 9
Marketing strategy……………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Financial plan…………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
References………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
 
 
 
 

Executive summary

Our business is called Running Mate. We are offering running errands services, community service and barter service. Our three ideal customers are those who work from home, new mothers and the elderly in retirement villages and the disabled. We are trying to develop a blue ocean strategy in a red ocean market. Therefore, the core competitiveness of our platform is customization and localization. We pursue customized services to meet the needs of individuals and communities.
Our value proposition is established in the sharing economy. For example, we take advantage of network technology and the concept of the sharing economy to build a social platform that matches the needs of people who want to sell their free time to those who need help. We want our platform to really help and support their communities, which is also the social responsibility. Besides, we are also proposing another very important concept: Barter service. People can volunteer to help with requests from other people in your community, like when someone needs to mow the lawn, you help them, and then you get a credit. You can use this credit to post what you need on the platform. We do not make profit in this mode.
In terms of revenue stream, we adopt two kinds of business: the first is the normal business based on running errands services and outsourcing services. Our revenue comes from commissions paid by our customers. In terms of cost, our Running Mate focuses on asset-light and low fixed cost models. We don’t need warehousing, we don’t need to buy our own vehicles, and we don’t need a large office space. All we need is a small office space and the basic service cost of building a platform and maintaining the platform. In terms of human capital cost, we will prefer to employ people less full-time and more part-time and we will share our Commission revenue with our Running Mate.

Business details

What we do and how we do it

Our business is called Running Mate. We provide errand services, community services and barter services. The three ideal customers for our company are people working at home, new mothers and elderly people in retirement villages and disabled people. The value of our platform brand proposition is established in the era of the prevalence of the sharing economy and great demand in contemporary society. The sharing economy is a new type of economic format, which is based on the maturity of mobile Internet information technology.
On the other hand, the core competitiveness of our platform is customization and localization. We pursue tailor-made services to meet the needs of individuals and communities. The value proposition we established on the sharing economy, for example, we use network technology and the concept of sharing economy to build a social platform that can meet the necessaries of those who want to sell their free time to those in need. Our services are divided into running errands, community services, and barter services. In addition to helping people pick up or deliver any goods, community service is vital to our platform. We have found that community life and connection are important to New Zealanders. Simple interpersonal relationships and neighborhood mutual assistance are an important foundation for maintaining the peace of New Zealander.
However, in modern society, due to the lack of efficiency and management of community services and the increasingly dense apartment construction, it is difficult for people to have opportunities to communicate with their neighbors. They lack a dedicated channel to put forward their demands, or it is difficult to find efficient institutions to solve their necessaries. Therefore, for daily community services, we provide daily cleaning, maintenance and other fee-based services. We also put forward another very important concept: barter service. People can voluntarily help other people in your community’s requests. For example, when someone needs to mow the lawn, you
can help them, and then you can get honor. You can use this point to publish the content you need on the platform. We will not make a profit in this model. The reason is that what we want is to break the stereotypes and bring closer the relationship between people through such a cooperative exchange service model. We hope that we can build a warm social platform.
From the perspective of industry competition, we are the first such service provider in Hamilton. We can offer customers diversified services, pay more attention to save customer’s time, and provide running errands, innovative community services and barter services to improve the quality of life for people.

Business background

Business history
Our company name is Running Mate Ltd. We issued our business and company in Hamilton in 2020, Oct. Our business is including six founders, we are sharing the same stake of 16.7% each of us. Our initial investment is 10,000 NZD per person. Total initial investment will be 60,000 NZD. Our full-time jobs in the first year will be ourselves in order to save operating fees.
We are a social service platform that offers three main core services: Running errands service, community service and barter service.
Current position
Our company currently mainly focuses on the Hamilton market. It will be one of our strengths due to there being no direct competitors in Hamilton so far. We are beginning with taking self-employees. Our six founders, we take ourselves as full-time jobs. It reduces our labor cost and allows us to have more expenditure on developing our products. Meanwhile, we will also hire some part-time employees, we take them as our partners, and we share our profit with them. Our initial capital is overall 60,000 NZD, comes from our 6 founders. So, we do not borrow any capital from third parties. We do not owe money. Besides, our intellectual property cost is quite low, we will purchase 3 laptops for operating in the first year. In the first year operating, we are seeking 10% of market share. Our first year turnover forecast will be 60,000 NZD. And net profit will be 3,888 NZD.

Our goal/mission

Our final goal is after 5 years’ growth, our marketing share could reach 50% percent of our ideal customers market in Hamilton. Annual turnover could reach out around 20 % growth starting from second year. And our final existing strategy is buying-out by giant internet companies with 1,000,000 NZD dollars acquisition fee.

Our strategy

To achieve our goals, we have to put lots of effort into keeping our company operating well in these five-years. We use barter service to attract more potential customers. In the future, with the model becoming more mature and more users beginning to use our platform, it will not only increase the loyalty of our customers but also enhance the users’ viscosity. This is what we want to achieve in the end.  In order to gain our edge to market, we should focus on developing customization and localization. These two are our core competitiveness. We also need to look for differentiation with other competitors, try to develop a blue ocean marketing strategy in a red ocean market.
We will continue to pay attention to the improvement and expansion of our business. We aim to increase the consuming experience both for our end users and employees. Such as optimizing our ordering system according to our current operational experience, designing subsidy promotion to our running mates. Meanwhile, we are going to continue to expand our customer group. We will provide more personal services for the particular customer group, such as one-parent family, and the Dual-employee family. We will also cooperate with SMBs, such as small grocery shops, restaurants, retirement villages to help them carry the delivery and pick up services in order to save their labor costs.

Current team

Mentors, consultants, advisors and other outside help

 
Retention, engagement and recruitment policies and practices
We treat our employees as our partners, not just an employment relationship. We are using the sharing economy. We would like to share a bigger portion of profit with our employees. So that increases our employees’ loyalty to our organization.
We are creating an agreement with our employees. Transparency, comprehensive one, makes our employees know every detail of our partnerships. It helps us to build trust relationships with our employees too. We are also going to increase our subsidy to our employees in the next following years. We would like to give their compensation for their petrol, insurance, fine and etc. We hope that we could build an interdependence relationship with our employees, in order to decrease the high staff turnover in this kind of industry.

Market analysis

• Customer segmentation

Our Market is based on Hamilton.

• Working from home, more people prefer working from home after COVID-19.
• New Mums, there are 2445 new babies born in 2019 in Hamilton (Stats NZ, 2019).
• The elderly and The Disabled

There are 16,155 elderly people over 65 years old in Hamilton (Stats NZ, 2013).
There are 1,440 people with mobility difficulties, accounting for 8.6% of Hamilton’s total population.
 

• Market share estimated:

Competitor analysis

 
The shortcomings of the competitors

• Customers cannot place orders directly through websites or apps conveniently, and online information is more used for information collection of both parties with service needs.
• Customers cannot get the required service price directly from the website.

SWOT analysis and strategy

 
Our Strengths is we will be the first, this kind of service provider in Hamilton, no direct
competitors. Another strength is the diversified services we could offer: Running errands
service, community service and the barter service. However, because of we are the first
entrant in the Hamilton market. It will be hard for us to collect the enough data for
analyzing this new market.
But this weakness is also accompanied by opportunities: Our three ideal customers in Hamilton need this kind of service we provide, especially in Post-COVID time. Because what services people get in Hamilton so far is not centralized and customized enough.
In terms of the threats. There are already have some existing competitors in New Zealand, which offering the similar services with ours, they would come into Hamilton one day and become our competitors.
Strategy
Strengths Opportunities Strategy
So, our strategy under Strengths and opportunities is we should not fall common. We should focus on developing customization and localization. These two are our core competitiveness.
Strengths Threats Strategy
As for Strength and threats. We need to look for differentiation with other competitors, try to develop a blue ocean marketing strategy in a red ocean market.

Marketing strategy

• Customer centered services
• Effective and efficient services
• Productive partnership

We use this service to attract more potential customers. In the future, with the model becoming more mature and more users beginning to use our platform, we will not only increase the loyalty of our customers but also enhance the users’ viscosity. This is what we want to achieve in the end. Our social responsibility is to make the society more efficient and sustainable. We want our platform to really support Kiwi’s life.
Besides, regarding the advertisements we planned. We will use online ways, like social media, website and broadcast. Customers could receive the promotional information timely. We will also go for offline ways to seek customers. Such as flyer, posters as well as the regular roadshow and field trip to retirement villages are also good options for us to communicate with customers.

 Financial plan

The main revenue stream of the Running mates is through the Delivery Mates Service Agreements with end-users, drivers. The Running Mate comes into mate’s service contracts with running mates and institutions to use this Platform.
Mates Service Agreements
The Mates Service Agreement (MSA) defines the service fees that the company charges for each transaction for running mates and organization. The runners and organizations agree to perform the running as requested by the end-user upon accepting a transaction. Combined with the MSA, the acceptance of transaction requests sets out enforceable rights and obligations for each transaction. There is an agreement between the Corporation and the Runners. An agreement has been reached between the Company and Runners and individuals after a transaction request is accepted. The runners and organizations have the right to cancel the transaction lapses. End-users have unrestricted access to the network, and end-users are not responsible for the company’s success. As a result, these same end-users are not the company’s consumers. The role of the Company for Runnings and shipment transactions is to provide the service of the Runners and company to enable end-users with a good trip or home delivery.
Before its transfer to the end-user, the Running Mate does not pre-purchase. Running mate will obtain control over the goods or services of the Runners. The Running Mate does not direct Runners to conduct transactions on the Company’s behalf. And Runners have the sole right to eliminate a requirement for purchase and, the Company does not integrate services provided by Running Mate.
The Running Mate reviews other specific functions for understanding the agents. The Running Mate is not responsible for all the transactions, The Company has no inventory, so the dangers associated with is not applicable in the business. The company fixes the price for the running and delivery of the services and goods. Many market risks are avoided by such a way of doing business.
Running mates are the receivers of the business. The money to the Business is received from the end customer of the delivery. The Business earns a sluggish revenue in the first year due to the satisfaction and execution of the deal. Running buddy becomes an advocate for end-users and an entity that needs the aid of a runner to fix their problems. So sometimes, the running mate earns money from 30% of the order if, in the first year, the net income for the company is $60,000 if the money of 200,000 is required to achieve the net income. If the order, we receive on a day is thirty-seven, then the predicted order quantity is 1111 for a month and 13,333 for the first year. We hold a bare minimum of $15 per order, then the estimated sum can be reached. So, the company, therefore, thinks that there may be a possibility of refunding. Sometimes the end customer is disappointed.
Revenue recognition
The company shall derive its revenue mainly from running buddies and associations that use this Platform and other operations, such as the involvement of end-users in orders. The demand for the end-users is to be acknowledged by the runners to allow the income. There is communication between the end customer and the running mate. Running buddy is still analyzing new revenue platforms. Both transactions both orders by consumers from the data gathered. This business model is executed until the enterprise has been verified by the battery framework through the sharing economy concept.
Runs
To meet the revenue forecast, the Company collects 30% on each purchase. The processes are related to the operation and the openness of the drivers to consider the customer’s request. To obtain the commission from the end customers, it is important to complete the ride. The drivers are runners in front of the company.
The premium of 30% is the amount paid additionally after the purchase of the good, which means that the end customer needs to compensate for the service and payment of the goods. The service fee shall be paid in the accounts within a limited period. There will also be no funds receivable by the close of the financial year.
In such situations, there is an opportunity for end-users to pay in cash rather than by online accounts. Calculations are not counted and would be considered an advantage for the driver.  Because online transfer is the best way to receive the money from the client. To monitor the cash payment, a new method is to be implemented to fix the problem. Uncollected payments are shown in the budget, which will not be included in the cash inflow outflow figures. It would be deemed to be a credit.
Delivery
The business gets its benefits primarily from the fee of 30 percent of each sale. Running buddy and end-users use the portal to complete the approved and received orders.
Other Operations
Other operations consist of the batter system and, the shared economy concept is no revenue generated here.
Other Technology Programs
The Company will make use of the technology in the future for the development of cloud-based service control and allocation of the drivers and location.
Income Taxes
The company is considering the tax. The effects of tax variations in the future are also a matter of risk to the company. The forecast finds certain differences in the mission in the sentence. All future projected revenue, toll revenue, is calculated in the 5-year forecast.
Equipment
As of 2021 to 2025, the components of as follows: For mobile app and website, 20% depreciation is calculated each year. And for the website maintenance, the same percentage is counted into account.
Expenses
A brief description of company expenses is mentioned below.
Wages First year no wages second-year wages are $ 2,000 per month, then third-year $ 3,000 per month, fourth-year $ 4,000 per month. Rent $ 9,600 in the first year and $30,000 in the second year and increases 10% from the second year. Electronic Devices $3000, These figures include the charges as assets-depreciation 5 years, depreciation $600/year. Mobile App and Website Maintenance The first year we use free software available in the market the second year onwards a $ 20,000 and an increase of 10% up to 26,620 in 2025.
Advertising expenses totalled $ 10.000, $ 20,000, and $ 26,000, $33,800, $43,940 for the five years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Refunds and credits to end-users totaled $ 43,940. General administration shall consist of legal fees and correspondence charges, insurance costs and financial matters. The Senior Management Committee and the Management of Staff shall be reserved for the years to come in the second year.
Depreciation
Depreciation is considered primarily for electronic products such as laptops and other accessories associated with it $600 is reduced from the statements to make it correct and achievable.
Investment
Initial Capital: $60,000, $10,000/ person. $300,000 Venture capital. Shares distribution 80%, 20%. $60000 for the first year, 6 of us are investing together. After 5 years, they’ll get $200,000 back. Because we sell goodwill and data for 1000000 dollars to someone. The first year’s total operating profit is 432000, 518400 in the second year, and 622080 in the third year, which means 20 percent profit every year. The internal rate of return is 375%. More than 100 percent of the NPV.
Goodwill and Intangible assets
In the second year, the Company will determine its operating things. The change in operating and reportable segments will result in the goodwill generated from upcoming acquisitions and the new developments.
Cost forecast – money out
The cash outflow of operating activities is Expenses are mainly wage, rent, software, and hardware. Paychecks: In the first year, there are no wages; second-year wages are $ 2,000 per month, then third-year $ 3,000 per month, and the fourth year is $ 4,000 per month. Rent $ 9,600 in the first year and $30,000 in the second year and increases 10% from the second year. Electronic Devices $3000, these figures include the charges as assets-depreciation 5 years, depreciation $600/year. Mobile App and Website Maintenance The first year, we use free software available in the market the second year onwards a $ 20,000 and an increase of 10% up to 26,620 in 2025.

 
Revenue forecast – money in
The inflow from operating activities. The Company’s primary revenue is through delivery. The organization acknowledges the sales only after the sale is concluded. The primary income of the company is 30 percent of the commission that comes with each sale. Runners receive the items and transport them to the site and site. Revenue is received after the commodity has been paid to the company that has been bought.

Cash flow from financing activities is an investment of $ 60.000 in the first year and the Venture capital $90,000 in 2022 in the second year and 45,000 for the third and fourth years.
 
Break-even forecast

 
Profit and loss forecast

 
Cash flow forecast
The cash outflow of operating activities is Expenses are mainly waging, rent, software, and hardware. Wages: In the first year, there are no wages; second-year wages are $ 2,000 per month, then the third year $ 3,000 per month, and the fourth year is $ 4,000 per month. Rent $ 9,600 in the first year and $30,000 in the second year and increases 10% from the second year. Electronic Devices $3000. These figures include the charges as assets-depreciation 5 years, depreciation $600/year. Mobile App and Website Maintenance The first year, we use free software available in the market the second year onwards a $ 20,000 and an increase of 10% up to 26,620 in 2025.Cash flow from financing activities is an investment of $ 60.000 in the first year and the Venture capital $90,000 in 2022 in the second year and 45,000 for the third and fourth year.

 
Balance sheet forecast

References

Status NZ. (2013). Population by age group in Hamilton City, New Zealand. Figure. NZ. https://figure.nz/chart/3pRQhmIcVu2QCTlm-75WBAmh11EmQD0tL
Status NZ. (2019). Babies born in Hamilton City, New Zealand. Figure. NZ. https://figure.nz/chart/2IHZyVDwywc2c2zo-mNSHpNiTD2eqnlsk
 
 

Looking for a Similar Assignment? Order now and Get 10% Discount! Use Coupon Code "Newclient"