Proposals Final

8/8/2019 Proposals Final

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Marketing public relations

Example 1.

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Reaching for the stars: Implementing world class manufacturing at Company X. Nice

title!!

Background.

In 2006 during my diploma stage I completed an assignment on managing quality and

business improvements, asking the question Is quality a driver for sustainable competitive

advantage?try and write in the 3rd person and avoid I.

Within the assignment I looked at various quality systems and what understanding the blue

collar workforce had of them. The initiatives were Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Right First

Time, Work books Test specifications, Shaping the Future, P.A.I.N. and ISO 9001) The

results showed that although Company X had invested time and training into all of the

initiatives, (punctuation)from the sample of the work force taken 40.7%, mention numbers

as well as %, either did not know what the initiatives were or did not see them as being

beneficial to the organisation. When questioned (by who, when, how?)employees argued

that there are too many initiatives being implemented at Company X thus resulting in

confusion. Some of the initiatives have not been passed down to all employees leading to a

lack of knowledge throughout the workforce. The staff also felt that some of the initiatives

were started with a big fan fare but as pressure mounted to meet schedules and sale days,

the initiatives were put to one side and getting vehicles off site at all cost became the No1

priority.

In 2006 World Class Manufacturing (WCM) was launched throughout the Company X

manufacturing group world wide and the Derby site is currently looking at successfully

implementing WCM throughout the production areas. Consider briefly what are the

strategic benefits that WCM will bring to BT why are they doing this??


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WCM Incorporates all of the quality systems listed above and is a way of standardising all

production processes world wide within Company X. A definition can be found on

www.smthacker.co.uk/world_class_manufacturing.

World Class Manufacturers are those that demonstrate industry best practice. To achieve

this, companies should attempt to be best in the field at each of the competitive priorities

(quality, price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and innovation). Organisations

should therefore aim to maximise performance in these areas in order to maximise

competitiveness. The priorities will change over time and must therefore be reviewed

As a test manager I will be responsible for the performance of my test team and thus, it is

vital that I fully understand all the principals and training required to achieve the desired

standards of WCM. This report will look at how is WCM being implemented, have the

workforce received sufficient training and what measurements are in place to monitor

WCM. (is this the aim of the research if so is it manageable? Is it feasible? Is it

achieveable?)

OBJECTIVES

16 Research and critically analyse the literature on the implementation of World Class

manufacturing.

17 Critically evaluate the current methodology used at Company X to implement World

Class Manufacturing.

18 Critically analyse Company X KPIs on World class Manufacturing.

19 To draw conclusions as to whether World Class Manufacturing is being implemented

successfully amongst Company X blue collar workers.

20 To propose recommendations to improve the implementation of WCM amongst BT

blue-collar staff.

Ive fiddled with the wording of Objectives a little you may wish to consider these?


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Also youll probably fiddle again as you do your LitRev.


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RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

In order to asses the implementation of World Class Manufacturing I (please remember 3rd

person)will source secondary information from various publications located within libraries,

the internet and journals, (So what key theories and concepts do you need to relate toin order to understand this subject more effectively?, you need to show the reader an

initial appreciation of the theories)some of which can be found listed in the bibliography

at the end of this proposal. *(SEE EARLIER COMMENT THIS IS NOT

SATISFACTORY YOU MUST DISCUSS THE BASIC KEY THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

AND CITE USING THE HARVARD SYSTEM)Other information will be sourced using

Company X existing documentation, literature and the organisations own intranet.

Primary data will be collected through the form of a questionnaire based on the

understanding of world class manufacturing amongst the workforce at Company Xs Derby

site.

Quantitative data will be collated through existing information gathered, including man

hours taken per vehicle, number of defects per vehicle; scores achieved using the WCM

score cards and a questionnaire. (just clarify how this will help your analysis)

Qualitative data will be collated through conversations and meeting with staff in relations

to what understanding of World Class Manufacturing they have. (what formats? focus

groups, interviews etc be a little more specific)

Is there any merit in also seeking the views of management about these issues to see

if there is any accord or gaps?

You need to support your suggestions from secondary data eg from Bryman and Bell,

Saunders et al etc.

Justify your choice of research tools in relation to what you are hoping to achieve.

What resources will you need?

OUTLINE OF STRUCTURE (not necessary)


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21 Title page.

22 Acknowledgements and thanks.

23 Contents.

24 Table and Figures.

25 Introduction.

26 Literature review.

27 Methodology.

28 Research and Analysis.

29 Conclusions and recommendations.

30 Bibliography

31 Appendices

I would have expected to see a reference page here from some of the books, journal

etc you should have in your proposal to highlight key theories / aspects of the

literature currently available on this subject

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gunn, Thomas, G.1987. Manufacturing for competitive advantage: becoming a world class

manufacturer. Cambridge, Mass. Ballinger Pub. Co.

Steudel, Harold J. 1992. Manufacturing in the nineties. New York: London: Van Reinhold:

Chapman and Hall.

Todd, Jim. 1995. World class manufacturing. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill

www.Transportation. Company X.com.

www.smthacker.co.uk/world_class_manufacturing.

Make sure you use the Harvard system of referencing please. The

bibliography/reference section is very limited.


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Dissertation plan Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar A


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Choose project P

Allocate supervisor P

Meet supervisor P

Submission of proposal P

Complete introduction to Company X P

Complete introduction to proposal aims and objectivesP

Introduction to literature review P

Methodology approach P

Write and distribute questionnaire

Research collation P P P P P

Research analysis

Research findings

Conclusions

Recommendations

Bibliography

Appendixes

Hand in dissertation

ENDExample 2.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The topic area of gluten-free products has been selected due to a personal interest into the feasibility of

launching new products into a niche market made up generally from the population who suffer from coeliac

disease or gluten intolerance and those who choose a gluten-free diet in the belief that it is a healthier

lifestyle. This is a rather long sentence. (Could you also explain what gluten-free products actually are?)

Having recently learned of friends diagnosed as suffering from coeliac disease (*AGAIN EXPLAIN) , it

became clear that their first reaction was one of panic as to what they would eat and where would they find

specialist food. As they live busy lifestyles, they seemed reluctant to go back to basics in the kitchen and

bake using the specialist flours available. I *(KEEP TO 3RD PERSON) by surprising them with a home-

made gluten-free birthday cake and set to work purchasing the necessary ingredients and making the cake.

The result was very successful but as it left a large portion of the flour sitting in the cupboard, I began

experimenting with other recipes and received further requests for gluten-free birthday cakes. This has lead

to explore the possibility of setting up a gluten-free business and to identify the size of a potential market

for such products.

1.2 STRATEGIC INTENT


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The strategic issues raised by this are based around how to target a niche market and produce the products

that customers want to buy. It may be that the market is too small or narrow to consider it as a business

opportunity purely on gluten-free products. The demographics raised by market research will need to be

explored to establish whether it would be feasible to run a business as an outlet, say in a shop or kiosk, or

whether a more internet-based selling approach would best serve the purpose of supplying goods where

they are needed or wanted. (Good you are asking sensible questions!!)

By exploring such established businesses as Starbucks and Tie Rack, who have built up around a small

product base, some insight into the best strategic approach may be reached. (will this form of your chosen

research methods for the project?)

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The objective (or is this the aim or if not then what is the specific aim of this research?) of this

dissertation is to carry out a market research based study into the availability (or unavailability) of the type

of gluten-free products desired. This will be done with the following specific aims:-

32 To identify the size of a potential market for gluten-free products where? UK/International/Local

33 To explore the range of products currently being purchased where?

34 To investigate whether more products are desired to be available woolly be more specific

35 To assess The feasibility of setting up a gluten-free product business. (THIS IS VERY BIG IN ITS

OWN RIGHT TIGHTER FOCUS?).Do you have a Diss Title which captures the broad

intention??

2.1 LITERATURE SEARCH

The initial place to begin searching for information was with Coeliac UK, a registered charity for people

with coeliac disease who currently have around 70,000 members and 600 new members joining every

month. (? Source) They have a large website and claim that they can provide information regarding the

number of people registered as having coeliac disease, types of products available and can put you in

touch with 50% of the UK population with coeliac. Further investigation revealed that they produce a

magazine named crossed grain which includes advertisements for gluten-free products and places to eat


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out along with articles on latest research into medical studies, campaigns to raise awareness and recipes.

This will provide an insight into the latest fads and thinking that may influence buyer behaviour.

There are a limited number of food journals, which on first pass appear to be very short on items regarding

gluten-free products. These include the British Food Journal, The Grocer, Trends in Food Science and

Technology and Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources. By focusing on marketing and

gluten-free, one article was discovered in Marketing Magazine. (which helps how?)

Both the large central library and the local library held two books each on the subject of gluten-free

lifestyle, one being living gluten-free for dummies providing a comprehensive guide to achieving a

healthy, gluten-free lifestyle Baic, Denby and Korn (2007). It provides a wealth of information on gluten-

free lifestyle and all associated aspects concerned, covering the topics of health, how you shop, cook and

eat. It begins with basic definitions of what coeliac disease is and the definition of gluten.

*(THE WAY THIS IS WRITTEN IS TOO SIMPLISTIC IN STYLE)

Even with the limited sources available it has become apparent that the consensus of opinion with regard to

coeliac disease is that it is a life changing event that requires strict dietary changes and lifestyle change. It

is non-reversible, so requires commitment to those changes. One area which is currently being debated is

whether oats are generally acceptable in the gluten-free diet. Some journal articles (for example??) suggest

that it is possible to include them in the diet, whilst others such as crossed grain suggest that they must be

used with caution, as research is inconclusive.

To assist in the market research of the feasibility of a business opportunity, a good academic source of

information is available from Kotler(?date). In particular his book entitled Marketing Management

provides a framework for market research and buyer behaviour. One framework that will be used to assist

in determining the possibility of a new business will be Porters Five Forces in respect to the life-cycle

model, Johnson, Scholes, Whittington (2006). (be careful is this about market research or business

start-up?). With respect to the setting up of a business, Business Link may be able to

provide some sound advise on the practicalities of writing a business plan. The Times

newspaper has several interesting articles giving advise on this matter and have several


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books based around their thinking, which may prove to be worthy as a source of strategic

direction. Youve started in the right places, a broad trawl of literature etc should

unearth plenty of other sources eg Equivalents to Coeliac UK in other countries should

provide useful insights.

3.1 METHODOLOGY

In order to establish the size of the potential market it will be necessary to determine the number of people

with coeliac disease in the UK, the demographics relating to them in terms of where they are located, their

age and sex, and their purchasing preferences. Some secondary data is available from Coeliac UK in terms

of numbers and population spread. Another possible source of data are the supermarkets who may be able

to supply secondary data in relation to the percentage of sales represented by gluten free food. This may be

subject to confidentiality issues, as they may be unwilling to divulge such information.

It is intended to carry out primary research by doing a questionnaire (why is this appropriate for your

research?) to be sent out to coeliac sufferers. The majority of the questions will be in a quantitative style to

establish facts of a demographic nature. It will include questions concerning age, gender, length of time

since being diagnosed, where they buy products currently and where they may consider purchasing from in

the future. Along with this, the types of products they buy and are there any particular products they are

unable to buy or find difficulties in locating suppliers. The aim is of the questionnaire is to produce data for

analysis to give an idea on the size of a potential market. By finding out some numbers in terms of

population affected and their purchasing preferences, strategic decisions can be based round the data

collected. It may be necessary to use SPSS I think this is more for qualitative data analysis to analysis

the quantitative probably is OK on Exel data collected, so it is intended to get familiar with the working

of the system.

Another approach will be to attend a local group meeting of coeliacs to establish how they become

familiar with the product available to them and those that are suitable. There is a local group, which meets

four times a year and may provide the opportunity to talk directly to a small focus group, giving an insight

into the type of difficulties experienced. Naturally, these will be the people who best know their needs and

wants and will be a valuable source of information in determining the factors for answer the research


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questions. However, this could prove to be a time-consuming exercise and it is suggested that there are

possible problems of group effects, Bryman and Bell (2003) in that one person may give a view which

then dominates the meeting and others simply agree, rather than put forward their own views through fear

of contradiction. The advantage to using the local meeting to stage the focus group may be that people will

turn up who normally support the group in any case, so the focus group will not be seen as an extra meeting

to attend, but rolled into the normal one.

Good but be more specific in places and be more confident at supporting your suggestions from

secondary data re authors in research methods.

3.2 ETHICAL ISSUES

Asking people about coeliac disease and the way they deal with it is obviously a sensitive issue and this

must be a major factor when considering what questions to ask. Each individual respondent will have their

own level of comfort in what they are willing to share in terms of the issues surrounding coeliac disease.

Some may be quiet happy to disclose their personal preferences and ways of dealing with the limitations in

food products they can consume, others may see this as an invasion of their privacy. With this in mind, the

questionnaires will be able to be completed allowing the respondent to remain anonymous.

The focus group will require the express consent of the participants to allow any information gained to be

used for this research and will be obtained on a personal level with each individual.

3.3 RESCOURCES

The resources identified to carry out the market research are as follows:- (you might think about this

much more in terms of time, access, support, finance, new learning etc the list would be taken for

granted in terms of resource)

36 Use of computer

37 Paper for printing questionnaires and dissertation

38 Envelopes and stamps

39 Telephone calls to set up meetings and to obtain secondary data


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40 Time.

The time to write carry out the research and the writing up of the dissertation is detailed in a gantt chart as

shown in appendix I. The literature review will begin in January, followed by the collection of primary data

in March and April. Time has been taken out in April to allow for a pre-booked holiday. Data analysis will

begin in April as it is anticipated that some data will be available to allow some work to be done and to will

be a time to become familiar with SPSS to process the bulk of the data received. Some of the more

qualitative questions based around the focus group will require analysis in a less rigid form. It is recognised

that a cost will be incurred to provide the paper, envelopes and stamps, which will be funded by myself and

is estimated to be in the region of 60.00. Additional to this is the cost of telephone calls of around 10.00.

The use of the computer will in the main be the home computer, although it is expected that some of the

time will be spent on the university or work computer at times when family life is too hectic to enable work

at home to be effective.*(REFERNCE PAGE GANTT CHART?)


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Example 3

CONTENTS PAGE

Page No.

1) Introduction

2) Literature Review

3) Research Methodology

4) Conclusion

5) Action Plan

6) References

7) Bibliography

Working Title: Sales and Supply Chain Collaboration, The Critical Success Factors

1) Introduction

This project will focus on the relationship between a Sales team and Supply Chain team in order to

ascertain the critical success factors for collaboration between the two parties.

41 Background

The subject organisation which will be used in this piece of research is XX based in Derbyshire.

A privately owned business, established in 1919, XX is a global manufacturer of food ingredients.

As UK Supply Chain Manager, the researcher has direct responsibility for the customer service,

procurement, planning and logistics teams based in Derbyshire. This is a middle management role

reporting directly into the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain Vice President.

The author has worked at XX for almost 20 years in various roles: Customer Service Coordinator,

Customer Service Manager and UK Supply Chain Manager. XX strategy in brief is to differentiate

themselves from their competitors by delivering successful total approach solutions. The mindset of the

employees must be geared towards understanding the consumers, prioritising first the customer, doing

things right from the start, making the service every day better. A bit of an ugly sentence!!

The strategic objective for the Supply Chain team is to deliver 100% On Time service to XX strategic

customers explain what you mean by strategic customers what about the other customers/ do they get


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any old level of service?. Service is a core competence for XX and viewed as a competitive advantage.

The current level of On Time service is 97%. (is this unacceptable just how much of a problem is the

problem?)

In order to achieve this target 100% or 97%, the researcher firmly believes the supply chain has to work

closer with both the sales team and the customers.

The supply chain can ensure everything is in place to guarantee the first why only the first? order is

delivered On Time and all orders thereafter providing information is received in advance relating to:

42 new product launches

43 promotions

44 forecasted usage moving forward

For existing live items, there also needs to be a good level of forecast accuracy to ensure the raw materials

are available. (is this a separate piece of research?)

The current culture within XX is the sales team own the relationship with the customers. This means they

have total control over communication, have an active involvement in all decisions to be made and hold a

large amount of valuable knowledge and information which they find difficult to share why? And is this

the real problem?

The purpose of this research is to understand how the supply chain can work with sales to access this

information and knowledge and how both parties can work together to equally own the relationship with

the customer to improve the level of service.

45 Research Aim and Specific Objectives

Aim:

Determine what the critical success factors are for collaboration between a sales team and supply chain

team to improve customer service and achieve a higher level of On Time deliveries. On a couple of

occasions youve also mentioned the collaboration with the customers is this part of the aim or not?

Objectives:

46 Critically Review literature relating to sales and supply chain collaboration.

47 Carry out primary research at XX to assess current situation, perceptions, requirements and needs

of both the sales team and supply chain team.


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48 Identify gaps, analyse the situation and recommend action steps for both teams to align and

collaborate.

OK for a start you may well refine these as you progress into your Lit Rev.

2) Literature Review

Add SC model which includes all integrated functions - see Ops book

There is little literature available on supply chain and sales collaboration you may well need to be

creative in your use of search keywords, as I suspect you may well unearth quite a bit of literature as you

start to dig deeper. However there is literature available on supply chain collaboration, the main focus

being with suppliers and customers. Some of this literature touches on internal integration and

collaboration.

49 Key literature used to date:

Book

50 Stuart Emmett and Barry Crocker (? date)

They have written a book titled The Relationship Driven Supply Chain - Creating a

Culture of Collaboration throughout the Chain. Please reference correctly as per Harvard

Journal Article

51 Mark Barratt

Written an article in the Supply Chain Management International Journal titled Understanding

the meaning of collaboration in the Supply Chain. (ditto as above)

Professional Publications

52 Supply Chain Management Review

Feature the latest thinking and ideas.

Be specific which particular writers / theories etc this really does not clarify / share your thinking

53 Findings:

Although the majority of Emmett and Crockers research relates to creating a culture of collaboration with

customers and suppliers, they state the starting point with supply chain management must be to first

examine the internal supply chain by ensuring that all their internal operations and activities are

integrated, coordinated and controlled. (2006:p6)good

Barratt (2004:p3) writes collaboration is not just about developing closer relationships, or integrating


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processes between supply chain related functions, but also needs to include marketing-commercial for

promotions, new product introductions. (be careful not to just to provide a series of quotes include

some interpretation)

Thompson et al (2007:p33) support this view by saying the supply chain should develop their

collaboration skills; begin by working closely with sales and marketing, to learn from them about your

customers.

Fawcett et al(2006:p4) believe functional managers across the value chain from new product development

to customer management need to buy off on the concept of integration to bridge the exasperating internal

chasms that often inhibit successful supply chain managers. They go on to say unfortunately, managers at

many firms find it more difficult to collaborate within the four walls of their own company that they do

with outside.

Barratt (2004:p2/3) believes internal collaboration will provide answers to the following organisation

issues:

54 many organisations are heavily focused on planning, yet fail to take into account other internal

plans and activities which will impact the outcome of their plan

55 organisations often launch new products or promotions to find there is insufficient inventory

56 silo mentality results in mediocre if not poor communication

57 how many organisations understand their own processes, let alone their customers or suppliers

58 managers and employees often delegate or have delegated to them tasks or responsibilities, which

involve activities which are impacted by other departments in the organisation over which they

have no control or influence

59 how many organisations in a supply chain have same performance measures in place.

(Lists are not necessary we would much prefer to see some evaluation / interpretation of these ideas)

Emmett and Crocker (2006:p132) also list some of the benefits of collaboration in the supply chain that are

possible. The following two that have been selected because these should be an outcome of sales and

supply chain collaboration:

Aspect Collaboration Brings

Service Levels Increased and improved

People Trust and improved relationships

Thompson et al (2007:p33) look ahead and suggest supply chain executives must begin to expand their

reach to interface with the customer and this is not the sole domain of the sales or marketing functions.


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This would be a major culture change for the sales team at GL.

Handfield & Nichols (1999:p66) suggests the supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore,

if one link is not functioning at the desired level, the supply chain will not perform well.

At XX, the performance measures are very different:

The sales team are judged against growing their territories, have monthly targets to reach and a

yearly budget to achieve in order to be awarded a bonus and seen as successful. Sales view the

supply chain as inflexible, unreliable and uncooperative when there are problems with their

customers that may jeopardise this.

The supply chain is judged against On Time service regardless of any short / unreasonable lead-times from the customer, supplier issues, lack of proactive information on promotions, new

product launches from sales.

You need to give some thought to the presentation this tends to be a series of individual statements that

dont always help the flow

The differing performance measures breeds silo mentality.

Emmett and Crocker (2006:p113) point out that collaborative relationships need to work towards a

common goal, based on the principle that each party gains more benefits by collaboration than by pursuing

self interest.

Most of XX strategic accounts hold little inventory and work to a just in time process, therefore reliability

of service is paramount. If the customer values the service received from XX, sales will gain a powerful

negotiation tool through collaboration as they can promote the high level of service.

Barratt (2006:p10) has produced the following model to help understand the elements of collaboration:

The cultural elements of supply chain collaboration

Figure 1

Cultural Elements

Currently, functional thinking is rife, and supported by organisational structures and performance measures

that are aligned to functional activities rather than SC processes.

Trust: The effective coordination of the supply chain is built on

a foundation of trust and commitment between all

players.


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Mutuality: There have to be mutual benefits arising from the

collaboration.

Information Exchange: Fundamental need for information sharing, particularly

the transparency and quality of information if supply

chains are to improve their performance.

Openness and Honesty: It is important to open and develop clear and broad lines

of communication to foster information sharing and

create a shared understanding. For example, if a delivery

is going to be late, the sender should not wait until such

time as the promised delivery date has passed, instead therecipient should be informed as early as possible, on

order that the recipient can implement contingency plans.

Such openness and honesty can develop trust, respect and

commitment, as a result of improved certainty and

reliability.

????Source

Collaboration

Below are some of the key elements in terms of what has to happen if collaboration is to succeed:

Cross Functional Activities: Boundaries within or between organisations have shown to

restrict the flow of information and development of trust

between collaborating partners.

Process Alignment: Supply Chain collaboration necessitates adopting a process

focus and this will involve crossing many functional

boundaries, and subsequently senior management supportwill be necessary to overcome functional friction.

Joint Decision Making: One example of the need for joint decision making is in the

area of forecasting. Currently most organisations forecast in

isolation and develop forecasts based on customer orders and

historical data.

Supply Chain Metrics: Unless real supply chain metrics can be developed, then thevarious constituent parts of the supply chain will continue to

operate in different directions and will not be aligned.

? Where did you get this is it based on existing theory please make sure you reference appropriately

Strategic Elements

If the collaboration is to be sustainable then there are a number of strategic elements which must be present

which are detailed in the model.


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In successful business, collaboration is a way of life. Its evident across all levels and functions of the

organisation. Thompson et al(2007:p29)

You probably dont need to include all of this in your Proposal, but youve made a good start with the Lit

Rev lets see where it leads you?

3) Research Methodology

The research methodology will take a positivist approach based on a deductive process.

Youll need to expand on this somewhat positivism tends to assess facts and figures in an objective

way, which is capable of measurement. So what will be measurable in your primary research? Your

aims and objectives seem to be more about perceptions and feelings, which is really more about

qualitative /phenomenological approaches?

A survey will be designed with closed questions which will present the researcher will quantitative data.

This approach has been chosen to take out any emotive or sensitive issues.

The researcher works closely with all the proposed participants therefore the questionnaire must be

unbiased, factual and targeted fairly at both parties.

Qualitative research may also be required after the survey results have been analysed to clarify any key

issues. This research will be conducted through one-to-one semi structured interviews. Not all participants

will be interviewed; a sample will be selected representing both views.

Proposed survey participants:

60 Supply Chain

One person from each functional area, this includes customer service, procurement, scheduling and

logistics. The researcher is the Supply Chain Manager therefore cannot participate. In order to get anoverall representation, suggest the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director is also

included.How many people are we talking about then?

61 Sales

Include the Sales Director, 2 Senior Account Managers and 2 Account Managers. This should

provide a just representation.


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10 people in total will be surveyed. An 80% response rate is predicted. These survey numbers are very

small how reliable and representative will the results be?

The surveys will be handed to each individual participant in person by the researcher. There will be a

covering note and requested return date. 2 weeks will be allowed to return the survey which should take no

longer than 30 minutes to complete. The content on the covering note is discussed below under the heading

Research Ethics.

The survey will adopt the headings of Barratts model (see Figure 1) focusing on the collaboration and

cultural elements of the model. I think this is a useful framework for you to use but maybe reserve

judgement until youve done more LitRev?

Scales will be used to determine the importance.

Either Excel of SPSS software will be used to help analyse the data.

Include how Im going to analyse qualitative data

*WHY? PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION AND SUPPORT FROM SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH

METHODS ETC.

62 Research Ethics

The participants will be fully briefed regarding the purpose of the research, the nature of their involvement

in the research, how much of their time will be required. It will be highlighted that participation is

voluntary and they can refuse or withdraw from participation at any time. Explain what will happen with

the data and findings. Finally, make absolutely clear the information will be confidential and all surveys

will be anonymous.

The dissertation topic has already been discussed with the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain

Director and the Sales Director. Both view as a positive step forward.

A written consent detailing the above will be obtained prior to participation from each participant.

4) Conclusion

5) Action Plan

6) References dont separate books, journals etc just one list by Author date alphabetically.


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63 Books

Emmett, S. Crocker, B. (2006) The Relationship-Drive Supply Chain Creating a Culture of

Collaboration throughout the Chain. Hampshire, Gower Publishing Limited.

Handfield, RB. Nichols, EL Jr. (1999) Introduction to Supply Chain Management. New Jersey, Prentice-

Hall, Inc.

Jespersen, BD. Skjott-Larsen, T. (2006) Supply Chain Management in Theory and Practice. Denmark,

Copenhagen Business School Press.

64 Journals

Barratt, M. (2004) Understanding the meaning of collaboration in the supply chain. Supply Chain

Management: An International Journal. v9, (1), p30-42

Fawcett, SE. Ogden, JA. Magnan, GM. Copper, MB. (2006) Organisational commitment andgovernance for supply chain success. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics. v36, (1),

p22-35

65 Professional Publications

Thompson, RH. Eisenstein, DD. Stratman, TM. (2007) Getting Supply Chain on the CEOs Agenda.

Supply Chain Management Review. v11 (5)

*BIT LIMITED BUT AT LEAST UP TO DATE


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Example 4

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Collaboration and Information Sharing in Supply Chain

Dissertation Proposal on Collaboration and Information Sharing in Supply

Chain

BACKGROUND

Today most companies are relying on leveraging the several benefits of a robustSupply Chain management paradigm, to aid in better decisions, lower their

operational costs and improve their working capital. In this background one of themost vital elements of an effective SCM is the power of collaboration and information

sharing. Good, but try and support any statements you make with relevantacademic references

Supply Chain Management inherently implies a process framework involving people,activities, information and planning in moving a product or service from a supplier to

a customer. Typically these involve several links which are complicated by

geographical sources or destinations, which is where a breakdown in communicationor information flow could result in an adverse impact on the overall process.

This paper is focused on the collaboration and information sharing aspects within thesupply chain for two different industries and a comparison of the way both of them

operate, as compared to a traditional manufacturing industry. This should provide an

insight into the importance (or lack of significance) of collaboration and informationsharing in these two industries. The two chosen industries are the Utilities Sector in

the UK with emphasis on an essential service / product like water and sewage, andan IT company focused on product sales in India. A comparison of the SCM within

these two industries against a standard, brick and mortar supply chainmanagement system should also provide a view on the evolving nature of Supply

Chain Management against what it traditionally stands for. An interestingapproach

There have been various studies conducted on the value of sharing information for

distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers with not surprisingly excellent benefits,in terms of reduced inventory and backorder costs, with the retailers benefiting the

least and the manufacturers the most. This is obviously based on the fact that theretailers have the most accurate information while the manufacturers have the least.

This implies that benefits of information sharing do not accrue equally for all theparties involved in the process. Retailers will have little incentive to pay for

information sharing systems unless they can expect lower prices from the rest of thechain. The first link in the chain makes the rest of the chain pay for the sharing

systems. Suppliers, often already operating on razor-thin margins, dont want to footthe bill. This is evident, for example, in the reluctance of suppliers to accede to Wal-

Marts demands for RFID tags(http://www.cio.com/article/1887/The_Value_of_Sharing_Information

Up_and_Down_the_Supply_Chain/1just need www.cio.com in text all of thiswill go in the reference page)

Regardless of the nuances within specific industries however, the power ofcollaboration and information sharing can be harnessed to help the supply chain

system to establish partnership for a better supply chain management. Globalization

of business has been accelerating at a rapid pace in the last two decades due to the


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rapid development of technology, increased cost pressure and more aggressivedemand from the end users, which has forced a redesign or even relocation of

manufacturing networks to other location or even other countries. Although thesupply chain is frequently referred to as the logistics network in the literature, supply

chain management gives importance to the overall and long term benefits of allparties on the chain through cooperation and information sharing. The challenging

business environment also requires robust supply chain that should be able torespond to quickly to a wide variety of changes internally and in the externalenvironment, this flexibility and responsiveness of a supply chain is achieved by

collaboration and information sharing.

Since collaboration is an important trend in supply chain evaluation and collaborativepartnership will rely heavily on information sharing, this study will examine the

information sharing process at different levels of supply chain collaboration. Themain focus of this dissertation is going to be on the information sharing structure,

data object and information flow and the main aspect of this study is to providesome insight on the relationship between information sharing and the degree of

collaboration.

The flurry of Mergers & Acquisitions within the Utility industry has created difficulties

in the sharing of information due to disparate existing systems and the difficulties inintegrating them within the merged / acquired entities. Similarly, the widespreadadoption of the internet in earlier far flung corners has thrown up new markets and

challenges for product companies within the IT space in terms of addressing bothsupply and demand. This is all very good however you need to address the

current position from an academic perspective also

Within the Utilities Industry, the accent of supply chain management is on improvingdemand planning capabilities, focusing on work management integration and

reducing total lifecycle costs through better reliability and usage of assets. The ITproducts industry would be driven more by the typical manufacture to end user

chain, except for the two main differences involved, viz (???) actually creating the

product, which is more of intellectual property and secondly the distribution of theproduct, which could be through non-traditional means like download over the

internet. The latter throws up additional challenges like security, access control,upgrades to products, warranty issues etc.

A typical Manufacturing supply chain, however, may involve a variety of stages.These supply chain stages are shown below and include the following: -

Customers

RetailersWholesalers/distributors

ManufacturersComponent/Raw Material suppliers

SupplierManufacturerDistributorRetailerCustomer

Figure:1.0 (http://www.princesoft.ro/imagini/scm_cycle_view.jpg) good

The main idea of supply chain management is to be efficient and cost-effectiveacross the entire system; total costs from transportation and distribution to

inventories of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods, are to beminimized. This can be done by coordinating different parties along the logistics

network and by thus creating a win-win situation for all members.

For the Utilities industry the challenge is to deliver innovative solutions integration


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scenarios and new technologies while complying with growing environmentalawareness, increasing regulatory compliance mandates and rising customer

expectations. The ideal way to deliver on these challenges is through increasingcollaboration and data sharing across the enterprise to allow companies to make

better decisions regarding customer service, network management to balance assetreliability and costs. The IT products supply chain system, on the other hand, is

more geared towards simpler manufacture and distribution methods.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to understand and use the advantages of havingcollaboration and information sharing in the targeted industries.

The specific objectives of this study are:

66 Understanding the supply chain and the information sharing in different

sectors.

67 assessing the Advantages of having a good information sharing system.

68 Critically evaluating the different approaches to collaboration and information

in different industry sectors69 recommendation for best practice on The best possible ways this can be

achieved

These are just a couple of points for you to think about

These objectives can be understood best in the context of companies business issuesand the way these are being addressed currently.

Some of the universal Business issues which companies are facing typically include

the following:

70 Improve operating efficiencies

71 Increase the visibility of demand and supply fluctuations72 Decrease costs and improve profits to remain competitive

The solution to this is typically seen as the following: you should be asking

questions, not proposing solutions at this stage

73 Build an integration framework and a collaborative environment improving

decision making74 Lead time Optimization

Methodology

This research will take a conclusive approach to the whole study as this wouldprovide enough information that is useful in reaching conclusion or decision making.Conclusive research is quantitative in nature. (Saunders et al, 2004) you need to

explain by what you mean by conclusive!!

The research strategy will be descriptive you need to be analytical description isnot enough, based on a case study as case studies have proved effective in

developing analysis and critical thinking, decision making, judging between differentcourses of action, handling assumption, presenting appoint of view and relating


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theory to practice.

The methodology will include the following:

75 Primary data would be taken from the senior managers or Directors of the

companies with their views and strategy in information sharing in supplychain.

76 Quantitative research will involve phone interviews, one on one and

questionnaire.

77 Secondary data will be information from books, journals, websites etc.

78 Critical evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data would be drawn before

coming into a conclusion and recommendationWhere are you collecting qualitative data?

Research Focus

Some of the key questions that this study aims to focus on are the following:

79 Does collaboration & information sharing help companies in responding to

changes in demand?80 How can service be maintained while squeezing more out of inventory, fixed

capital, and transportation assets?

81 How can new products be brought to market more quickly and support high

demand?

82 What factors influence the free flow of information in Supply Chain

Management?83 Is there a lack of collaboration and information sharing in SCM?

84 What can be done to achieve a transparent, collaborative enterprise?

*LINK TO SUPPORTING SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH METHODS

LITERATURE

Literature review

The major sources of information for the literature review are:

Journal articles: as they would provide up to date information of what is happening

right now in the market

Books: They would provide the major guide for article writing

Government Publications: Their published reports will provide a useful source ofinformation, especially as it relate to the rules and polices in supply chain

management.

The research would also study the various published literature available on these

topics on the internet and the consensus, if any.

In addition, to arrive at the data for this, the proposal is to interview select keyrespondents within the Utility & IT Products industry as well as within a traditional

manufacturing industry.

*THIS IS UNSATISFACTORY - MAY HAVE BEEN COMPENSATED FOR TO SOME


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EXTENT IF YOU HAD MADE REFERENCE TO LITERATURE AND ACADEMICSOURCES IN YOUR BACKGROUND SECTION

Ethics

The limitations of the Research would be85 Small Sample size

86 Availability of respondents

87 Time constraints

TIMESCALE

PROPOSED SCHEDULE OFWORK

MAR APR MAY JUN. JUL AUG SEP.

Literature

review

Secondary data search

Primary data collection

Analysis of

data

Writing first

draft

Submit finaldraft

Bibliography:

Enabling high performance in utilities through supply chain management. Available at

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Consulting/Supply_Chain_Mgmt/R_and_I/Ena

blingManagement.htm (Accessed: 25 Nov 2007)

Handfielf, R. B., Nichols, Jr. E. L.(1999) Introduction to supply chainmanagement, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall Inc.

Heath, J, (2002), Teaching and writing case studies, Bedforshire, The European

case clearing h.ouse

The Value of sharing Information up and down the supply chain. Available athttp://www.cio.com/article/1887/The_Value_of_Sharing_Information_Up_and_D

own_the_Supply_Chain/1 (Accessed: 24 Nov 2007)


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Example 6

UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR VALUE CHAIN COLLABORATION WHEN MANAGINGSERVICE INNOVATION.

Dissertation Proposal

Contents

1.0 Introduction

Company Y plc is a gas turbine manufacturing business with sales in 2005 equating to 6.6bn,

with an underlying profit of 593m an order book of 24.4bn operating in 50 countries globally

with 37,000 employees. Following its privatisation in 1987 Company Y plc has concentrate on

four key business sectors, civil aerospace, defence, energy and marine with 54,000 gas turbines

in service group-wide. The organisation for the last 10 years has maintained a consistent strategyof being number 1 or 2 in each of the four market sectors it operates within, investment in

technology, capability and infrastructure, development of a competitive portfolio of product and

services, growth in market share and installed product base and added value for customers

through product related services.

Recent developments inside the civil aerospace sector have seen a movement away from

traditional original equipment manufacture (OEM) and aftermarket overhaul support based on a

model of time plus materials to the introduction of total-care and cost of ownership with the

clear emergence of service value now being a key driver and customer requirement for future

business within the industry throughout its product lifecycle. Company Y now has 45% of civilengines covered by total care with 54% of the organisations overall turnover in 2005 coming from

services. Services revenues alone have had a compound growth of 11% over the past 10 years.

As the organisation moves away from the transactional business imperative to offering more

integrated and value-added services, Lovelock (1994), Gadesh & Gilbert (1998), Malthyssens

and Vandenbemt (1998). Based on future market predictions of over $2.7 trillion over the next 20

years this sentence needs tidying up. A clear view to how the organisation can strategically

react to product lifecycles in excess of 40 years that far outreach the actual lifecycle of the current

organisation since its privatisation in 1987.

Wise & Baumgartner (1999) encouraged companies when innovating such service concepts to

look at the value chain from the customers perspective with reference to maintaining a product

throughout its lifecycle.

The challenge along with satisfying new customer service requirements and service innovation

from within the organisation can be achieved through the management of effective collaboration

across the extended value chain of both demand and supply simultaneously Holmstrom (1999),


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Although Company Y is structured to focus on their core competencies and collaborate with

partners on capabilities that aren't "core," effective collaboration is still in its infancy. The main

reason: a "win-lose" competitive mindset still prevailsdomination rather than cooperation.

Efforts to collaborate continue to fall short of expectations because of segmented supply chain

structures, isolated (and isolating) company strategies, and incomplete or inadequate execution.

2.0 Aim and Objectives

This research is to not only focus on the strategic drivers and organisational lifecycle challenges

facing Company Y plc within the civil aerospace sector based around the evolution and

revolution of how organisations grow Griener (1972). The aim of this research is also help

develop and shape a clear need for collaboration across the organisations value chain to aid

future aftermarket support and service innovation, whilst assisting supply chain management

strategy and practice.

Delivery of this research will give clear expectations and understanding across the value chain of

the different collaboration requirements needed to support service innovation strategies based on

the organisations lifecycle position and the external factors driving change.

The specific research objectives are to:

88 Examine the external change variables driving service innovation across aerospace.

89 Determine the organisational lifecycle position of Co Y and the strategic change

requirements needed for service innovation and value creation.

90 Identify the appropriate need for collaboration across the extended value chain, and

determine the appropriate type of collaboration required.

91 Develop an appropriate collaboration framework recommendation to be used across the

value chain when looking at service innovation strategy and introduction.

This whole section suggests that collaboration is definitely the way forward, and you

have been critical of the current approach. Rather than pre-judge the solution,

maybe this section should be asking the questions, which you will be investigating in the

Diss. Its only a minor point, but start with questions, AND THEN, come up with

solutions and answers if you already know the answers then why do the Diss?

3.0 Literature Review

Further to authors already quoted throughout the introduction in understanding the strategic

change happening within the aerospace sector, other areas of literature review will concentrate

on understanding the need for value creation, the impact of service innovation on the value

system and the perceived need and benefits of effective collaboration on the value chain.


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Mourkogiannis (2006) described innovation as any development that creates change within an

organisation in a recent Mckinsey quarterly report 24% of organisations sampled stated that

innovation in products and services was the single contributing factor that accelerate the pace of

change in the global business environment.

Strebel (1996) called this the evolutionary cycle of competitive behaviour through identifying the

breakpoints that an organisation must identify in order to change their strategy to embrace

changes in competitive and market behaviour linked to service value.

Ohmae (1982) states that any strategy to generate value creation is aligned to the three main

areas of the strategic triangle, something he refers to as the 3c`s (Customer, Corporation and

Competitors) with the prime objective of achieving superior performance relative to the

competition, in this research context understanding value is the main driver towards the customer

and cost being the differentiator between the corporation (i.e. Company Y) and its competitors.

A value chain within civil aerospace can become highly complex, with dozens of participants and

scores of product flow paths. Finley and Srinkanth (2005) define collaboration as diverse entities

working together, sharing processes, technologies, and data to maximize value for the whole

group and the customers they serve and in doing so outline Seven (7) imperatives for

collaboration to be tested and reviewed further.

To understand the impact of service innovation it is imperative to look at the overall value system

within Company Y. Porter (1985) stressed that differences in the value chain are key sources to

competitive advantage based around nine generic categories.

Although the value chain can be looked at as individual building blocks of competitive advantage

the interdependent activities and relationships across this value system lead to competitive

advantage and value. Value in this term can be measured as total revenue; the growth of

services within Company Y plc now caters for 54% of sales.

Sahay (2003) outlines that in order to compete efficient competition now takes place between

entire value chains as orgainsations realise more that supply chain innovations can not only be a

driver of cost reduction, but more importantly a catalyst for revenue growth by achieving customer

value. Collaboration in this sense can be the competitive edge that enables all the business

partners in a supply chain to grow and what strategic supply chain management demands.

Anderson & Lee (1999) calls the new generation of supply chain strategy a synchronised supply

chain whilst this researcher believes the essence of next generation value systems is

connectivity and simplicity. Youve started with a nice range of authors, from which to

move on.


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4.0 Methodology & Analysis

In delivery of this research proposal and its specific objectives numerous data sources and

methods will be widely used and explored in order to support the literature review and test the

theory. This chapter is about justifying your choice of Res Meths, as the most

appropriate way of answering your specific aims and objectives. The Lit Rev and

testing of theory similarly support youre a&os.

92 Action Research: This approach is to be based on the introduction of a new service

innovation titled Global Asset Availabilitythis is part of the total-care banner being sold

by Company Y plc to its customers solely on the Airbus A380 aircraft, Derwent 900

engine, with eventual roll-out across the total engine fleet.

Keuhne & Nagel (K+N) has been chosen as the logistics provider to manage this service

solution, and is a new logistics partner within Company Y. Basing the research aroundthis project is viewed as an ideal opportunity to develop and deliver a successful

collaboration framework to enable service introduction across a total care value stream

for the organisation.

An action research approach will enable this researcher to work alongside Keuhne &

Nagel in diagnosis of the problem and development of the potential

solution/recommendation. This approach the researcher feels will help bridge the gap

between pure research and application helping the organisation to learn and change its

service introduction and collaboration approach across the value chain due to theusefulness of the practitioners it will involve in testing the robustness of theoretical

models in a real-life scenario based on dynamic data.

93 Primary Data: capturing of primary data to support the research investigation is to be

done using two different methods of interviewing and data gathering.

Qualitative the use of qualitative interviewing is seen as a way to help the researcher

explore the different perspectives freely across the interviewees by basing a wide range

of general questions around their part in the value chain and the service innovation

process in order to gain greater generality and opinion in the formulation of the initial

research ideas.

Quantitative


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Component Care Vendors; - performance data

Singapore Airlines & Qantas; - arising forecasts

94 ComparativeCase Studies; in working alongside K+N, the researcher plans to visit anumber of similar ventures which K+N have already operational. This is viewed as an

ideal approach to learn from existing knowledge partnerships from other industries in

development of a framework recommendation.

95 Secondary Data to help quantify and analyse the movement towards services in the

civil aerospace sector and the external influencing factors on the organisation, the

following reports have been initially reviewed. This will lead the researcher to further

review and investigate differing sources around such markets topics.

McKinsey Reports from early research investigation into the current challenges in the

aerospace sector McKinsey reports provide secondary quantitative data that both

supports and outlines the customers requirements and economic pressures on the

aerospace industry that are leading to strategic change and new strategies in the mind-

set of both airlines and manufacturers.

Company Y plc Market Outlook CO Y have aimed to bring long-term forecasts for the

commercial aircraft and engine markets. The market outlook is based on 2006-20025

predictions, aircraft productivity and regional markets trends and gives good insight into

the market and economic conditions driving the aerospace sectors.

SUPPORT MORE EFFECTIVELY FROM SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH

METHODS.

5.0 Resources

Below is a high-level outlined timescale plan of activities to support the successful completion of

this project.

References

96 Ohmae, K (1982) The mind of the Strategist; the art of Japanese Business McGraw

Hill

97 Bleehe, J and Ernst, D (1993) Collaborating to Compete Wiley & Sons


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98 Mourkogiannis, N (2006) Purpose and Innovation Strategy & Business

99 Auroamo, J and Ala-Risku, T (2005) The Challenges of going downstream

International Journal of Logistics; Research and Applications; Vol8, No.4, December

2005 pages 333-345.

100Samaranayake, P (2005) A conceptual framework for supply chain management; an

international journal; Vol10, No. 1 pages 47-59.

101 Sahay, B.S (2003) Supply Chain Collaboration; the key to value creation Work Study;

Vol52, No. 2 pages 76-83.

102 Senior, B and Fleming, J (2006) Organizational Change Prentice Hall

103 Finley, F and Srinkanth, S (2005) Seven Imperatives for successful collaboration. -

Supply Chain Management Review January 2005.

104 Bryman, A and Bell, E (2003) Business Research Methods Oxford University Press

105 Anderson, D.L and Lee. H (1999) Synchronised supply chains; the new frontiers, achieving

supply chain excellence through technology. Montgomery Research pages 12-21.Bibliography

106 Yip, G.S (2003) Total Global Strategy II Prentice Hall

107 Porter, M (1985) Competitive Advantage The Free Press

108 Costa, P; Harned, D and Lundquist, J (2002) -Rethinking the aviation Industry

McKinsey & Company

109 Heynold, Y and Rosander, J (2006) A new organisational Model for Airlines -McKinsey

& Company

110 Becker, W.M and Freeman, V.M (2006) - Going from Global Trends to Corporate

Strategy The McKinsey quarterly: The online journal of McKinsey & Co. October 2006.

111 Company Y plc (2006) The Market Outlook 2006-2025

112 Christopher, M and Lee, H (2004) Mitigating Supply Chain Risk through improved

Confidence - International Journal of Distribution & Logistics; volume 34 No.5; pages

388-396.

Harvard style referencing is Alphabetical by surname please

Proposals Final

Documents