PROJECT GUIDELINES

PGDM Programme:- Final Project 1. Marks: 200

WHY PROJECT WORK? The purpose of including project report is to provide ou an opportunit to investigate a pro!lem appl ing management concepts in a scientific manner" WHAT IS A PROJECT? # project is a scientific and s stematic stud of real issue or a pro!lem intended to resolve the pro!lem $ith application of management concepts and skills" %t should entail scientific collection& anal sis and interpretation of data leading to valid conclusions" 'ill the implementation of the project !ring a!out an improvement in the present status of an activit and can this improvement !e (uantified" )uantification ma !e in terms of mone saved& or !etter utili*ation of time and man po$er& !etter sales performance& higher production etc" Does it have a management principle& frame$ork or model on $hich data is collected and anal *ed+ %s the project idea applica!le in other similar situations+ %n other $ords& the frame$ork for anal sis can !e applied to similar pro!lems" 'hile it $ould have a distinctive application to the specific situation the project $ould not !e so e,clusive that its principles have no other applications"

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Does the project report take into account factual data $hich is relevant to the particular situation+

Criteria for Se e!tio" of Pro#e!t$ % TOPIC AND ORGANISATION This choice $ill !e emerging from our area of interest" -ou have to take into account the organi*ation ou $ork in and the opportunities ou have at our command to generate relevant data" .ome illustrative e,amples are attached" -ou have to choose an organi*ation" PROJECT OUTLINE Pro!lem definition has to !e clear in terms of nature& si*e and scope of the project" These have to !e stated in terms $hich are (uite tangi!le and specific" DESK WORK 1efore ou start our project carr out a preliminar surve of the availa!le literature on the topic" This stud $ill help ou in understanding the pro!lem in depth and aspects $hich are !eing investigated" .ome studies re(uire the statement of h pothesis" # h pothesis is a tentative diagnosis or solution to a pro!lem" %t is !ased on a cursor o!servation of the apparent date and adopt provisionall to e,plain certain events and to guide the investigation of others" The project then $ould !e !ased on testing the h pothesis to verif or reject it"

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Defi"i"& t'e Pro( e) *I +$tratio", Tit e of t'e -ro#e!t. 34ost reduction through materials management5" State)e"t a(o+t t'e -ro( e). This particular topic is chosen !ecause in most of the manufacturing organi*ations the cost of materials accounts for a si*a!le portion of the total e,penditure and an savings affected in cost of material $ill have a direct !earing on the profita!ilit of the organi*ation" O(#e!ti/e$ a"0 $!o-e of t'e $t+01. To optimi*e individual and group efforts for achieving the organi*ation goals efficientl and effectivel " To minimi*e cost of materials in ever possi!le $a & $ithout sacrificing the (ualit aspect at the same time" To ma,imi*e overall profita!ilit of the enterprise so as to sustain and gro$ in a highl competitive environment satisf ing the needs of the organi*ation& individuals as $ell as the societ at large sta $ith a fe$ $ell as the societ at large sta $ith a fe$ $ell chosen aspects so that it can !e studied and anal *ed thoroughl to get a deeper understanding" Tr ing to cover too much ground ma lead to a ver superficial anal sis $hich $eakens the project" Tit e. 4ost reduction through Materials Management" State)e"t a(o+t t'e -ro( e) Co))e"t -ou $ill note that the scope as defined is e,tremel diffused 36ptimi*ation of individual and group effort5 is a human relation oriented pro!lem !ut this a stud in materials" #gain 3to ma,imi*e overall profita!ilit of the enterprise5 material is one of the factors !ut certainl not all the factors" .o $hat is the pro!lem+ %s it one of reducing material cost as defined in the introductor paragraph+ 6r is it of improving individual and group performance+ 7ach one can independentl form a pro!lem for a project -ou ma argue that these are inter-related matters and therefore& cannot !e ruled out" -ou $ould !e right" 1ut $hile other factors ma !e included at the managerial decision stage& at the project stage chosen for this project& material costs constitute /08 of the total $orking capital" The project is aimed at stud ing means of reducing this cost through more efficient materials management methods" O(#e!ti/e$ a"0 S!o-e of t'e St+01. %dentif the major item of material cost through #14 anal sis" %dentif reactors leading to high inventor and longer turnover period" Devise means of reducing of material cost ! taking care of the pro!lem identified through improved procedures& s stems and team effort $herever necessar "

2ETHODOLOGY The (ualit of our project $ork $ill depend upon the methodolog ou adopt for our stud " Methodolog in turn depends upon the nature of the project $ork" The main strength of our report comes form the process earlier mentioned that of collecting& s nthesi*ing and anal *ing information" #gain& all information& related to the pro!lem needs to !e carefull scrutini*ed to avoid risk of !iased anal sis" :aving once identified $hich information is relevant and needs to !e collected& ou $ill have to define ho$ this $ill !e done" Thus& a case stud ma re(uire a different approach than a stud !ased on surve " :o$ever& $here the volume of data is ver large a sampling method needs to !e adopted"

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Methodolog I +$tratio" I Project Title: 4orporate Planning: 4urrent .tatus in %ndia" Methodolog : #fter providing a theoretical underpinning it is intended to revie$ important corporate planning decisions of a selected compan " %t is also proposed to highlight the role of the Government policies in deciding the course of events the companies are forced to take and economic events $hich had direct !earing on the corporate planning process in the past" %t is decided to anal *e a fe$ case studies for successful gro$th as $ell as prominent failures" 4omments: ;naccepta!le" Too vague" <eed to define frame$ork for generating data" :o$ man companies are under stud + 6ver $hat length of time-t$o ears& fift ears+ I +$tratio" II Pro#e!t Tit e. #pplication of 4PM Techni(ues in 4apital =epair .hop: 2et'o0o o&1. >ist the various activities involved in the repair in consultation $ith the e,ecuting agencies" 7stimation of duration of each activit through o!servations over three months period" #ssessment of resources for each activit through anal sis of records and interaction $ith e,ecutives of the $orkshop" Dra$ing up of a net$ork" 4onducting for$ard pass and !ack$ard pass calculations to esta!lish the critical and su! critical activities" Taking into consideration the resources availa!le to various agencies to carr out resources smoothl to arrive at the !alanced re(uirement of resources throughout the repair period" #ttempt $ill also !e made to carr out the timecost relationship of activities so as to achieve the minimum possi!le?optimum duration of the project" Co))e"t$. #ccepta!le

9"2 .ampling: .i*e and coverage of the population providing data" Good sampling is done through statistical techni(ues" To refresh from the !ooks mentioned at the end" 9"@ Preparation of a )uestionnaire for 4ollection of Data: # techni(ue that one should learn is the framing of a proper (uestionnaire" Most !ooks on statistics or research methodolog provide guidelines for framing a (uestionnaire" 9"/ Pilot-testing: a trial run of a (uestionnaire in finali*ing the structure of the (uestionnaire or the intervie$s" 9"0 Processing of Data: Ta!ulation& classification& anal sis& interpretation and comparison are essential steps" 9"9 Frame$ork for #nal sis: The frame$ork for anal *ing the data $ill !e related to our stated o!jectives h pothesis" .tatistical methods can !e used for anal sis $herever applica!le" Methodolog of the project must !e clearl thought out in as much detail as possi!le" %n the !o, are given some illustrations of methodolog & !oth accepta!le and unaccepta!le" 9"A Project . nopsis: 6nce ou have selected a topic defined the pro!lems and outlined the manner of stud & ou have to prepare the s nopsis in the format attached" This s nopsis has to !e approved" 'e $ill get !ack to ou for modifications" The (uestionnaire should also accompan "

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WRITIING THE REPORT Ta!le of 4ontents: #lso called %<D7B& the ta!le should provide the title of ali chapters C$ith page num!ersD major su!divisions and appendices" The ta!le should also indicate the commencing page num!ers of the preface& the !i!liograph & appendices E anne,ure" Preface and #ckno$ledgements: in case ou o$e a special de!t to a particular person& ou should ackno$ledge this under the title ackno$ledgements" Main =eport: -our main report should follo$ the chapter scheme ou had indicated in our s nopsis" Generall the se(uential presentation should !e as follo$s:a" 4hapter-%: %ntroduction of the Pro!lem: This 4hapter should provide a !ackground of the pro!lem& and $hat is proposed to !e investigated" The significance of the pro!lem& the o!jectives and the scope of the stud and the contri!ution and impact our stud $ill make should !e ela!orated" # !rief description of the organi*ation $here ou have conducted the project should !e provided" !" 4hapter-%%: Theoretical Perspective: This chapter should give an overvie$ of the theoretical concepts related to the pro!lem under stud " -ou should refer to the current status of research in the area and major findings thereof" These should !ring out the necessit for a stud and the approach ou intend to follo$" c" 4hapter-%%%: Methodolog F this chapter should descri!e in detail the steps follo$ed in completing the stud " %f ou have done a sample surve & the !asis of sampling& its si*e etc" the sources of primar and secondar data must !e stated and the $a ou have processed the data" d" 4hapter-%G& G& G%H 6n$ards: Presentation of the relevant data and anal sis and discussion thereon form the main !od of the report" #s ou defined the pro!lem-clearl and definitel & !efore ou start to $rite the report& decide on the main theme of our reportF $hich of the findings are significant& $hich are peripheral+ Develop our argument logicall to !uild our

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#ppendices and #nne,ure: #ppendices are listed alpha!eticall e"g" #ppendi, #" #ppendi, 1 etc" and contain the ta!les and data collected for the stud " #ppendices are placed after the last chapter on summar and conclusions" #nne,ure are num!ered numericall e"g"& #nne,ure %& #nne,ure %% etc" and contain such supporting information $hich through not collected as primar or secondar data& et is relevant in discussion and for eas reference" >ist of =eferences: =eferences can !e mentioned at the !ottom of the page $here these are referred or at the end or each chapter" # third alternative is to list them at the end of the report immediatel after the #ppendices?#nne,ure" 1i!liograph : # !i!liograph is a list of pu!lished sources consulted during the course of project $ork and normall includes all $ork listed in the te,t and te,t notes" .i*e of the Project =eport: # project report should !e covered !et$een 90 to 200 pages Cdou!le spaceD"

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=evie$ing and Presentation: 'hile $riting and presenting a report& take care of minor matters" # $ell $ritten and carefull corrected report $ith $ell spaced pages $ith proper headings& margins and ta!les are inviting" .ho$ it to our guide and o!tain his comments and suggestions for changes $here necessar " E3ALUATION O4 THE REPORT The evaluation of the project report is in t$o phases J $ritten report and viva-vice" The project report sent ! ou is sent to an e,aminer conversant $ith the su!ject matter of the report" The assessment of the report is done on standard criteria"

3I3A53OCE The viva normall takes the form of ela!orating our vie$ points& our findings and overall vie$ of the su!ject" %t provides an opportunit to the e,aminer to test our kno$ledge of the su!ject of the report" %t $ill also give ou an opportunit to kno$ an fla$ in our report"