GROUP RESEARCH PROJECT

Course: Mgmt305- Business Communication-II

Marks: 20%
Announcement Date: Oct 02, 2021 Written Report= 12 (60%)
Submission Mode: Online on Blackboard Presentation/Viva Voce= 8 (40%)

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

In a group of 5-7 students write a proposal on one of the following topics of your choice.

A proposal to:
1. Develop a new product for a chosen Saudi company. (To the CEO)
2. Begin a new service in the college. (To the Dean)
3. Open a new branch in a new city. (To the Board of Directors)
4. Open a new branch in a new country. (To the Board of Directors)
5. Conduct market research on consumer needs. (To the Marketing Director)

INSTRUCTIONS:

You may get help on effective proposal writing from all the available sources. However, you
are highly recommended to follow the guidelines provided in Module 21 (Proposals) and Module
24 (Long Reports) of the textbook.

The written report should not be less than 1000 words and more than 2500 words. In
addition, the project report should include an individual contribution report highlighting the tasks
accomplished by each group member. These two types of reports and presentation or viva will be
considered in the overall evaluation of the project which is worth 20%.

As a university student a high standard of written English is expected. Your project report
should be clear, concise, neatly presented, and easy to read. Failure to comply with these
requirements may result in loss of marks.

Your project must be a creative and novel piece of work written by you (group) that has not
been submitted for assessment purposes for any program of study at this or any other institution.
To create the best co-authored documents, you may get guidance from Module 18 (working &
writing in teams) of the textbook.
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WRITING GUIDELINES
i. It’s a group project and all members are required to participate equally. An individual
contribution report should be included at the end of the report. A template of the
individual contribution report is provided at the end of this document.
ii. Late submission will lead to the deduction of 20% marks per day.
iii. Writing Guidelines: Paper size: A4, Line Spacing: 1.15, Margins: 1” (inch) all sides,
Font: Times New Roman, Font Size: 12 for text, 14 for headings, and 13 for subheadings.
iv. The project should have a nice title page and a table of content. The title page should
contain all the required information such as the University logo, title of the project,
course name and section number, and names and IDs of all the group members.
v. Project Grading:
a. The project report will be graded based on the rubric provided at the end of this
document. All the students in one group will get the same grade unless the
individual part of a student is significantly substandard. The low-performing
students may get fewer grades than the group.
b. Presentation/viva grading, however, will be based on individual performance. The
evaluation criteria for presentations are provided at the end of this document.
Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be accepted. If proved, the student will not get any grades for the project and
will be subject to disciplinary action as per university policy.
Plagiarism may take several forms, for example:
 Copying, in whole or in part, from printed or other sources without acknowledgment.
 Paraphrasing material (stating something in different words) without acknowledging the source.
 Not acknowledging the source of ideas, even when they are put in your own words.
 Copying materials from internet sites or other electronic media without acknowledgment.
 Directly quoting another’s work without acknowledgment.
 Submitting statistical information or other facts developed by others without due
acknowledgment.
 Taking phrases or terms from some source and placing them in your work without
acknowledgment.
 Self-plagiarism - submitting work that has already been submitted in another course.
 Using unpublished materials or summarizing another person’s work without appropriate
referencing.
 Copying from another student’s work.
 REPORT STRUCTURE (Proposed)

The report should follow the structure given below:

Date _
To: {Name of the Manager, who you are writing and his/her position and company name}
From: {Name of Students (name 1, name2, name3}

Subject: Proposal for (Selected topic and the name of the company, if applicable)

Executive Summary {provide a summary/overview of the entire proposal and explain the
purpose in the maximum half page. Briefly describe the purpose of the report, method, result,
and recommendations.}

Company Background {Introduce your company: a brief history, mission, vision, corporate
goals}.
Problem {Provide the context and describe the problem for which you are proposing the
solution. You may discuss the needs, wants, and demands that need to be satisfied.}
Audience {List the possible audience of your report such as Gatekeeper. Primary, and
Secondary, etc.}
Topics to Investigate
{List the questions you will investigate in your proposed study. For example, if you chose to
write a proposal to develop a new product, your questions may be the following:
What type of product can fulfill consumer needs?
What would be its design, target market, and price, etc. in other words
(4Ps)? Generate as many relevant questions as you can.}
Methods & Resources
{How would you develop the solution for the chosen problem. Describe the alternate solutions
one by one, discuss their pros and cons. How would you choose the best solution? How would
you implement it? What resources would be required to accomplish the job?}
In case you chose to develop a new product, you may describe here the method/process to
develop a new product and you may get guidance from the Principles of Marketing course.}
Qualifications {Qualifications of the group members who will participate in the feasibility
study}

Work Schedule The following schedule will enable us to finish this project on time.
{The schedule can be given in a tabular form as given below}
Responsible Completion Date
Activity Time Duration
Person

Conclusion
{Briefly summarize the main points of your proposal (in between 100-150 words)

Call for Action

{Persuade: It’s tactful to indicate you'll accept suggestions. End on a positive, forward-
looking note such as “We are confident we can complete the assigned task with the schedule
listed above”}

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION REPORT

Contribution
# Student Name University ID
(Only mention the headings)

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 PROJECT EVALUATION FORM
Grades
Assigned Comment
Marking Criterion Obtaine
Grades s
d
1. Report Presentation/organization
-Fulfilled the required structure, cover sheet, words limit, 5
etc.
2. Executive Summary
- Background to report.
5
- Statement of purpose.
-Outline of the report.
3. Body
-Paragraph structure (topic sentences etc.).
50
-Main points are debated
-Cohesion (logic sequence, links between paragraphs).
4. Conclusion
-Restate the report & relates to its purpose.
-Summarize main points. 5
-Consistency between the arguments provided in the
body section and the statement of conclusion
5. Academic English
-Grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, expression, 10
tone, vocabulary, flow.
6. Critical analysis and use of evidence
-Critical approach.
10
-Appropriate & sufficient evidence.
-Integration of evidence & depth of analysis.
7. Overall quality of the report
-Represents an excellent report and provides a significant
contribution. 15
-Engages with the environmental analysis elements & the
degree of success in doing so.
Total Grades 100
 PRESENTATION EVALUATION FORM
Assigned Grades
Criterion Comments
Grade Obtained
1. Opening
Clarifies the importance of the subject to the
10
audience and gets their attention.
2. Overview
Previews the main points of the presentation,
10
including purpose.
3. Organization
The body is clearly divided into main points.
10
4. Support
Each main point is well supported with facts,
20
anecdotes, or other evidence that is both
sufficient and necessary.
5. Delivery style
Shows preparation, maintains interest,
20
reinforces main points, and manages the time.
6. Visual Aids
Well-designed for readability and interest;
10
each supports a major topic and is
labeled
appropriately.
7. Closing
Reinforces main points to the audience.
10
8. Preparation
The presentation content has been carefully
10
organized, the visual aids are well done, and
the delivery leaves you with a clear
understanding
of the topic.
Overall grade for the presentation 100