TGBS PGDM – Sem IV

Guidelines for Dissertation Project

The PGDM dissertation project is the culmination of the PGDM program. The students as expected to
synthesize, integrate & apply skills that they have acquired during entire program, across all semesters
that approximate a professional practice experience.

It is mandatory & a full credit course for 100 marks. The format mentioned herein is mandatory for
all PGDM students irrespective of their specialization.

Dissertation Project: Marks: 100

The key objective of this project is to provide the student with an opportunity to study a management
challenge in a systematic manner. The project should enable students to apply the conceptual
knowledge that you have acquired over three semesters in a practical manner.

Steps Involved:
1. Arriving at a topic for research

2. Literature Study

3. Defining the project objectives

4. Defining the Project Plan

5. Methodology of the Research

6. Interpretation & reporting the finding

Identify the area that you want to pursue the project in, which could be in any of the following ways:

1. The students is placed in the organization, identifies a problem through independent data analysis
&/or consultation with a field organization & presents it to the guide for approval as a project synopsis.

2. The students aspires to be a part of a particular company/industry & hence takes up the dissertation
project for better understanding by developing a project synopsis.

3. Student choses a topic that is of interest to him or her.

Evaluation of Project Report
The evaluation of the project report will be done in two phases viz. – the written report & the viva-
voce exam.

Evaluation Criteria for Project Work

Project Report parameters Marks

• Choice of Project 05
• Definition of Objectives of the Study, Scope of the Study 05
• Methodology including Literature Review, primary data & secondary data search,
questionnaire design
10
• Field work/Secondary research 10
• Analysis of data, report writing, language 10
• Recommendations, Suggestions, Bibliography 05
• Applicability of the Study 05

Total (A) 50

Viva Voce Exam

• Ability to discuss the key challenge taken up, objective & scope of the study 10
• Ability to discuss the report, methodology & literature 10
• Ability to discuss data analysis, interpretation of results & recommendations 20
• Overall communication & Language 10

Total (B) 50

Total (A+B) 100

Cover Page Format

Dissertation Project

On

Title of the Project

Submitted in partial fulfilment for the award of PGDM

Submitted by

Student Name

(Roll No._____)

Under the Guidance of

Name of the Faculty Member

2021-22

Thakur Global Business School

Approved by AICTE and Government of Maharashtra
Shyamnarayan Thakur Marg, Thakur Village, Kandivali (E), Mumbai - 400101
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that project titled “__________________________________” is successfully

completed by Mr. / Ms. ____________________________________ during the IV semester, in partial
fulfilment of the PGDM course, approved by AICTE and Government of Maharashtra, in the
year______ at Thakur Global Business School.

This project work is original & not submitted earlier for the award of any degree, diploma or
associateship of any other university/ Institution.

Name: ____________________ ( )

Date: _____________________ Signature of the Guide

 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this Project Report submitted by me to Thakur Global Business School is a bona
fide work undertaken by me & it is not submitted to any other university or institution for the award
of any degree diploma certificate or published any time before.

Name: ___________________

Roll no. __________________ Signature of the Student

Details of Project Report Contents:
1. Cover Page

2. Certificate

3. Declaration

4. Acknowledgement

where appropriate you may wish to acknowledge the assistance of particular organization/s or
individual/s who provided, advice or help.

5. Table of Contents

The contents page should list the different chapters &/or headings together with the page numbers.

6. Introduction

The title of Chapter I shall be introduction. The introduction sets the scene for the main body of the
report & should provide a clear statement of the problem posed by the project, & why the problem is
of interest. The aim & objective of the report should be explained in detail. Any problems or limitations
in the scope of the report should be identified, & a description of research methods, the parameters
of the research & any necessary background history should be included.

7. Review of Literature

This shall normally form Chapter 2 & shall present a critical appraisal of the previous work published
in the literature pertaining to the topic of the investigation. Appropriate referencing for data &
literature quoted needs to be done.

8. Methodology

In this chapter the approach followed to reach the project’s objective should be described.
Information under this heading may include: explanations of procedures followed; relevant
information on materials used, including sources of materials & details of any necessary preparation;
reference to any problems encountered & subsequent changes in procedure.

9. Results

This section should include a summary of the results of the investigation or experiment together with
any necessary diagrams, graphs or tables of gathered data that support your results. The results
section is dedicated to presenting those actual results (i.e. measured & calculated quantities), not to
discussing their meaning or interpretation, present your results in a logical order without comment.

Every figure & Table should have a legend that describes concisely what is contained or shown. Figure
legends go below the figure, table legends above the table. Throughout the report, but especially in
this section, pay attention to reporting numbers with an appropriate number of significant figures.

10. Discussion

The main body of the report is where you discuss the data that has been found which includes the
facts & evidence you have gathered. This should be analysed & discussed with specific reference to
the problem or issue. The discussion interprets the results in light of the project’s objectives so that
the reader is informed of the insight or answers that the result provides. If your discussion section is
lengthy, you might divide it into section headings. Your points should be grouped & arranged in an
order that is logical & easy to follow. Use headings & subheadings to create a clear structure for your
material. Use bullet points to present a series of points in an easy -to-follow list.

11. Conclusion

The conclusion should summarize the central points made in the discussion section, reinforcing for
the reader the value & implications of the work. If the results were not definitive, specific future work
that may be needed can be (briefly) described. Therefore, any conclusions should be based on
observations & data already discussed. You may want to remind the reader of the most important
points that have been made in the report or highlight what you consider to be the most central issues
or findings. However, no new material should be introduced in the conclusion.

12. Bibliography / References

The references section should contain complete citations following standard form. The form of the
citation depends on the type of source being referenced, & is different for whole books, chapters in
books, & articles published in a journal. The references should be numbered & listed in the order they
were cited in the body of the report. In the text of the report, a particular reference can be cited by
using a numerical superscript that corresponds to its number in the reference list. References must be
numbered in the order that they are cited.

13. Appendices

Under this heading you should include all the supporting information you have used that is not
published. This might include tables, graphs, questionnaires, surveys or transcripts. Refer to the
appendices in the body of your report.

Report on Plagiarism check

Write the final report in YOUR OWN WORDS. In case you need to quote another author you can do so
by writing the wordings in “xxxxx“.DO NOT CUT -PASTE parts of any text either from another paper or
from the net. This is plagiarism.

The soft copy of the project will be checked by the student for plagiarism through authentic online
resources & the output report should be attached to the hard copy of the project. This will have to be
done before the submission.

Your report should reflect original work. Do not unnecessarily download stuff & fill pages. You can &
should read as much as possible – but rewrite relevant comments in your own words.
Project Report Format

Paper

The report shall be printed / xeroxed on white bond paper, whiteness 95 % or above, weight 70 gram
or more per square meter. The size of the paper shall be standard A4, height 297 mm, width 210 mm.

Type – Setting, Text Processing & Printing

The text shall be printed on single side of a page (BE report on both side of a page) employing laser jet
or inkjet printer, the text having been processed using a standard text processor. The standard font
shall be Times New Roman of 12 pts with 1.5 line spacing.

Page Format

The printed sheets shall have the following written area & margins:

Top margin 15mm

Head Height 3mm

Head Separation 12mm

Bottom Margin 22 mm

Footer 3 mm

Foot Separation 10mm

Left Margin 30 mm

Right Margin 20 mm

Text Height 245 mm

Text Width 160 mm

When header is not used the top margin shall be 30 mm

Pagination

Page numbering in the text of the report shall be Hindu -Arabic numerals at the centre of the footer.
Page number “1” for the first page of the Introduction chapter shall not appear in print: only the
second page will bear the number “2”. The subsequent chapters shall begin on a fresh page. Pagination
for pages before the introduction chapter shall be in lower case Roman numerals e.g. “iv”.

Header

When the header style is chosen, the header can have chapter number & section number (e.g. Chapter
2, Section 3) on even numbered page headers & chapter title or section title on the odd numbered
page header.

Paragraph Format

Vertical space between paragraphs shall be about 2.5 line spacing. A paragraph should normally
comprise more than one line. A single line of a paragraph shall not be left at the top or bottom of a
page. The word at the right end of the first line of a page or paragraph should as far as possible, not
be hyphenated.
Chapter Format

Each chapter shall begin on a fresh page with an additional top margin of about 75 mm. Chapter
number (in Hindu – Arabic) & title shall be printed at the centre of the line in 6mm font size (18pt) in
bold face using both upper & lower case

(spacing after font size 36 with single line spacing) shall be left between the chapter number & chapter
title lines & between chapter title & the first paragraph.

Table / Figure Format

Tables & figures should be presented in portrait style as far as possible. Small size table & figures (less
than half of writing area of a page) should be incorporated within the text, while larger ones may be
presented on separated pages. Tables & figures shall be numbered chapter -wise. For example, the
fourth figure in chapter 5 will bear the number 5.4 or Fig. 5.4.

Table number & title will be placed above the table while the figure number & caption will be located
below the figure. Reference for Table & Figures reproduced from elsewhere shall be cited in the last
& separate line in the table & figure caption.

Auxiliary Format

Binding

The final copy of the report needs to be hardbound in black colour.

Front Cover

The front cover shall contain the following details:

a. Full title of project in 6mm 22 point’s size font properly centred & positioned at the top.

b. Full name of the student in 4.5 mm 15 point’s size properly centred at the middle of the page.

c. The name of the institute & the year of submission, each in a separate line & properly centred &
located at the bottom of page.

Lettering

All lettering shall be embossed in gold.

Bound Back

The degree, the name of the candidate & the year of submission shall also be embossed on the bound
(side) in gold.

Blank sheets

In addition to the white sheets (binding requirements) two white sheets shall be put at the beginning
& the end of the thesis.