BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION

HANDBOOK 2021-2022

The Bachelor Dissertation is a major individual academic project and is a mandatory component of the
BiM program for the student profiles identified in the table below. The Bachelor Dissertation is
validated in Course Unit BD301N_B and gives rise to 10 ECTS.

The following student profiles MUST validate a Bachelor Dissertation under supervision from Rennes
School of Business:

All students
(Except Special cases of BiM students studying on a Double Degree
Programme).

The Bachelor Report will be written in France (students returning to Rennes

after a Transfer Credit exchange in Semester 5) or abroad (Students on
French students
exchange in Semester 6 or Full Year)
post BiM 1 & 2
Parcours (60 ECTS)
Special Case: French students on Double Degree programs abroad must check
the DD agreement signed by the Partner University with the International
Studies Coordinator. As a general rule these students will complete the
obligations of the Partner University as concerns the BD but must do the 8-
week internship.

Direct 3rd year Entry French

students Parcours 3.2 (63 All students who have joined Rennes School of Business in September 2021 and
ECTS) will complete 1 full year in order to obtain the BiM Bachelor degree. These
students will write their Bachelor Dissertation in Rennes and do the 8 week
Direct 3rd year Entry
internship under a Rennes internship contract.
International students
Parcours 3.3 (64 ECTS)
Track 3.6 Innovative Business
Management Work study All students who are doing an Innovative Business Management Work Study Track.
track.

HBBA Students Students who are registered on the HBBA programme.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

PART ONE

1. Purpose of the Bachelor Dissertation

This project is the final assessment of the BiM program. Through this project, students must
demonstrate that they are able to carry out an individual research project in their area of
specialization. This involves collecting and analyzing data, and making pertinent recommendations
based on the findings of the study, in the form of a well-structured analytical dissertation.

The bachelor dissertation allows students to deepen their knowledge in a particular field of interest of
their choice. It is important that the researcher demonstrate rigor and clarity, which are essential
aspects of good communication.

2. Subject of the Bachelor Dissertation

The Bachelor Dissertation must correspond to the following criteria:

The Bachelor Dissertation topic must be clearly linked to the student’s

Linked to Specializations:
Use of Knowledge acquired
in the specialized classes
Collection and analysis of
data
chosen specialization: Marketing, Finance & Banking, Purchasing & Supply
Chain
The student must select, apply, and integrate concepts and skills studied in
the program to a new subject area or new application field.
The project should go beyond the existing knowledge of the student and
deepen his/her knowledge of a given area of study. The student should do
this by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting primary and/or secondary
data with academic rigor, following standard research methodologies.

N.B: The Bachelor Dissertation is not directly linked to the Internship as it is completed before the
internship starts. However, it is highly recommended that students choose a topic which is related to
their professional aspirations. Research for the Bachelor Dissertation can give students the opportunity
to review academic literature to deepen theoretical knowledge in a chosen phenomenon that will be
investigated, to develop in-depth knowledge about sectors of activities and companies, to interview
managers, to demonstrate their mastery of a complex subject and potentially to distribute their CVs.

The topic itself should be linked to current affairs and could arise from:

1) The student’s own experience, desire to pursue a topic from a course, personal connections,
intended job area etc.
2) Companies who have expressed research needs in a particular problem area during an
exchange or during a prior internship.
3) News articles in specialized press and readings or discussions with teachers or others.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

3. Schedule and TimeLine

DATE EVENT

Students’ free choice of supervisors on the online database on

15 Nov 2021 – 6 Dec 2021
WebRISE

Administration allocation of supervisors to students who have not

6 Dec 2021 – 8 Dec 2021
chosen on the WebRISE
Independent research on Bachelor Dissertation, aided by the
Jan-May 2022
supervisor
Final submission date for all students:
1 electronic version to be submitted on 10th May 2022 at 2 PM Paris
Time
10 May 2022
Submission on E-Learning (Moodle). Penalties apply after this
deadline

Resubmissions for students who received a failing grade in May. All

19 August 2022
grades following resubmission will be capped to a D.

4. Effort and Workload

The project represents approximately 150 hours of student work in total (4 weeks full-time). The
Bachelor Dissertation should be approximately 15000-20000 words.

5. Language

The project can be written in French or in English. Students should be careful while choosing their
supervisor online that s/he can supervise in the chosen language. A minimum level of English / French
is required to allow the reader to understand what the writer is trying to say. If the reader does not
understand, the project will be awarded a lower grade. Students should use automatic spell check and
grammar check software to avoid basic errors. It is advisable to ask a third party to read the report to
find errors that have been missed.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

PART TWO – PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

1. Preparation

Students in Rennes during the Fall semester attend 12 hours of classes (RM302E). For those students
overseas in the Fall semester, identical resources are made available on Moodle.

2. Supervision

On November 15th, 2021, an online database of supervisors will be available on students’ WebRISE.
Students will have the possibility to search by keywords and view supervisor profiles. Once they have
found a fit for their topic, they will be able to select their supervisor directly on their WebRISE. All
allocations are final.
Supervisors are available throughout the year to discuss the academic requirements of the project.
Each student has 3h contact time. Supervisors can give advice on methodology issues but are not
subject experts. It is not their job to read and comment upon your final draft before submission.

3. Final Bachelor Dissertation Submission

The final deadline for Bachelor Dissertation submission is May 10th, 2022 – 2pm Paris Time.
Penalties will be applied to all projects handed in after this deadline as follows:

Lateness Penalty on report grade

Work accepted, grade capped
1 day to 7 days
at “D”
Work refused, “F” grade
8 days or more
awarded

A student who fails to submit a project in May will be classified as FAIL. Failure to meet this deadline
will mean that the student cannot resubmit until the next academic year (if the student is still within
the 4-year time period allowed to complete their studies / 2-year period in the case of direct entry into
the 3rd year of the programme).

Students should submit an electronic version via E-Learning /Moodle.

NB: All projects are automatically checked for plagiarism by the software: TURNITIN.
Students who plagiarise will automatically FAIL and will have to resubmit the work as a
RESIT (if successful grade capped at D).

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

4. Assessment

The Bachelor Dissertation is examined by the supervisor chosen by the student in November using a
framework of criteria including form, structure and content.

The minimum required grade for the project is D (50% or more). Students failing to achieve this grade
will be asked to resubmit their work on the 19th August 2022. In this case the student must keep the
same topic. Please note there is no appeal for academic judgement.

NB In the case of a new failure at the resit, students will have to re-enrol in the next academic year
and will have to submit a new project with the new cohort of students (earliest submission May
2023).

This will lead to NON-GRADUATION and will block students in their Progression to a Masters.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

PART THREE – DETAILED WRITE-UP INSTRUCTIONS

The Bachelor Dissertation report should constitute a well-structured and convincing account of a
study. The projects are assessed on 3 main elements, form, structure and content. This section briefly
describes the nature of each of these elements.

1. Concerning FORM:

a. TYPING, PAGE SIZE AND LENGTH

The report must be typed and be 1.5 spaced. The main text should be in 12-point type and headings
should be larger.

b. SUB-SECTIONS AND NUMBERING

The decimal numbering system should be adopted. Sub-sections should have some distinguishable
heading.

c. PAGE NUMBERS

Page numbers before the main body of the text, i.e., before chapter 1 begins, are in lower case roman
numerals, i.e., i, ii, iii, iv, v, etc. The main body of the text should use normal Arabic numerals, i.e.,
1,2,3,4, etc., starting at chapter 1. Appendices may continue the main body numbering or use a
different numbering system perhaps distinguished by a prefix, such as A1, A2, A3.

d. TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Photographs, maps, graphs, tables, and other illustrations should be placed as close as possible to
where they are referenced or described in the text. Each table and illustration should have a unique
reference number and be referred to in the text. Sources and dates should be clearly identified.

e. PROJECT TITLE

The title should describe the content of the project accurately and concisely. It should be written as a
question.

f. STYLE

The style of writing should be active and direct (e.g., “I recommend the following.” Instead of “The
following recommendations can be made”). References should be used appropriately in order to
distinguish what the AUTHOR did and what OTHERS did.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

g. TITLE PAGE

The title page gives the following information in the order listed. Project title should summarise the
problem area which will be dealt with in the Bachelor Dissertation

BACHELOR DISSERTATION
Bachelor in Management
Specialization Track …………………….

Complete Project Title and subtitle

Full name of the author

Student Rennes School of Business email:

Date, month and year of submission

Supervisor Name

h. TABLE OF CONTENTS

The table of contents immediately follows the title page. The table of contents lists in sequence all the
relevant subdivisions of the report and their page numbers, including:
 Executive Summary
 List of abbreviations (if necessary)
 Title of chapters, sections and subsections of the report as appropriate
 List of references
 Appendices

i. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The summary must be no longer than one page and should not exceed 300 words. The summary may
be single-spaced if necessary. It should contain the main points of the project, i.e., research objectives
and research question, context, research design, major findings, and practical implications.

j. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Where abbreviations are used, a key should be provided as a list of abbreviations and their meanings.
For an abbreviation in common use, the term should be stated in full in the first instance followed by
the abbreviation in brackets. Thereafter the abbreviation may be used. If there are a large number of
abbreviations, a list of abbreviations should be used.

k. THE MAIN TEXT

The main text should be arranged in logical sections and sub-sections, allowing the reader to follow
the development of what you have done. New chapters should start on a new page.

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REFERENCES

It is essential to reference any work, ideas, diagrams etc. that are not the author’s own work, whether
quoted directly of paraphrased. Failure to do so is plagiarism (see Rennes School of Business rules on
Academic Integrity). References are proof of quality and can be used to the student’s great advantage.
(Please read the Rennes School of Business Library Fact Sheet on Harvard Referencing)

The list of references appears immediately after the main text. All authors (regardless of whether a
book or an article is being referenced) appear in alphabetical order, with author’s name in full, for
example:
Laverty J., Demeestère R. (2013), "Les nouvelles règles du contrôle de gestion industrielle",
Dunod
Wild R. (2012), "Production and Operations Management", Cassell, Fourth Edition

In a BiM Bachelor Dissertation, the student is not expected to show that they have read all the relevant
literature. Nevertheless, s/he should show that they have read some key elements of it and the best
way of doing this is by using references.

The data items required to describe a book, whether as a reference or part of the bibliography, are the
following and in order:
Author's surname
Author's first names or initials
Year of publication
Title (underlined)
Publisher
Edition (if any)

The data items required to describe an article, whether as a reference or as part of the bibliography
are as follows and in order:
Author's surname
Author's first names or initials
Year of publication
Title of article
Name of journal (underlined)
Volume number
Part number
Month(s) (if any)
Page numbers (start to finish of article)

It is not necessary to state the page number of the book.

References should be listed on a separate page after the main body of the text.

Students may quote statements from other authors directly in their text, but they should avoid doing
this more than a few times. The best way is to paraphrase the main points from the work. Company
brochures and handbooks should also be referenced.

l. APPENDICES

Appendices contain further data or information which is useful but not directly necessary to
understand the main text. It should be possible to read the main body of the text without the

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appendices and still understand the project. All appendices should be referenced from the main body.
Each appendix should start on a new page.

2. STRUCTURE

Structure refers to the organization of the elements of the dissertation such as chapters, sub-chapters,
and paragraphs. The structure of the dissertation is critical as it determines whether the ideas of the
research project and the research process are presented clearly and logically, and whether the reader
can follow what has been done.

BASIC OUTLINE

The general structure of the main text of a bachelor dissertation is as follows:

 Introduction. This chapter is meant to define the scope and nature of the problem being addressed.
It should emphasize the practical importance of the subject of investigation. It should grab the
reader’s attention and encourage him/her to read further.
 Research objectives. This chapter must what the student sets out to achieve. This section can be
integrated with the introduction, or it can be presented as a separate element.
 Literature review. This chapter should contain a critical and analytical synthesis of multiple
academic and non-academic literature sources. This chapter should be structured into sub-
chapters.
 Research design and methodology. This chapter contains a detailed description of the
methodological approach used and the justification of this methodology.
 Findings and discussion. This chapter contains the results or findings relating to the problem area
studied and their discussion in theoretical and practical terms.
 Conclusion. This chapter contains an answer to the research question of the study and a brief
summary of the process.
 References. Bibliographic information of all the sources cited in the text, formatted according to
Harvard or the APA style, organized in alphabetical order without bullet-points or numbers.

Content of the main parts of a bachelor dissertation is described in the section below.

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 BiM BACHELOR DISSERTATION HANDBOOK 2021-2022

3. CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
The introduction should contain a description of the phenomenon that is investigated in the research
project. Firstly, the focus of this chapter should be on the situation/issue/problem in current affairs.
That is, practical importance and/or urgency of the issue should be justified. Secondly, the introduction
should contain a brief overview of the state of knowledge on the issue (that is, what is known and what
is still not known on the subject). A few academic and non-academic sources should be cited in this
chapter.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The general objective of a bachelor dissertation research project is to create new knowledge on a
specific subject that would be potentially useful for one or several stakeholders, such as companies,
managers, policy makers, and society at large. This section should state such objectives. Specifically,
this section should articulate in what way new knowledge will be created (for instance whether the
issue described in the introduction will be explained, described, or explored) and what is the
anticipated impact of this new knowledge on one or several stakeholders (i.e., who benefits).

LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter should contain a critical and synthetic review of 30 sources, including at least 20 academic
articles. Critical and synthetic means that the review should not simply compile summaries of articles
and books, but it should synthesize an analytical report of existing knowledge on a subject, presenting
this knowledge in a structured way (e.g., different perspectives, different aspects) and highlighting
gaps, flaws, and inconsistencies in this knowledge. The literature review should be structured in sub-
chapters. It should conclude with the articulation of a research gap and the statement of a research
question and investigative questions/hypotheses (if relevant).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter should explain how will the research question that was stated earlier be answered. Firstly,
the general research approach of the project (qualitative or quantitative) and the research strategy
(e.g., survey, case study, desk research etc.) must be described and justified (i.e., why this
approach/strategy and not another). Secondly, specific methodological aspects of the research design
must be addressed: sample, sources of data, methods of data collection, data analysis process.

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

This chapter should present the objective findings of a study and their interpretation. In the case of a
quantitative study, findings will be presented in the format of tables with coefficients, graphs, and
charts. In the case of a qualitative study, findings should be organized by themes and illustrated with
quotations from the interviews or other exemplifications of the findings based on the data. Findings
(i.e., new knowledge) must be discussed in terms of (a) their relation to the existing knowledge (how
does it fit in, contradict, or challenge existing knowledge) and (b) practical implications (i.e., how can
this knowledge be used in practice).

CONCLUSION
The conclusion of a bachelor dissertation should contain the following information. First, a summary
(1 paragraph) of the research project – what was the research objective and why, what was the
research question, what was done to answer this question, and what is the answer to the research
question. Second, limitations of the study and recommendations for future work (areas of study not
dealt with or beyond the scope of the study, different methodological approach, different sample etc.).

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