Writing an MBA dissertation requires a blend of creative and technical skills. University committees assess several aspects of your dissertation, such as the uniqueness of your topic, the participants chosen for the study, and the practical contribution of your research, all of which can impact your dissertation’s success or failure. Therefore, it is crucial to focus on these aspects while writing your dissertation. However, many students overlook important elements related to submission and formatting requirements, causing them to lose points or undergo several revisions. After months of hard work, you may feel exhausted and eager to finish quickly. To overcome this final hurdle, you need a well-structured plan to ensure that you don’t miss any critical elements.
The checklist below includes all the critical components that must be reviewed to decrease the possibility of failure in your MBA dissertation, from picking a subject to creating the last presentation for your defence. You can directly access the section that is most relevant to your current stage of the dissertation writing process.
A wise approach to avoid issues is to proactively prevent them right from the outset. Embarking on an MBA dissertation project is a significant undertaking that spans over several months and demands substantial time and resources. Starting without a well-thought-out plan is akin to committing academic suicide, as evidenced by the relatively high failure rates in this domain. However, when reframed positively, writing a dissertation can be the crowning achievement of your academic journey as an MBA student. As such, it’s crucial to design an optimal plan that maximizes your “return on investment” ratio. It is possible to complete an MBA dissertation by sacrificing work-life balance and immersing oneself in the challenge, but the key is to achieve similar results without burning out and squandering unnecessary resources on activities that do not contribute to the end result.
In this section, we will examine various aspects of such planning that can potentially save you from weeks of frustrating revisions and subpar academic outcomes. Some of these recommendations may pertain to your personal skills and competencies, while others may be associated with your external activities and university arrangements. Although you may choose to skip some of them based on personal preferences, employing them simultaneously can create a synergistic effect that ensures your future success as a dissertation writer. Few things are more disheartening than having to revise major structural elements in the middle of your project and missing interim deadlines as a result. A strong start is halfway to victory, which is why investing several weeks in the elements discussed in this section can pave the way for a seamless academic journey thereafter.
Selecting a research topic is a critical decision for MBA students embarking on their dissertation journey. Despite the wide array of potential topics to explore, there are key elements that are often overlooked, even by experienced dissertation writers. These include considering your supervisor’s knowledge and willingness to explore a particular topic, your ability to reach target audiences and collect primary data, the resources available for your project, and potential competition in the same field. Therefore, choosing a suitable MBA dissertation topic can be challenging, and it is advisable to generate multiple ideas and create a shortlist of meaningful and engaging topics by reviewing academic journals, course materials, newspapers, and other relevant sources.
Take your time to carefully evaluate the importance and focus of your chosen topic, and consider the appropriate research methods even at this early stage. This foresight can prevent potential difficulties down the road, as some students may realize that their chosen topic is not manageable from a methodological perspective in the midst of their dissertation writing process. Hence, thorough consideration and planning during the topic selection phase can save you from unnecessary troubles during your dissertation journey.
Once you have identified 3-5 potential topics for your MBA dissertation, you may consider discussing them with various individuals, such as potential supervisors, dissertation writing experts, academic practitioners, and fellow students. These additional opinions can assist you in narrowing down your topic focus or prioritizing certain options on your list. Moreover, having multiple opportunities enables you to engage in negotiations with your prospective supervisors and mutually agree on interesting ideas for your research.
Although it may appear obvious, many students overlook the importance of checking the requirements of their MBA dissertation, which can result in avoidable mistakes related to formatting, referencing, or word count distribution. These errors may not lead to a complete failure, but they can significantly impact the quality of the dissertation, particularly if aiming for a first-class result. To avoid such issues from the beginning, it is essential to diligently review all module handbooks, ethics protocols, and format requirements such as fonts, margins, and referencing styles. Creating a list of key recommendations and word counts for each section, and clarifying any ambiguous requirements with your supervisor, can be helpful. Paying attention to these details can prevent the loss of marks due to formatting mistakes or minor errors that could have been easily avoided with a little extra effort.
Your MBA dissertation research can take different approaches depending on various factors:
Once you have a realistic MBA dissertation topic, it’s important to develop your research aim, objectives, and questions and consider how to address them.
This understanding is crucial for discussions with your supervisor and the development of your research proposal.
Many MBA projects follow a standard structure, allowing for advanced planning of their completion. Here is a list of typical elements that should be included in most dissertation scenarios:
Ensure that your structure aligns with your university’s requirements and includes specific word count distribution per section. As discussed below, not all sections need to be completed in the first draft. For instance, the Executive Summary, Introduction, and Conclusion can be postponed until the revision phase to make them more tailored to the results obtained.
A previously submitted proposal for your MBA dissertation typically includes a Gantt chart that outlines your planned timeline for the upcoming weeks and months. While some students may write approximate dates in a haphazard manner, we recommend taking this document seriously and going one step further:
A well-developed plan serves as a safety net, keeping you on track and helping you prioritize the most important aspects of your dissertation. It also ensures that you have a thorough understanding of all aspects of the writing process before you begin, allowing you to focus your time and efforts on the most impactful elements rather than wasting time on unnecessary refinements.
The right supervisor can provide you with a significant advantage when it comes to writing your dissertation. When choosing a supervisor, opt for someone who has a track record of successfully guiding students through the process. It’s important to select a supervisor who is not only academically proficient but also socially engaged, attentive to degree requirements, and capable of offering appropriate advice. If you find it difficult to understand your current supervisor and have questions about the dissertation writing process, don’t hesitate to seek additional support from our tutoring service. It’s important to note that some supervisors may have limited time available to provide thorough consultations to every student. So, finding the right fit is crucial for your success.
The most effective way to prevent contingencies is to acknowledge the possibility of their occurrence. Here are some risk management strategies that can safeguard you from harm even in worst-case scenarios:
If we could offer one piece of advice for writing your dissertation, it would be to thoroughly plan it from the beginning. A well-designed research project sets the stage for success, with a unique topic supported by realistic and measurable objectives and reliable methodological instruments. While it still requires time and effort, a well-planned dissertation can be seamlessly integrated into your personal life without major conflicts. Many students make the mistake of starting with writing sections of their project before finalizing their research objectives or adjusting their topic along the way. This approach is suboptimal and leads to a disjointed study without a clear main argument. Therefore, it is crucial to seek professional guidance and lay a solid foundation. The Academic Assignments team is here to help with dissertation writing and share our expertise in achieving top marks. Feel free to review our sample dissertations to ensure we provide the best academic service. You can start with a dissertation proposal to mitigate the risk of ordering a full project at once.
The following checklist provides an opportunity to create a preliminary version of your MBA dissertation. Aim to cover about 80% of the word count for each section while addressing all the key requirements identified earlier. The purpose of this phase is to bring you close to completion in terms of readiness while allowing room for further revisions and additions. There are several reasons for adopting this approach:
To create a preliminary draft that is likely to receive a passing grade with minimal revisions, follow these points. Keep in mind that this draft will be further improved in the next phase of your MBA dissertation writing process.
After completing your initial draft, there are two important tasks to be done. Firstly, you need to thoroughly proofread and edit your draft to identify any missing elements and improve its overall quality. This may involve revising your main sections and ensuring the coherence of your main argument across all chapters, particularly focusing on the quality of your Analysis chapter.
Secondly, you need to add a number of auxiliary sections to your final dissertation draft, such as the Abstract, Acknowledgements, Appendices, informed consent forms, ethics forms, and other obligatory parts. These sections should be included in your document, and you should also consider adding any additional elements to enhance the readability of your work.
To ensure that your dissertation is ready for submission, a final inspection is necessary. This step is particularly crucial when you have already completed your document draft and are preparing it for submission. The checklist includes recommendations that cover all important aspects of dissertation projects. However, it is important to review your university’s specific requirements, as some may have unique submission procedures, referencing styles, document formatting, and guidelines for visual materials and appendices. This process can be divided into two main parts.
The first step in revising your draft is to ensure that it meets all the necessary requirements regarding its content, grammar, style, and constituent elements.
The thesis chapters should present a clear and consistent narrative that is critical and free of errors. Additionally, the text should be formatted according to the university’s guidelines, with all pages, tables, and figures numbered appropriately.
Check that all sources mentioned in the text are included in the Reference list and that the referencing style is consistent throughout the work. Ensure that all figures and tables are correctly referenced and that the Appendices contain all relevant materials, such as questionnaire forms, informed consent forms, additional figures, and interview transcripts.
It is recommended to read your dissertation from beginning to end in one sitting to ensure that the text flows logically and coherently. Also, check the word count for all sections if it is specified by the university’s requirements.
Proofread the entire document, ensuring consistent spacing and font formatting, and use both electronic and printed copies to avoid eye strain.
Verify that the title page is correct and formatted correctly. Analyze the implications of your research for practice and provide sufficient examples of how your dissertation findings may be valuable to industry practitioners.
Lastly, suggest future research directions and outline how your fellow researchers can expand your analysis and address any limitations and knowledge gaps.
The final part of the checklist focuses on the technical aspects of your dissertation to ensure that it is free of any technical issues. Although such problems are uncommon, it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan in place just in case.
Before submitting your dissertation, try opening the file on multiple computers to detect any bugs or compatibility issues. If possible, submit the document in PDF format to ensure that it maintains its integrity and can be viewed on most computer systems. Formats like .doc or .docx may cause formatting problems if the reviewer uses a different software version than you. Ensure that all figures in your document are embedded JPG or PNG files and avoid cross-referenced elements. Include any required declarations, such as a statement confirming that the dissertation paper is being submitted for the first time. Leave at least three days for binding your dissertation to make any necessary page replacements or changes. Verify that the document was successfully uploaded and received by your university. Use any spare time to prepare for your future defense.
In case you face difficulties with any of the above-mentioned aspects of MBA dissertation writing, our website offers various solutions. You can browse through our MBA dissertation examples, explore our sample MBA dissertation topics, or seek MBA dissertation help from our team of assignment writers who are industry professionals with extensive experience in supervising projects in this field. We provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all our services, including dissertation writing, essay writing, and assignment help. You can also order individual elements, such as MBA project topics or specific chapters. We can assist you with any part of your dissertation that you are struggling with or provide a second opinion to determine if your current choices are appropriate for achieving a high-quality dissertation.