Marketing public relations

Example 1.

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Reaching for the stars: Implementing world class manufacturing at Company X. Nice
title!!

Background.

In 2006 during my diploma stage I completed an assignment on managing quality and

business improvements, asking the question “Is quality a driver for sustainable competitive

advantage?” try and write in the 3rd person and avoid ‘I’.

Within the assignment I looked at various quality systems and what understanding the blue

collar workforce had of them. The initiatives were Lean, Kaizen, Six Sigma, Right First

Time, Work books –Test specifications, Shaping the Future, P.A.I.N. and ISO 9001) The

results showed that although Company X had invested time and training into all of the

initiatives, (punctuation) from the sample of the work force taken 40.7%, mention numbers

as well as %, either did not know what the initiatives were or did not see them as being

beneficial to the organisation. When questioned (by who, when, how?) employees argued

that there are too many initiatives being implemented at Company X thus resulting in

confusion. Some of the initiatives have not been passed down to all employees leading to a

lack of knowledge throughout the workforce. The staff also felt that some of the initiatives

were started with a big fan fare but as pressure mounted to meet schedules and sale days,

the initiatives were put to one side and getting vehicles off site at all cost became the No1

priority.

In 2006 World Class Manufacturing (WCM) was launched throughout the Company X

manufacturing group world wide and the Derby site is currently looking at successfully

implementing WCM throughout the production areas. Consider briefly what are the

strategic benefits that WCM will bring to BT – why are they doing this??
WCM Incorporates all of the quality systems listed above and is a way of standardising all

production processes world wide within Company X. A definition can be found on

www.smthacker.co.uk/world_class_manufacturing.

“World Class Manufacturers are those that demonstrate industry best practice. To achieve

this, companies should attempt to be best in the field at each of the competitive priorities

(quality, price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and innovation). Organisations

should therefore aim to maximise performance in these areas in order to maximise

competitiveness. The priorities will change over time and must therefore be reviewed”

As a test manager I will be responsible for the performance of my test team and thus, it is

vital that I fully understand all the principals and training required to achieve the desired

standards of WCM. This report will look at how is WCM being implemented, have the

workforce received sufficient training and what measurements are in place to monitor

WCM. (is this the aim of the research – if so is it manageable? Is it feasible? Is it

achieveable?)

OBJECTIVES

16 Research and critically analyse the literature on the implementation of World Class

manufacturing.

17 Critically evaluate the current methodology used at Company X to implement World

Class Manufacturing.

18 Critically analyse Company X KPI’s on World class Manufacturing.

19 To draw conclusions as to whether World Class Manufacturing is being implemented

successfully amongst Company X blue collar workers.

20 To propose recommendations to improve the implementation of WCM amongst BT

blue-collar staff.

I’ve fiddled with the wording of Objectives a little – you may wish to consider these?
Also you’ll probably fiddle again as you do your LitRev.
 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

In order to asses the implementation of World Class Manufacturing I (please remember 3rd

person) will source secondary information from various publications located within libraries,

the internet and journals, (So what key theories and concepts do you need to relate to

in order to understand this subject more effectively?, you need to show the reader an

initial appreciation of the theories) some of which can be found listed in the bibliography

at the end of this proposal. *(SEE EARLIER COMMENT – THIS IS NOT

SATISFACTORY – YOU MUST DISCUSS THE BASIC KEY THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

– AND CITE USING THE HARVARD SYSTEM) Other information will be sourced using

Company X existing documentation, literature and the organisations own intranet.

Primary data will be collected through the form of a questionnaire based on the

understanding of world class manufacturing amongst the workforce at Company X’s Derby

site.

Quantitative data will be collated through existing information gathered, including man

hours taken per vehicle, number of defects per vehicle; scores achieved using the WCM

score cards and a questionnaire. (just clarify how this will help your analysis)

Qualitative data will be collated through conversations and meeting with staff in relations

to what understanding of World Class Manufacturing they have. (what formats? – focus

groups, interviews etc – be a little more specific)

Is there any merit in also seeking the views of management about these issues to see

if there is any accord or gaps?

You need to support your suggestions from secondary data eg from Bryman and Bell,

Saunders et al etc.

Justify your choice of research tools in relation to what you are hoping to achieve.

What resources will you need?

OUTLINE OF STRUCTURE (not necessary)

 21 Title page.

22 Acknowledgements and thanks.

23 Contents.

24 Table and Figures.

25 Introduction.

26 Literature review.

27 Methodology.

28 Research and Analysis.

29 Conclusions and recommendations.

30 Bibliography

31 Appendices

I would have expected to see a reference page here from some of the books, journal

etc you should have in your proposal to highlight key theories / aspects of the

literature currently available on this subject

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gunn, Thomas, G.1987. Manufacturing for competitive advantage: becoming a world class

manufacturer. Cambridge, Mass. Ballinger Pub. Co.

Steudel, Harold J. 1992. Manufacturing in the nineties. New York: London: Van Reinhold:

Chapman and Hall.

Todd, Jim. 1995. World class manufacturing. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill

www.Transportation. Company X.com.

www.smthacker.co.uk/world_class_manufacturing.

Make sure you use the Harvard system of referencing please. The

bibliography/reference section is very limited.

Dissertation plan Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr M
Choose project P
Allocate supervisor P
Meet supervisor P
Submission of proposal P
Complete introduction to Company X P
Complete introduction to proposal aims and objectives P
Introduction to literature review P
Methodology approach P
Write and distribute questionnaire P
Research collation P P P P P P
Research analysis
Research findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendixes
Hand in dissertation

ENDExample 2.
1.1 INTRODUCTION

The topic area of gluten-free products has been selected due to a personal interest into the feasibility of

launching new products into a niche market made up generally from the population who suffer from coeliac

disease or gluten intolerance and those who choose a gluten-free diet in the belief that it is a healthier

lifestyle. This is a rather long sentence. (Could you also explain what gluten-free products actually are?)

Having recently learned of friends diagnosed as suffering from coeliac disease (*AGAIN EXPLAIN) , it

became clear that their first reaction was one of panic as to what they would eat and where would they find

specialist food. As they live busy lifestyles, they seemed reluctant to “go back to basics” in the kitchen and

bake using the specialist flours available. I *(KEEP TO 3RD PERSON) by surprising them with a home-

made gluten-free birthday cake and set to work purchasing the necessary ingredients and making the cake.

The result was very successful but as it left a large portion of the flour sitting in the cupboard, I began

experimenting with other recipes and received further requests for gluten-free birthday cakes. This has lead

to explore the possibility of setting up a gluten-free business and to identify the size of a potential market

for such products.

1.2 STRATEGIC INTENT

The strategic issues raised by this are based around how to target a niche market and produce the products

that customers want to buy. It may be that the market is too small or narrow to consider it as a business

opportunity purely on gluten-free products. The demographics raised by market research will need to be

explored to establish whether it would be feasible to run a business as an outlet, say in a shop or kiosk, or

whether a more internet-based selling approach would best serve the purpose of supplying goods where

they are needed or wanted. (Good – you are asking sensible questions!!)

By exploring such established businesses as Starbucks and Tie Rack, who have built up around a small

product base, some insight into the best strategic approach may be reached. (will this form of your chosen

research methods for the project?)

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The objective (or is this the aim or if not then what is the specific aim of this research?) of this

dissertation is to carry out a market research based study into the availability (or unavailability) of the type

of gluten-free products desired. This will be done with the following specific aims:-

32 To identify the size of a potential market for gluten-free products where? UK/International/Local

33 To explore the range of products currently being purchased where?

34 To investigate whether more products are desired to be available woolly – be more specific

35 To assess The feasibility of setting up a gluten-free product business. (THIS IS VERY BIG IN ITS
OWN RIGHT – TIGHTER FOCUS?). Do you have a Diss ‘Title’ which captures the broad

intention??

2.1 LITERATURE SEARCH

The initial place to begin searching for information was with Coeliac UK, a registered charity for people

with coeliac disease who currently have “around 70,000 members and 600 new members joining every

month”. (? Source) They have a large website and claim that they can provide information regarding the

number of people registered as having coeliac disease, types of products available and “can put you in

touch with 50% of the UK population with coeliac”. Further investigation revealed that they produce a

magazine named “crossed grain” which includes advertisements for gluten-free products and places to eat
out along with articles on latest research into medical studies, campaigns to raise awareness and recipes.

This will provide an insight into the latest fads and thinking that may influence buyer behaviour.

There are a limited number of food journals, which on first pass appear to be very short on items regarding

gluten-free products. These include the British Food Journal, The Grocer, Trends in Food Science and

Technology and Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resources. By focusing on marketing and

gluten-free, one article was discovered in Marketing Magazine. (which helps how?)

Both the large central library and the local library held two books each on the subject of gluten-free

lifestyle, one being “living gluten-free for dummies” providing a “comprehensive guide to achieving a

healthy, gluten-free lifestyle” Baic, Denby and Korn (2007). It provides a wealth of information on gluten-

free lifestyle and all associated aspects concerned, covering the topics of health, how you shop, cook and

eat. It begins with basic definitions of what coeliac disease is and the definition of gluten.

*(THE WAY THIS IS WRITTEN IS TOO SIMPLISTIC IN STYLE)

Even with the limited sources available it has become apparent that the consensus of opinion with regard to

coeliac disease is that it is a life changing event that requires strict dietary changes and lifestyle change. It

is non-reversible, so requires commitment to those changes. One area which is currently being debated is

whether oats are generally acceptable in the gluten-free diet. Some journal articles (for example??) suggest

that it is possible to include them in the diet, whilst others such as crossed grain suggest that they must be

used with caution, as research is inconclusive.

To assist in the market research of the feasibility of a business opportunity, a good academic source of

information is available from Kotler (?date). In particular his book entitled “Marketing Management”

provides a framework for market research and buyer behaviour. One framework that will be used to assist

in determining the possibility of a new business will be Porters Five Forces in respect to the life-cycle

model, Johnson, Scholes, Whittington (2006). (be careful – is this about market research or business

start-up?). With respect to the setting up of a business, Business Link may be able to

provide some sound advise on the practicalities of writing a business plan. The Times

newspaper has several interesting articles giving advise on this matter and have several
books based around their thinking, which may prove to be worthy as a source of strategic

direction. You’ve started in the right places, a broad trawl of literature etc should

unearth plenty of other sources eg Equivalents to Coeliac UK in other countries should

provide useful insights.

3.1 METHODOLOGY

In order to establish the size of the potential market it will be necessary to determine the number of people

with coeliac disease in the UK, the demographics relating to them in terms of where they are located, their

age and sex, and their purchasing preferences. Some secondary data is available from Coeliac UK in terms

of numbers and population spread. Another possible source of data are the supermarkets who may be able

to supply secondary data in relation to the percentage of sales represented by gluten free food. This may be

subject to confidentiality issues, as they may be unwilling to divulge such information.

It is intended to carry out primary research by doing a questionnaire (why is this appropriate for your

research?) to be sent out to coeliac sufferers. The majority of the questions will be in a quantitative style to

establish facts of a demographic nature. It will include questions concerning age, gender, length of time

since being diagnosed, where they buy products currently and where they may consider purchasing from in

the future. Along with this, the types of products they buy and are there any particular products they are

unable to buy or find difficulties in locating suppliers. The aim is of the questionnaire is to produce data for

analysis to give an idea on the size of a potential market. By finding out some numbers in terms of

population affected and their purchasing preferences, strategic decisions can be based round the data

collected. It may be necessary to use SPSS – I think this is more for qualitative data analysis to analysis

the quantitative probably is OK on Exel data collected, so it is intended to get familiar with the working

of the system.

Another approach will be to attend a local group meeting of coeliac’s to establish how they become

familiar with the product available to them and those that are suitable. There is a local group, which meets

four times a year and may provide the opportunity to talk directly to a small focus group, giving an insight

into the type of difficulties experienced. Naturally, these will be the people who best know their needs and

wants and will be a valuable source of information in determining the factors for answer the research
questions. However, this could prove to be a time-consuming exercise and it is suggested that “there are

possible problems of group effects”, Bryman and Bell (2003) in that one person may give a view which

then dominates the meeting and others simply agree, rather than put forward their own views through fear

of contradiction. The advantage to using the local meeting to stage the focus group may be that people will

turn up who normally support the group in any case, so the focus group will not be seen as an extra meeting

to attend, but rolled into the normal one.

Good – but be more specific in places and be more confident at supporting your suggestions from

secondary data – re authors in research methods.

3.2 ETHICAL ISSUES

Asking people about coeliac disease and the way they deal with it is obviously a sensitive issue and this

must be a major factor when considering what questions to ask. Each individual respondent will have their

own level of comfort in what they are willing to share in terms of the issues surrounding coeliac disease.

Some may be quiet happy to disclose their personal preferences and ways of dealing with the limitations in

food products they can consume, others may see this as an invasion of their privacy. With this in mind, the

questionnaires will be able to be completed allowing the respondent to remain anonymous.

The focus group will require the express consent of the participants to allow any information gained to be

used for this research and will be obtained on a personal level with each individual.

3.3 RESCOURCES

The resources identified to carry out the market research are as follows:- (you might think about this

much more in terms of time, access, support, finance, new learning etc – the list would be taken for

granted in terms of resource)

36 Use of computer

37 Paper for printing questionnaires and dissertation

38 Envelopes and stamps

39 Telephone calls to set up meetings and to obtain secondary data

 40 Time.

The time to write carry out the research and the writing up of the dissertation is detailed in a gantt chart as

shown in appendix I. The literature review will begin in January, followed by the collection of primary data

in March and April. Time has been taken out in April to allow for a pre-booked holiday. Data analysis will

begin in April as it is anticipated that some data will be available to allow some work to be done and to will

be a time to become familiar with SPSS to process the bulk of the data received. Some of the more

qualitative questions based around the focus group will require analysis in a less rigid form. It is recognised

that a cost will be incurred to provide the paper, envelopes and stamps, which will be funded by myself and

is estimated to be in the region of £60.00. Additional to this is the cost of telephone calls of around £10.00.

The use of the computer will in the main be the home computer, although it is expected that some of the

time will be spent on the university or work computer at times when family life is too hectic to enable work

at home to be effective.*(REFERNCE PAGE – GANTT CHART?)

 Example 3

CONTENTS PAGE

Page No.

1) Introduction
2) Literature Review
3) Research Methodology
4) Conclusion
5) Action Plan
6) References
7) Bibliography

Working Title: Sales and Supply Chain Collaboration, The Critical Success Factors

1) Introduction

This project will focus on the relationship between a Sales team and Supply Chain team in order to
ascertain the critical success factors for collaboration between the two parties.

41 Background

The subject organisation which will be used in this piece of research is XX based in Derbyshire.

A privately owned business, established in 1919, XX is a global manufacturer of food ingredients.

As UK Supply Chain Manager, the researcher has direct responsibility for the customer service,
procurement, planning and logistics teams based in Derbyshire. This is a middle management role
reporting directly into the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain Vice President.

The author has worked at XX for almost 20 years in various roles: Customer Service Coordinator,
Customer Service Manager and UK Supply Chain Manager. XX strategy in brief is to differentiate
themselves from their competitors by delivering successful total approach solutions. The mindset of the
employees must be geared towards understanding the consumers, prioritising first the customer, doing
things right from the start, making the service every day better. A bit of an ugly sentence!!

The strategic objective for the Supply Chain team is to deliver 100% On Time service to XX strategic
customers explain what you mean by ‘strategic customers’ – what about the other customers/ do they get
any old level of service?. Service is a core competence for XX and viewed as a competitive advantage.
The current level of On Time service is 97%. (is this unacceptable – just how much of a problem is the
problem?)

In order to achieve this target 100% or 97%, the researcher firmly believes the supply chain has to work
closer with both the sales team and the customers.

The supply chain can ensure everything is in place to guarantee the first why only the first? order is
delivered On Time and all orders thereafter providing information is received in advance relating to:

42 new product launches

43 promotions
44 forecasted usage moving forward

For existing live items, there also needs to be a good level of forecast accuracy to ensure the raw materials
are available. (is this a separate piece of research?)

The current culture within XX is the sales team own the relationship with the customers. This means they
have total control over communication, have an active involvement in all decisions to be made and hold a
large amount of valuable knowledge and information which they find difficult to share why? And is this
the real problem?

The purpose of this research is to understand how the supply chain can work with sales to access this
information and knowledge and how both parties can work together to equally own the relationship with
the customer to improve the level of service.

45 Research Aim and Specific Objectives

Aim:
Determine what the critical success factors are for collaboration between a sales team and supply chain
team to improve customer service and achieve a higher level of On Time deliveries. On a couple of
occasions you’ve also mentioned the collaboration with the customers – is this part of the aim or not?

Objectives:
46 Critically Review literature relating to sales and supply chain collaboration.
47 Carry out primary research at XX to assess current situation, perceptions, requirements and needs
of both the sales team and supply chain team.
 48 Identify gaps, analyse the situation and recommend action steps for both teams to align and
collaborate.
OK for a start – you may well refine these as you progress into your Lit Rev.
2) Literature Review

Add SC model which includes all integrated functions - see Ops book

There is little literature available on supply chain and sales collaboration – you may well need to be
creative in your use of search keywords, as I suspect you may well unearth quite a bit of literature as you
start to dig deeper. However there is literature available on supply chain collaboration, the main focus
being with suppliers and customers. Some of this literature touches on internal integration and
collaboration.

49 Key literature used to date:

Book
50 Stuart Emmett and Barry Crocker (? date)
They have written a book titled ‘The Relationship Driven Supply Chain - Creating a
Culture of Collaboration throughout the Chain’. Please reference correctly as per Harvard

Journal Article
51 Mark Barratt
Written an article in the Supply Chain Management International Journal titled ‘Understanding
the meaning of collaboration in the Supply Chain’. (ditto as above)

Professional Publications
52 Supply Chain Management Review
Feature the latest thinking and ideas.
Be specific – which particular writers / theories etc – this really does not clarify / share your thinking

53 Findings:

Although the majority of Emmett and Crocker’s research relates to creating a culture of collaboration with
customers and suppliers, they state ‘the starting point with supply chain management must be to first
examine the internal supply chain by ensuring that all their internal operations and activities are
integrated, coordinated and controlled’. (2006:p6) good
Barratt (2004:p3) writes ‘collaboration is not just about developing closer relationships, or integrating
processes between supply chain related functions, but also needs to include marketing-commercial for
promotions, new product introductions’. (be careful not to just to provide a series of quotes – include
some interpretation)

Thompson et al (2007:p33) support this view by saying the supply chain should ‘develop their
collaboration skills; begin by working closely with sales and marketing, to learn from them about your
customers’.

Fawcett et al (2006:p4) believe ‘functional managers across the value chain from new product development
to customer management need to buy off on the concept of integration to bridge the exasperating internal
chasms that often inhibit successful supply chain managers’. They go on to say ‘unfortunately, managers at
many firms find it more difficult to collaborate within the four walls of their own company that they do
with outside’.

Barratt (2004:p2/3) believes internal collaboration will provide answers to the following organisation
issues:

54 ‘many organisations are heavily focused on planning, yet fail to take into account other internal
plans and activities which will impact the outcome of their plan
55 organisations often launch new products or promotions to find there is insufficient inventory
56 silo mentality results in mediocre if not poor communication
57 how many organisations understand their own processes, let alone their customers or suppliers
58 managers and employees often delegate or have delegated to them tasks or responsibilities, which
involve activities which are impacted by other departments in the organisation over which they
have no control or influence
59 how many organisations in a supply chain have same performance measures in place’.
(Lists are not necessary – we would much prefer to see some evaluation / interpretation of these ideas)
Emmett and Crocker (2006:p132) also list some of the benefits of collaboration in the supply chain that are
possible. The following two that have been selected because these should be an outcome of sales and
supply chain collaboration:

Aspect Collaboration Brings

Service Levels Increased and improved
People Trust and improved relationships

Thompson et al (2007:p33) look ahead and suggest supply chain executives ‘must begin to expand their
reach to interface with the customer and this is not the sole domain of the sales or marketing functions’.
This would be a major culture change for the sales team at GL.

Handfield & Nichols (1999:p66) suggests the ‘supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Therefore,
if one link is not functioning at the desired level, the supply chain will not perform well’.

At XX, the performance measures are very different:

The sales team are judged against growing their territories, have monthly £ targets to reach and a
yearly budget to achieve in order to be awarded a bonus and seen as successful. Sales view the
supply chain as inflexible, unreliable and uncooperative when there are problems with their
customers that may jeopardise this.

The supply chain is judged against On Time service regardless of any short / unreasonable lead-
times from the customer, supplier issues, lack of proactive information on promotions, new
product launches from sales.
You need to give some thought to the presentation – this tends to be a series of individual statements that
don’t always help the flow
The differing performance measures breeds silo mentality.
Emmett and Crocker (2006:p113) point out that ‘collaborative relationships need to work towards a
common goal, based on the principle that each party gains more benefits by collaboration than by pursuing
self interest.’
Most of XX strategic accounts hold little inventory and work to a just in time process, therefore reliability
of service is paramount. If the customer values the service received from XX, sales will gain a powerful
negotiation tool through collaboration as they can promote the high level of service.
Barratt (2006:p10) has produced the following model to help understand the elements of collaboration:
The cultural elements of supply chain collaboration
Figure 1

‘Cultural Elements

Currently, functional thinking is rife, and supported by organisational structures and performance measures
that are aligned to functional activities rather than SC processes.

Trust: The effective coordination of the supply chain is built on

a foundation of trust and commitment between all
players.
 Mutuality:
Information Exchange:
Openness and Honesty:
????Source
Collaboration
Below are some of the key elements in terms of what has to happen if collaboration is to succeed:
Cross Functional Activities:
Process Alignment:
Joint Decision Making:
Supply Chain Metrics:
? Where did you get this – is it based on existing theory – please make sure you reference appropriately
Strategic Elements
If the collaboration is to be sustainable then there are a number of strategic elements which must be present
which are detailed in the model.
There have to be mutual benefits arising from the
collaboration.
Fundamental need for information sharing, particularly
the transparency and quality of information if supply
chains are to improve their performance.
It is important to open and develop clear and broad lines
of communication to foster information sharing and
create a shared understanding. For example, if a delivery
is going to be late, the sender should not wait until such
time as the promised delivery date has passed, instead the
recipient should be informed as early as possible, on
order that the recipient can implement contingency plans.
Such openness and honesty can develop trust, respect and
commitment, as a result of improved certainty and
reliability.
Boundaries within or between organisations have shown to
restrict the flow of information and development of trust
between collaborating partners.
Supply Chain collaboration necessitates adopting a process
focus and this will involve crossing many functional
boundaries, and subsequently senior management support
will be necessary to overcome functional friction.
One example of the need for joint decision making is in the
area of forecasting. Currently most organisations forecast in
isolation and develop forecasts based on customer orders and
historical data.
Unless real supply chain metrics can be developed, then the
various constituent parts of the supply chain will continue to
operate in different directions and will not be aligned.
‘In successful business, collaboration is a way of life. It’s evident across all levels and functions of the
organisation’. Thompson et al (2007:p29)

You probably don’t need to include all of this in your Proposal, but you’ve made a good start with the Lit
Rev – lets see where it leads you?
3) Research Methodology

The research methodology will take a positivist approach based on a deductive process.

You’ll need to expand on this somewhat – positivism tends to assess facts and figures in an objective
way, which is capable of measurement. So what will be measurable in your primary research? Your
aims and objectives seem to be more about perceptions and feelings, which is really more about
qualitative /phenomenological approaches?

A survey will be designed with closed questions which will present the researcher will quantitative data.
This approach has been chosen to take out any emotive or sensitive issues.

The researcher works closely with all the proposed participants therefore the questionnaire must be
unbiased, factual and targeted fairly at both parties.

Qualitative research may also be required after the survey results have been analysed to clarify any key
issues. This research will be conducted through one-to-one semi structured interviews. Not all participants
will be interviewed; a sample will be selected representing both views.

Proposed survey participants:

60 Supply Chain
One person from each functional area, this includes customer service, procurement, scheduling and
logistics. The researcher is the Supply Chain Manager therefore cannot participate. In order to get an
overall representation, suggest the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain Director is also
included. How many people are we talking about then?

61 Sales
Include the Sales Director, 2 Senior Account Managers and 2 Account Managers. This should
provide a just representation.
10 people in total will be surveyed. An 80% response rate is predicted. These survey numbers are very
small – how reliable and representative will the results be?
The surveys will be handed to each individual participant in person by the researcher. There will be a
covering note and requested return date. 2 weeks will be allowed to return the survey which should take no
longer than 30 minutes to complete. The content on the covering note is discussed below under the heading
Research Ethics.

The survey will adopt the headings of Barratts model (see Figure 1) focusing on the collaboration and
cultural elements of the model. I think this is a useful framework for you to use – but maybe reserve
judgement until you’ve done more LitRev?

Scales will be used to determine the importance.

Either Excel of SPSS software will be used to help analyse the data.
Include how I’m going to analyse qualitative data

*WHY?– PROVIDE JUSTIFICATION AND SUPPORT FROM SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH

METHODS ETC.

62 Research Ethics

The participants will be fully briefed regarding the purpose of the research, the nature of their involvement
in the research, how much of their time will be required. It will be highlighted that participation is
voluntary and they can refuse or withdraw from participation at any time. Explain what will happen with
the data and findings. Finally, make absolutely clear the information will be confidential and all surveys
will be anonymous.

The dissertation topic has already been discussed with the European Manufacturing and Supply Chain
Director and the Sales Director. Both view as a positive step forward.

A written consent detailing the above will be obtained prior to participation from each participant.

4) Conclusion

5) Action Plan

6) References don’t separate books, journals etc – just one list by Author date alphabetically.
63 Books
Emmett, S. Crocker, B. (2006) The Relationship-Drive Supply Chain – Creating a Culture of
Collaboration throughout the Chain. Hampshire, Gower Publishing Limited.

Handfield, RB. Nichols, EL Jr. (1999) Introduction to Supply Chain Management. New Jersey, Prentice-
Hall, Inc.

Jespersen, BD. Skjott-Larsen, T. (2006) Supply Chain Management – in Theory and Practice. Denmark,
Copenhagen Business School Press.

64 Journals
Barratt, M. (2004) Understanding the meaning of collaboration in the supply chain. Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal. v9, (1), p30-42

Fawcett, SE. Ogden, JA. Magnan, GM. Copper, MB. (2006) Organisational commitment and
governance for supply chain success. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics. v36, (1),
p22-35

65 Professional Publications
Thompson, RH. Eisenstein, DD. Stratman, TM. (2007) Getting Supply Chain on the CEO’s Agenda.
Supply Chain Management Review. v11 (5)

*BIT LIMITED BUT AT LEAST UP TO DATE

 Example 4

DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
Collaboration and Information Sharing in Supply Chain
Dissertation Proposal on Collaboration and Information Sharing in Supply
Chain
BACKGROUND
Today most companies are relying on leveraging the several benefits of a robust
Supply Chain management paradigm, to aid in better decisions, lower their
operational costs and improve their working capital. In this background one of the
most vital elements of an effective SCM is the power of collaboration and information
sharing. Good, but try and support any statements you make with relevant
academic references
Supply Chain Management inherently implies a process framework involving people,
activities, information and planning in moving a product or service from a supplier to
a customer. Typically these involve several links which are complicated by
geographical sources or destinations, which is where a breakdown in communication
or information flow could result in an adverse impact on the overall process.
This paper is focused on the collaboration and information sharing aspects within the
supply chain for two different industries and a comparison of the way both of them
operate, as compared to a traditional manufacturing industry. This should provide an
insight into the importance (or lack of significance) of collaboration and information
sharing in these two industries. The two chosen industries are the Utilities Sector in
the UK with emphasis on an essential service / product like water and sewage, and
an IT company focused on product sales in India. A comparison of the SCM within
these two industries against a standard, “brick and mortar” supply chain
management system should also provide a view on the evolving nature of Supply
Chain Management against what it traditionally stands for. An interesting
approach

There have been various studies conducted on the value of sharing information for
distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers with not surprisingly excellent benefits,
in terms of reduced inventory and backorder costs, with the retailers benefiting the
least and the manufacturers the most. This is obviously based on the fact that the
retailers have the most accurate information while the manufacturers have the least.
This implies that benefits of information sharing do not accrue equally for all the
parties involved in the process. Retailers will have little incentive to pay for
information sharing systems unless they can expect lower prices from the rest of the
chain. The first link in the chain makes the rest of the chain pay for the sharing
systems. Suppliers, often already operating on razor-thin margins, don’t want to foot
the bill. This is evident, for example, in the reluctance of suppliers to accede to Wal-
Mart’s demands for RFID tags
(http://www.cio.com/article/1887/The_Value_of_Sharing_Information
Up_and_Down_the_Supply_Chain/1 just need www.cio.com in text – all of this
will go in the reference page)

Regardless of the nuances within specific industries however, the power of

collaboration and information sharing can be harnessed to help the supply chain
system to establish partnership for a better supply chain management. Globalization
of business has been accelerating at a rapid pace in the last two decades due to the
rapid development of technology, increased cost pressure and more aggressive
demand from the end users, which has forced a redesign or even relocation of
manufacturing networks to other location or even other countries. Although the
supply chain is frequently referred to as the logistics network in the literature, supply
chain management gives importance to the overall and long term benefits of all
parties on the chain through cooperation and information sharing. The challenging
business environment also requires robust supply chain that should be able to
respond to quickly to a wide variety of changes internally and in the external
environment, this flexibility and responsiveness of a supply chain is achieved by
collaboration and information sharing.
Since collaboration is an important trend in supply chain evaluation and collaborative
partnership will rely heavily on information sharing, this study will examine the
information sharing process at different levels of supply chain collaboration. The
main focus of this dissertation is going to be on the information sharing structure,
data object and information flow and the main aspect of this study is to provide
some insight on the relationship between information sharing and the degree of
collaboration.

The flurry of Mergers & Acquisitions within the Utility industry has created difficulties
in the sharing of information due to disparate existing systems and the difficulties in
integrating them within the merged / acquired entities. Similarly, the widespread
adoption of the internet in earlier far flung corners has thrown up new markets and
challenges for product companies within the IT space in terms of addressing both
supply and demand. This is all very good – however you need to address the
current position from an academic perspective also

Within the Utilities Industry, the accent of supply chain management is on improving
demand planning capabilities, focusing on work management integration and
reducing total lifecycle costs through better reliability and usage of assets. The IT
products industry would be driven more by the typical manufacture to end user
chain, except for the two main differences involved, viz (???) actually creating the
product, which is more of intellectual property and secondly the distribution of the
product, which could be through non-traditional means like download over the
internet. The latter throws up additional challenges like security, access control,
upgrades to products, warranty issues etc.
A typical Manufacturing supply chain, however, may involve a variety of stages.
These supply chain stages are shown below and include the following: -
Customers
Retailers
Wholesalers/distributors
Manufacturers
Component/Raw Material suppliers
Supplier—Manufacturer—Distributor—Retailer—Customer

Figure:1.0 (http://www.princesoft.ro/imagini/scm_cycle_view.jpg) good

The main idea of supply chain management is to be efficient and cost-effective
across the entire system; total costs from transportation and distribution to
inventories of raw materials, work in process, and finished goods, are to be
minimized. This can be done by coordinating different parties along the logistics
network and by thus creating a win-win situation for all members.

For the Utilities industry the challenge is to deliver innovative solutions integration
scenarios and new technologies while complying with growing environmental
awareness, increasing regulatory compliance mandates and rising customer
expectations. The ideal way to deliver on these challenges is through increasing
collaboration and data sharing across the enterprise to allow companies to make
better decisions regarding customer service, network management to balance asset
reliability and costs. The IT products supply chain system, on the other hand, is
more geared towards simpler “manufacture” and distribution methods.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to understand and use the advantages of having
collaboration and information sharing in the targeted industries.

The specific objectives of this study are:

66 Understanding the supply chain and the information sharing in different

sectors.
67 assessing the Advantages of having a good information sharing system.
68 Critically evaluating the different approaches to collaboration and information
in different industry sectors
69 recommendation for best practice on The best possible ways this can be
achieved
These are just a couple of points for you to think about

These objectives can be understood best in the context of companies business issues
and the way these are being addressed currently.

Some of the universal Business issues which companies are facing typically include
the following:

70 Improve operating efficiencies

71 Increase the visibility of demand and supply fluctuations
72 Decrease costs and improve profits to remain competitive

The solution to this is typically seen as the following: you should be asking
questions, not proposing solutions at this stage

73 Build an integration framework and a collaborative environment improving

decision making
74 Lead time Optimization

Methodology

This research will take a conclusive approach to the whole study as this would
provide enough information that is useful in reaching conclusion or decision making.
Conclusive research is quantitative in nature. (Saunders et al, 2004) you need to
explain by what you mean by conclusive!!

The research strategy will be descriptive you need to be analytical – description is

not enough, based on a case study as case studies have proved effective in
developing analysis and critical thinking, decision making, judging between different
courses of action, handling assumption, presenting appoint of view and relating
theory to practice.

The methodology will include the following:

75 Primary data would be taken from the senior managers or Directors of the
companies with their views and strategy in information sharing in supply
chain.
76 Quantitative research will involve phone interviews, one on one and
questionnaire.
77 Secondary data will be information from books, journals, websites etc.
78 Critical evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data would be drawn before
coming into a conclusion and recommendation
Where are you collecting qualitative data?

Research Focus

Some of the key questions that this study aims to focus on are the following:

79 Does collaboration & information sharing help companies in responding to

changes in demand?
80 How can service be maintained while squeezing more out of inventory, fixed
capital, and transportation assets?
81 How can new products be brought to market more quickly and support high
demand?
82 What factors influence the free flow of information in Supply Chain
Management?
83 Is there a lack of collaboration and information sharing in SCM?
84 What can be done to achieve a transparent, collaborative enterprise?

*LINK TO SUPPORTING SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH METHODS

LITERATURE

Literature review

The major sources of information for the literature review are:

Journal articles: as they would provide up to date information of what is happening

right now in the market

Books: They would provide the major guide for article writing

Government Publications: Their published reports will provide a useful source of

information, especially as it relate to the rules and polices in supply chain
management.
The research would also study the various published literature available on these
topics on the internet and the consensus, if any.

In addition, to arrive at the data for this, the proposal is to interview select key
respondents within the Utility & IT Products industry as well as within a traditional
manufacturing industry.

*THIS IS UNSATISFACTORY - MAY HAVE BEEN COMPENSATED FOR TO SOME

EXTENT IF YOU HAD MADE REFERENCE TO LITERATURE AND ACADEMIC
SOURCES IN YOUR BACKGROUND SECTION

Ethics

The limitations of the Research would be

85 Small Sample size
86 Availability of respondents
87 Time constraints

TIMESCALE

PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF
WORK
MAR APR MAY JUN. JUL AUG SEP.
Literature
review

Secondary data search

Primary data collection

Analysis of
data

Writing first
draft

Submit final
draft

Bibliography:

Enabling high performance in utilities through supply chain management. Available at

http://www.accenture.com/Global/Consulting/Supply_Chain_Mgmt/R_and_I/Ena
blingManagement.htm (Accessed: 25 Nov 2007)

Handfielf, R. B., Nichols, Jr. E. L.(1999) Introduction to supply chain

management, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall Inc.

Heath, J, (2002), Teaching and writing case studies, Bedforshire, The European
case clearing h.ouse

The Value of sharing Information up and down the supply chain. Available at
http://www.cio.com/article/1887/The_Value_of_Sharing_Information_Up_and_D
own_the_Supply_Chain/1 (Accessed: 24 Nov 2007)
 Example 6

UNDERSTANDING THE NEED FOR VALUE CHAIN COLLABORATION WHEN MANAGING

SERVICE INNOVATION.

Dissertation Proposal

Contents
1.0 Introduction

Company Y plc is a gas turbine manufacturing business with sales in 2005 equating to £6.6bn,
with an underlying profit of £593m an order book of £24.4bn operating in 50 countries globally
with 37,000 employees. Following its privatisation in 1987 Company Y plc has concentrate on
four key business sectors, civil aerospace, defence, energy and marine with 54,000 gas turbines
in service group-wide. The organisation for the last 10 years has maintained a consistent strategy
of being number 1 or 2 in each of the four market sectors it operates within, investment in
technology, capability and infrastructure, development of a competitive portfolio of product and
services, growth in market share and installed product base and added value for customers
through product related services.
Recent developments inside the civil aerospace sector have seen a movement away from
traditional original equipment manufacture (OEM) and aftermarket overhaul support based on a
model of “time plus materials” to the introduction of “total-care” and “cost of ownership” with the
clear emergence of service value now being a key driver and customer requirement for future
business within the industry throughout its product lifecycle. Company Y now has 45% of civil
engines covered by total care with 54% of the organisations overall turnover in 2005 coming from
services. Services revenues alone have had a compound growth of 11% over the past 10 years.
As the organisation moves away from the transactional business imperative to offering more
integrated and value-added services, Lovelock (1994), Gadesh & Gilbert (1998), Malthyssens
and Vandenbemt (1998). Based on future market predictions of over $2.7 trillion over the next 20

years this sentence needs tidying up. A clear view to how the organisation can strategically
react to product lifecycles in excess of 40 years that far outreach the actual lifecycle of the current
organisation since its privatisation in 1987.
Wise & Baumgartner (1999) encouraged companies when innovating such service concepts to
look at the value chain from the customer’s perspective with reference to maintaining a product
throughout its lifecycle.
The challenge along with satisfying new customer service requirements and service innovation
from within the organisation can be achieved through the management of effective collaboration
across the extended value chain of both demand and supply simultaneously Holmstrom (1999),
Although Company Y is structured to focus on their core competencies and collaborate with
partners on capabilities that aren't "core," effective collaboration is still in its infancy. The main
reason: a "win-lose" competitive mindset still prevails—domination rather than cooperation.
Efforts to collaborate continue to fall short of expectations because of segmented supply chain
structures, isolated (and isolating) company strategies, and incomplete or inadequate execution.

2.0 Aim and Objectives

This research is to not only focus on the strategic drivers and organisational lifecycle challenges
facing Company Y plc within the civil aerospace sector based around “the evolution and
revolution of how organisations grow” Griener (1972). The aim of this research is also help
develop and shape a clear need for collaboration across the organisations value chain to aid
future aftermarket support and service innovation, whilst assisting supply chain management
strategy and practice.

Delivery of this research will give clear expectations and understanding across the value chain of
the different collaboration requirements needed to support service innovation strategies based on
the organisations lifecycle position and the external factors driving change.
The specific research objectives are to:
88 Examine the external change variables driving service innovation across aerospace.
89 Determine the organisational lifecycle position of Co Y and the strategic change
requirements needed for service innovation and value creation.
90 Identify the appropriate need for collaboration across the extended value chain, and
determine the appropriate type of collaboration required.
91 Develop an appropriate collaboration framework recommendation to be used across the
value chain when looking at service innovation strategy and introduction.
This whole section suggests that collaboration is definitely the way forward, and you

have been critical of the current approach. Rather than ‘pre-judge’ the solution,

maybe this section should be asking the questions, which you will be investigating in the

Diss. It’s only a minor point, but start with questions, AND THEN, come up with

solutions and answers – if you already know the answers then why do the Diss?

3.0 Literature Review

Further to authors already quoted throughout the introduction in understanding the strategic
change happening within the aerospace sector, other areas of literature review will concentrate
on understanding the need for value creation, the impact of service innovation on the value
system and the perceived need and benefits of effective collaboration on the value chain.
Mourkogiannis (2006) described innovation as any development that creates change within an
organisation in a recent Mckinsey quarterly report 24% of organisations sampled stated that
innovation in products and services was the single contributing factor that accelerate the pace of
change in the global business environment.
Strebel (1996) called this the “evolutionary cycle of competitive behaviour” through identifying the
breakpoints that an organisation must identify in order to change their strategy to embrace
changes in competitive and market behaviour linked to service value.
Ohmae (1982) states that any strategy to generate value creation is aligned to the three main
areas of the strategic triangle, something he refers to as the 3c`s (Customer, Corporation and
Competitors) with the prime objective of achieving superior performance relative to the
competition, in this research context understanding value is the main driver towards the customer
and cost being the differentiator between the corporation (i.e. Company Y) and its competitors.

A value chain within civil aerospace can become highly complex, with dozens of participants and
scores of product flow paths. Finley and Srinkanth (2005) define collaboration as diverse entities
working together, sharing processes, technologies, and data to maximize value for the whole
group and the customers they serve and in doing so outline “Seven (7) imperatives for
collaboration” to be tested and reviewed further.

To understand the impact of service innovation it is imperative to look at the overall value system
within Company Y. Porter (1985) stressed that differences in the value chain are key sources to
competitive advantage based around nine generic categories.

Although the value chain can be looked at as individual building blocks of competitive advantage
the interdependent activities and relationships across this value system lead to competitive
advantage and value. Value in this term can be measured as total revenue; the growth of
services within Company Y plc now caters for 54% of sales.

Sahay (2003) outlines that in order to compete efficient competition now takes place between
entire value chains as orgainsations realise more that supply chain innovations can not only be a
driver of cost reduction, but more importantly a catalyst for revenue growth by achieving customer
value. Collaboration in this sense can be the competitive edge that enables all the business
partners in a supply chain to grow and what strategic supply chain management demands.

Anderson & Lee (1999) calls the new generation of supply chain strategy a “synchronised supply
chain” whilst this researcher believes the essence of next generation value systems is

“connectivity and simplicity”. You’ve started with a nice range of authors, from which to

move on….
4.0 Methodology & Analysis

In delivery of this research proposal and its specific objectives numerous data sources and
methods will be widely used and explored in order to support the literature review and test the

theory. This chapter is about justifying your choice of Res Meths, as the most

appropriate way of answering your specific aims and objectives. The Lit Rev and

testing of theory similarly support you’re a&o’s.

92 Action Research: This approach is to be based on the introduction of a new service

innovation titled “Global Asset Availability” this is part of the total-care banner being sold
by Company Y plc to its customers solely on the Airbus A380 aircraft, Derwent 900
engine, with eventual roll-out across the total engine fleet.

Keuhne & Nagel (K+N) has been chosen as the logistics provider to manage this service
solution, and is a new logistics partner within Company Y. Basing the research around
this project is viewed as an ideal opportunity to develop and deliver a successful
collaboration framework to enable service introduction across a total care value stream
for the organisation.

An action research approach will enable this researcher to work alongside Keuhne &
Nagel in diagnosis of the problem and development of the potential
solution/recommendation. This approach the researcher feels will help bridge the gap
between pure research and application helping the organisation to learn and change its
service introduction and collaboration approach across the value chain due to the
usefulness of the practitioners it will involve in testing the robustness of theoretical
models in a real-life scenario based on dynamic data.

93 Primary Data: capturing of primary data to support the research investigation is to be

done using two different methods of interviewing and data gathering.

Qualitative – the use of qualitative interviewing is seen as a way to help the researcher
explore the different perspectives freely across the interviewees by basing a wide range
of general questions around their part in the value chain and the service innovation
process in order to gain greater generality and opinion in the formulation of the initial
research ideas.

Quantitative
 Component Care Vendors; - performance data

Singapore Airlines & Qantas; - arising forecasts

94 Comparative Case Studies; in working alongside K+N, the researcher plans to visit a
number of similar ventures which K+N have already operational. This is viewed as an
ideal approach to learn from existing knowledge partnerships from other industries in
development of a framework recommendation.

95 Secondary Data – to help quantify and analyse the movement towards services in the
civil aerospace sector and the external influencing factors on the organisation, the
following reports have been initially reviewed. This will lead the researcher to further
review and investigate differing sources around such markets topics.

McKinsey Reports – from early research investigation into the current challenges in the
aerospace sector McKinsey reports provide secondary quantitative data that both
supports and outlines the customers requirements and economic pressures on the
aerospace industry that are leading to strategic change and new strategies in the mind-
set of both airlines and manufacturers.

Company Y plc Market Outlook – CO Y have aimed to bring long-term forecasts for the
commercial aircraft and engine markets. The market outlook is based on 2006-20025
predictions, aircraft productivity and regional markets trends and gives good insight into
the market and economic conditions driving the aerospace sectors.

SUPPORT MORE EFFECTIVELY FROM SECONDARY DATA RE RESEARCH

METHODS.

5.0 Resources

Below is a high-level outlined timescale plan of activities to support the successful completion of
this project.

References
96 Ohmae, K (1982) – The mind of the Strategist; the art of Japanese Business – McGraw
Hill
97 Bleehe, J and Ernst, D (1993) – Collaborating to Compete – Wiley & Sons
 98 Mourkogiannis, N (2006) – Purpose and Innovation – Strategy & Business
99 Auroamo, J and Ala-Risku, T (2005) – The Challenges of going downstream –
International Journal of Logistics; Research and Applications; Vol8, No.4, December
2005 pages 333-345.
100 Samaranayake, P (2005) – A conceptual framework for supply chain management; an
international journal; Vol10, No. 1 pages 47-59.
101 Sahay, B.S (2003) – Supply Chain Collaboration; the key to value creation – Work Study;
Vol52, No. 2 pages 76-83.
102 Senior, B and Fleming, J (2006) Organizational Change – Prentice Hall
103 Finley, F and Srinkanth, S (2005) – Seven Imperatives for successful collaboration. -
Supply Chain Management Review January 2005.
104 Bryman, A and Bell, E (2003) – Business Research Methods – Oxford University Press
105 Anderson, D.L and Lee. H (1999) – Synchronised supply chains; the new frontiers, achieving
supply chain excellence through technology. – Montgomery Research pages 12-21.
Bibliography
106 Yip, G.S (2003) – Total Global Strategy II – Prentice Hall
107 Porter, M (1985) – Competitive Advantage – The Free Press
108 Costa, P; Harned, D and Lundquist, J (2002) -Rethinking the aviation Industry –
McKinsey & Company
109 Heynold, Y and Rosander, J (2006) – A new organisational Model for Airlines -McKinsey
& Company
110 Becker, W.M and Freeman, V.M (2006) - Going from Global Trends to Corporate
Strategy – The McKinsey quarterly: The online journal of McKinsey & Co. October 2006.
111 Company Y plc (2006) – The Market Outlook 2006-2025
112 Christopher, M and Lee, H (2004) – Mitigating Supply Chain Risk through improved
Confidence - International Journal of Distribution & Logistics; volume 34 No.5; pages
388-396.

Harvard style referencing is Alphabetical by surname please