Unit assessment: You will complete an individual professional project that contains two cumulative components (i.e. Assessment 1 will be the basis of Assessment 2). You must use any feedback provided from assessment 1 to improve your work for Assessment 2.

In this unit, you will demonstrate a synthesis of the knowledge, learning, business research methodologies, and professional skills that you have acquired and practiced throughout your Masters course. In particular, this unit builds upon your previous work in the unit Research in Business but the Professional Project will be based SOLELY on secondary sources of information. You will work independently to plan, carry out and report on an investigation that addresses a significant issue or problem in business relevant to your future profession (this will be one of the following: marketing, HR, accounting or management). Throughout the term, your independent study will be complemented by a series of webinars (particularly for external students) and interactions with a campus tutor/lecturer, who will provide guidance.

Assessment 1: Project context and proposal (40%)

This is an individual, written assessment, to be completed in report format. The required length of the report is 1,250 to 1,750 words (excluding title page, preliminaries, tables, figures, reference list and appendices). In-text referencing and a full reference list, provided in APA style, are required.

The purpose of this assessment is to provide the contextual background to YOUR future profession, alongside a proposal detailing the topic of YOUR professional project.

In order to successfully complete assessment 1, you are required to reflect upon your course (program) of study and the ‘profession’ that is associated with this course. This requires you to explore the notion of ‘profession’ in general, alongside your future career pathways and the specific profession, towards which you are studying. In particular, you are required to write a report including the following:

1. Project context (500 – 750 words; at least 5 high-quality academic and/or practitioner references): Identify and explore YOUR future profession (marketing, HR, accounting or management)

• Produce a critical review of your understanding of what it means to ‘become a professional’ in YOUR future profession.

2. Project proposal (750 – 1,000 words; at least 10 high-quality academic, peer-reviewed journal articles): Identify a problem or issue – this must be CRUCIALLY relevant to your profession – which your professional project will address, and write the following:

• Clear and concise working title for your project;
• Background and definition of the issue/problem, including a justification why this issue/problem is crucially relevant to your profession;
• Your project’s proposed aim and objectives/research questions;
• A preliminary critical literature review on this issue/problem, particularly highlighting any gaps in the literature;
• An overview of how you will be proceeding with your project, including secondary information sources, approaches to analyse them, major milestones and a Gantt chart schedule.

3. In addition, you are required to attach evidence that you have discussed your proposed topic with your campus tutor (or, if you are an external student, your unit co-ordinator) and that the campus tutor (or unit co-ordinator, for external students) has approved the topic prior to the vacation week.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australia Quality Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice, and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”.

Each unit in the MBA has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, indicate a willingness to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level course, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.

Students should insure that they understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if they meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research.

Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment.

Your assignment will be marked on the following eight criteria, with the weighting given on the Moodle site:

• Project context
• Title, background, definition, justification
• Aim and objectives/research questions
• Preliminary critical literature review
• Organisation of the project
• Written communication
• Evidence of tutor/lecturer engagement
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing

This is an individual, written assessment, to be completed in report format. You are required to write between 3,000 and 4,000 words (excluding title page, preliminaries, tables, figures, reference list and appendices). The report requires in-text referencing and a full reference list in APA style.

The purpose of this assessment is to present the final report of your Professional Project. This report should build upon your assessment 1 and it should address the campus tutor/lecturer or unit co-ordinator (for external students) feedback.

In order to successfully complete Assessment 2, you are required to carry out the investigation you have proposed in Assessment 1 and to write a project report addressing the following:

• Project title;
• Introduction to your profession (very brief) and to the project report;
• Background and definition of the issue/problem, including a justification why the issue/problem is crucially relevant to your profession;
• Your project’s aim and objectives/research questions;
• A more detailed critical and well-structured literature review;
• A detailed discussion of how you carried out your project (commensurate with a ‘Methodology’ chapter);
• Findings from your secondary information analysis;
• Discussion of findings in light of previously reviewed literature;
• Conclusion – this may address recommendations for (soon-to-be) professionals, possible areas of further research, and limitations of your project.

Since this assessment is written in report format, it needs to be presented in professional layout, including: title page, executive summary, table of contents, and full reference list (at least 20 high-quality academic, peer-reviewed journal articles, properly referenced). Figures, tables and other appendices are optional and should only be used if required.

As a Masters-level student, you are required to engage in research as per the Australia Quality Framework (AQF) guidelines. Two specific requirements need to be considered. Students need to demonstrate “a body of knowledge that includes the understanding of recent developments in a discipline and/or area of professional practice, and demonstrate "knowledge of research principles and methods applicable to a field of work and/or learning”.

Each unit in the MBA has a number of required weekly readings in terms of academic texts, journals and business publications that represent the appropriate body of knowledge and recent developments referred to by the AQF. In order to demonstrate the ability to engage in appropriate research, students should read and utilise these texts and journals and publications, and as a Masters student, indicate a willingness to research beyond this minimum standard through additional texts, journals and studies that demonstrate an ability to engage in independent research. This is an advanced level course, and accrediting bodies are also looking for evidence of independent research, so the ability to conduct this project without continually relying on your tutors and lecturers is an important part of the learning process for this unit.

Students should insure that they understand the specific research that is required for each assessment piece and recognise that if they meet this minimum requirement, you will receive the minimum grade for demonstrated research.

Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE. A full list of references must be submitted as part of the assessment.

Your assignment will be marked on the following nine criteria, with the weighting given on the Moodle site:

• Title, background, definitions;
• Justification, aim and objectives/research questions
• Quality and coherence of introduction and conclusion
• Critical literature review
• Methodology
• Findings and analysis
• Discussion
• Written communication
• Quality and appropriateness of references, and accuracy of referencing