CORE SERVICES STAFF MANUAL SECTION 4.

4
STUDENT INDUSTRY PROJECTS GUIDELINES

“The value of research is directly proportional to the degree to which findings are actionable.”

Which all students have to undertake an Industry Project at WLCI?

1) These guidelines are applicable to the following students:

a) PCL – II Business Stream Students: These students shall submit a final semester ‘Industry
Project’ on an allotted topic.

i. In case of students who are on Traineeship. They shall do this project with the company
in which they are placed as trainees. The Industry Project problem shall be defined by
their supervisors, in consultation with the concerned Head of Department.

ii. In case of the students who are not on Traineeship, the Company and the Industry
problem shall be defined by the Head of Department at the Campus.

b) All Post Graduate Business Stream Students who are not in Traineeship:
(i.e. Project in lieu of their Traineeship grading)

i) Students on Traineeship get a ‘Traineeship Review Report’. They do not have to do an Industry
Project in lieu.

ii) Students who are not on traineeship shall submit an Industry Project, in lieu of their Traineeship
Grading. The company and the Industry Project problem shall be allocated by the concerned
Head of Department / Faculty at the Campus.

iii) Methodology to be followed by Campuses for Allotting Research Projects to

Applicable Students:

2) Each student is allotted a Company for his / her research Project. The Companies shall be allocated
as mentioned above.

3) The research problem shall be relevant to the Specialization of the Student (e.g., a student with
‘HR’ as a specialization shall be allotted an HR problem).

4) The names of the Companies and the Research Problems are communicated to the students in
writing / through an email, and a confirmation taken from them. The students are thereafter,
expected to conduct research on the allotted problems and produce Research Project Reports.

When & by Whom are the Projects Allotted?

5) PCL – II Business Stream Students: They are allotted Industry Projects at the beginning of their
Final Semester / Level.
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6) PG Business Students, ACL – I , II and PCL – I: In this case, if a student is not on Traineeship
by the end of the 8th Week of the Semester / Level, he / she is allotted a Research Project, in lieu of
the Traineeship.

7) Projects are allotted by the Head of Department / Programme Manager Business, at the
Campus. In the absence of the Head of Department / Programme Manager, the Projects shall be
allotted by the Campus Director / Campus Head. Coordination is by the Academic Coordinator(s).

Methodology for Assessing and Grading Students on Research Projects

8) Research Projects are assessed on the basis of the following:

9) A written Research Report: The project report has to be submitted in a hard back copy form of
atleast 50 A4 size pages with proper acknowledgements and references as per Harvard
referencing system and research data to be produced as and when asked for. (The word limit
may be changed at the discretion of the Campus authorities allotting the Project): To be submitted
by the specified date.

a) A Presentation on the Project, to a Panel of experts.

b) A viva voce on the Project, by the same Panel of Experts.

c) The Presentation and Viva Voce shall be held together and shall last for 15 minutes to ½ an
hour maximum. The dates for these shall be specified to the Students at the beginning of the
Semester / Level.

d) For ease of conduct, the Presentations and viva voce for the Integrated Assignments and the
Projects shall be combined and held during the same period.

10) Consequence of non-submission of project: If a student fails to submit his project, his results
& provisional Grade Sheet shall be withheld by WLCI.

11) In case of PCL – II Students on Traineeship, the Project grading shall be discussed with
and obtained from the companies in which they are working as Trainees.

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PROJECT TOPICS:

12) Suggested Project Topics are:

i) MARKETING PROJECTS:
(1) Branding and Awareness

(a) What do people really perceive about a brand, product, or company?

(b) What are their perceptions of the competition?

(2) New Product Development

(a) We are designing a new product, but are unsure which components to include.

(b) Which product characteristics are most preferred by your potential customers?

(c) At what price should a new product be introduced to the market?

(d) How much of a market impact can we expect with the introduction of our new
product?

(3) Customer Service

(a) We have noticed a slip in business that may relate to customer service issues.
Can we pinpoint the problem?

(b) What do people really think of your customer service? What are its strengths and
what are its weaknesses?

(4) Attracting New Customers

(a) How can we increase our share of the market?

(b) What do potential customers really want?

(c) How effective are our current methods of marketing our product?

(d) How can we improve advertising and communications approaches?

(e) Who is our most effective target? What are their identifying characteristics, and
how can we best market to them?

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ii) HR PROJECTS

(1) We are having trouble retaining employees. Are there elements of company culture that
can be developed to help attract and retain good people?

(2) Our company is about to undergo a major transition. How can we ensure that employees'
transitions will be smooth and how should we communicate to them what is going on?

(3) HRP for a BPO.

(4) Training need analysis for a manufacturing unit.

(5) Compensation policy of a insurance company.

(6) Recruitment process for an IT company.

iii) FINANCE PROJECTS

(1) Project Report on Working Capital Management: Points to be covered:

(a) Introduction.

(b) Working Capital concept: Types and Need.

(c) Cash Management: Factors affecting cash needs, motives for holding cash.

(d) Inventory Management: Need, Types and Techniques.

(e) Receivables Management.

(f) Data Analysis and Interpretation.

(g) Summary of Findings, Conclusions.

(h) Suggestions and Recommendations.

(i) Bibliography.

(j) Questionnaire.

(k) Annexure.

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(2) A Study on Financial Performance of a MNC Bank Points to be covered:

(a) Indian Banking System.

(b) Bank Profile.

(c) Research Design.

(d) Data Analysis and Interpretation.

(e) Summary of Findings, Conclusions.

(f) Suggestions and Recommendations.

(g) Bibliography.

(h) Questionnaire.

(i) Annexure.

(3) Analysis of Equities and Mutual Fund: Points to be covered:

(a) Introduction:

(i) Part A: About the Industry.

(ii) Part B: About the subject.

(b) Company Profile:

(i) Introduction,

(ii) Objectives, vision, culture and values.

(iii) Strategy.

(c) Product Profile.

(d) Competitors.

(e) Research Design: Title of the study, Statement of the problem, Objective, Scope,
Limitations and Methodology of the Study, Operational definition of the concepts.

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 (4) Equities and Derivatives: Points to be covered:

(a) Introduction: Background of the study, statement of the problem, Need and
importance of the study, Objectives of the Research.

(b) Methodology: Definition of derivatives, prerequisites for derivatives market,

Large market capitalization, Liquidity, Clearing house that guarantees trades, Types of
Derivatives-Options, Forwards, Futures, Swaps, Derivatives and Commodities
derivatives market, Currency and Stock market derivatives.

(5) “Credit Risk Management, Market Risk Management & Operational Risk
Management”

(a) For a Bank.

(b) Theoretical Background of the study.

(c) New Basle II Capital Adequacy Framework.

(d) Credit Risk, Market Risk, Operational Risk, Liquidity Risk, Interest Risk.

(e) Researched Methodology and Limitations.

(f) Industry and Company Profile.

(g) Credit disbursement channel and Types of advances handled by different types
of branches.

(h) Findings, Conclusions, Suggestions and Recommendations.

iv) PROJECT TITLES FOR RETAIL

(1) New Product/Services Development and Feasibility Studies. Test customer

receptiveness to new products, ideas, concepts, and features. In addition to more traditional
approaches, implement the leading edge conjoint analysis tool. This methodology is highly
effective in defining optimal feature bundles or best pricing strategies for emerging products
and line extensions.

(2) Customer Satisfaction and Preference Studies: Product or service satisfaction

can be measured against customer expectations. Beyond initial findings, results may be used
to develop indexes that establish benchmarks, track performance, and report achievement
over time. This type of study could be helpful in establishing performance pay baselines, for
example.

(3) Competitive Analysis: Gaining valuable insights on competitors is extremely

useful in developing products, programs, and services. Design studies that assess customer
satisfaction levels, awareness levels, and overall perceptions of competitors. Pinpointing

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 competitors' weaknesses helps identify market opportunities. This type of study is also
useful when developing strategic marketing messages that can emphasize a product’s
strength over a competitor's weakness, real or perceived.

(4) Business Forecasting/Trend Analyses. Predicting where markets will move in

the future. Companies best prepared for the future are those who most accurately forecast
industry trends. Assess the impact and potential opportunity of new technologies, use of the
Internet, and various other factors affecting market niche now and for the future. In addition,
use multivariate statistics to analyze data a company has collected over time, to identify
annual and seasonal trends and predict future directions.

(5)Customer profiling and Identification of Target Markets: Collect the appropriate

demographic and psychographic information, and then apply a suite of statistical methods to
discover the characteristics of those with propensity to buy.

v) PROJECT TITLES OF ADVERTISING AND MARKETING COMMUNICATION

(1) Image and Advertising Studies: Determine the most compelling advertising message,
as well as the effectiveness of advertising in various media, critical to successful marketing.
In addition, studies of brand recognition, awareness and preference can provide insights
relevant to product positioning and competitive challenges.

(2) Employee Attitudes and Opinions Studies: Companies facing organizational

changes and challenges can benefit from research on internal issues conducted by an
objective outside party. Define issues objectively, as well as diplomatically protecting
employee confidentiality. Elicit candid views from study participants, and converting this
information to drive meaningful messages in various communications, training programs,
and human resource initiatives.

vi) PROJECT TITLES OF HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION

(1) Discuss the human organ transplant act and its implications on hospitals involved in
organ donation.

(2) How to plan and execute a project on establishing a 100 bedded exclusive hospital for
medical and surgical cardiology.

(3) Do a project on hospital information system and its use in nursing administration.

(4) Diagnostics leads to medical intervention which may lead to surgical intervention,
keeping this in mind design marketing plan for a segment of 224 general practioners in a
given market segment where hospital is located.

vii) PROJECT TITLES FOR HOSPITALITY

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(1) Design a comprehensive plan to make your restaurant offer steaming hot lunch to a
random of employees working in nearby 7 call centers on lines of the dabbawalas of
Mumbai.

(2) Design a house keeping operational plan for a hotel with 75 beds.

(3) Calculate expense sales ratio / break even ratio for a theme restaurant offering authentic
Kerala food, and to what segment will you promote it.

(4) Calculate the costing for restaurant offering a buffet of 101 dishes to be sold at
Rs 444/- per person inclusive of an alcoholic welcome drink which includes prawns /
crabs as delicacy to make it a unique selling proposition.

viii) PROJECT TITLES FOR IT AND SYSTEMS

(1) Project 1

Part 1:

Oracle at CISCO Systems

Cisco Systems, INC. is the leading global provider of networking for internet. Cisco is a fast
growing, multi-billion dollar company based in San Jose, California and offers the broadest
choice of standards- based networking software and hardware for delivering networked
applications.

Cisco offers nearly infinite number of assemble-to-order software and hardware with unique
customer sales order information behind every piece. Customized specific information must
travel with each product throughout the warehousing process. Previously, the Cisco Item
Replenishment (CIR) process, for their 3 San Jose warehouses, was done manually. While
warehouse personnel keyed in pertinent tracking information and terminals at each
inventory stage, the storage location of the product was not tracked and balances reflected
correct inventory quantities but not locations. Another issue was the amount of time needed
to pull an order of the shelf.

Cisco’s fast growth precipitated the need to reduce one and half hour pull time to 35 minutes
for continued efficiency gains. Cisco systems hired Brower Palmer & Associates to address
four concerns:

• Amount of time taken to enter data

• Accuracy of the data entered

• The need for a locator system

• Ensure that the process is non-intimidating and easy-to-use

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 a) Identify the problem.

b) Suggest a solution from the ERP perspective.

c) Draw a flowchart of the processes followed by the Company pre and post
implementation.

Part 2:

1. Domain Name System or DNS is an application program in the TCP/IP protocol suite. Research
and find the equivalent of this protocol (*if any) in the OSI model. Compare and contrast the
two.

2. There are several network layer models proposed in the OSI model. Research and find all of
them. Explain the differences between them.

(2) Project 2

Part 1:

In a manufacturing Company of 2000 employees, a new systems group of 4 professionals

started work on a complete marketing, forecasting, production and personnel MIS. They
worked closely with the managers for nearly a year, on the design of the MIS. The
changeover to the new computerized system was carried out over a two-week period so that
workers could be shifted to their new jobs and trained for the new operations. Within a
month, confusion was rampant. Sales orders were misplaced, production was jammed up,
and the personnel update file was a mixture of obsolete and new update cards. Both the
systems designers and managers felt that the MIS design was an efficient one, well within
the capabilities of the employees to implement.

a. Define the problem and its cause as you see it.

b. Suggest several Solutions.

c. Identify the best possible solution and justify.

Part 2:

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 1. Domain Name System or DNS is an application program in the TCP/IP protocol suite. Research
and find the equivalent of this protocol (*if any) in the OSI model. Compare and contrast the
two.

2. There are several network layer models proposed in the OSI model. Research and find all of
them. Explain the differences between them.

(3) Project 3:

Students on Traineeship shall identify a practical problem being faced by the Company in
which they are placed on Traineeship.

Faculty shall coordinate this.

The Project Questions shall be defined by the Company in question and passed on to the
student by the Faculty / HOD / Campus Director.

GUIDELINES TO STUDENTS FOR CONDUCTING PROJECT RESEARCH

1) Research is a vital component of the strategic marketing and management process. It leads to
effective product and service development, better communications, increased sales and more
meaningful customer service follow-up. We view market research as part of a holistic marketing
and management process where the best decisions are made by smart organizations that set goals,
plan strategies, research the unknown, plot courses of action, and equip their people with the skills
and knowledge to be a vital part of the process.

2) We, at WLC College, are committed to equip our students who would eventually take up roles in
assisting businesses and organizations with the upfront components of strategic decision-making.
Research is a vital component of the strategic marketing and management process. It leads to
effective product and service development, better communications, increased sales and more
meaningful customer service follow up.

3) Finding a Research Topic

4) Good research depends on a clear question, understanding the context of the question, being able to
use appropriate methods to answer the question, knowing when to stop. Before thinking about how
to answer a research question you need to be clear about the topic, the concepts it includes and how
they are to be defined. Finding a suitable topic for research can be difficult. Starting points can be ,
discussion with a supervisor or colleagues, discussion using Internet facilities such as electronic
mail, discussion groups or mailing lists, “ further research needed” sections of journal articles,
papers, thesis and dissertations in the subject area of your interest, topic definitions in

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 encyclopedias and "state-of-the-discipline" reviews in the journal literature. In each case, you are
looking for topics where there is doubt and uncertainty, disputed or contradicted statements, topics
where evidence is incomplete, lacking, dated topics where evidence from a study on one
community or a group could be compared with evidence from an associated group.

5) Research Design & Methodology

6) The elements of effective research design include the following steps

a) Steps to Custom Research

b) Types of Studies

c) Methodology

7) Steps to Custom Research: There are, normally, the following six steps that lead to design and
completion of scientifically valid studies that have meaningful, real world applications. The overall
design of a research project is crucial, since it guides and shapes the study. Good research design
helps ensure project success.

a) Step 1: Research Problem Definition:

i) Defining the research problem can be one of the most critical and difficult steps in market
research. Accurately defining the research problem is important because it:

a) Identifies the scope of issues to be explored

b) Determines the nature of the sample

c) Structures the questions to be asked of respondents during data collection

d) Determines the types of analyses required to answer the research questions

ii) Ultimately, defining the research problem dictates how useful the study will be for you and
your company (client), and how relevant recommendations will be for application in a real
world situation.

iii) To ensure the success of every project, begin by working with your targeted
respondents/clients to identify key issues and overall goals of the study. This step generally
involves a 1-2 hour brainstorming session to gather detailed information on critical issues
and questions. Then develop a draft of survey instrument to be further refined with
additional client input. This information also guides the type of analysis that will be required
— important, so that questions are phrased and data collected in appropriate and effective
formats.

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 iv) Some examples of research problems are already covered under the heading ‘Project
Topics’ earlier in this document. Student shall allotted a research topic that they need to
work upon.

b) Step 2: Sampling Strategies: After you have defined your research problem and developed the
ideas to be tested in a survey, you must decide on the nature and size of your sample. Sampling
strategy is crucial to successful research because results gathered from the sample are indicative
of trends in the total population. Develop a sampling plan for you that is both effective and cost
efficient. Ensure results that are valid and reliable, and to reduce selection bias or sampling
error.

i) First, define the target of research– the population for the study. This definition most likely
includes geographical or regional boundaries, as well as gender, age, income, or
psychographic characteristics. This process ensures that the sampled population is the target
population.

ii) Second, with your objectives in mind, recommend a sampling approach aimed at producing
reliable and valid data, with results that can be confidently extended to the population of
interest. Define the specific sampling strategy, for example a simple random sample, a
systematic random sample, a stratified random sample, a cluster sample, or another type of
approach.

iii) Third, determine an appropriate size of the sample by estimating sampling errors
against cost factors. Recommend a sample size to keep sampling error within acceptable
limits.

iv) Fourth, locate a list of contacts. You should be familiar with the full range of sources of
contact lists.

c) Step 3: Survey Instrument Development: The next step is to design a survey instrument to
collect the information you need, as framed by your particular research problem. The surveys
generally include a variety of question types. Each question is formulated to provide responses
appropriate to the intended type of analysis. In developing your surveys, take particular care to
minimize bias that can result from improper wording of questions (measurement bias). Use
language that is simple and precise. Also, field-test each and every survey prior to
implementation to ensure that questions are clear and understandable and that the flow of the
survey goes smoothly. Some types of questions often included are:

i) Scalars/ratings to measure levels of importance, satisfaction, or interest.

ii) Open-ended questions to gain top-of-mind insights.
iii) Multiple choice type questions with prompted responses.

iv) Numeric questions designed to gain continuous numeric data.

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 v) Forced ranking where items are placed in sequence of order or preference.
vi) Demographics to retrieve information about the composition of the sample.

vii) Psychographics to retrieve information about respondents' values and motivations.

d) Step 4: Fielding: For each research problem, recommend the most effective fielding format. No
matter which type is used, take measures to ensure that data integrity is high on every project.
The following data collection methods may be adopted:

i) Focus groups: Recommended mainly for qualitative data to help flesh out the issues.
ii) Telephone interviewing: Recommended for most quantitative research projects to reduce
sampling bias and ensure collection of high quality data.

iii) Internet/Web surveys:

a) Recommended for target markets with high Internet accessibility and use levels. Very
effective for projects where visual props are necessary such as testing web sites or with a
conjoint analysis approach that tests product preferences.

b) The expansion of the Internet over the past decade has provided the researcher with a
range of new opportunities for finding information, networking, conducting research,
and disseminating research results. Through the use of tools such as online focus groups,
electronic mail, and online questionnaires, the Internet opens up new possibilities for
conducting research. It offers, for example shorter timeframes for collecting and
recording data: e-mail messages can be saved and analyzed in qualitative data packages,
for example, while online surveys can be captured directly into a database the possibility
of conducting interviews and focus groups by e-mail, with related savings in costs and
time, new "communities" to serve as the object of social scientific enquiry, opportunities
for including mixed multiple media in questionnaires. On the other hand, these
opportunities also raise new challenges for the researcher, such as problems of sampling,
the ethics of conducting research into online communities, physical access and skills
required to use the technologies involved, accuracy and reliability of information
obtained from online sources, the changed chronology of interaction resulting from
asynchronous communication.

iv) Intercepts: Recommended for projects with extremely specific target samples linked to
geographic sites such as malls, restaurants or movies.

v) Mail out surveys: Recommended only for target samples with extremely high propensities
to return surveys, for example, older respondents who are loyal members of a specific
organization.

e) Step 5: Analysis:

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 i) The researcher should draw from a variety of backgrounds including psychology,
marketing, business and anthropology. This diversity would enable you to view research
issues from different angles which lead to collection of richer data and more creative
analysis. Select precisely the right analytical tools to fully address the research questions at
issue. While analysis procedures are unique to each study, there are some commonalities.

ii) Generally speaking, results are examined question-by-question. Then statistical tests should
be run to reveal significant relationships between variables or other data patterns.
Incorporate graphs to provide powerful visualizations of the key findings. Take time to
synthesize results and summarize top conclusions.

iii) A full suite of statistical techniques for analysis may be employed, including:

a) Chi-square and related tests of association for nominal data

b) Difference of means tests for integer data

c) Non-parametric
d) Exploratory Data Analysis

e) Analysis of Variance and Covariance

f) Multivariate Analysis

g) Conjoint Analysis

h) Regression analysis

i) Discriminate analysis.
j) Factor analysis.
k) Cluster analysis.

f) Step 6: Application

i) Application, rather than analysis, is the final step.

ii) Take the research process one crucial step further by synthesizing study findings into a set
of actionable recommendations. Drawing upon your broad expertise in business and
marketing, develop intelligent, creative suggestions for action, and help formulate realistic
implementation plans.

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8) Types of Studies:
a) The students can adopt a wide range of approaches to market research projects. They should
custom design and execute scientifically valid studies that produce meaningful results to clarify
issues and identify strategic opportunities for their targeted ‘clients’. Here are some types of
studies they can typically perform:

9) Methodology

10) The students can adopt a wide range of qualitative and quantitative approaches to collecting and
analyzing data. Customized research design, and thorough post-collection analysis is focused on
discovery of strategic opportunities. Work closely with your 'clients' to design, execute, and analyze
qualitative and quantitative studies that produce results that are useful and immediately actionable.

11) Students conduct, both, qualitative and quantitative types of studies, because we believe the two
approaches are not mutually exclusive. Generally speaking, qualitative research is most appropriate
for identifying and fleshing out unknown issues. Quantitative research is most appropriate for
testing the issues using a sample that is representative of the larger population. Often opt to use the
two approaches together as complementary parts of a two-phase study.

12) Qualitative

a) Qualitative research is directed toward gaining an in-depth understanding of participants’

perceptions and behavior. Using these qualitative methods, provide your ‘clients’ with the kind
of detailed understanding possible through less-structured open-ended questioning, extensive
probing, and observation of participant behavior. The typical qualitative methodologies would
include:

i) Focus groups

ii) Ethnography

iii) Tele-focus research (unstructured, one-on-one, in-depth interviews with selected

respondents)

iv) Elite in-depth Interviews

13) Quantitative

a) Quantitative approaches are designed to gather hard data that can be analyzed using the most
advanced statistical methods in the industry. The primary advantage offered by most
quantitative approaches is that the results of these studies can be generalized to the entire target
population—something qualitative methods cannot, by themselves, provide. The students can
use a variety of techniques in gathering quantifiable data, including:

b) Face to face surveys.

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c) Telephone surveys.
d) "Secret Shopper" surveys.
e) On-line internet-based surveys.
f) Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI).
g) Voice of the Consumer (VOC) panels.
h) Group sessions using the Option Finder® Interactive Keypad system.
i) Choice-Based Conjoint.

i) Paper and Pencil Administration.

ii) CAPI Administration.
iii) On-line Administration.

j) Adaptive Conjoint Analysis

i) On-line Administration.
ii) CAPI Administration.
k) For typical quantifiable studies, the interview process should be guided and controlled to ensure
that questions are asked in the same way of every respondent. Questions most often include
response alternatives or request scalar/numeric responses. The larger sample sizes typical of
quantitative studies ensure that results accurately reflect characteristics of the target population.

l) An analytic approach to all of your quantifiable studies typically would make use of many of
the following:

i) Chi-square and related tests of association for nominal data.

ii) Difference of means tests and exploratory methods appropriate to ratio-level data.
iii) Non-parametric alternatives to difference of means tests.

iv) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

v) Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA).

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vi) Regression Analysis.

(a) Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis.

(b) Multivariate LOGIT, PROBIT.

vii) Conjoint analysis.

(a) Hierarchical Bayesian derivation of point.
(b) Estimates (for part-worth values).

(c) Price Sensitivity.

(d) Market Simulations.

(e) Importance Analysis.

(f) Utility Analysis.
viii) Discriminant analysis.

ix) Perceptual mapping using.

(a) Factor analysis.

(b) Cluster analysis.

x) Latent Class analysis.

xi) Scaling and Multidimensional Scaling.

xii) Segmentation modeling using.

(a) Cluster Analysis.
(b) CHAID.

(c) Latent Class Models.

xiii) Trending and forecasting using

(a) ARIMA.

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 (b) Survival Analysis.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Research Guides and Faculty at WLC College would ensure timely and effective execution of
Research Projects. WLCI wishes students all the best for their Industry Projects.

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