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Reportss guidelines
by
Dr Emmanuel Monod, PhD, HDR
For
Master of International Business
And
Master of New Communication Technologies and Tourism
Université Paris-Dauphine
Nov 19th, 2010
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Université Paris-Dauphine
Reports GuidelinesTable of Contents
1- The Importance of the Reports .................................................................Erreur ! Signet non défini.
2- The Standard Expected of the Reports ..................................................... Erreur ! Signet non défini.
3- The Content of the Reports ................................................................................................................. 3
4- Sources ................................................................................................................................................ 4
5- Planning and Guidance ....................................................................................................................... 5
6- Submission .......................................................................................................................................... 6
7- Arrangement of Reports ...................................................................................................................... 7
8- Reports Format .................................................................................................................................... 8
9- Footnotes ............................................................................................................................................. 8
10- References ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Sample A: Title Page ............................................................................................................................. 11
Sample B: Vita ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Appendix 1 : some consulting reports ................................................................................................... 15
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Université Paris-Dauphine
Reports Guidelines
1- the Corporation
The corporation might be the one you are working in as an apprentice or trainee, or a
customer of this company, or another company that you select either because you know it, or
because you are interested in it.
2- The Content of the Reports
A good Reports poses an interesting, focused question, and provides a reasoned answer to
this question.
For instance :
Project definition report :
• What are the context of this project?
• What are the objectives?
• What are resources sufficient?
• Is timing OK?
• How about risks?
• Please refer to the checklist for the PDR
Competition analysis report :
• is the company in hypercompetition?
• is the portfolio of products / markets balanced?
• Where is the company in his hypercompetitive trajectories?
• Is the corporation in international ? multinational? Global or transnational
mode?
Change management report
• Who are the stakeholders?
• What is the wake-up call?
• How is the team effectiveness?
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A Reports needs to have a central integrating argument. The argument should be logically
developed, building up a case point by point, and displaying a critical and analytical approach
to the subject. Descriptive material which does not contribute to such an argument should
normally be omitted.
It is not writing about the collection of books and articles which you have read about the
topic. A good Reports needs to contain your assessment of existing knowledge about the
topic plus contributions which you yourself may have made to that knowledge through
original research from primary sources of fieldwork. It should be an expression of your
thoughts and conclusions.
Your argument should have depth and balance. Avoid making superficial claims which will
not stand up to scrutiny. Important alternative views must be met. Similarly, do not ignore
evidence that does not support your case. Examine the evidence. If a candidate adopts a
single perspective, s/he must demonstrate a critical awareness of its strengths and weaknesses.
The Reports should relate to the content of at least one course of the Master program. You
should clearly demonstrate the link between the topic or case(s) studied and a recognised
corpus of literature that was taught in Management in the Master program and this link should
be made explicitly.
3- Sources
Students are encouraged to gather as much data and information as is possible within the
allocated time. You may find the Internet a useful tool for this purpose, but your corporationor institution should rather be the primary source of these data. Data might be :
1. Internal reports
2. Interviews (that may be anonymous: for instance, Mr X, director of Business Unit Y)
3. Your own observations (not mandatory)
4. Questionnaires (not mandatory)
5. Books
6. Press articles (that you may find in bookshops, libraries or on the internet)
7. Professional reports (that you may find in bookshops, libraries or on the internet)
By all means use primary source material (from interviews, fieldwork, surveys, or
analysis of original documents) if you wish and if it is available to you. But, given the short
time available to you for research, you should make sure that any fieldwork or primary
research that you do is strictly ‘containable’ within the time-frame for the Reports.
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Moreover, you should note that the use of primary source material is not a requirement
of a successful Reports, and that a Reports which is closer in style and approach to an
extended tutorial essay than to a mini doctoral thesis is perfectly acceptable, so long as it has a
clear and convincing argument and achieves adequate depth.
Do make sure well in advance that the material you hope to use is actually available.
Some earlier candidates postponed work on their Reportss until early July, only to discover, at
this stage, that their expected sources did not exist or were inaccessible.
While it is obviously necessary to identify the major sources relating to your topic,
you do not need to engage in the sort of exhaustive literature search, which would be more
appropriate for a research degree.
AVOID PLAGIARISM AT ALL COSTS. The definition of ‘plagiarise’ is ‘to take and use
another person's thoughts, writings, or inventions as one's own’. The most obvious form is
using someone else's words without any acknowledgement, but there are other kinds of
plagiarism. For example, using a verbatim passage without quotation marks would be
plagiarism even if the source was acknowledged in a precise reference. If you use verbatim
material from other sources it must both be in quotation marks and precisely referenced.
When the work of other people is referred to, there should always be an acknowledgement.
Proper citation of sources is an elementary but critical mark of the presentation of scholarly
work, and you should observe the standards used in top refereed journals. The examiners are
vigilant in cases of plagiarism, and a Reports containing plagiarism will be referred to theuniversity authorities.
4- Planning and Guidance
Start planning your Reports early. Obviously, you should pick a topic that closely interests
you, but make sure that it fits with the course material. You should discuss the general scope
and approach of your Reports as well as your proposed source material with your supervisor.
Once you have selected and defined your topic, and done some initial data gathering and
reading, draw up a draft plan. In the first instance, the plan is likely to be simply a list of
questions to be asked; new aspects will be added as you do more research, while others will
be eliminated as irrelevant. Do not expect your first plan to remain fixed; it is likely to
change as you develop your reading and research. Often your Reports will develop with a
cyclical process: you begin with a rough idea of what might be found or argued; you modify
this idea as you get into the topic; discard some ideas and concentrate on others; refine the
research question; and so on.
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5- Submission
The Reports should NEVER BE SENT BY MAIL
A mail will NEVER COUNT AND WILL BE GRADED WITH A ZERO GRADE
Please print it and give it to the administrative assistant,
There will be a discount of 3 point by late delivery day. After 5 days, zero grade.
The administrative assistant of the Master Program will write down the date and time of your
submission.
Please note: If you are sending your Reports by post it should arrive in the administrative
office at the due date. Failure of the postal services is not a valid excuse. If the Reportsarrives in after the deadline then normal penalties for late submission will apply.
Do not post your Reports to any other address. You should also enclose a completed copy of
the coursework submission form. Although this will not act as receipt we still need you to
sign the plagiarism statement. We will email you when your Reports arrives and this will act
as your receipt.
The Master Program cannot accept work sent electronically (by email).
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7- Arrangement of Reports
Each thesis or report must be arranged in the following order. Italicized pages are optional.
1. Title Page (Sample A) Includes this page in the pretext page count, but do not place a
page number on it.
2. Abstract. Continue pretext page numbering with lowercase Roman numerals.
3. Table of Contents. Continue pretext page numbering with lowercase Roman
numerals.
4. Acknowledgements and/or Preface. Begin placing pretext lowercase Roman
numerals at the bottom of this page, counting all preceding pretext material except for
the fly page. Page numbers are centered one inch from the bottom of the page.
5. Text. All pages from the first page of text through the Vita are numbered
consecutively in Arabic numerals, beginning with Arabic numeral “1” on the first page
of the thesis or report text.
6. Bibliography. Other possible titles are “References” or “Works Cited.” (not included
in the page number counting)
7. Vita (sample B)This brief biographical sketch of the author is always the last page of the thesis or report and the last page listed on the Table of Contents. (not included in
the page number counting)
8. Appendix. Stop page numbering with Arabic numerals. (not included in the page
number counting). Please do not hesitate to include many appendix.
9. Glossary. Stop page numbering with Arabic numerals. (not included in the page
number counting). Please do include a glossary when you refer to many technical
terms.
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8- Reports Format
a. Font
A single font must be used throughout the thesis or report, the only exceptions being in tables,
graphs, and appendices. Headings may be bolded and no more than 2 points larger than the
rest of the text. Recommended font is Times New Roman or Garamond
b. Margins
All theses and reports must have consistent margins of 2,7 centimeters at the top, bottom, left,
and right edges of the page. Page numbers must be placed at least one inch from the bottom of
the page. Margins which are smaller than those required are acceptable, but larger margins are
not.
c. Spacing
The thesis or report must be single -spaced.
d. Numbering of Pages
Beginning with the first page of the Acknowledgements or Preface, if used, all preliminary
pages preceding the actual text must be numbered in lowercase Roman numerals; e.g., iii, iv,
v, etc. These numerals must be centered under the text with at least one inch of space between
the number and the bottom of the page. If no optional pages are used, the page numbers must
begin on the Abstract. Do not number the copyright page, signature page, title page, ordedication, but do include each of them in the pretext page count. The first page of the text
begins at Arabic numeral 1. All pages within the text must contain an Arabic page number,
bottom-centered, at least one centimeter from the bottom edge of the page.
e. Length
The length of your Reports (exclusive of appendices and citations).
• Project definition report : 4 pages to 15 pages
• Competition analysis report : 10 pages to 25 pages
• Change leadership analysis report : 4 pages to 15 pages
9- Footnotes
There are several conventions, and it does not matter which one you adopt provided
that you cite sources properly, giving all the necessary information, and keep to the same
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convention throughout. The ‘Harvard’ system is briefly described below and is used by most
students. If you choose to adopt an alternative convention, make sure both that it is an
acceptable one and that you use it consistently. Students will be penalised for poor,
inconsistent or sloppy references.
Footnotes are used to take care of the occasions when you have a piece of information to give
but it is inconvenient to break up the text. Traditionally, footnotes appeared at the bottom of
the reference page in a smaller font, and the advent of more sophisticated word-processing
packages has given this type of footnote a new lease of life. Alternatively (and the more
common modern style), put all ‘notes’ at the end and signal them in the text by a number in
brackets (), in a single numerical sequence.
10- References
References are scholarly acknowledgements of work referred to or quoted. The ‘Harvard
system’ requires you to put in the text of your work the surname of the author, the date of
publication, and the page number, all within brackets. At the end of the Reports you then give
a single list of all the references you have used. This list of references should be arranged
alphabetically with full bibliographic information. The alphabetical list should include all the
references which have been used (books, articles, reports, internal corporation reports,
government publications, etc.). The references in the alphabetical list should be set out thus:
Books
Johnson, B. (1991) The Art of Referencing. London, Macmillan.
Journal Articles
Johnson, B. (1978) "The Harvard System" Academic Sciences Quarterly, 28(2): 184-
207.
Chapters of Books written by one author, edited by another.
Johnson, B (1989) Referencing. In R.Smith and A.Jones (eds). Scholarly Practice.London, Pergamon.
Where the author's name is not obvious (e.g. corporation or government report)
IBM (1991). Information Technology Report. Armonk, New York, USA.
Early identification of a fairly precise topic will help you enormously with sources, since the
processes of ‘serendipity’ and chance sightings of books and articles during the pursuit of
your other studies (as long as you make a written note of them at the time) will save time
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later, while reflection on your topic in advance of solid work on it may help you to develop
ideas which can elude you in mid-summer.
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Sample A: Title Page
Title of Report, Centered and Double-Spaced
by
Your name
Previous Academic Degrees (Licence, M1, Engineer degree, School of Commerce, B.A.;)
Recommended : LOGO OF YOUR COMPANY
Optional : your picture
Project definition report
Or : competition analysis report
Or : change leadership report
Presented to Université Paris-Dauphine
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Graduate Degree of
Master of International Business
Or
Master of New Communication Technologies and Tourism
Université Paris-Dauphine
Month Year
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Sample B: Sample page of a report
Four different phases may be identified in air transport market in Europe, each one being relatedto the occurred changes into economic and legal framework and to the increase of complexitiesin the competitiveness environment. The evolution of European Airlines can be summarized inone table (Figure 1).
SIMPLE
U N S T A B L E
S T A B L E
COMPLEX
COMPLEXITY
S T A B I L
I T Y
1993:
OPEN
SKIES
Before 1987:
National
markets
Bilateral
agreements
SHOCKS:
9/11/2001
2004: HYPER
COMPETITION
Figure 1 – Evolution of the European Airlines industry
The first phase of the European air transport market, which lasted up until 1987, wascharacterized by the existence of an oligopolistic regime having a nation-based dominance of
monopolies regulated through bilateral agreements. In 1987, the European Council of Ministries(Decision 87/602/EEC), defined the first set of laws regarding air transport liberalization which,following the deregulation process already started in the US during the ‘70s, abolished, inaccordance with specific agreements, the existing restrictions for the control of the respectivenational markets in terms of air routes and rates. This first regulation on the repartition of passenger capacity between air carriers in the scheduled air services among Member States and tothe access of air carriers to intra-European Union routes, established the foundations for thedefinition of an international agreement for air space deregulation (open-skies).
A second deregulation phase reached in 1993 with the end of national restrictions and the
application of the freedom of establishment (set out in Article 49 of the Treaty of Rome) to air
transport sector. Thus, the 1st January 1993 – with the entry into force of the Regulation n.
2408/92 - the European Commission transferred those principles of free market to airtransport
sector (second phase). This "open skies" regulation reduced the existing restrictions, defined the
procedure for the access of new airline companies into the intra-Community air routes and
introduced more liberalized air rates. Via this open skies regulation, any airline could freely
operate from any EU Country due to full traffic rights. These preliminary regulations had a
strong impact on the European airline market: since that moment on and for long time, “the
market has changed enormously due to different forces, often not predicted, which have pushed
towards an always increasing competitiveness” (CE, DG TREN, 2005).
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However, in 2001, the terrorist attack of September 11th, caused a significant shock-crisis in
global economy (third phase). Such event produced an immediate impact on the whole airline
transport market with serious implications for the world economy and a long period of
instability and recession. A relevant crisis involved the airlines sector, with a strong reduction in
the number of passengers on a global scale and a worldwide decrease of routes and flight
transfers. From then and for several years, most of the United States carriers – like American,
Delta, United, US Airways, Northwest and Continental – suffered important losses of liquidity.
Only a specific law on bankruptcy, launched by the US government, allowed the survival of many
airlines. Such protectionist law, however, caused further losses to carriers which continued to
operate despite the strong reduction of world flights. The decrease in demand caused an
overcapacity in a moment of tickets costs reduction and fuel costs increase. Many airline
companies, less competitive and financially limited, failed.
In 2004, the establishment of the SES - the Single European Sky - and the adoption of a set of new regulations concerning competition – which included the Framework Regulation (EC
Regulation no. 549/2004) and three technical regulations (EC Regulations no. 550, 551,552/2004) brought a rapid increase of competition with important repercussions on the worldmarket (fourth phase).
According to the Commission, such set of regulations allowed “to reduce the excessivefragmentation of the European airspace and the high transaction costs for users” (CE, DG
TREN, 2005) through reduction of delays, greater capacity in terms of air traffic management(ATM) and harmonization of technologies used in the management of traffic all over Europe
with a positive impact in term of global air transport growth, supply of air navigation services,inter-operability of air traffic management, as well as on security, environment and technology management. (Della Corte, 2009).Starting from 2004, a number of unexpected and unplanned factors induced a significant increase
of competition and generated a sudden increase of organizational and technological changing rate
in airlines market. The deregulation of the European Union airspace has generated significant
changes into the airlines industrial structure stimulating the process of globalization, the
development of new low-cost companies and the use of innovative technologies to manage the
commercial activities. Airports privatization has followed this new market organization with a
consequent global change of their governance policies. Therefore, the emergence of hyper-
competition seems obvious in airline industry from 2004.
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Sample C: Vita
VITA
Emmanuel Monod, Paris Dauphine University (France) is visiting associate professor at
Georgia State University (Atlanta, USA), and currently Associate Editor for Information
Systems Research (ISR). He is also editorial board member of Information Systems Journal
(ISJ), Database for Advances in IS and Information Technology and People. He was
previously associate editor for Communication of the AIS (CAIS) and Journal of the AIS
(JAIS).
He was vice-president of the AIS from 2003 to 2008 and conference track chair for ICIS
(2004 and 2005), ECIS 2005 and AMCIS (from 2004 to 2007). He created (and was leader of)
two AIS Special Interest Groups “e-culture e-tourism” and “philosophy and epistemology of
IS”. He has previously held executive positions in IBM (France and USA), France Telecom
and the French Company of External Trade (COFACE), depending of the French Ministry of
Finance. At Paris Dauphine University, he is the director of the Master of International
Business (MIB), co-director of the EDBA (Executive Doctorate in Business Administration),
co-director of the Master of New Communication Technologies and Tourism (MCT) and
director of the dual doctorate-PhD program with Georgia State University (Atlanta)
He published in Information and Organization, Information System Journal (ISJ), European
Journal of Management, Communications of the AIS (CAIS) and 3 French journals recognizedby CNRS (French equivalent to NSF) : Systèmes d’Information et Management (SIM),
Réseaux (networks) and Annales des Telecommunications. He was guest associate editor for
MISQ and guest editor of a special issue of ISJ
.
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Appendix 1 : some consulting reports
Forrester
http://www.forrester.com/rb/businessdata.jsp?cm_re=Navigation_010710-_-business_data_tab-_-business_data
Standish group
http://www.marketresearch.com/vendors/viewVendor.asp?VendorID=2514
ABI research
http://www.abiresearch.com/home.jsp
Accenture reports :
http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/By_Industry/default.htm
IBM reports
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/html/glt-landing-2009.html
World Competitiveness Report :
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm
Travel and tourism competitiveness report
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/TravelandTourismReport/index.htm
Global Information Technology Report
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Information%20Technology%20Report/index.htm
US Government SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) (all companies):
http://searchwww.sec.gov/EDGARFSClient/jsp/EDGAR_MainAccess.jsp
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