Assignment 1 - Project Proposal - 20%
While your day-to-day work in your host company might be mainly task-related this is your chance to show your company the benefits of bringing in a university postgraduate intern. Your project should focus on the discipline of your enrolled program and should look at a problem or issue of relevance to your host company. The purpose of this proposal is to integrate the academic content of your program into a practical problem/issue in your host company and "sell” it to your supervisors/advisors- both in the company and in the University. As such, the proposal should convince both audiences of the importance and relevance of the project, while also assuring them that you can successfully complete the project with suitable outcomes and within the given timeframe.
The proposal should therefore outline the following:
· a brief company background that should include the company structure, market segment and market share, key competitors, etc. (this section can be extended in the final report)
· background to and rationale for the project (i.e., why is it important to the host organisation?);
· the objectives of the project;
· the proposed underlying academic theory/literature to be used to inform the project (should involve a minimum of 10 academic references);
· a time plan for completion of the project;
· and an indication of the information you will have to gather from the organisation to complete the project (this should include appreciation of potential ethical and access issues, depending on what kind of information you may need to gather).
Note that your understanding of relevant literature sources is very important. Ten relevant literature sources, properly referenced and cited will allow a Pass mark. For higher grades, you will need more extensive referencing to relevant literature.
This proposal should have a focus on an issue of some strategic value/importance to your host organisation. This might include, but is not limited to, the following issues:
- Competitor analysis with understanding of relative positioning;
- Customer segmentation and needs analysis;
- Analysis of the strategic environment of the firm and how it should respond to changes in this environment;
- Analysis of production facilities for possible layout improvement;
- Selected product or process investigations with a view to possible improvement recommendations;
- An investigation of maintenance programs in the organisation and the possibility of implementing TPM or similar.
Required Words/ Word Limit: 1300 - 1500 words