Title: The Impacts of Working Capital Management on Corporate Value and Profitability before and after Financial Crisis: A Case Study of J Sainsbury
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1) Introduction: This is to explain your motivation for the study and why. An eye-catching phrase/paragraph is usually good to catch the mood of readers. The second paragraph will tell readers what you intend to cover in the chapter. This introductory part should not be more than half of a page long (single spacing).
1.2) Background information to your area of investigation: This is a mini literature review, where you need to enlist what have been investigated to date. This section should not be more than 2.5 pages long.
Issues investigated by different authors about portfolio diversification. This will be a short literature review. See chapters one and two of the attached documents for guides.
1.3) Research Questions: You need to set appropriate research questions on issue that you are investigating
1.4) Aims/objectives of the study: State your strategies in answering the research questions or you intend to solve the questions.
1.5) Methodological Approach: Provide us with your data collect methods and sources that you will use. This is should not be more than a page long.
1.6) Layout of the remaining parts of the study: Provide us with the main topics or issues to be covered in the remaining chapters.
1.7) Conclusion
Summarise the key points that you have discussed in chapter one and prepare readers for the main theme of chapter two.
Chapter Two
Literature Review on Working Capital Management and Firms Value
2.1) Introduction: Provide short explanation on how why management of working capital is very important. Your introduction section should then tell readers what you intend to discuss in the chapter.
2.2) Theoretical Framework: This theoretical/Analytical framework for analysing existing literature on WCM and Firms’ Value’s. This will allow your literature review to flow very well without an element of descriptions but analytical.
2.3) Review of academic literature on Working Capital Management and Firms Value: The essence of carrying out literature review is to identify gaps in the existing knowledge and uncover issues that are widely discussed in your research focus.
You have to bring in lots of academic literature to support or refute some issues that you are investigating.
Your extant literature must be capable of answering questions that you set in your chapter one.
It is an exploration of the research focus in order to crystallize research questions that require appropriate answers.
Your literature review chapter must contain a great deal and quality of academic literature (including journal articles).
You must demonstrate the extent to which literature is evaluated and critically appraised. It must be based on relevant issues of the work reviewed, containing references/citations (using Harvard methods) mostly from year 2000 to date.
2.4) Any important issues that are relevant to your investigation.
2.5) Issues or gaps that emerge from the extant literature (if any)
2.6) Conclusion: Reflect on the main themes of the chapter and prepare readers ahead of the main themes of the next chapter. Suffice to say that one paragraph must summarize what you have discussed in the chapter and another paragraph must introduce the topic to be covered in the next chapter.
Chapter Three
Case Study of Working Capital Management in the UK Retail Industry
3.1) Introduction to the contents of the chapter
3.2) Justify why you are investigating WCM in the UK Listed Retail Companies as the main focal point for your investigation.
3.3) Brief history of the Industry or Company
3.4) Approach and Techniques Currently practised by managers of Retail Companies to enhance WCM of Their Corporations
3.5) Impacts of WCM on Performance, Firms Value and Profitability
3.6) Internal and External Factors that affect the WCM of UK Retail Firms
3.7) Conclusion: Reflect on the main issues you covered in the chapter and then prepare readers for what you intend to cover in chapter four.
Chapter Four
Research Methodology
4.1) Introduction
4.2) Explain differences between Qualitative and Quantitative approaches
4.3) Justify the appropriateness of Qualitative or Quantitative methodology
4.4) Explain Data Collection Methods for your Study:
4.4.1) Secondary Data Collection Sources
4.4.2) Why you are Using Case Study Approach
4.4.3) Explain you Primary Data Approach (i.e. Questionnaires and Interviews). Your explanation must include Ethical Issues and Administration of your data collection.
4.5) Enhancing Validity of Methodological Approach
4.6) Analytical Framework
4.7) Conclusion
You need to evaluate and justify other sources of methodology. (i.e. have you explained why you have chosen a particular method or a set of methods for this study and why?). You must justify how you have selected those who are participating in your study, and how you have administered your research tools.
Chapter Five
Results, Analysis and Discussion
This chapter is for the synthesis of interview/questionnaire materials or interpretation and probably analysis of results. You will equally be reflecting on all those questions in your chapter one to ensure that you have actually answered them all.
5.1) Introduction to the chapter
5.2) Analysis of issue one
5.3) Analysis of issue two
5.4) In that order
5.5) Conclusion
These results, analysis and discussion should be well substantiated and presented in a sensible order.
Key points must be linked together showing depth and intelligence of arguments. The key questions are that ‘does your analysis develop an intellectual argument, which link in well to both the literature review and the empirical evidence? Are key research questions thoroughly investigated?
If you are using quantitative method, responses will not be on interview materials but towards your hypotheses.
Chapter Six
General Conclusion and Recommendations
6.1) Introduction to the chapter
6.2) General Summary of Your Study: How well the main points are synthesized? Are findings and analysis put in a relevant context? Evidence of critical reasoning must be displayed.
6.3) Policy recommendations (if any) How well are they linked to the aims and the findings? Have you consider the implementation of your recommendations?
6.4) Contributions of your study to the existing knowledge in the areas of your study
6.5) Limitations of the study and areas of further research
6.6) Concluding Remark
List of references/Bibliography
Alphabetical and Harvard methods of presentations are required.
Chapter One: After the draft of the whole project is completed, then revisit Chapter 1. You will recall that chapter one is the summary of the whole dissertation project and it must properly reflect what you have actually done in your study.
You then need to prepare:
Table of content
Abstract
Acknowledgement
