MRes Management Research

University of Essex

Your dissertation is the culmination of your course, where you apply knowledge gained to produce an extended independent piece of work. You generate an original idea, analyse literature and current knowledge and produce a coherent argument that shows your ability to relate theory to practice. Your dissertation/research project will help you develop vital skills for the workplace, as well as the ability to analyse real problems through an academic lens. You are assigned a supervisor for the duration of your project.

This module is designed to build on your knowledge and understanding of research in management, marketing, accounting and organisation studies and to develop your skills in studying organisational life. Its aim is to draw together insights from the philosophy of the social sciences, methodology and advanced qualitative research methods in order to develop an informed and reflexive understanding of research design and practice. A key part of your learning process on this module will develop your ability to connect an informed understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of organisational research with your planned methodological approach and methods of data collection and analysis. Underpinning the module is an understanding of the research process not as a unidirectional, linear trajectory but as a complex and multi-dimensional back and forth process through which ideas evolve that coalesce into a research design that is specific to particular research projects and researchers and which enables those projects to proceed ethically and credibly.

Develop the skills needed to produce a rigorous and critical literature review at postgraduate level. This module explores key theoretical, philosophical and methodological approaches to research, with a strong focus on literature searching, evaluation and synthesis. You’ll strengthen your ability to critically analyse academic texts and build methodological and epistemological insight to support advanced research projects and dissertations.

This module introduces the methods of research in the fields of marketing. You explore a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, using examples and case studies to determine the suitability of different types of research in particular situations. You gain understanding of research ethics and acquire the skills to organise and undertake a research project.

This module is designed to encourage students to reflect on a variety of issues relating to management and business strategy. It will introduce students to the basics of management such as dealing with teams, culture and organisational management structures. It will then introduce students to managing strategically, covering topics that involve the analysis of the external and internal environments of the business as well as avenues for implementation. Consequently, the module offers an insight into a range of current business issues, management dilemmas, ethical considerations, and general governance issues relating to the strategic direction of organisations. Overall, the module provides an introduction to management and strategy and a critical examination of its application in practice.

This module is designed to encourage students to think and reflect upon the nature of managing people and organisations. In particular, it encourages students to consider the main topics of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. Throughout the sessions, the core issues affecting organisational behaviour and outcomes will be discussed and critically analysed. Therefore, it invites participants to consider the tensions emerging from competing views and perspectives. In so doing, the module challenges many of the taken-for-granted assumptions about people management, and provides tools to analyse organisations and to explore the realities of organisational life.