Writing an MBA dissertation is at once a practice in simplicity and complexity. Starting things off with a dichotomy? Yes, but with good reason. An MBA dissertation can be harrowing to a lot of people, but treat it just like any other essay and its power begins to wane, and its grip loosens. By this point in their studies, MBA students have undoubtedly written numerous essays all the way back to their days in high school. Chances are that if they have already made it this far into the MBA program then they know how to craft a fairly good essay. So crafting a decent essay or argue a point on paper is not the issue. The topic on the other hand, that can make or break a dissertation.
Getting Perspective on Topics
The problem is that while the spectrum of topics to choose from is technically large and wide, the “easy” and “popular” topics have already been done and re-done to ad museum. The most common topics have been touched upon by so many people that professors, instructors and teaching assistants have graded what is essentially the same paper every year. Setting oneself apart from the rest has proven to be a difficult thing to do for a lot of MBA students. So how can you land a winning MBA dissertation? MBA students should try MastersThesisWriting.com to get help writing their MBA dissertation.
This may be a novel idea to most, but why not start with the person grading the dissertation. Don’t necessarily ask them for topics to look into, but instead ask them about topics that they may want you to stay away from. Remember that these professionals have heard dozens, hundreds and maybe even thousands of dissertations, and who knows maybe they don’t want to read about the “Macroeconomics of developed western countries” for the two hundredth time. This tactic allows you to narrow in the scope of your topic by eliminating some topics.
Look at more contemporary subject matters. For example if you are planning on writing about the food industry, why not take a stab at the consumer motivators of the non-GMO scene. In this type of dissertation you will be basically applying the tried and true principles that has graced the paragraphs of essays for decades and applying it to a present-day topic. Just take a look at the previously described scenario. If you replace the term “non-GMO” with the term “low-fat”, it can be theoretically used in an early 90s dissertation.
Twist on an Old Subject
Alternatively, you can approach things from the other end. Take the statues and long-standing subject matters in your field such as commercial banking or manufacturing practices, and then discuss a modern development in the field. In terms of the banking industry, MBA students may decide to take a look at the impacts that e-banking and the rise of micro-transactions are having on the once antiquated banking landscape.
They could also tackle a dynamic and ever changing like Culture and Marketing, and how social media is influencing the way consumers are interacting with brands. They can also touch upon the various avenues that businesses and companies are now capturing the attention, time and money of their target audience.
So as you can see, today’s winning dissertation is not really a quest to write a good paper. This does not mean that a poorly worded essay will receive top marks. Today’s dissertations must still be grammatically correct and must still, for lack of a better term, make sense to the reader, and more importantly, to the grader. But it is the chosen topic that will really set an MBA student apart from the pack. More often than not, creative and less common topics, allow the writer to explore new avenues and engage the reader in a better dialogue, than topics that have been done over and over again in different permutations. In that case, the “wiggle room” or creative freedom that writer has is very little, if any at all.
New and innovative topics, especially those on the cutting or bleeding edge enjoy a certain mystique to the reader, and even the grader. If the topic is so new, there may be a chance that the person grading the dissertation may have very little background surrounding the topic. In this case, the writer is not just arguing a point in their writing, but also enjoy the honor of teaching something new to the grader. If you ever find yourself in this scenario, it would be best to employ your best storytelling tactics to deliver a rich experience to your reader.
MBA dissertations no longer need be long, laborious and (often) boring works churned out by hours upon hours hunched over a keyboard. It can be educational (for both reader and writer), entertaining and can help push the boundaries of an MBA students creativity. And who knows, it may end up being a fun endeavor.
