Why Do Students Seek Ready-Made Project Reports Instead of Doing the Work? Let's Discuss

What a Project Report Means to a Student

Today, I want to discuss this because I have seen numerous threads on this platform and many others where students ask for MBA-ready project reports instead of doing the work themselves. They think that this is the easy way to get the "MAKING OF PROJECT REPORT" work done and always seek help in this regard. My question is, why?

Objectives of a Project Report

What are the objectives of a project report, and what does it mean to a student? Why do institutes, colleges, and universities ask students to work on projects?

- To expose students to the workings of an organization and management.
- To relate the concepts learned by students to the operations of organizations.
- To work on a problem identified by the organization or student to understand the practical aspects of organizational operations.

Project work assigns students a specific purpose and objectives, and I believe students should show respect for it.

The concerning issue is that I have not come across any posts here advising students not to seek project reports or ready projects. Perhaps I am mistaken, but we should not encourage projects or ready projects. However, we can guide students, help them understand the concept of an MBA project report, and provide necessary support for choosing MBA project topics so that every student receives the desired attention with intellectual support.

Hope to receive input from others here.

Dear Anil, Glad to know that I have some support. I have been raising this issue with students for the past 3 years. Maybe you have not seen my posts. For example, please see https://www.citehr.com/98501-recruit...stinnaire.html, https://www.citehr.com/265866-questi...-measures.html, and https://www.citehr.com/301192-my-mba-project.html. Have a nice day.

Regards, Simhan Learning and Teaching Fellow (Retd.) The University of Bolton, UK. "It is never too late to learn or improve oneself"

I agree and support this cause. Here are my points:

Most of the students lack guidance. They barely receive any project guidelines from their institute. They neither have resources nor leaders around them. It's evident from their questions.

In such a situation, which way would they go? I am not supporting laziness or tardiness. These students would soon be part of our workforce, with such little preparation. If they are not guided rightly, it would create a grave danger for all of us.

Simhan's contribution towards helping them will remain matchless. I thank everyone who has been contributing to them. I request everyone who reads this discussion to please consider helping those students with your guidance.

Here's one discussion where Simhan and I tried working it out for the student: [Project-ING Vyasa](https://www.citehr.com/318239-please-comment-performance-appraisal-project-ing-vyasa-bank)

An article by Archna, which I loved and I am sure many would agree with me: [Search, Read & Learn](http://citeman.com) *(link updated to site home)* ([Search On Cite](https://www.citehr.com/results.php?q=Search Read Learn) | [Search On Google](https://www.google.com/search?q=Search Read Learn))

I am voting for this post for the spotlight page, hoping to see more contributions with thoughts and ideas in this direction.

Dear lingua123, How do you define abroad? I did my postgraduate degrees through part-time studies and attended evening classes. Hence, I understand the time constraints. I have also taught on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses for nearly 20 years. Universities in the UK allow enough time to complete projects.

Time constraint is no excuse for finding a shortcut. Students who "cut and paste" or "copy and paste" work are either expelled from the course in the worst-case scenario. Even in the best cases, they are required to repeat the modules if found guilty of plagiarism.

Have a nice day.

Regards, Simhan

I must appreciate Mr. Anil's effort to start this thread, but not without mentioning Mr. Simhan's name. So far, he has been involved with many of the students/members asking for such free reports or guidance. He was doing it almost single-handedly, which is such an appreciable and substantial thing.

The Importance of Project Reports

Project reports are not just projects; actually, these are the doors that are the entry to the corporate world for students. Not giving or having enough time to complete your studies (practical exposure) is like not grabbing the opportunity at the right time.

Honesty in Academic Work

While working, if we have decided to study further, why not do it with complete honesty? Why buy, cheat, copy, and paste when the knowledge is all around us? In fact, why not do your project with the company you are working for? That will serve a dual purpose.

Guidance and Opportunities

Guidance on this forum is available in abundance; one just has to knock on the doors professionally. Here in India, most colleges and institutes provide 8 weeks to complete these project reports while doing your summer training in a company, and still, the demand for ready-made projects is there. One thing could be that they don’t want to work diligently towards their goals and so they suffer in the end, asking for many things even when they land a job.

On the other hand, we have students, as mentioned by (Cite Contribution), who are not getting the right direction and guidance, and yes, that is very much the case.

As mentioned in the article http://citeman.com <link updated to site home>, if we give 2 sincere hours daily to our projects, we will be able to achieve desired results.

Regards

Even I agree with you, Mr. Simhan, "Time constraint is no excuse for finding a shortcut." In addition to that, I want to emphasize that graduate/undergraduate students are capable of working on projects without seeking help from others. There are numerous resources available on GOOGLE where students can find the necessary guidance for their project work. They can also seek ideas and assistance from their peers, senior students, professors, and other sources. I don't believe anyone can deny this.

I have raised this question because I want students not to rely on external help and instead work on their projects independently. I am not suggesting that they cannot seek advice, but students who constantly search for pre-made projects are on the wrong path. By doing so, they are only deceiving themselves and not assessing their own abilities. Copying and pasting is not the correct approach to completing their work.

@(Cite Contribution): Yes, there may be situations as you mentioned where students require guidance and receive minimal support from their institution. However, this doesn't mean they should not put in effort or try to find completed projects through other means. MBA students are mature individuals who possess the skills to work on their projects independently and grasp the concepts and values involved. Despite this, students tend to seek external assistance, which is something they need to realize.

Yes, @(Cite Contribution), you are correct that these students will soon enter the workforce, and we should support them with advice, suggestions, directions, and guidelines rather than providing ready-made projects. I believe this is the core issue here, and that's why Mr. Simhan and I have brought this matter up – we want to ensure the right and valuable resources for our future team.

The Importance of Theoretical Projects for MBA Students

Essentially, our question is, why are MBA students assigned theoretical projects? These projects play a significant role in a student's career and life, contributing to their knowledge base, offering networking opportunities, and exposing them to new ideas. Engaging in MBA projects often involves working in groups and tackling real-world problems within a company, which is crucial for students to gain valuable experience sincerely.

Dear All,

The Role of a Project Report for Faculty

Before I play my part, I would like to ask one question: "What does a Project Report mean to a FACULTY?"

Here we are discussing the most awaited topic. It's nice to see members submitting their best opinions, and I agree to an extent while appreciating all those who have pointed out the faults in our education system. Today is Mr. Simhan's day...

Instead of blaming the Education System, let's blame and point out those from the education industry, so-called "EDUCATIONISTS," holding HIGHEST DEGREES and DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, because they are the ones who created the WRONG SYSTEM and are making students follow the SAME. Moreover, the funny thing is that they themselves do not possess relevant Knowledge/Skills/Talent, etc.

- Why are we blaming students when they haven't received PROPER GUIDELINES/SUPPORT to carry out their project work?

- How many FACULTY MEMBERS have successfully EDUCATED/BRIEFED their STUDENTS on "WHAT IS A PROJECT REPORT, HOW TO CARRY OUT THEIR PROJECT, THE PROCESS INVOLVED IN ACQUIRING INFORMATION, WHAT INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE COMPOSED/DRAFTED, TO WHAT EXTENT PRACTICAL EXAMPLES SHOULD BE PROVIDED, REFERENCE MATERIALS TO BE USED, ETC"?

Let's consider this example: https://www.citehr.com/344172-traini...-students.html.

Mr. Dev, an employee of a MANAGEMENT INSTITUTION, coordinating activities under the banner "Center for Excellence and Personality Development," sought guidance from members of this forum for creating a curriculum for PG STUDENTS. I raised my query, stating "whether faculty members of his institution are aware of such programs, do they have any exposure or have got any information, did you approach your faculty seeking inputs, etc." But I haven't received any reply. WHAT SHALL I CONCLUDE FROM THIS POST?

I would love to blame the "FATHER OF THE FAMILY" for all FAILURES. In one of my threads, https://www.citehr.com/332858-how-en...-students.html, Mr. Dinesh clearly pointed out the INABILITY, LACK OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, MISSING IN FACULTY MEMBERS, made students FOLLOW AND PRACTICE - FALSE SYSTEM.

Another example... https://www.citehr.com/341761-case-s...ur-opnion.html... Mr. Saleem posted his case studies seeking inputs. I found it really funny when he said "All these case studies were part of my examination which I submitted in December 2010. I received my marks list too, but the case studies I have submitted on this site, I received very few marks. I requested the university to give me a reason for the same, but you know, they don't give such suggestions. As this site is full of experts like you, I wanted to check where I have gone wrong.

I think the base for your question is nowadays there are many individuals who have come into the HR field without proper qualifications or experience and seek support from experts and proceed with their problems."

If Mr. Saleem opts for the TEACHING PROFESSION, he will also follow the same methodology because he was guided in the wrong direction.

Educating Teaching Professionals

Let's educate TEACHING PROFESSIONALS to correct themselves. TEACHING PROFESSIONALS have to strictly educate their students ON THE SAME GUIDELINES. If TEACHING PROFESSIONALS start IGNORING the RIGHT METHODOLOGY, the end result will be... "I hope you members can imagine what it will be"...

Most students are smart enough to outsource their assignments/projects because a group of teaching professionals explored one means for making money...

- "One who works hard will succeed in his career and life." PRACTICAL EXPOSURE during the COURSE OF STUDY, maybe for a limited period, is a must for a student to understand his subject naturally/practically.

- PROJECT REPORT FORMATS SHOULD NOT BE FIXED, and students should be allowed to submit their reports in their own HANDWRITING while meeting the criteria for qualifying for the next level.

- RESOURCES required to carry out the PROJECT should be provided by the INSTITUTION.

- TEACHING PROFESSIONALS SHOULD SPEND MAXIMUM TIME WITH THEIR STUDENTS, SUPPORTING THEM TO CARRY OUT THEIR PROJECT.

- TEACHING PROFESSIONALS MUST AND SHOULD SEEK SUPPORT FROM INDUSTRY/SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS/WORKING PROFESSIONALS HAVING PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE.

- TEACHING PROFESSIONALS SHOULD INCULCATE A "RESEARCH-ORIENTED EDUCATION SYSTEM" TO CARRY OUT PROJECT WORK.

- TEACHING PROFESSIONALS must and should play the role of a POSITIVE MOTIVATOR, COUNSELOR, GUIDE, COACH, and MENTOR.

In QATAR, RESEARCH is given the highest preference during the course of study. PRACTICAL/EXPERIMENTAL CURRICULUM SUPPORTED BY THEORY is designed by INDUSTRY EXPERTS as they believe "EDUCATION IS NOT JUST FOR EARNING OUR LIVELIHOOD BUT IT IS ONE OF THE MEANS."

Kindly correct me if I am wrong...

With profound regards

Dear Khadir, Thank you for the contribution. It's not just students who do not know; even the staff are unaware. For example, please see https://www.citehr.com/239796-guidan...-ph-d-hrm.html. However, that should not be an excuse in the present internet age. If one takes the pains to search the web rather than rely on members to provide answers on a plate, they can find guidelines published by universities elsewhere. For example, see http://heacademy.ac.uk &lt;link updated to site home&gt; found at Google.

Even in the UK, when I was a student in the 70s and websites were not there, the guidelines for students' projects were sketchy. So were the assessment guidelines. However, things have changed.

By the time I retired from service in 2008, we had started to implement assessment guidelines for every assignment and project report. A model grid is attached for the members' information. Some faculty members in Indian institutions, where I have conducted Research Methodology seminars and Author workshops, agree that it's a good idea. However, they have not seen fit to incorporate.

Institutions do not have firm policies on PLAGIARISM either, and I have known cases where students have submitted project reports written by someone else 2 years ago. No doubt, the management and faculty have deficiencies. However, that should not be the sole reason for students taking a shortcut.

Have a nice day.

Regards, Simhan

Dear Mr. Simhan, I agree with you that everyone has deficiencies, but to what extent? It is the responsibility of teaching professionals to look into the matter and stop students from applying shortcut methods. Plagiarism can be controlled to some extent as the same information can be rewritten in a different way, but practical experience, research methods, and tools used will vary from student to student as it depends on the interest of the student.

Just downloading information from the internet will not make sense. The involvement of faculty at deep-root levels will make a huge difference. Faculty is again responsible for inculcating good habits in students, which will help to a greater extent. Even we, as members of this forum, have supported student queries to some extent only.

Let our message reach teaching professionals, and they have to initiate the right process and a perfect (may not be 100%) education system.

With profound regards,

Hi Khadir, I forgot to mention that I had instituted a system whereby I would see all the students that I supervised once a month as a group. Additionally, students had to submit a written brief every two weeks detailing their progress. They were also required to show their draft report at different stages; failure to do so put their project report approval at risk, although university regulations permitted submission. I've been informed that all students at a certain university must submit their work to TURNITIN and verify that it is original. Have a nice day.

Regards, Simhan

That is truly appreciated, Mr. Simhan. I want to offer my sincere thanks to Mr. Khadir for his valuable points and to all my peers for their inputs.

Yes, Mr. Khadir, I agree with you that it is the responsibility of teaching professionals to address the issue and prevent students from resorting to shortcuts. Simply blaming the education system and educators for this will not lead to success in our goal because it is ultimately the students who engage in these practices. We need to make them understand the significance of a project report. It is the students' time, and they should decide what they want. Our duty is to inform them of right and wrong, as we can only advise and guide them in this matter but cannot completely stop them. The question that remains is how we can make them realize the importance of this, which is crucial for their career and life.

However, I do not entirely agree that students are not receiving proper guidelines and support to carry out their project work. While not all institutions are the same, there are many that assist their students effectively in this regard. Yet, students still seek easier ways to complete their project work.

In my time, I completed my project work with proper guidance and support from my esteemed university, and I know many others from various universities who have done so as well. My main point is that students must recognize the value of a project report, especially considering that today's students are more technologically advanced and mature compared to the past.

Mr. Khadir, it is valid to assert that it is the responsibility of educators and the education system to address the issue of plagiarism and establish systems similar to what Mr. Simhan has implemented.

I believe we must take action against the "copy-paste" culture in project reports and develop a global system to achieve our goal.

Key Considerations

- Students need to understand the value of project work and reports. How can we help them realize this?
- Lack of support and guidelines from the education system and educators. How can we raise this issue to make them understand the seriousness of the problem and develop a system to prevent student plagiarism?

I have initiated action by contacting our Education Ministry, several prominent educational institutions, and other education professionals with examples and suggestions. I have proposed the establishment of a verification system by a separate department to ensure that students take their project work seriously. This is my current endeavor, and I am committed to seeing it through to fruition because the target is set, the journey has begun, and I aim to reach my destination.

I extend my gratitude to all for your contributions.

Regards

Dear Khadir, please see https://www.citehr.com/344643-ph-d-t...es-needed.html, which proves your point 1. Kindly also see https://www.citehr.com/339875-questi...n-process.html and https://www.citehr.com/342877-projec...appraisal.html, which are examples of students seeking projects or off-the-shelf questionnaires with scant information about the course, the place where the questionnaire will be used, and how, etc.

Have a nice day.

Simhan

Hello everyone, I am not a great HR professional or anything, but I am a student, and I think it is unethical to ask for projects directly. I am no saint here, but we should strive to do our projects on our own with some assistance from the great contributors on this website. This is a place to learn and grow, so I urge people who ask for projects to at least give it a shot on their own. If nothing works out, then seek help. (No offense intended)

Thank you.

Greetings, this discussion made an important point, i.e., effort over convenience. Here comes a request. We have Simhan guiding students for Research and Project. Ankit Chaturvedi and Anil have been doing it. May we please request others who are willing to guide the students to share their interest in this thread? We would put their names on the Scholar thread marked in the Research and Assignment section. This would help the students to contact these guides directly in case they require any further consultation.

Dear Cite Contribution, I am tired of responding to one-line requests such as the one at https://www.citehr.com/309020-resear...ideline-9.html by Shilpa Kannoth. So, I have stopped answering. Is there no way that CiteHR can be programmed to post a standard message in response to such requests? Have a nice day. Regards, Simhan.

I agree that we need to understand the queries that remain inconspicuous through the one-line request. Sid asked us to make a set of questions that can be designed into a questionnaire for the students. This would enable them to seek focused guidance. Here are a few standard questions that we need to know from the students before we can guide them:

Educational Background: The name of the course they are studying and the subject for which they require to work on this project.

Institutional Guidelines: Any project or research guidelines that have been issued to them.

Project Background: What they are intending to arrive at.

Efforts Made So Far: This is vital to avoid reinventing the wheel for them.

Please suggest the necessary ones. Thanking you in anticipation.

Regards

Open Discussion on Guiding Students

This discussion is open to everyone who believes in this topic. Please contribute with your ideas on how to frame a set of questions that can guide the students.

The questions raised so far must have made you think about the background required to answer them. Please share those thoughts.

I thank everyone in anticipation of their support.

Regards,
(Cite Contribution)

We need to understand the students' mentality, and the questionnaire should be based on this understanding; otherwise, we won't be able to succeed in retrieving relevant information that would help them qualify for access to this site. It's a systematic dynamic process. Besides acquiring basic information, we have to find out what exactly they are looking for. This is going to be a bit of a time-consuming task because the questionnaire designed should aim to capture relevant details targeting STUDENTS' PROJECT REQUIREMENTS only, rather than making students frustrated and developing a negative opinion about CITEHR.

Below are the questions that can be asked to students:

A) Are you looking for PROJECT Guidance?
B) If YES, SELECT the PROJECT TITLE. If not available in the DROP-DOWN LIST, kindly enter it in the TEXT BOX provided below.
C) Regarding your PROJECT, what are you expecting from members of CITEHR? LINKS or REFERENCE MATERIAL/BOOKS or NOTES or CASE STUDIES, etc. A student has to provide relevant details rather than just expecting us to provide references to projects done by someone else.
D) If you have gathered information relevant to your project, provide details.
E) If you have SPECIFIC QUERIES pertaining to your project, please submit them pointwise.

Details captured should create a NEW THREAD posted for review. We may add more queries to help students understand the objectives of CITEHR and limitations as well. I would be glad if you could provide feedback about my views.

With profound regards

Hey guys, after reading through all the discussions above, I would like to tell you that I am pursuing an Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from TISS. I have my fieldwork now, and the subject is Strategic Human Resource Management, for which I have been told to visit some organizations and gather information. However, I am unsure why any organization would provide me with detailed HR information and what my role would be in such a scenario. Can you please kindly help me with this?

Thanks & Regards

Hello people,

I am a student of MHRM in the last year. I agree with you and all those who say that training projects are important. I have been through internships, and I have experienced that true knowledge comes from experience only. Experience is very much needed to shape up anyone's character or personality.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Regards,
Samarth Vyas

Thanks, Samarth, and wishing you the very best of luck for your bright future. We never say that we can't help the students, but we don't want to steal a chance from the students to do hard work and acquire the knowledge themselves, which matters a lot and is really important for them and their career. You students are our future, and we want a strong future. Also, please do spread this to all other students and support me in my mission to convey this message.

Regards,
Samarth Vyas

Dear Samarth, thank you for sharing the learning that you gained from your experience. This acknowledges the concern that Anil had voiced. As a student, I struggled a lot to work on my projects, yet barely scored. However, when I started working, there is one learning from working on those projects that empowered me - the process to figure out a way each time I was given an assignment. My capability to deliver amplified beyond my understanding.

Apart from the knowledge and understanding gained, I credit my capability to work on complex tasks at higher levels, even when my experience did not directly include the projects that I worked on. Appreciate your effort to share; keep sharing your understanding.

Regards