MANAGEMENT DISSERTATION PROPOSAL PROFORMA1. Aim, objectives and feasibility of the dissertationResearch BackgroundCote dIvoire, the largest economy in francophone West Africa, has opened up theeconomy to foreign investors to participate actively in economic activities. This is onesignificant and much appreciated strategy of the government to enable it achieves thepolicy objective of attaining an emerging economic status by 2020. Accordingly, thegovernment, have mapped out series of measures to improve infrastructural facilities,which are fundamental to attracting foreign investments. Of course, this has becomenecessary since most of them were damaged during the post-election crises. Thepresident, leveraging his long established relations with the West, having served asdeputy managing director of IMF, was able to secure facilities to the tune of $5.6b fromthe World Bank (World Group Flagship Report, n.d.) and other international partners, aswell as benefiting from a $7.7bn debt relief package that has slashes off 60% off theirtotal debt burden (Country Intelligence Report: Côte d’Ivoire’ 2013). There is a clearindication, therefore, that the country is in a better position to pursue public sectorinvestments. On-going investments in the port of Abidjan, Port of San Pedro, dry port inFerkessedougou, Felix Houphout-Boigny International airport, railway projects, and roadprojects among others are open to both local and foreign vendors.Effective integration into the global public procurement market becomes inevitable, atleast to ensure that investors attracted into the country would not come in from the frontdoor only to leave from the back doors. It is undeniable, that the Ivorian governmenthad made efforts towards this. The establishment of the Independent Market TendersAuthority and the introduction of an Automated Online System underscore this. Undernormal circumstances, these measures are supposed to improve the effectiveness ofthe process, and bring it to an acceptable global standard. Traditionally, publicprocurement, as defined by Mizoguchi & Van Quyen (2014) is the process throughwhich governments and state-owned enterprises purchase goods and services, such asroad and rail, water and waste, urban or utility construction, and R&D. Pivru & Baldan,referring to the European Public procurement Market, maintain that public procurementdirectives aim at ensuring that economic operators benefit fully from basic freedoms inthe field of public procurement. According to them, a public procurement directiveensures wide publicity; removal of discriminations against potential foreign bodies andtransparency. In spite of the efforts made by the Ivoirian government, thesefundamentals are yet to be met. It simply implies that there are underlyingcircumstances acting against this. Unfortunately, to date, no single study has been ableto address this situation.I suggest you start this section from a brief literature review what is publicprocurement? What are the characteristics of public procurement? Why studying it isvaluable? What are the features of a global public procurement market?Then, you go to the country that you want to study to address the reason for you tochoose this country, its current situation and issues on public procurement, the value tostudy this topic in this country and potential contribution of your research. Within thisrationale, you must clearly define the boundary of your research. Do you choose tostudy public procurement in this country without any differentiation or do you focus on aparticular sector, for example, health, education, or others.Research aim and Research QuestionsThis study is designed to ascertain both latent and manifest factors constraining theability of the Ivoirian government to effectively integrate into the global publicprocurement market. To meet this aim, the researcher has as objectives to ascertainwhether protectionism, corruption, high attachment to WAEMU regulations, andinefficiency, which characterize not only the Ivoirian economy, but also most otherdeveloping economies, are instrumental to inability to effectively integrate into the globalpublic procurement market.1. Research Question/Hypotheses:This study will seek answers to the following questions:1. Does Protectionism constitute a factor constraining effective integration into theglobal public procurement market in developing economies?2. Does Corruption constitute a factor constraining effective integration into theglobal public procurement market in developing economies?3.Does the attachment to WAEMU regulations constitute a factor constrainingeffective integration into the global public procurement market in developingeconomies?4. Does inefficiencies constitute a factor constraining effective integration into theglobal public procurement market in developing economies?5. Research objectivesThe research proposal will include a general objective as well as specific objectives.To ascertain both latent and manifest factors constraining the ability of the Ivoiriangovernment to effectively integrate into the global public procurement market. TheSpecific objective is to investigate the aims outlined in section 2 (Aim)Based on the background, clearly define a research aim that generally covers all the keypoints that this research will do. Make sure there is a clear route from the researchbackground to derive this research aim.Based on the research aim, create the research questions in such a structureThe research aim is to xxxTo achieve the research aim, the following research questions are formulated. ResearchQuestion One: xxxThe objective of this research question is to …(explain where this research question isfrom and from what aspect this research question answers the research aim)Research Question Two: xxxThe objective of this research question is to …(explain where this research question isfrom and from what aspect this research question answers the research aim)Research Question Three: xxxThe objective of this research question is to …(explain where this research question isfrom and from what aspect this research question answers the research aim)Do not have two sets of the research questions and the research objectives respectively.The research questions need to be generally big (but not too big). More detailed questionsare to be asked in the interview or survey questions when you collect the data. I do notsuggest you to have more than 3 research questions. Too many research questions distractyour research focus as well as increase the workload of data collection and analysis, whichmay become unmanageable when coming to data collection stage.Please note, all the research questions must be within the boundary set up in the researchbackground. There has to be a clear derivation from the research background to show theroute of these research questions.FeasibilityThe researcher decided to research on this because of the present involvement inprocurement activities, with frequent interaction with the local Ivoirian governmentalagencies, and having observed the inconsistencies in the entire process and the needto minimize the cost implications of this. This study will be an eye opener to theresearchers organization, and the Ivoirian government, especially now that the nationneeds to have the foreign investors to stay. It is believed that the recommendations ofthis study will stimulate total streamlining of the public procurement process. Presently,most public officers and economic operators have indicated interest in participating asresearch subjects. The researcher also has guaranteed access to not just online library,but also to government publications.Aminata, give a jjustification of the topic: Why you are researching this topic, what thepotential benefit is to your firm or industry, and what actions may result from the valuableinsights gained, etc.2. Literature reviewGiven the fact that most West African countries are on the route to emergency by 2020,they have adopted the encouragement of inward foreign direct investment as a veritabletool, effective integration to the global procurement market have also become inevitable.It is well articulated in literature that procurement is a delicate component of publicadministration. Engelbert, Reit & Westen (2012) examined the different procurementauthorized by the legal framework of Kenya with a view to ascertaining their capacity toeffectively control corruption. These authors are of the opinion that inherently, publicprocurement is vulnerable to corruption due to its complexity.According to them, any government purchases, irrespective of the volume andadministrative levels are covered considered public procurement. Given the fact thatcases are unique in nature, they argue that designing a legal framework that accountsfor all individual requirements and at the same time establishing general norms coveringall is highly tasking. This implies that an effective public procurement system should besuch that is, not only detailed enough, but is also understandable by all stakeholders(Popa, 2013)Englelbert, Reit & Westen (2012), identified open tendering, restricted tendering,request for proposals, direct procurement, request for quotations, low-valueprocurement, and specially permitted procurement as the different procurementmethods in Kenya. After a detailed analysis of these methods with each having specificflaws, these authors maintain that, undoubtedly, the general hierarchical logic ofprocurement law is properly reflected in the Kenya system, where widest competition isencouraged in important contract volumes, and restricted in smaller contracts, whilemaintaining transparency in all. Conclusively, they posit that though the Kenyan systemis comprehensible, conciseness and clarity are undermined for complexity. This,according to them, makes it extremely difficult to detect corruption. This situation makesimperative to also examine corruption in the Ivoirian context. Like Kenya, Cote dIvoirealso has put in place a mechanism to encourage competition in public procurement.How objective this mechanism is has not been questioned to date, given the fact thatrooms should not be left for over-protection and corruption if the policy objectives of2020 would be met.Furthermore, the above conclusions are consistent with the views of Tabish & Jha(2011) who posit that public procurement is prone to corruption. These authors made ananalyses and evaluation of irregularities in public procurement, using the Indianexperience. They were able to derive a comprehensive list of irregularities in publicprocurement as observed during technical vigilance inspection by experts and reportedcases. To obtain this, they consulted four principal sources: the Chief TechnicalExaminers Organisation. This agency, according to them, makes a publication ofgenerally observed irregularities in its website. In their publication, the agency uses thethree stages/phases of a public project to classify irregularities. (Tabish & Jha (2011).These include:a. pre-tender stage which covers project formulation, appointment of consultants,preparation of detailed project report/detailed estimate;b. tender stage which covers prequalification, preparation of tender documents,invitation and opening of tenders, tender evaluation and award of work; andfinally, execution stage which covers conformity to agreement terms, payments,ensuring quality and timely completion. The second source consulted by theauthors is Augilar et al. (2000). These authors, according to Tabish & Jha (2011)have mentioned, in their guide for preventing fraud and corruption in the WorldBank projects, various irregularities in World Bank projects.c. Source consulted is Stansbury (2005), who according to them came up withvarious irregularities in construction projects while developing the Project AntiCorruption System (PACS) for Transparency International (TI). The authorscollected their data using a six-point scale, and used the Delphi method toanalyze them. They ascertained and classified 61 irregularities in a ranking orderas follows:Transparencyprofessional standardsfairnesscontract monitoring and regulationProcedural accountability.It is deductible that laxities in these areas give room for corruption in publicprocurement.A detailed examination of public procurement system was also undertaken by Mizoguchi& Van Quyen (2014). Convinced that public procurement is not transparent, theseauthors constructed a game theoretic model to study the public procurement market insuch an environment. The central argument presented here is that corruption in publicprocurement is an act that is perpetuated with the collective efforts of the responsibleofficer and bidding firms. Suffice this to say therefore that there is a place for efficiencyin the promotion of public procurement. As presented by Mizoguchi & Van Quyen(2014), when such firms are allowed to serve the internal market, under the perfectBayesian Nash equilibrium, it is the collusion between the corrupt bureaucrat and thebidding firms that ensure that low quality projects are proposed by the bids at the pricethat government is willing to pay for such projects.Evidence from literature suggests that a study of public procurement could not becompleted without an examination of the system for corruption. If corruption could beobserved in World Bank projects, then, it is not something to be undermined. Theliterature presented has great implication to the present study in the sense that theresearcher should be able to leverage the foundations established in studying theIvoirian situation. Again, the five categories of irregularities in public procurement, asidentified by Tabish & Jha (2011) using the Indian experience will be examined to seehow they are reflected in the Ivoirian experience. As a newly emergent country in thefamily of the BRICs, the Indian experience will provide valuable insights for a study onthe Ivoirian context, since the country is presently on the road to emergence. Thestudies of Engelbert, Reit & Westen, using the Kenyan experience will also providevaluable insight within which the Ivoirian experience could be exploited. Theprocurement method in Kenya, as presented by the authors will also be likened to thoseof Cote dIvoire with a view to ascertaining whether the same situations exist. Finally,the review presents serious reasons to look both inwards and outwards when trying toascertain constraining factors to objective public procurement.Dear Aminata,Literature review is not paper review. You need to synthesise the references you have found andpresent them in a coherent manner against the research questions.After revising the background and the research aim/questions, review this literature review. Itshould be relevant to the research aim and the research questions. It should briefly answer theseelements from an academic aspect. All contents should follow a clear logical flow, rather thansegmented into small headings that disconnected with each other. The whole literature reviewshould be coherent and holistic.May look at this webpage to find the explanation of literature review.http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&sid=615851In the literature review section, you should be reviewing at least 10 sources. The quality ofthe references is essential for you to maintain the quality of your study. You must at least 5academic journal papers in this section.After the literate review, identify the gap between existing publications and practice andrationalise how your research may be able to reduce this gap.3. Research methodology and methodsThe researcher research methodology will give details on how the research objectiveswill be achieved. It will further demonstrate the flow and methods which will be used togather all necessary information to achieve the objective of the research (EasterbySmith, Thorpe & Jackson, 2012) Looking at the nature of the research, the collecteddate will be implemented depending on the nature of the research.The researcher believes it would be most objective to adopt the interpretivistperspective and go about this study qualitatively. Given the nature of the study topic, theresearcher feels that deeper insights would be lost if the study adopts any form of strictjacketed law. As indicated by Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2007), interpretivism comesfrom two intellectual traditions: phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. Theseauthors maintain that, while phenomenology means how we make sense of the worldaround us, symbolic interactionism keeps us in constant interpretation of the socialworld around us. The central argument here is that we interpret the actions of otherswith whom we interact and this interpretation leads us to adjustment of our ownmeanings and actions (Yin, 2003).Given this epistemological stance, the researcher would conduct a case study research.This approach has a long unique linkage to anthropology and sociology (Sun, 2009).For a study like this requiring a rich understanding of the context, the case study is mostappropriate (Morris & Wood, 1991). Specifically, a single case study will be adoptedCote dIvoire from among other developing economies, as justified earlier in thisproposal.3.1.Data Collection:The research has four most important goals or objective mentioned earlier in thisresearch.The four main objectives are set out as a guideline in implementing the research topic.The methodologies to be used to help obtain valuable information would be based onsources from both Primary and Secondary Information.The Researcher will obtain primary data by means of interviews with several individualsas well as field visits. In their research of Data collection as a barrier to personalizedmedicine Zakim & Schwab (2015) mentioned that sometimes researchers encounterbarriers during data collection, based on the nature of the study, the barriers that will beencountered in obtaining primary data will possibly be restriction due to governmentalpolicies, in availability of officials in charge, language barrier, bureaucracy issues, publictransportation issues, financial limitation, time constraint and internet connectivity.Regarding the Secondary Data, the data will be obtained from journals, articles, existingelectronic information, dissertations on similar topics, books relating to the topic,publisher research work.3.2.Primary Data:As a result of the outcome of level of validity of the research as well as the integrity ofthe outcome of the research, and as a guide to collecting data, the data to be obtainedfor the study will be scrutinized and filtered so that valid information will be obtained.According to Zakim & Schwab (2015) primary data is the first hand data which is obtainthe researcher before the start of research, it consist the first information obtained frominterviews and field visits. The researcher will adopt the four themes consisting ofpersonal qualitative data, experience and engagement, empathic neutrality andmindfulness and dynamic systems.3.3.Secondary DataEasterby-Smith, Thorpe & Jackson (2012) stated that secondary data is a report onoutcome of primary data. The process is not authoritative as the primary data collectionprocess because it show broad background and it improves the researchers learningcurve. As a result, clearly, secondary data is not reliable as primary data. TheResearchers secondary data for this research will be obtained from books similar intopic, articles, and dissertations, reports from government offices, existing public worksand electronic data.3.4.Research Data Sources3.4.1. Primary DataThis will consist of interviews and field visit3.4.2. InterviewsFor the purpose of this study, the Researcher will carry out interviews in two segments;Semi Structured and Informal interviewsMojtahed, et al., (2014) study suggested that it is more recommended to conduct a semistructured interview which base on this type of research method which will provide abalance and attempt to obtain more information which will enrich the quantitativeinformation that will be obtain from questions (Gliner & Morgan, 2000). Looking at thenature of the research, the researcher will seek responses through open and closedended questions such as why and how. As a conclusion, it will be appropriate to carryout a semi structured interview in which it provides opportunities capture all information.As for informal interviews, the researcher will carry this through telephone calls, emailsor SMS. This would be conducted in order to obtain all basic information.3.4.3. QuestionnairesThe Researcher will carry out questionnaire survey to measure the degree of clientspractices, to measure degree of the research success. Responses and variables oncustomers practices during briefing and degree of research success which will beobtained from the survey would be used to validate semi-structured interview findingsand thus will enable reliable, meaningful and unbiased dataThe above approaches make the researcher an instrument, with observations, personalinterviews, and lack of judgment. The use of multiple sources of data is to ensuretriangulation. The research subjects will be those contractors, home and abroad, whohad submitted tenders for government projects since after the post-electoral crises(2011 to 2015), irrespective of whether they got such contracts or not. The initial list ofthese vendors is readily available at the office of the minister for works. The researcherhad confirmed access to this list. Once the list is obtained containing the full contacts ofthe vendors, they will be contacted for possible participation, though some had alreadygiven their informal willingness to participate. With the informal relationship establishedby the researcher with the respondents, a response rate of 95% is anticipated.To objectively analyze the data to be collected from the respondents, the researcher willgo about this inductively. With this, the researcher will not be constrained by thesketched rules in quantitative studies. As such, the researcher is able to find themes,patterns and interrelationships within the data. (Sun, 2009). Sun, posits that with this,there appears a holistic perspective that seeks to understand the phenomenon as awhole, rather than only the specific variables under study. A detailed descriptiveframework will be adopted from the experiences of the participants.Finally, to guide against possible ethical and political challenges, an informed consentstatement would be prepared and forwarded to each of the prospective respondents,indicating the motive of the study, confidentiality and their rights as participants. Aclearance letter will also be sought from the ministry.I suggest you amend the methodology section in such an order and use third person.1. The epistemology positivist paradigm or constructivist paradigm? I think yourresearch is in constructivist paradigm and is in inductive logic. Define the two terms andrationalise the reason for your research to fall in the constructivist paradigm.2. If you choose constructivist paradigm, you should choose to do a qualitativeresearch. Define the term. Address the characteristics of a qualitative research. If youchoose positivist paradigm, you should choose to do a quantitative research. Again,define the term. Address the characteristics of a quantitative research.3. After the justification of step 2, you now explain your data collection methods. Forexample, you may use interview as the data collection method for qualitative data. Youmay use questionnaire-based survey to collect quantitative data. Define the terms andrationalize the reason for you to choose them.Please note, if you choose to do a positivist study, you must create hypotheses and uselarge-scale survey as the data collection method. Your research should be in adeductive logical flow.5. After justifying step 4, do a sampling, please give some solid information if possible.Survey what is the size of the sample population? Who are they? Does your researchfocus on the whole sample pool or just part of it and why? How many questionnaires doyou plan to send out and/or receive? How do you reach these people?Interview how many and why? With whom and why are they?4. Timing milepostsNB: You must reach Stage 8 at least 4 weeks before your deadline. A 30-daycontingency provision is also advisable to allow for potential slippages. Thiswill enable your DA to give you sufficient feedback…
