IB master thesis & internship Coaching and advices Prof. Dr. Christophe LEJEUNE As of 25/03/2013

IB master thesis and IB internship A reminder General principles: 1.The IB master thesis is independent from the IB internship’s MISSION. 2.The IB master thesis includes two parts – a theoretical and a practical part – that form a coherent piece of work. Corollaries: 1.The IB internship reports (4 progress reports and 1 integrated report) are different from the IB master thesis (practical part). 2.The IB master thesis (theoretical part) relates to a specific theme/topic that should be studied PRIOR to finding an internship. 3.The IB master thesis (practical part) involves an empirical work that can take place on any type of field or data, hence studying the organization (case study) where the internship takes place is just ONE possibility.

IB master thesis: theoretical part Building a « literature review » Topic: related to international and/or intercultural management Content: a « literature review » (max. 40 pages): – Is a work of synthesis (not just a summary); – Is to be thought of as « a preliminary stage of a larger research project » (see also Knopf, 2006 – available on icampus) – Is NOT an aggregation of different pieces of knowledge (eg. reformulated book chapters) Supervisor: a professor from LSM (who is an expert in the topic) Deadline: before the exchange program (or 01/09/2014) – Uploaded on icampus on « LLSMD – IB Program – Master Thesis – Theoretical part » – Sent by to the Supervisor

IB master thesis: practical part Making a sound empirical analysis Content: a systematic empirical work aiming at producing original results from a “field” Field: different possibilities are: 1.The internship company or another company/organization (ex: case study method with at least five recorded and transcribed interviews (+/- 1 hour per interview), company documents, etc.), 2.Another type of “field” (ex: an existing reliable database, a questionnaire with at least 50 respondents, etc.) to be validated by the IB academic tutor (Prof. Christophe Lejeune) Methodological expectations: – High quality (either qualitative or quantitative analysis) – Supported by scientific references – Transparent in its process and intermediary steps (in thesis appendixes) Supervisor: the IB academic tutor (Prof. Christophe Lejeune)

IB master thesis: practical part How to anticipate the practical part of the IB master thesis? (1/2) Option 1: if the practical part of your master thesis consists in the study of a (several) particular organization(s) then…. 3 scenarios for the practical part: – A study of the organization where the internship takes place – A study of an organization (or several) in the suroundings of the internship’s location (ask support from the corporate supervisor to find such organizations) – A study of an organization (or several) « at distance » (eg. Websites, documents, phone interviews, etc.) 3 levers (what you can do now): – Ask for suggestions for a (type of) organization from the LSM supervisor for the theoretical part – Look for an IB internship in an organization that would fit with the theme studied in the theoretical part + ask advices to the IB internship advisor (Mr. Daniel Ypersiel) – Anticipate and find NOW a possible « solution » for the 3 scenarios

IB master thesis: practical part How to anticipate the practical part of the IB master thesis? (2/2) Option 2: if the practical part of your master thesis does NOT consist in the study of a (several) particular organization(s) then…. Several scenarios for the practical part (not exhaustive list): – Analysis of a database – Launch of a survey – Interviews and/or focus group – Etc. Several levers (what you can do now): – Database: make sure you will have an access to it (during the internship) ! – Survey: make sure you will have a sufficient and adequate sample of respondents to your questionnaire – Interviews and/or focus group: make sure you will be able to identify and meet the appropriate persons – Ask advices and suggestions from the LSM supervisor for the theoretical part In any cases, ask also for the approval and advices from the academic tutor for IB master thesis’ practical parts (Prof. Christophe Lejeune)

IB master thesis & internship Coaching and advices Prof. Dr. Christophe LEJEUNE As of 25/03/2013