Ten Mutual Funds have been selected for study in Projects One and Two. These must be studied individually. The following is the list of funds and the assignment to individuals.

Basic Requirements

The essays are responses to a specific question defined by the faculty.

 

The purpose of the essay typically (if not necessarily) is to apply insights from the theory of the firm as an analytical tool to handle specific managerial decision problems outlined in the assigned question(s).

 

The purpose of the essays is not to provide summaries of the material covered in class. The emphasis is on the in depth use of theory of the firm insights.

 

Students are encouraged to read outside the curriculum for the purpose of addressing the essay question. However, to the extent that extra-curricular references are cited and used, these should mainly be within the theory of the firm field. Note also that use of extracurricular material does not guarantee an improved grade.

 

The essays must not exceed 5 pages, excl. front page, references, appendices, tables, and figures.

 

Evaluation Criteria

The essays will be evaluated on the following basic criteria:

 

Consistency - The argumentation must be consistent, i.e., there must be a logical flow in the arguments that are forwarded.

 

Clarity - The arguments are presented in a clear manner. All choices of theoretical perspectives and analytical approaches should be argued for, in order to ensure clarity.

 

Reflection - The essay must demonstrate thoughtful application of the theory of the firm insights.

 

Follow general rules for scholarly work – namely these:

 Conform to the manuscript guidelines outlined in Appendix 1.

 Use references to previous work when developing models and supporting theoretical arguments.

 Do not assume that other work on the subject does not exist, giving yourself credit for all the ideas adopted in your manuscript.

 Be sure that the concepts you use are properly defined and underlying assumptions are clarified.

 Do not define a concept with the use of another undefined concept.

 Ensure a logical flow in the premises, arguments, and analyses that lead to your conclusions.

 Write in an interesting readable manner with varied sentence structure.

 Check your spelling and grammar (!).

 Keep sentences short so the readers do not get lost before the end of a sentence.

 

 

 

 

 

Approaching the Essay

As you ponder the essay question, here are some basic things to consider:

 

1. a) The key problem(s) that you think the question raises.


2. b) The essential theoretical arguments you want to apply to address the(se) problem(s)


3. c) Theoretical perspectives, models, and analytical approaches that can be adapted to analyze the problem(s).


4. d) The (possible) conclusions you expect to derive from the theoretical reasoning and analytical considerations


5. e) An initial outline and table of content of the paper


6. f) A preliminary list of basic references relevant for the study


7. g) A working plan for completing the paper

 

Appendix 1: Manuscript guidelines

 

Manuscript Length

The length of essays must not exceed 5 manuscript pages, excl. front page, references, appendices, tables, and figures.

 

Typing

The manuscript must be typed in Times Roman 12 pt. It must be 1 ó spaced. All pages must have a margin of 3 cm in top and bottom and 2 cm to each of the sides.

 

Headings

In order to assure a high level of readability, the paper should be structured in no more than two levels of headings.

Main headings should be used to designate the major sections of the essays; three or four main headings should be sufficient for most essays. Example:

 

Main Heading

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diem nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut lacreet dolore magna aliguam erat volutpat.Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci taion ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex en commodo consequat. Duis te feugifacilisi per suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex en commodo consequat.

 

Secondary headings should be typed flush with the left margin and in, bold. Example:

 

Secondary Heading

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diem nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut lacreet dolore magna aliguam erat volutpat.Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci taion ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex en commodo consequat. Duis te feugifacilisi per suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex en commodo consequat.

 

Citations and References

All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. In the text refer to the author's name (without initials) and year of publication (e.g. "Since Peterson (1993) has shown that ..." or "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1994)"). For 2-4 authors, all authors are to be listed at first citation, with "&" separating the last two authors. For more than four authors, use the first four authors followed by et al. Subsequent citations for three or more authors use author et al.

The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.

Alphabetise references by the last name of the author (the first author) or the editor, or by the name of the corporate author (e.g., U.S. Census Bureau) or periodical (e.g., Wall Street Journal) if there is no individual author or editor. Several works by an identical author (or group of authors) are ordered by year of publication, with the earliest listed first. If the years of publication are also the same, differentiate entries by adding small letters (“a,” “b,” etc.) after the years. Authors’ names are repeated for each entry.

 

Examples of reference entries:

Articles in journals:

Porter, M.E. & Millar, V.E. (1985) How information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review. 63. (4) pp. 149-160.

 

Books:

Pettigrew, A. (1987) The Management of Strategic Change. Oxford. Basil Blackwell.

 

Chapters in books:

Van de Ven, A H. & Astley, W G. (1981) Mapping the Field to Create a Dynamic Perspective on Organization Design and Behavior in Van de Ven & Joyce (Eds) Perspectives on Organization Design and Behavior. New York. Wiley.

 

Tables and Figures

Note that tables and figures are not supposed to duplicate information in the text, but to clarify and supplement the text. Number tables and figures consecutively (one series for tables, one for figures) from the beginning to the end of the article. Indicate the position of each in the text as follows:

 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diem nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut lacreet dolore magna aliguam erat volutpat.

 

-- Insert Table 2 about here --

 

Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci taion ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex en commodo consequat.

 

-- Insert Figure 3 about here --

 

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