Practical/Project Work, Case Studies and Field-Visit Based Application
Practical work, project reports, case studies and field-visit application test whether you can collect evidence, interpret it and recommend action, not whether you can copy a definition.
Core rules
- A project report needs a title, objective, scope, method, data, analysis, findings, recommendations and limitations. Keep a questionnaire short and pilot it.
- Sampling: state who was surveyed and how many; convenience samples cannot support broad claims.
- Field visits: prepare an observation sheet for format, footfall, assortment, price points, display, billing and returns. Record date, place and the respondent’s role.
- Case analysis: identify the problem, list alternatives, apply a marketing concept, choose an option and state the expected result.
- Data: use percentages, averages and simple tables; separate fact from opinion.
Worked example
A class visits a kirana and a supermarket. The kirana has 1,200 SKUs, home delivery and credit; the supermarket has 8,000 SKUs, self-service and card payments. Reasoning: the kirana competes on proximity and credit; the supermarket on assortment and experience. A recommendation to ‘increase SKUs’ at the kirana ignores its space and working capital. A better recommendation is a focused assortment plus a WhatsApp order list, tested for two weeks and measured by repeat orders.
Traps
Do not invent data. Do not write recommendations that do not follow from findings. Do not describe a field visit without analysis. Do not ignore limitations; they show judgement, not weakness.