Organizational Internal Communication Report
The project assignment should attempt to answer the following questions (tentatively):
Introduction
- Brief introduction of relevance and problem statement
- What problem has been observed in the organization?
- Why is it interesting and who would be the relevant parties?
- Why does the issue pose a challenge?
Literature review
- What concepts, models or theories can be used as a framework for one’s arguments?
- Are there relevant empirical studies that can be used as a basis for comparison?
- How can models/theory/empirical data support the investigation of the chosen problem?
Method/Data collection/ Methodological limitations
- What data are used to analyse the problem?
- How did you collect and analyze the data?
- What reflections were made on the validity, reliability and generalisability of the empirical findings?
Results and findings
- Describe what was found in the collected material
- Show graphs/tables of results, if applicable
Discussion/implications/recommendations
- Are results supported by the theoretical framework applied?
- What do the empirical findings mean for practice? (Any brief suggestions for improvements for the case organization)
To answer this assignment, you will investigate or map an organization based on a problem focus (problem or hypothesis) chosen from central topics and it must be related to this theme:
- How does organizational internal communication affect employee engagement with CSR, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility
It is also expected to include other literature on communication theory and organizational theory that supports and concretizes curriculum theory. The reference list should consist of at least 10 scientific references in total, including chapters referenced from the syllabus.
The organization can be private, public or voluntary. Assignment will obtain empirical evidence for their observations, and apply relevant theories in the discussion of their analysis. In principle, the organization must be Norwegian or Nordic, but may also be foreign.
Data may be collected by yourself (primary data), in which case the participants must be anonymized according to GDPR regulations. Data sources used may also be collected by others, such as podcasts, published reports, public statistics, newspaper reports, digitized radio or television programs, or other media reports (secondary data).
In the project assignment, you will:
- Develop a relevant research question discussing the impact of the organization’s work on CSR, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility on internal communication (or conversely, the impact of internal communication on the organization’s work on CSR, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility). This should be linked to at least two central theories from the curriculum and placed in a self-chosen organizational context.
- Collect secondary or primary data, which can be qualitative or quantitative, preferably from an organization in Norway or the Nordic region.
- Analyze the data through the choice of relevant methods. (you should make your own data-analyze)
- Discuss the results, discuss practical implications, conclude, and possibly also make recommendations.
The thesis has the structure of the research report as its goal. It consists of: introduction, theory, method, result, discussion and conclusion. In addition, it will have a table of contents, an overview of tables/figures and a list of references. The thesis SHOULD also contain a title, a brief summary, and preferably also consist of a preface and appendix.
The part of the thesis that goes from introduction to conclusion can be up to 4,000 words (counting from introduction to conclusion), exclusive front page, table of contents, reference list, appendix.