Motivation is one of the most studied areas of HRM, but that shouldn't stop you basing a project around it. There are hundreds of variables (pay, level of supervision, management style) as to what affects different people's motivation levels in different situations. As companies have realized the importance of effectively engaging their workforce, they have invested heavily in developing systems that allow employees to perform at their highest level to maximize business performance. You may want to look at what motivates people in your own business to try and develop solutions that you could implement once the program finishes. Alternatively, you could pick an up-and-coming industry where little research has taken place such as the renewable energy industry to examine what motivates employees.
Recruitment is an essential part of any successful business. It doesn't matter how good your products or services are, you need the right employees to sell, market or provide high levels of customer service. Companies are now investing more money into recruitment techniques designed to find the best and most suitable candidates for a job; making it an exciting area to carry out research. You could investigate the effectiveness of online tests, group interviews, or situational judgement questions. Alternatively, you could look at what recruitment techniques have been proven to hire the best employees by looking at client satisfaction rates, number of sales or even the number of promotions employees have had over a set period of time.
An organization's working culture sets the prescience of how it carries out business, and how management and staff react to each other, as well as to different situations. Companies are keen to adapt to changing working conditions; particularly with the emergence of newer, more innovative companies that promote themselves as having very inviting and open working cultures. Comparisons could be made between firms with different cultures and their business success across varying areas (for example, customer service or sales) or by looking at the success of firms that have implemented an alternative working culture.
All businesses have leaders, but some are better than others. You could research the importance of effective leadership in businesses and look at why businesses invest money into leadership training. Or you could examine the role of famous leaders and the impact and role they have on business performance.