IT Procurement and Vendor Management Assignment 1 - Research Paper (Individual) V1.1 IT Procurement Challenges and Recommendations for the next Decade and beyond. The first assignment is to develop a research paper of 2000 words in size (excluding reference listing). Review the industry sector assigned to you and provide an in-depth analysis of IT Procurement (products and services) challenges within your industry and provide recommendations on how to overcome those challenges. (Quality of discussion is important than the quantity i.e. marks will be awarded to the depth of your analysis, not to the ‘number’ of challenges identified.) You should be considering the industry sector as a whole and not an individual business / organisation. When identifying the challenges, your research paper should take into consideration the following aspects: • Procurement’s role in supporting Business Strategy • Organisational structures within the industry sector • Purchasing Procedures specific to the industry sector • Legal aspects that are important to the industry sector This assignment is a theoretical paper, not a business report. Ensure that the paper discusses and explains the concepts with supporting examples and real world evidence using relevant and substantiated case studies where possible. It is expected that the paper will contain at least 10 references from sources such as Journals, Conference Proceedings and Books (Citations from general webpages and White Papers should not be used). Your research paper should provide recommendations on how to overcome the challenges with enough forethought into the next decade. Structure: Your research paper must be 2000 words in length (+/- 10%), well-structured and must contain ALL of the following headings at a minimum (you may add additional headings as required): 1. Abstract (summary of the whole paper) 2. Introduction (Introducing the industry sector with specific examples) 3. Analysis of IT Procurement’s Importance a. Procurement’s role in supporting Business Strategy b. Organisational structures within the industry sector c. Purchasing Procedures specific to the industry sector d. Legal aspects that are important to the industry sector 4. In-depth analysis of IT Procurement Challenges 5. Conclusion 6. References Your industry sector allocation Industry Sector Student Username Banking HARYY042 ACHYY003 ANTGY003 BALRY017 BALYY012 BATBY006 BOGVY001 BOPNY001 CHAHY148 CHARY053 Manufacturing CHERY028 CHUTY027 DONGY004 EARYY002 FERCY012 FUYYY021 GILMY020 GRERK001 GAJMY002 MNPQY017 Healthcare HUALY018 HOTRY001 HUDRY004 JASYY022 JOJJY001 KAUIY005 JASYY021 YYYRY018 KIPCY001 LIUZY056 Utilities (oil, gas, energy) LIYCY058 LIYYY098 SHILY022 MAYJY035 MUNPY003 MADLY005 MAHSY038 MANYY039 NIEXY003 NEHYY001 Education OKIDY001 PARYY019 PRANM002 PATMS006 PATSA002 PATBY011 PHAHY022 SIDKY003 SODSK001 SUNYY074 Retail SAHVY001 SIDRY009 WUYYY065 WADNY004 WILSJ044 WUYYY059 XIEYY008 YANZY027 YUYHY034 YANRY019 Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) YANJY058 ZHAYY256 ZHAJY129 GANKY015 GRENJ003 HARYY037 MAKRY009 SHASY105 SINIY003 Defence Unassigned. Let the course coordinator know if you want to change your allocation to the Defence sector by 15 March 2017. Formatting: All papers MUST use the IEEE formatting guidelines described at the following link: http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~vis/Tasks/camera.html A Microsoft word template can be downloaded directly from http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~vis/Templates/word_conf_vgtc_12.zip The template provides all the correct font style, size, margin and specifications for this assignment. It is very important that you maintain the correct formatting guidelines as described. The process of following such guidelines is regularly used by academics for journal and conference papers and is strictly adhered to. You should also follow these guidelines to make sure you are awarded all the marks for formatting as described in the Marks Scheme section below. Regardless of the referencing styles used in the above samples, this assignment’s Referencing style should follow the Harvard Referencing Style. Submission Details: All assignments must use an Assignment cover sheet that is available either from your Course homepage of the myUniSA portal. Due Date: 6 April 2017, 11:59 PM via Learnonline Assessment Feedback: Feedback on assignments will be provided two to three weeks after submission. Feedback will be available through the course webpage using the gradebook system. Marking Scheme (100 Marks – 30% from the total course grade): 1. [5 Marks] - Abstract that summarises the entire paper 2. [10 Marks] - Introduction including scope, aim/purpose, and importance clearly identified for the chosen industry sector 3. [15 Marks] - Analysis of IT Procurement Importance is insightful and is a critical analysis (i.e. not merely a summarisation of the reference material) 4. [30 Marks] - Analysis of IT Procurement Challenges is insightful and is a critical analysis (i.e. not merely a summarisation of the reference material). Recommendations are insightful and due consideration given to the disruptive nature of the industry sector in the next decade 5. [10 Marks] - Conclusion is relevant and does not introduce any new arguments 6. [10 Marks] - References (at least 10 quality references) – Evidence of reading 7. [ 5 Marks] - Writing style that is clear and concise 8. [ 5 Marks] - IEEE formatting style (provided) adherence 9. [10 Marks] - Workshop attendance and weekly online forum participation (for external students: online forum participation only on weekly as well as the main discussion forum) Getting Started: You will need to perform a thorough literature review to find suitable papers for your discussion and analysis. As a current student you have access to subscription based academic databases such as IEEE Explore and online journals. Please take advantage of these tools and also use the library resources to support your research effort. Gaining access to these resources is automatic inside the university network and can also be accessed outside the university network using authentication. Further information is available from http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/services/databases/dbaccess.aspx It is important to make an early start on the literature review (I suggest performing a thorough paper search before the end of week 2) so you can focus on the structure and editing phases of your assignment as soon as possible. Resources • IEEE Explore - http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/guesthome.jsp (inside UniSA network - see above link for external access). • Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.com.au/ • Library Databases - http://www.library.unisa.edu.au/services/databases/default.aspx • UniSA’s Academic Integrity Policy: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/2012/S9- Academic_Integrity.pdf