1 | Page School of Business and Tourism Study Period 2, 2017 Managing Information Systems (MNG93211) Assignment 1 Research Report (Length 2,000 words). Unit Objectives 1, 2, 5 Due Date Week 2, Saturday 6h May 2017. Weight 30% of overall unit assessment 1. Task Description For this assignment, you will have to prepare a paper that critically discusses how organisations apply the strategic use of IS/IT to achieve competitive advantage. Some aspects and issues you may discuss in your paper could include (but are not limited to): • Discuss at least one (1) successful and one (1) unsuccessful examples of the use of IS/IT for gaining or enhancing competitive advantages. • Highlight some success factors for the successful example. • What are some lessons learned (i.e., what went wrong?) for your unsuccessful example • Suggest some internal (e.g., organizational, individual, and management factors) and external factors (e.g., market, industry, social, economic, technological and political/policy factors) influencing the success or failure of organisations’ attempts at gaining and enhancing competitive advantages? Are internal factors more important than external factors? Or the other way around? • How can competitive advantages gained via IS/IT be sustained? You should apply relevant knowledge discussed in your unit. You should prepare for this assignment by reviewing the literature (i.e. by using ProQuest 5000 database at http://www.scu.edu.au/library/index.php/) and searching the World Wide Web (i.e. via Google). You should show evidence that you have read at least 10 references, which must be published after January 2011, in the literature (including references from academic and professional publications) to prepare this assignment. A variety of references are expected including books, refereed journals, case studies, newspapers, magazines and electronic references. 2. Format for Assignment 1 You will be marked on communication as well as content. This is done to emphasise the importance of aiming for effective communication as well as good content – not only here in a university assignment, but also in your day-to-day work. After all, if you do not communicate and present your ideas well, it is much harder to have your ideas accepted by busy colleagues or executives. Your assignment should contain: • Title page • Table of contents • Introduction • Main body of report with suitable headings and subheadings • Conclusions • Reference list • Appendices (if relevant). 2 | Page 3. References Harvard Referencing Style is required in this subject. Please visit SCU Library website for information (URL: http://www.scu.edu.au/library/finding_info/citing_info.html). You can also contact SCU librarians for assistance (also see Additional Resources folder on MySCU site). 4. Marking criteria The following specific marking criteria will be used for marking Assignment 1 (see the marking guide for enhanced description): • Content – clear understanding of issues (20 Marks) o Critically discuss at least one (1) successful and one (1) unsuccessful examples of organisational attempts at gaining and enhancing competitive advantages via IS/IT in the industry/sector your organization are competing in or the organization you have chosen. (5/20) o Critically discuss the success factors and lessons learned (5/20) o Critically discuss various factors influencing the success and the failure of organisational attempts at gaining and enhancing competitive advantages via IS/IT (5/20) o Critically discuss the sustainability of competitive advantages gained via IS/IT (5/20) • Quality (3 Marks) o Good use of study materials; Good use of proper terminology; Depth; Originality • Use of multiple sources of information and Referencing (4 Marks) o Good research effort evidenced by at least 10 references from a variety of sources; Good integration of references into your discussion; Proper practice of in-text citation and provision of all the cited references in the reference list via applying Harvard Referencing Style. • Communication and Presentation (3 Marks) o Good structure of the report; Professionally formatted and presented; Being able to clearly express ideas; Clarity of communication with good flow, reasoning and argument; Concise but not over simplifying; Spelling and grammar (use of spell-Checker!). 5. Original work Your assignment must be your original work. Assignments form a major part of course work. Exchange of ideas can be considered educationally valuable; however, excessive collaboration will be regarded as plagiarism, which is a University offence. For example, the copying of significant parts of a document, even if subsequently modified, is plagiarism. Such academic dishonesty will be penalised in accordance with the University's rules and regulations. You must not copy material from books, magazines, internet sources or other students’ assignments. Of course, you may include direct quotes from any source, but these must be small (e.g. one sentence or one paragraph) and must be properly referenced, using the Harvard Referencing Style. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. If plagiarism is found, students may receive zero marks on that piece of assessment item. 6. Assignment submission Time: Week 2, Saturday 6th May 2017. Location: Submit via "Submit Assignment 1” item in the “Assignments folder” on the MySCU site. File Naming conventions: Name your file with your first initial and surname, assignment number and unit code (e.g. JHammond_A1_MNG93211.doc) 3 | Page 7. Penalty for late submission Students wanting an extension must make a request at least 24 hours before the assessment item is due and the request must be received in writing (email). Extensions will be for a maximum of 48 hours. For this type of extension contact your tutor (see contact information for email address). • Extensions of more than 48 hours will require approval from the unit assessor. • Extensions within 24 hours of submission or following the submission deadline will not be granted (unless supported by a doctor’s certificate or where there are exceptional circumstances – this will be at the unit assessor’s discretion and will be considered on a case by case basis). In either of the above two circumstances the student will need to lodge a “Special Consideration for Assessment” with student services via the MyEnrolment site. Student Services will then inform the unit assessor ([email protected]) of the request. This may take some time however, as a courtesy it would be appreciated if you could let the unit assessor know this has been lodged via email. Students not following the above guidelines will suffer a penalty of 5% of the total available grade accruing for each 24-hour period that an assessment item is submitted late. 8. Marks and Feedback All assessment materials submitted during the semester will normally be marked and returned within two weeks of the required date of submission (provided that the assessment materials have been submitted by the due date). Marks will be made available to each student using MySCU Gradebook. Feedback comments will also be available through the Gradebook.