Managing Information Systems Systems Implementation Proposal – Part A (Length 2,000 words). The purpose of Assignment 2 and Assignment 3 is to evaluate your ability to develop a comprehensive implementation proposal for an information system that uses a systems approach. The Systems Implementation Proposal should be targeted at a potential ‘sponsor’ organisation that will need to be convinced of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed new system. Part A of Systems Implementation Proposal (Assignment 2) Part A of the proposal (Assignment 2) focuses on understanding your organization (or the organization you have chosen) and exploring the opportunity for IS/IT improvement (e.g., selecting an information system to support organisation’s strategic objectives). Choose an information system (e.g., ERP systems, CRM systems, SCM Systems, Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, Executive Information Systems, Enterprise Portals, Data Warehouse & Data Mining Applications, Enterprise Collaboration Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, and so on) that you have studied in this unit. Alternatively, you may wish to combine features of several systems. Your assignment should describe the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) discussed in Topic 3 of the subject. The proposed system must address an identifiable problem/opportunity that exists in the sponsor organisation and relate to particular aspects of the organisation’s overall strategic directions. It is important that you select the features of your system carefully and justify your selection. Do not just use (be critical of the use of) the standard features of a commercially available software package. For the purposes of this assignment, try to keep the system that you are proposing to a manageable size. Your proposed system could help the ‘sponsor’ by: • improving an existing manual information system 
 • introducing a new information system 
 • creating a new business opportunity 
 • improving organisational productivity. 
 The sponsor could be: 
 • top management of your company 
 • an investor 
 • a financial institution which will lend you money 
 • a client who has engaged you as a consultant. 
 2. Format for Assignment 2 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 
 • Body of your assignment with suitable headings and subheadings 
 • Conclusions 
 • Reference list (Harvard referencing style is required) 
 • Appendices (including a background of the organisation for your unit assessor!). 
 3. References 
 Harvard Referencing Style is required in this subject. 4. Marking criteria 
 The following specific marking criteria will be used for marking Assignment 2 (see the marking guide for enhanced description): 
  Content – clear understanding of issues (20 Marks)
o Description of organisational context (good brief description of the chosen organisation (e.g., industry, visions, missions, business processes) (2/20)
o  Discussion of its internal and external operating environments (6/20)
o  Clearly identify the problem/opportunity for IS/IT (4/20)
  Clearly justify your choice of the proposed system (including cost/benefit analysis plus at least one other feasibility studies);  Clearly explain how the information system that you are proposing will support the strategic goals of the organisation (8/20)  Quality (4 Marks) ie.Good use of study materials; Good use of proper terminology; Depth; Originality  Use of multiple sources of information and Referencing (3 Marks) Good research effort evidenced by using 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.