CI6420 seeks to address the learning organization and the role of the consultant or manager in using IT to create new and better value chains within the organization. Business vehicles and new venture creation are also addressed. For this Module there are 3 assessments; an early assessment (10%), a written coursework of 2000 words (CW1, 15%) and a written coursework of 4000 words (CW2, 75%). The early assessment is an oral exam taken in-class (in the Thursday workshop session) where your feedback and marks are immediate. This is a marked @ 10%. You will be asked one of two questions: 1. Compare the principles of learning that you have learnt in Teaching Weeks 9-15 with Studyspace/Blackboard, e.g. how does Blackboard fulfil (or not) these principles? 2. Answer the question: Is there a future for MOOCs, how can MOOCs affect the future of higher education? You may like to illustrate your answer by thinking if/when you would think of going on a MOOC. The first Coursework (CW1) is a freestyle reflective essay (15% of final mark) of max 2000 words concerned with the overlap of Business, of Information Systems and of Learning (within the contexts of organizations). The second (75%) is a report (CW2) in the form of a Business Plan of max 4000 words prepared according to one of 4 business ideas written according to a pre-published given template and marked against a pre-published detailed marking sheet. The form of the second coursework/report (i.e. the Business Plan) has been chosen so as to prepare the student for scenarios where clients have to be convinced of the financial soundness of an IT action plan. The assessment regime thus includes an open unstructured essay (15% of final mark) which should not be beyond L6 students. This form of coursework appeals to students of greater mental maturity and allows the good student to excel in this module. However no student is disadvantaged because the second and larger (75%) coursework is very structured so even those students demanding a solid framework for their work will still be able to achieve good marks. Coursework 1: Your Course Work 1 has two options: Option (a) is your thoughts concerning an intranet where employees can learn and mutually inspire each other or Option (b) your thoughts about business intelligence/mashups. By the 10th week you should have sufficient info to choose which option you want to do. For option (a) you will need to refer back to the lectures in weeks 2-6. For Option (b) you will need to refer back to the lectures and workshops in weeks 8-9. For option (a) I recommend you start with a short introduction to intranets then go on to address the problem (e.g. "intranets do not normally provoke learning and inspiration"). That will open the next section ("the solution") and go on to describe what a fun intranet could look like and what features you would like built into an organizations intranet. Please note: I do not want technical or other specifications for an intranet, nor suggestions as to specific hard/software etc. Where possible justify your suggestions using the terms/concepts we have gone through (I-space, N-learning, Dreyfus model of skills acquisition, double-loop learning etc). You can use examples of organizations you have experienced, if you like, or imaginary ones like large engineering projects with their "knowledge banks" (a knowledge bank contains the answer to questions like "how did we fix it last time" e.g. HP Open View for IT support). For option (b) I recommend you start with defining concepts like "what Business Intelligence is" or "the learning organization" and then go to look at how mashups can be used for some issues where data visualization is important e.g. HR functions that occur in all organizations like employee absence etc. You can also look at commercial aspects like sales/area or customer location or even imagine logistics ranging from a small taxi company to Eddie Stobart. I suggest you try to concentrate a little on problems like delay/customer waiting time or complaints/returns because it is always best to have a problem to solve. But it is up to you. If you like, take 3-4 imaginary companies working in different areas and imagine what kind of BI mashups could benefit them. You do not have to actually make a mashup, but you may like to illustrate what a final product could look like. There is no particular format to the hand-in, just it must be your own work conforming to " ... reflective essay of max 2000 words ..." and marking criteria given here. Criteria Marks An innovative approach 5% Good use of a range of apps 5% Linking features with theory 5% This involves giving the student a large degree of freedom, but you are almost-graduates and I look forward to your rising to the occasion. Remember that as an IT Consultant you will work with many different organizations, so one solution is probably not applicable to everyone, meaning you have to understand the abstract principles in order to apply them to specific cases. Coursework 2: An essential part of IT management is explaining to a client the advantages and costs etc of a proposed project, along with outcomes like Return on Investment, as well as why you are well-placed to carry out the project. In this module we will all start from a common baseline, imagining that we are in a pseudo "Dragons Den" situation i.e. pitching for investment for an IT project. You will prepare a report of max 4000 words in the form of a Business Plan. The word count is what Word says it is, but Appendices do not contribute to the word count. You will be marked on how well you prepare the Business Plan, and you will not be marked on the business idea it is written about. You can have your own idea (you are strongly advised to discuss this with me for prior approval before starting) or one of the 4 ideas given in Appendix C of the core textbook. The 4 ideas are also in Word docs on Studyspace. Business Plans can be written in many templates but the one we will be using is given in detail in Chapter 6 of the core textbook. You may use others at your own risk; be aware that the main preparatory lecture (13th Feb 2014) and the marking scheme both refer directly to the template given in Chapter 6, so using others may miss the marking criteria.