• Description
• The Brief from Amazon Australia’s CEO (the Assignment Question)
• Work Organisation
• Assignment Objectives:
• Assignment Questions and Deliverables:
• Part 1) An overall analysis of the business of Amazon Australia (10 marks):
• Part 2) Analysing an existing human activity system that is problematic (18 marks):
• Part 3) Suggesting a new Information System to support the HAS in part 2 (15 marks):
• Part 4) Recommendations and reflection (7 marks):

Insert your Report Title here (up to 8 words)

Report Title

Executive Summary

All information about the formatting requirements and report content is contained in this document. Please review it carefully. This template is mandatory. Several styles have been included in this template to facilitate formatting – you may find it easier to use them instead of formatting each segment differently. Do not alter this template apart from the section headings. Importantly, the Executive Summary is a summary of your findings only. Do not describe what you will do in the report, or summarise the headings. The busy executives only want to read about your analysis findings here.

Keywords: [Replace this text]List the keywords in your report[End replace this text]

Introduction

[Remove this text]

We ask that you follow these basic guidelines when submitting your assignment report worth 50%. In essence, you should format your report exactly like this document. Do not alter this template apart from the section headings and comments as directed.

It is important that your work is presented in a professional manner. The template and guidelines are intended to help you achieve that goal. By adhering to the template, you aid the reader in understanding and following your written arguments.

The easiest way to use this template is to replace the content with your own material. The template file contains specially formatted styles (e.g., Normal, Heading, Bullet, References, Title, Author, Affiliation) that are designed to reduce the work in formatting your final submission. The template also contains content in brackets [Replace this text]/[end replace this text], [Edit this title], and [remove this text]/[End remove this text].

In this section, please give a high level introduction to the issue, an overview of what your project will propose, its benefits, background information on the organization and the services it provides. Also discuss the structure of the report.

[End remove this text]

Part 1 [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

In this part of the assignment, you will analyse the overall business of Amazon Australia.

[End remove this text]

2.1 Part 1- question a: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Provide information about Amazon Australia and locate relevant information about its strategy, how it competes in the market place, and its operations.

[End remove this text]

2.2 Part 1- question b: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Describe the organisational form of Amazon Australia using Mintzberg’s classification.

[End remove this text]

2.3 Part 1- question c: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Present the value chain of Amazon Australia using Porter’s Value Chain Model. List and describe the primary and support activities of Amazon Australia.

[End remove this text]

2.4 Part 1- question d [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Analyse the competitive strategy of Amazon Australia using Porter’s competitive forces model. For each of the five forces, explain if that force is low, medium, or high, and explain why.

[End remove this text]

Answer to Part 2: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

In this part of the assignment, you will identify aspects of an existing human activity system within Amazon Australia which is problematic and needs improvement.

[End remove this text]

3.1 Part 2- question a: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Identify an existing human activity system supporting Amazon Australia which is identified by some stakeholders as being problematic and suffering from issues (problems). Also, list the stakeholders of this human activity system and define their roles.

[End remove this text]

3.2 Part 2- question b: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Draw a rich picture showing the issues and the concerns of the stakeholders you have identified.

[End remove this text]

3.3 Part 2- question c: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Draw a process model using the BPMn notation for the process of the existing human activity system you have identified.

[End remove this text]

3.4 Part 2- question d: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Use the DeLone-McLean Model of Information System Success to describe the areas in which the existing human activity system is not successful.

[End remove this text]

3.5 Part 2- question e: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Describe measures of success (efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness) for the existing human activity system identified, and explain using success measures where the HAS falls short.

[End remove this text]

Answer to Part 3: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

In this part of the assignment, you will suggest a new information system for a specific purpose which can help Amazon Australia overcome those issues identified in part 2, and perform better. This must be a new or modified information system.

[End remove this text]

4.1 Part 3- question a: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Identify a new information system which can clearly add value to the business of Amazon Australia (is it a primary or secondary activity according to Porter’s value model). Also, list the likely stakeholders of this new information system and define their roles.

[End remove this text]

4.2 Part 3- question b [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Describe the data and information that the new system involves, explain the types of knowledge that the new information system can create, and describe how it can inform decision-making.

[End remove this text]

4.3 Part 3- question c: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Draw a process model using the BPMn notation for the new information system you have identified.

[End remove this text]

4.4 Part 3- question d: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Classify the new information system within Amazon Australia as either: front-end, back-end, customer-facing, or supplier-facing; and explain why.

[End remove this text]

4.5 Part 3- question e: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Describe dimensions of impact of your proposed new information system within Amazon Australia for all stakeholders; identify intended and positive effects (and possible negative effects) and describe the proposed impact of the new system on the organisation, groups, and individuals.

[End remove this text]

4.6 Part 3- question f: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Describe measures of success (efficiency, efficacy, and effectiveness) for the proposed new information system.

[End remove this text]

Answer to Part 4: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Devise recommendations as to how the organisation can make use of a new information system in order to provide better service to customers; and to ensure success of the information system by taking steps to avoid system failure.

[End remove this text]

5.1 Part 4- question a: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

Synthesise the outcome of parts 1, 2, and 3 into a report containing a series of recommendations to Amazon Australia’s management.

[End remove this text]

5.2 Part 4- question b: [Edit this title]

[Remove this text]

You need to devise recommendations as to how it can make use of a new information system in order to provide better service to customers; and to ensure success of the information system by taking steps to avoid system failure.

[End remove this text]

Conclusion

[Remove this text]

It is important that you write for a specific audience – the CEO. In this section, briefly (and we mean very briefly), provide a guiding summary of your report aims, your findings and your recommendations. Then discuss what your findings mean to the CEO, and come to a conclusion – what does your report overall say or find?

[End remove this text]

References and Citations

[Remove this text]

Use the Harvard in-text referencing style. References must be complete, i.e., include, as appropriate, volume, number, month, publisher, city and state, editors, last name & initials of all authors, page numbers, etc. Try to cite the publication source rather than a URL.

(Ensure that all references are present, complete, in alphabetical surname order, and accurate as per the examples)

Benbasat, I., and Zmud, R. W. (2003) “The Identity Crisis within the IS Discipline: Defining and Communicating the Discipline’s Core Properties,” MIS Quarterly (27:2), pp. 183-194.

Beynon-Davies, P, (2013) Business Information Systems 2nd Ed, Palgrave.

Bonini, C. P. (1963). Simulation of Information and Decision Systems in the Firm, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Broadbent, M., Weill, P., O’Brien, T., and Neo, B. S. (1996) “Firm Context and Patterns of IT Infrastructure Capability,” in Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems, J. I. DeGross, S. Jarvenpaa, and A. Srinivasan (eds.), Cleveland, OH, pp. 174-194.

Carroll, J. (2005). “The Blacksburgh Electronic Village: A Study in Community Computing,” in Digitial Cities III: Information Technologies for Social Capital, P. van den Besselaar and S. Kiozumi (eds.), New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 43-65.

[End remove this text]

[Remove this text]

Formatting guide:

Page Size (another H1 main heading)

Please adhere to the A4 size only (hopefully Word or other word processors can help you with it). Right margins should be justified, not ragged. All margins must measure 1” (2.5 cm) around. Beware, especially when using this template on a Macintosh, Word may change these dimensions in unexpected ways.

Length

Your entire report should be no more than 3,000-4,000 words, including all materials and sections such as figures, tables, appendices and references. You can write 2,500 words if you like, or 3,000. It’s up to you.

Title

Your report’s title should be in Georgia 20-point bold. Ensure proper capitalization within your title (i.e. “New Information System for Amazon Australia” versus “new is for aa”.

Your name

Your name should be in Georgia 13-point bold, and student number, course code, etc. in Georgia 13-point.

Executive Summary and Keywords

Every submission should begin with a summary outlining the main findings and recommendations of your report (not an outline of your report headings), followed by a set of keywords. Remember the executive is busy and only wants to read your findings and recommendations to sum up whether they should read further. So, make the findings sound interesting. The header is Georgia 13-point bold centered (AbstractHeader style), while the summary text is Georgia 10-point italic, full justified with left and right indents of 0.5 in. (1.25 cm) AbstractText style. Keywords are to appear in Georgia 10-point (Keyword style).

Normal or Body Text

Please use a 10-point Georgia font (similar to Times New Roman, but more easily read online) or, if it is unavailable, another proportional font with serifs, as close as possible in appearance to Times New Roman 10-point. The body of your text will be Normal Style in this template file. On a Macintosh, the similar font will be named Times and not Times New Roman.

Sections

The heading of a section should be Georgia 13-point bold, left justified (Heading 1 Style in this template file). Sections preferably should be numbered.

Subsections

Headings of subsections should be in Georgia 11-point bold italics with initial letters capitalized (Heading 2). (Note: for sub-sections and sub-subsections, words like ‘the’, ‘of’, ‘a’, ‘an’ are not capitalised unless it is the first word of the heading.) Number each subsection incrementally, i.e. 2.1.

Sub-subsections

Headings for sub-subsections should be in Georgia 10-point bold with initial letters capitalized (Heading 3). Please do not go any further into another layer/level. 3 levels is the max, i.e. 2.1.2.

Figures, Tables & Captions

Place figures and tables close to the relevant text (or where they are referenced in the text).

Captions should be Georgia 10-point bold (Caption Style in this template file). They should be numbered (e.g., “Table 1” or “Figure 2”), centered and placed beneath the figure / above the table. Please note that the words “Figure” and “Table” should be spelled out (e.g., “Figure” rather than “Fig.”) wherever they occur. Remember to refer to the figures in your report and discuss the content. Don’t let the tables or figures ‘do the talking’.

Inserting Images

Occasionally, MS Word generates larger-than-necessary PDF files when images inserted into the document are manipulated in MS Word. To minimize this problem, use an image editing tool to resize the image at the appropriate printing resolution (usually 300 dpi), and then insert the image into Word using Insert | Picture | From File...

As indicated in Figure 1, using figures to hold places can work very well in Word. If you want to copy a figure from another application (such as PowerPoint) and then paste to the place where you want your figure to be, make sure that (1) the figure stays in the position, and (2) it does not take up too much space. You can ensure the former by double clicking the figure, then go to “Layout” tab, and select “In line with text.” To ensure the latter, use “Paste Special,” then select “Picture.” You can resize the figure to your desired size once it is pasted.

Table Style

Inserting a table in the text can work well too. You may want to adjust the vertical spacing of the text in the tables. (In Word, use Format | Paragraph… and then the Line and Page Breaks tab. Generally, text in each field of a table will look better if it has equal amounts of spacing above and below it, as in Table 1.)

Table 1. A Very Nice Table

Table of Contents

Table of Contents is not required. This is a small report, so let’s save paper.

Language, Style, and Content

With regard to spelling and punctuation, you may use any modern dialect of English, but please pay attention to the following:

Spelling and grammatical errors will result in marks being deducted. There is no excuse for spelling errors when using a modern word processor with an inbuilt spell-checker.

Write in a straightforward style; and always proof-read your work before submitting.

Try to avoid long or complex sentence structures.

Briefly define or explain all technical terms that may be unfamiliar to the CEO reading the report.

Explain all abbreviations the first time they are used in your text – e.g., “human activity system (HAS)”.

Be careful with the use of gender-specific pronouns (he, she) and other gendered words (chairman, manpower, man-months). Use inclusive language that is gender-neutral (e.g., they, s/he, chair, staff, staff-hours, person-years).

Headers and Footers

This document is set up for you to insert identifying content in your headers and footers. Odd and even pages are not the same, so work through all of them. Page numbers are already included. If you are using Word, then click on ‘Insert’ and click on the ‘Headers & Footers’ tab. Enter your name, student number, course code, and report title where indicated.

[End remove this text]

Assignment Report – 1803ICT or 7610ICT (omit one) 1

4 Insert your name and student number here

5

A

D

B

C