Unit:

Information Systems and Organisations

Assignment

Spring - Winter 2021

20 credit version

Important notes
• Please refer to the Assignment Presentation Requirements for advice on how
to set out your assignment. These can be found on the NCC Education
Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand menu and look under
the Advice section.
• You must read the NCC Education documents ‘What is Academic
Misconduct? Guidance for Candidates’ and ‘Avoiding Plagiarism and
Collusion: Guidance for Candidates’ and ensure that you acknowledge all the
sources that you use in your work. These documents are available on
Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand menu and look under
the Policies section.
• You must complete the ‘Statement and Confirmation of Own Work’. The
form is available on Campus. Click on Policies and Advice in the left-hand
menu and look under the Policies section.
• Please make a note of the recommended word count. You could lose marks
if you write 10% more or less than this.
• All electronic media will be checked for plagiarism.
Introduction

This assignment requires you to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you have acquired
throughout the course of this module by producing a 4,000 (+/- 10%) word, fully
referenced academic report that addresses the tasks given below. In order to complete
the assignment, you will need to choose an appropriate organisation to research.

Choosing an appropriate organisation

Step 1: Select an industry sector in which you are interested e.g. fashion retail, IT,
hospitality, manufacturing, etc.

Step 2: Select an international business in that sector. A feature of such an organisation

must be that it has a reliance on information systems (i.e. computer software, enterprise
applications, decision support systems, customer relationship management systems etc.)
and technology (e.g. computers, smart processing devices, etc) as part of their product
offering or service provision. You must ensure that the focus is on the operation and
processes of the chosen organisation, using information systems and technology.

Step 3: Ensure that the main activities of your organisation include the majority of the
following:

• Manufacture and/or creation and maintenance of products and/or services

• Communication with business partners, customers and other stakeholders
• Management of relationships with partners, customers and other stakeholders
• Brand management and marketing in a variety of different markets
• Management and training of staff at all levels
• Management of infrastructure and operational costs
• Management of information systems and technology infrastructure
• Managing ethical, social and legal requirements
• Research and development of new products and/or processes
• Decision making, selling/distribution services, and logistics
• Project management and provision of specialist technical services

It is assumed that the organisation you have chosen will already have a variety of
information systems (software and hardware) or will need to update or acquire new
systems as the organisation further develops or expands.

Researching Your Organisation

Search on the Internet to choose an appropriate organisation; and use Internet resources
to enable you to understand the business mission, the products/services they offer, the
operational processes, and the business and technology context in which the organisation
operates. You will need this information to address the tasks given below. Do not limit
yourself to web-based sources only; you should also use academic, industry and other
sources, that you find relevant.

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Make sure your chosen organisation has some information relevant to the following
aspects. This research is part of the assignment; make notes as you sift through the
available information.

• Existing Information systems and hardware infrastructure

• Relationship with partner organisations and customers
• Management of operational processes and inherent issues
• Technologies used for working practices and organisational processes
• Issues and limitations of existing information systems
• Strategies for innovation, improvement and expansion
• Strategies for marketing and customer profiling
• Policies on environmental issues and regulatory compliance.

Guidance notes

You are to produce a single, 4,000 (+/- 10%) word academic report that covers the tasks
laid out below. In your report, you must also include a 200-word overview of your
organisation and a references section neither of which should be included in your word
count of 4,000 (+/- 10%).

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Assignment
Clearly identify and give a 200-word overview of your organisation at the beginning of
your assignment. You will not be marked on this overview nor is it included in your word
count, but it is a mandatory part of your assignment and will give your examiner the
context they need to assess your work.

In the assignment, after the overview, provide FIVE (5) clearly labelled sections that
address the FIVE (5) tasks as detailed below.

Task 1 – 25 Marks
a) Critically analyse the use of TWO (2) core Information Systems (IS) that your
organisation has implemented. You should also provide the rationale for the organisation
to have these IS in the portfolio. (15 marks)

b) Discuss the benefits that your organisation has been able to achieve through the use of
the TWO (2) IS mentioned in a). (10 marks)
Task 2 – 20 Marks

Human Computer Interface (HCI) is an important component of any well-designed

website.

Critically evaluate how well the website of your organisation has followed the core HCI
principles as defined by Neilson. Provide examples to support your argument.

Task 3 – 25 Marks

Organisations are generally required to comply with social, ethical and legal requirements.

a) Discuss why it is important for your selected business to satisfy such requirements.
(10 marks)

b) Search the available literature about your organisation and critically evaluate how
your organisation is using Information Systems, to fulfil their social, ethical and legal
obligations. (15 marks)
Task 4 – 20 Marks

Organisations are always keen to invest in new technologies. However, cost becomes a
prohibitive factor. Discuss the strategy that your organisation has in place to acquire or
update technological infrastructure, highlighting how your organisation generally attempts
to reduce costs and yet achieve the desired benefits.

Task 5 – 10 Marks

Evaluate the learning that you have undertaken in order to complete this assignment,
using the Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) model. Based upon your learning, you should
reflect on each element of the model in order to produce an action plan, examining what
you would do if this happened again.

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Guidance

Consult with your tutor if you are uncertain about any aspect of the assignment.

You should apply theory to answer/address the tasks given above i.e. you must provide
contextualisation of information and knowledge. It is not enough to just describe the
circumstance and cite links to the websites. Critical analysis through the application of
relevant literature is required.

Submission requirements

• A single word-processed document having correctly cited and referenced source

materials, pertaining to all tasks.
• The word count is 4000 words (+/- 10%), not including the overview or appendices or
the list of references.
• The document should be properly structured as an academic report (consisting of 6
sections: one for the overview and five for the five tasks), with a list of references and
appendices (where necessary) at the end. Refer to the Assignment Presentation
Requirements for more information (see front cover).
• Produce clear and specific reasoning to justify answers.
• An electronic copy of the document must be submitted to NCC Education by email
using this address: [email protected]
• Work that contains viruses, or work that cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade
being awarded for this assessment.

Candidate checklist

Please use the following checklist to ensure that your work is ready for submission.

❑
Have you read the NCC Education documents (What is Academic Misconduct?
Guidance for Candidates and Avoiding Plagiarism and Collusion: Guidance for
Candidates) and ensured that you have acknowledged all the sources that you
have used in your work?

❑
Have you completed the Statement and Confirmation of Own Work form and
attached it to your assignment? You must do this.

❑
Have you ensured that your work has not gone over or under the recommended
word count by more than 10%?

❑
Have you ensured that your work does not contain viruses and can be run
directly?

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