Assignment - Business in the Digital Age

Assessment 1 - Individual Video talk + transcript

Background - Generation Z is born in the mid-1990s and is the true digital native generation - or the iGen. Having grown up with a 'digital-first' experience of the world, these individuals are at home on social media platforms, comfortable with the idea of the sharing economy (e.g. AirBnB, Uber), eager to find love by the swipe of a finger, and expecting instant and informal interaction with other people - whether friends, businesses or employers.

Always being available through devices and online channels prevent some from being able to concentrate, while others are left with only a short term attention span.

Moreover, there is a threat to personal privacy and protection of our data when living constantly online. What are the views of the digital native generation? Is it accepted that we pay for access to online services and experiences with our personal data or is it time to revolt?

Assessment brief -

In this task, you are required to undertake deeper reflection on how you use digital technology, what digital technology helps you to achieve (or not), what the impact of your technology use is on the way you think, behave and relate to others.

You are also expected to bring in issues related to privacy and data capture by organisations and your personal views on this as well as the perspectives of the digital generation.

It is essential that you go beyond the surface and take an in-depth look at this digital generation and their relationships with technology.

You should think about your own experiences, but also bring in some research data/ rel iable information that relate to Generation Z more widely and which can provide context to your own experiences.

Individual Video Talk + Transcript - Further Guidance

• In this assessment it is important that you go for quality over quantity. So focus on a small number of key issues and explore these in more depth.
• Successful students deliver a succinct, confident and impactful 4-minute presentation that draws on the most relevant points and information presented.
• You must draw on existing research data and trends to give context to your own experiences and opinions. These sources must be referenced in-text and as full references in your transcript submission (Word document/PDF).
• Make sure everything you say has a point and in some way helps illuminate the key areas of technology usage and its impact
• You are required to submit a 4-minute video recorded talk (+/- 15 seconds).

Assessment 2 - Group Project

Scenario - You are a team of digital transformation consultants. You advise organizations across industry sectors on how to take advantage of various digital technologies to enhance competitiveness, optimize operations, engage with customers, build internal communication and extend the core business focus through collaborations.

Out of 100s of consultancy teams, you have won the work to undertake and deliver an interactive digital transformation solution.

Group Project - In this project you are required to select an organization, undertake secondary research about the organization and propose a new digital initiative which can help to enhance the organization's performance.

The proposed digital initiative needs to be of strategic importance to the organization and must be aligned with their current values, vision and and overall strategy. To undertake this assessment, you need to complete the following sections: Analysis of current performance and trends and Explanation and justification of new digital initiative.

Group Project - Sections

The organization's primary goals, vision and strategy - Identify and provide information on the organization's strategic direction and vision. What does the organization stand for and what is its strategic ambition?

Assessment of organization's performance within relevant industry - Understand key industry trends and forces. Evaluate the organization's performance looking at different metrics/KPIs. Identify high performance areas and areas of weakness/poor performance (See organization's Annual Report).

Evaluation of key competitors and other challenger organizations - Look beyond the chosen organization and compare its performance to key competitors within its industry.

Key challenges hindering the organization's performance - Assessing the chosen organization also requires you to understand key challenges which is prohibiting the organization from achieving a greater performance. Identifying these areas can be a source of inspiration for a new digital initiative.

The current adoption and usage of digital technology by the organization - Assess whether the organization is a leader in the use of technology within the industry or more like a laggard. What are the primary ways in which technology is embedded as part of the core functions of this organization?

Relevant consumer/customer trends, expectations and behaviours - Identify core consumer/customer behaviors and trends that are affecting the organization. What are they and what is the impact?

Group Project - Website

The format of the group project is a website. You are required to develop a website that contains the information referred to on the two previous slides (Sections) and which effectively presents your new digital initiative.

You are encouraged to make use of audiovisuals (imagery, video, graphs, etc.) to effectively present your information and insight.

You can create your website as a one-page site or use tabs and separate pages to enable the viewer to quickly and easily access key sections and information.

You can use standard website templates avai lable through Wix or Wordpress, or create your own layout/style.

You must ensure that the course team have full access to your website until July 2018.

Group Project - Requirements -

• The information presented needs to be comprehensive and be understandable to an individual who has little familiarity with your chosen organization.
• You must use rel iable secondary data (e.g. market reports and annual reports) and research to support decisions made and insight presented in the project.
• Relevant concepts, frameworks and/or models should be applied in your work.
• You are expected to develop a new digital initiative which responds to a strategic need that your chosen organization has and which can clearly support the organisation in its performance.

Assessment 3 - Individual Essay

 The purpose of this assessment is for you to develop an insightful and critical essay that is presented in the form of a short article for a publication such as Harvard Business Review Blogs. Your readers will be both academic and practitioner audiences.

Your article must:

• Be underpinned by peer-reviewed academic research - even if HBR blogs do not!
• Use relevant and recent industry examples to underpin the key points you are making
• Use reliable secondary data to showcase and illuminate interesting trends
• Be very specific in how it responds to the statements provided (see next slide). You should avoid using sweeping and broad statements with little substance. Instead focus on selected specific issues and related examples and secondary data.
• Provide some recommendations either in the main body or in the concluding section based on the research and analysis you have undertaken.

Individual Essay - The statement: "The Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence are technologies already transforming organisational structures, business models, new product development and solutions. However, organisations are struggling to embrace these new technologies and find ways to enhance value for their customers and stakeholders."

In this assignment, you are required to undertake research into the business opportunities these technologies offer organisations as well as the challenges they bring. You are encouraged to undertake research across multiple industries to gain a wider perspective. It is fundamental that you undertake wider reading and engagement with the material on Moodle and your own research.

In assignment you must:

• Demonstrate that you have undertaken academic research to gather knowledge and insight in relation to the areas covered in your essay. This means using reliable and relevant in-text references to support your arguments and claims.
• Critically discuss and debate relevant issues. The assignment should not be purely a descriptive presentation of facts and information, but a discussion that includes various different viewpoints and perspectives.
• Use relevant business or other examples to demonstrate how the issues discussed in the essay impact business or other relevant stakeholders.

Note - Please complete this group project as soon as possible.

Attachment:- Assessment Information & Guidance Files.rar