The Assignment takes the form of a report that the author prepares for a C-level manager (e.g., the CEO, COO, CTO, CFO, ).
Trimester Assignment
The Assignment takes the form of a report that the author prepares for a C-level manager (e.g., the CEO, COO, CTO, CFO, ).
The report will:
(a) Describe a business problem that is prevalent in industry or government, and (b) Argue why it is strategically relevant to solve it
(a) Choose and explain the essence of a new / innovative technology or method*(b) Convince the reader that this technology or method can be used to solve the above business problem
This can be done by finding, reading and citing facts and findings from reliable peer reviewed sources (such as books and journal articles, or conference papers), and to a limited extent sources from reputable companies or government. (Blogs and similar opinion pieces are not considered reliable.)
Propose an approach that a company could take to adopt the solution to solve the business problem in question
Provide a summary of your papers main points
The assignment can be prepared individually or in a group of maximum 3.
Essentially, the report you prepare is a so-called white paper.
A template is provided below, please use it. Please do not to change the section numbering.
There is no strict limit on word count but usually ~5,000 words are adequate
__* Examples may include: Internet of Things, Creating a Digital Twin, Business Analytics and Machine Learning technologies, Service Oriented Enterprise Architecture, Cloud Computing and Data Lakes, Process Improvement, or other significant technologies (in which case you must discuss your idea with the lecturer before you progress too far).
Student name(s):
Student number(s):
Title
Course code
Date
1. The business problem
Explain clearly and succinctly
a business problem that needs to be solved, and
why is the change strategically important?
This part of the white paper raises the interest of management by presenting an important problem that many enterprises are (or will be likely) facing. Note that a white paper is not about a single company, it is about a problem that is prevalent in a segment of industry.
2. The proposed technology (or method, approach, ...)
explain clearly and in a language appropriate for a management audience what is the proposed technology (or method), then
argue and provide proof that it is expected to solve the business problem (typically you would provide proof by citing authoritative references).
A white paper is not a plan for a particular company, but after reading a well written white paper management may ask someone in the company to come up with a company-specific plan to determine if what the white paper is saying would be able to be applied in the organisation.
3. Introducing the proposed change in the Enterprise
3.1 Where in the enterprise will this change have an effect, and what kind of change one could expect?
E.g., think about possible change of the business model, or organisation, technology, people / skills, processes?
3.2 What are conditions for being able to perform this change?
Note that these conditions may include many things:
technological maturity,
maturity of governance and management,
availability (or access to) necessary skills,
typical organisational or policy / legal obstacles that need to be overcome,
ability to financially afford the change, or
any other obstacle that is typical.
3.3 Who would be responsible for initiating the necessary change?
Who in the organisation would be the typical champion and sponsor?
3.4 How could this change be approached organisationally?
E.g., Project? Programme with a sequence of projects, steps? (Make sure you explain why)
4. Conclusion
REFERENCES
use APA-style references
there are many sources to teach you APA6 or APA7 referencing, e.g., an interactive tool is available at https://www.griffith.edu.au/library/study/referencing/apa-7
NOTE: it is not enough to list references here, you must cite them at relevant places in the text!
