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Management Information and Communication Systems

 
Business information and communication flow
Produce a formal report in which you provide a critical evaluation of the role of ERP and CRM systems in an organisation of your choice (MUST BE UK BASED ORGANISATION).

Describe the role played by wireless networks and other types of networks in involving different parts of the organisation, or other organisations.
Outline and critically discuss the business functions performed by the ERP and CRM systems, the flow of data and information in the ERP and CRM systems.
Evaluate how management, and other users, can use the information from these systems both tactically and strategically and state what form the information may take, and address issues with mobile devices and BYOD.
State your conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations.

Learning outcomes to be examined in this assessment:
1. Understand the nature and content of MICS and how they improve management decision-making.
2. Evaluate the strategy of MICS in different types of organisations.
3. Demonstrate how MICS are able to integrate the various management functions to enhance the overall performance of organisations.

Assessment criteria Explanatory comments on the assessment criteria Maximum marks for each section
Content, style, relevance, originality Employs a wide range of recent journal literature to provide a clear and detailed picture of the current situation 30
Format, referencing, bibliography Structured as a professional report, fully using the Harvard Reference System 20
Constructive critical analysis, introduction, conclusion Shows clear analysis and evaluation of the findings and clearly indicates how management decisions impact the results 50

Students should conform to the conventions of the above assessment format in the preparation of their assignments. The relevant assessment criteria have been stated to enable and guide students in the preparation of their work. Achievement of the learning outcomes and the application of relevant theories to the assessment task should be demonstrated.
How to structure the assignment report
Title Page
Assignment title, module code, full name and student code, as well as submission date.
Table of Contents
A list all the chapters, sections, headings and sub-headings. Appendices and Figures should be provided as well as all page numbers as clearly as possible.
Introduction
This provides an overview of the topic being considered and how you will approach it.
Findings and Analysis
• This is the substance of your report. The structure will vary depending on the material being presented. Headings and sub-headings should be used to indicate clearly the different sections
• The following headings may help to add structure: situation; problem; solution; evaluation. It is not sufficient simply to describe a situation. Analysis and a critical approach are essential
• Charts, diagrams and tables can be used to reinforce your arguments, although it may be better to include the more complex ones as an appendix.
Conclusions
These draw out the implications of your findings. Deductions are based on the facts described in the findings and analysis. Remember not to include any new material here.
Recommendations
Indicate what you think should be done to improve or develop the situation in specific ways. Highlight the steps for action.
References
This is a record of all the named sources you have quoted from or reproduced in your report. Please use The Harvard System for all references
Bibliography
It contains all reading you have conducted in preparation for writing the report but have not used in reference. It allows the reader to assess whether the background reading undertaken was balanced and a variety of courses utilised.
Appendices
Detailed documentation of points made in the findings. Examples include: technical data, questionnaires, letters sent, tables, charts or leaflets. An appendix contains supplementary information that you consider to be too long, complicated or not quite relevant to include in the main section of the report, but is still relevant to your reader. Each appendix should be referred to in your text. You should not include something as an appendix if it is not discussed in the report.

Please use UK English and I will attach the full outline of the assignment as well as all the lecture notes to help you ensure you use all the relevant theories etc.

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The role of Direct Marketing in managing customer relationships

 
Title: The role of Direct Marketing in managing customer relationships.

( The essay should be 5,000 words and will cover the following area )

Essay Criteria:
 Key papers read and used
 Essay refers to uses at least the key recommended academics papers/texts.
 Evidence of broader, relevant reading
 Essay refers to uses at least 8 related academic papers & at least 40qty or above article referencing
 Discussion demonstrates understanding
 The Key arguments are identified clearly and used as the basic for discussion
 Unsupported assertion / opinion is avoided
 Key ideas clearly identified
 Ideas are separated out and clearly labeled and defined
 The paper evaluates ideas
 Ideas are weighed up dispassionately against evidence and in term of their impact on practice and theory
 The paper is reflective ( critical )
 The student considers her/his own social and cultural position as a source of bias.
 The paper provides examples of good practice
 Uses a number of practical examples to support the theoretical arguments
 The paper is professionally presented
 Title, author, Harvard referencing system.
 Clear layout, neatly presented. Also mechanically soundness. (Grammar, spelling ect)

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Evaluating Knowledge Management sources

 
Assignment 1: Evaluating Knowledge Management sources (10%)
Aim: To encourage you to explore the wide range of both professional and academic sources and communities interested in and offering information on knowledge management
Brief: You are asked to identify and evaluate TEN key sources that provide information on knowledge management and that you would recommend to others. Such sources should include a mixture of websites and portals, practitioner journals, and academic journals. Write a short 100-150 word review on each, indicating the scope and purpose of the source, its authority, its intended audience, and why you have included it in your recommendations.

Assignment 2: Information and Knowledge tools, technologies and artifacts (30%)
Aim: To develop an understanding as to why and how ONE specific knowledge tool, systems other artifact contributes to information and knowledge-based activities within organizations or communities. Further, through (non-assessed) presentations, students will share their knowledge of these technologies.
Brief: You should choose ONE specific knowledge management tool, technology or artifact and to prepare a short presentation to inform your fellow course members about this technology, and its contribution to knowledge management within organizations. In other words, you should assume that they know no more than you did about the technology before you started to read about it. Some examples are: intranets, group work systems, search engines, collaborative learning systems, social media, crowd computing, artificial intelligence and expert systems, geographical information systems, and data warehouses. You should be able to find sufficient information for this task in textbooks, but make sure that you read more than one, and update your understanding with reference to recent web pages and other current sources. On the basis of this research you are asked to write a brief, 1500 word report to hand-in, and to prepare a basic 10 minute (non-assessed) presentation to share your findings with other students.
Assignment 3: Communities of practice (20%)
Aim: to better understand the experience and processes of associated with the social dimension of the exchange and sharing of knowledge and information, through the study of a specific community of practice or social networking site.
Brief: You are asked to identify ONE community of practice, or social networking website. You may choose either a business or professional community (e.g. health professionals; security experts) or a social community (e.g. parents; music enthusiasts; F1 motor sports spectators). (If you are unsure about the distinction between these two concepts as they apply to your selection for this assignment please discuss this with a tutor). Write a brief, 1000 word report, covering the following aspects of the community:
• A profile of its members (who are they, where are they, etc?)
• The benefits that it delivers to members (why do people join? Are people exchanging information and knowledge, or social support and friendship?) and any organizations associated with the community
• Recent discussion topics/themes
• Comments on governance structures or controls
• An evaluation as to the long-term sustainability of the community
Assignment 5: Reflection on learning process (10%)
Aim: To demonstrate that you can apply some of the concepts in this unit, in particular those relating to learning, and reflect on your learning process for the unit
Brief: You are asked to write a short concluding comment (750 words) evaluating your learning on this unit. This statement might include:
• An indication of what skills and knowledge you feel that you have acquired through this unit, with specific reference to how they may be useful to your future
• An evaluation of the learning process including: any things that you found difficult, any particular successes, and anything that you have learnt about yourself through the study process.

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business & emerging technologies

 
I need a research paper related to business & emerging technologies (ex: electronic commerce, electronic business, social network, social commerce, web service in business, M-commerce, big data, cloud computing and etc…)

i don’t have specific idea but if you have can you sen me the title and headlines to take approval from my prof. then you start writing

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Analysis of the integrated marketing communications mix strategies of your chosen FMCG brand

 
The reference material used to refer to the company (market review) should be recent (2-3 years or less) and not old. Other literature used can be from any year. Imagine that you have been appointed as the international strategic brand manager for an FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) company of your choice. Your company have assigned you to analyse and assess their integrated marketing communications (IMC) mix strategies for the UK market and recommend future actions.

The report has to cover the following areas:

Literature review: You are expected to conduct an extensive review of marketing communications literature with a particular focus on how segmentation, positioning and branding strategies can facilitate the design and implementation of integrated marketing communications mix.

Market environment review: Provide a brief review of the UK market of your chosen product/brand. Identify the key competitors, market trends and relevant environmental factors that may have significant influence on your strategic decisions.
Company strategies: You are now required to analyse the IMC strategies of your chosen organisation in light of the theories and research findings discussed in the literature review and address the following issues:

1. Target audience: Analyse the target segments in terms of the behaviour, attitude and lifestyle.
2. Brand positioning: identify and discuss the choice of brand/concept which is being promoted with reference to competitive positioning and differential appeal.
3. Media selection and communication mix management: Identify and assess the media and IMC tools used by your chosen organisation.

Your own recommendations: You have to explain how your chosen organisation can make their IMC strategies more effective and competitive.

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Business and Project Management

You are to write a project concept note for an organisation of your choice. The purpose of a concept note is to convey the basic idea of a project: why it is needed; what it will be; in what ways it will contribute to an organisation’s goals; what other impacts there are expected to be; and an indication of its feasibility. With such information, and analysis, senior managers should then be able to make a decision as to whether to commission a full proposal or not, or whether the idea might need some reworking, and so on. Therefore, a concept note should include at least the following sections.

A Project Rationale
This is essentially a brief outline of what the organisation wants to do, how it is trying to do it, what “problem”, or shortcoming, exists currently in what it is doing, and how the project idea will address some, or all, of this problem or shortcoming. The rationale, therefore, consists of a set of statements concerned with:

• The organisation’s present situation: its mission, goals/objectives, and strategies; and a description of how it is trying to achieve these with its current activities (through projects or other means).
• Identifying what you believe to be a shortcoming in the organisation’s attempts to achieve its goals.
• Describing what you think the organisation can do to “correct” this shortcoming (i.e., a short summary of the project idea).

Analysis of the Context
This provides some descriptive information about the external and internal situations of the organisation. The bulk of this section, however, is concerned with analysing those situations so that the project makes sense as an idea – both in terms of understanding the project concept itself, and in terms of it being an appropriate response to the organisation’s context (external and internal). The section, in essence, provides the evidence and argument for the approach you are about to outline in the description of the project to follow.

The Project Outline
This is where you explain the project concept in some detail. Your description needs to be sufficiently detailed so that others can understand the idea but it is not the same as a project proposal: that is, it should NOT include detailed costing, precise plans, methodologies, detailed design drawings, resource-requirements, etc. The kind of information that is useful here would be: project objectives and activities; estimated timeframe and suggested timetable; possible sources of funding, estimated costs, and/or potential income; potential partners and/or stakeholders; the role of the organisation in the project; expected outputs and/or outcomes (if the output is a new product then an impressionistic drawing of that product might be helpful).

The Case for Project Implementation
This brings together the ideas of the previous sections to show how the project would be of benefit to the organisation. It explains how the activities of the project align with the strategy of the organisation to provide a coherent response to the context that was analysed above.

A Feasibility Assessment
This is not a comprehensive feasibility study, it is more of a short appraisal that identifies various factors that could help or hinder project success. Examples of such factors are (this is not a complete list):

• Risks – financial or otherwise
• Strategic Issues
• Gaps – such as skills the organisation does not possess; technologies that do not exist in serviceable form (i.e. they might only be prototypes, too expensive, untested, unreliable, and so on); important information missing or research that needs to be done

Choosing an Organisation and Project Idea
The organisation can be a for-profit or not-for-profit type, governmental or non-governmental, real or imaginary. There are advantages and disadvantages with each of these choices:

• Choosing a real organisation means it might be easier to identify its mission, goals, objectives, strategies, and current (or past, or future) projects. For an imaginary organisation you would have to devise these yourself (although you could use an existing organisation as a starting point).
• With not-for-profit organisations you might find that there is more information available in the public domain than is the case with for-profit organisations. However, conducting quantitative analysis is likely to be more difficult in the not-for-profit sector (the outcomes are not related to profits; rather, they are likely to be some qualitative improvements or benefits in communities).

The project could be either inward or outward-oriented. That is, it could be for internal implementation such as an investment for the benefit of the organisation: an improvement in one of its processes; an initial step into a new area of activity for the purpose of learning; a restructuring endeavour; etc. An outward-oriented project would result in something more easily “visible” to people outside the organisation: a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) undertaking; the development or launch of a new product or service (either for business or community-development purposes); a campaign of some kind, such as a marketing project or lobbying/protesting on a particular issue. And so on.

The nature of the project is entirely up to you. If you have any questions regarding your project idea then please get in touch and I will be happy to discuss these with you. MSc students must work individually. Others can work individually or in groups of up to 3 (three) students.
Assessment Criteria
The assessment of your project concept will not be focused on the project itself. That is, it is not about whether the project is actually feasible and/or worthwhile. The assessment will be concerned with how you present the idea and the analysis you provide in support of it: your use of analytical tools for the external and internal contexts of an organisation; your alignment of the project with the strategy of the organisation; your identification of relevant stakeholders, strategic issues, risks, benefits and disbenefits, capability requirements, etc.

All this must be achieved with a word-limit of 2000. This is not very much (about 4 sides of A4 if single-line spaced and consisting entirely of text: this document is over 1000 words, for example!) and so you will have to be concise in your writing. It will be helpful to make use of drawings, diagrams, and other graphical presentations of information as these usually only require brief explanation.

You should assume that you are writing this for a senior manager and so there is no need to explain the theory of the analytical tools you use, although there will be good reason to explain why you use a particular tool rather than another (this must be brief). The manager will be interested in having enough information and analysis with which to make a reasoned judgment: is this project worth pursuing? But the manager will not want to have to read for hours in order to make that judgment.

You should reference appropriately and your word count will NOT include the reference section.

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Charity Questionnarie

 

A questionnaire that measured information about charity donation behaviours, attitudes and perceptions, and demographics was administered to a large random sample of the Australian public. A copy of the questionnaire is included, as a separate document, with this assignment.
The data gathered have been analysed and the results are presented in the accompanying analysis report.
Attitudes and Perceptions
A factor analysis was performed on the 20 items that made up question 6 in the questionnaire and a four factor model was produced. The analysis report specifies which items loaded on each of the four factors.
For each of these four factors you need to:
a) consider the items that have loaded on it and identify whether or not there is an underlying concept or variable that could explain why these items correlated. Give a name to this factor that clearly explains what the factor is measuring and indicate what a high score on this factor means. For example, if the factor measures the importance of health in food choices, does a high score mean that people consider health to be a very important consideration in choosing food or that health is not an important consideration in food choices?
b) Answer the following research question,
What type of person scores high on this factor?
by describing the statistically significant relationships. Write your answer in terms of the factor name you identified above rather than using the factor number. In other words, if the factor measures the importance of health in food choices, don’t write:
Factor 1 is important to older consumers…
but write,
Older consumers tend to consider health to be more important…
In your answer, consider demographics, behaviours and the other factors. Also, be careful with absolute vs relative comparisons – “more important” is different from “important”.
You should format this section with bullet points for each significant relationship.
2
Recommendations
Based on your answers to the previous research questions for each factor and any other relationships identified in the data analysis report, answer the following two questions. You should come up with at least 3 recommendations for each. Your recommendations should explain what should be done, why it should be done, and how it should be done.
c) Imagine that you are providing recommendations for an Australian charity. Based on the survey results, what recommendations can you make for designing a charity campaign (excluding the marketing)?
d) Imagine you work in the marketing department of an Australian charity. Based on the survey results, what recommendations can you make for marketing their next charity campaign?
There is no specific word limit for (c) and (d) but as a rough guide, if you have written less than half a page, you have probably not written enough, and if you write more than 2 pages for each, you are possibly getting a bit carried away. See the next page for the marking rubric for this assignment.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
• All submissions must be made using the provided template document available on Blackboard.
• Please submit your assignment as a Word document or pdf file.
• Ensure your survey is submitted by the due date and time (Melbourne time).
How do I start this assignment?
Naming and describing the factors:
1. Look at all of the scale items that match up to each factor. Figure out what each scale is measuring and give it a clear, specific name.
2. Figure out what a high score represents (reverse scored items will be accounted for)
3. Using the p-value table, identify the significant relationships that each factor has to the other variables.
4. Use the correlation table and accompanying notes to describe each significant relationship. Use plain language (you should not be talking about “scores” and “factors”). You can present these as a set of bullet points.
Recommendations:
1. Use the p-value table to identify any other relevant significant relationships and the correlations table and notes to see what kind of relationships they are.
2. Come up with at least 3 recommendations in each section based on the relevant significant relationship(s).
3. Ensure your recommendations have clear “what”, “why” and “how” components, and that they make sense.

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Contemporary Europe

 
Question 1 (approx 200 words)
What, in your opinion, are the most significant developments in European politics since the 1980s?

Question 2 (approx 200 words)
What strategies have European centre-right parties adopted to contain the electoral competition of far right parties? Make sure your examples draw from at least three different European countries.

Question 3 (approx 200 words)
How do you explain the electoral growth of Marine Le Pen’s Front National in France?

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Recruitment Exercise

 
Assignment 2 – Recruitment Exercise

Your assignment is to write a memorandum to the Fire Commission about recruitment practices of the Fire Department and to suggest ways that might achieve the Commission�s desired goals.

Maximum Points = 25

You work in HR for a medium-sized city of approximately 1 million people. Approximately 30% of the city�s residents are racial of ethnic minorities, with a significant proportion of African-American and Hispanic residents.

There has been a hiring freeze for several years. But now the city has some money to expand hiring. It is going to hire more fire fighters.

The city wants to recruit approximately 1,000 additional fire fighters. At the present time, the fire department is overwhelmingly white (and male). Many of the current fire fighters are the sons and nephews of former or current fire fighters. Many are of Irish or Italian descent; their relatives had taken jobs as fire fighters at a time when the working conditions were considered dangerous and unattractive. However, over the years, the fire fighters� union had achieved more and more benefits and greater safety standards. The jobs are now considered quite attractive, well paid and flexible.

In the past, potential recruits to the first department learned of the civil service exams through word of mouth from relatives who worked for the fire department; some of them had access to a �bank� of former exam questions that had been collected and stored at fire stations.

The entry exam for the fire department in the past consisted of a series of essay questions, posing hypothetical questions that a fire fighter might encounter in a fire. They were designed by officers of the fire department one afternoon when they got together and thought up essay questions to put on the exams. In the past, minorities (many of whom were educated in under-resourced schools in the economically-deprived neighbourhoods in which minorities tended to be concentrated) did very poorly on these essay-based exams.

Generally speaking, while approximately 25% of white candidates scored well enough to be placed on a civil service list from which appointments would be made for several years, and had a good chance of being appointed, only approximately 10% of minority candidates scored well enough to �pass� the exam, and were not placed on the hiring list.

The Fire Commission would like to increase minority representation in the ranks of the Fire Department, if possible. The Commission has asked the city HR department for which you work to design a recruitment campaign and suggest an entrance exam that might achieve its goals of increasing minority representation in the fire department.

Your assignment is to write a memorandum to the Fire Commission about recruitment practices of the Fire Department and to suggest ways that might achieve the Commission�s desired goals.

In your memorandum, you should cover the following points:

1. Critique the past recruitment practices of the Fire Department in light of what you know about the legal principles of discrimination, particularly the disparate impact theory of race discrimination. Would you recommend following the same recruitment practices of the past (e.g., word-of-mouth recruitment, essay-based exam questions)? Why or why not? If the same practices were followed and approximately the same outcomes achieved, could these outcomes be challenged under the disparate impact theory of racial discrimination? What would have to be shown to defend the outcome?
2. What changes, if any, would you suggest in the recruitment campaign you have been asked to help design? What specific recruitment techniques might increase the diversity of the pool of applicants? Are there any approaches to increasing the success rate for minority applicants that you would rule out from consideration? If so, why (relating your advice to your knowledge of disparate treatment law)?
3. Assuming that, despite your best efforts, the success rate for recruiting minority applicants is less than 80% of the success rate for non-minority applicants. What would your advice be to the Fire Commission when it had to determine whether to certify the results? What would be necessary to defend the adequacy of the recruitment/testing methods against a possible challenge? What steps could be taken to enhance the likelihood of a successful defence of the recruitment/testing methods in the unfortunate event that minority applicants did much worse than non-minority applicants on the test?
4. Finally, there are no women fire fighters employed by the city, although other, similarly-sized cities do have a significant number of women fire fighters. What general advice might you give as to approaching this issue, in hopes of ultimately increasing the number of women fire fighters?

You can use the above points to structure your memorandum, but be sure to consider and address the following issues, which are implicit in the exercise:

� What sort of recruitment campaign would you suggest to increase the number of minority applicants? Discuss advertising and other approaches to this topic.
� Discuss how you might try to achieve the Fire Commission�s desire to have a fire department that more accurately reflects the population it serves, with specific reference to the wish to have approximately 30% of the new hires to be from the minority communities.
� Discuss how you would approach the issue of designing an entrance exam to avoid a much lower pass rate for minority candidates than non-minority candidates.
� In the past, women have done better than any other group of candidates on the written exam, but have all failed the physical exam. There are no women fire fighters employed by the city, although other cities have them. How would you approach the issue of trying to recruit women and succeed in hiring women fire fighters?

You may wish to �read ahead� and consider the Supreme Court Ricci decision.

The format for this assignment should be a memorandum to the Fire Commission, using paragraphs and complete sentences. Your paper will be graded according to the following rubric.

Your assignment will be graded according to the following rubric:

RUBRIC CATEGORIES

Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Points & Comments

ADDRESSES ALL ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
(0-5 points)
Follows directions to the letter, and addresses all four parts. Shows command of the facts and law, but does not follow directions. Fails to address one or more of the required topics. Ignores directions as to requested form.

SKILL IN WRITING AND ANALYSIS

Degree of sophistication or depth of thought

(0-15 points)
Carefully delineates and analyses all of the relevant law and facts. Lists all the most relevant facts and law, but treats them in a cursory manner Omits relevant facts/law or places emphasis on less relevant items. Covers only a portion of the important laws and/or facts in reaching a conclusion.
MECHANICS AND GRAMMAR
Mechanics of memorandum
No errors of spelling or grammar; well-presented structure. A few spelling or grammatical errors Sloppy structure and/or spelling or grammar errors Many spelling or grammar errors and poor structure.

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Negotiations and Agreements Group Research Project

Select an issue that has recently been negotiated in an area of interest to you and explain the major elements of the negotiations process as discussed in class. The project is to be completed in groups of four (4) students and must use a minimum of seven (7) works cited. The project is due in class on the first class of Week 10 with a group presentation also during Week 10.

1. Introduction (minimum 3 pages)
• Summarize your reasons as to why the group chose this negotiation.
• Explain the history between the sides in the negotiation you selected.
• Identify the chief negotiators (by name) on each side and state their positions.
• Identify when and where the negotiations began.

2. Issues/Power (minimum 3 pages)
• Describe the main issues/barriers that separate each side.
• Explain what is at stake in this negotiation and how it affects the balance of power.
• Identify and describe which side has the most relative bargaining power and why.
• Explain what the other side can do to increase its power.

3. Strategy and Tactics (minimum 3 pages)
• Strategy: Describe in detail the strategy each negotiator is using to achieve their desired outcome.
• Tactics: Describe and evaluate three specific tactics each side is using to advance their strategy.
• Critique how the strategy and tactics each side is using is affecting their position.
• Describe the strategy and tactics your group would use to achieve your desired outcome in the same negotiation.

4. External Factors (minimum 3 pages)
• Explain how the negotiation contains elements of both cooperation and competition. Provide insight and examples from your research.
• Assess the outside influences prevalent in the negotiation (such as time, media coverage, financial implications, clients, employees, etc.) and describe the impact each has on the negotiation process.
• In your opinion did the media impact the negotiation? Explain why or why not using detailed examples.

5. Reflection (minimum 3 pages)
• Analyze the negotiation process and explain the impact and/or effect of the final outcome.
• Discuss your opinion of the negotiation supporting your opinion with detailed examples.
• Each team member must explain in detail what you learned from your research of this case and how it will benefit you in the future.
Format
• Cover Page with Students’ Names, Course Number and Title, Date and Topic
• Paper will be a minimum of 15 pages in length; All sections must be completed for credit
• The use of industry terms and concepts discussed in class is expected
• Word Processed – 12 point font, double spaced, free of grammatical and spelling errors
• Reference Page with a minimum of seven (7) works cited
• Organization – put sections in order, title each section and list the question above the answer Example:
1. Introduction
A. Summarize your reasons as to why you chose this negotiation.
Detailed Answer

B. Explain the history between the sides in the negotiation you selected.
Detailed Answer

Project Evaluation