Reference no: EM134042343
Digital Business Applications
Assessment Overview
Purpose
The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate students' ability to identify, explain, and critically analyse the key opportunities, challenges, successes and failures associated with digital transformation in contemporary business environments.
The assessment requires students to apply relevant digital business concepts, theories and scholarly knowledge developed during Weeks 1-5 to a business case study. Students will demonstrate their ability to diagnose a digital business problem, compare organisational practices against a relevant benchmark, develop evidence-based critical arguments, and propose and evaluate a feasible solution.
Assessment Description
In this assessment, you will analyse a digital business case study provided during the in-class assessment.
You will be given 10 minutes of reading time to review the case study, followed by 50 minutes to complete and submit your response.
Using evidence from the case study and relevant concepts, theories and scholarly research covered during Weeks 1-5, you will undertake a structured analysis of the organisation's digital transformation.
Your response should demonstrate your ability to move beyond description and apply Information Technology knowledge to diagnose the problem, critically evaluate the organisation's approach and develop a justified solution.
Use of Scholarly Research
Students are expected to demonstrate prior engagement with relevant scholarly literature, theories and concepts covered during Weeks 1-5.
Given the in-class nature of this assessment, the emphasis is on the appropriate application of scholarly knowledge to the case rather than on extensive literature searching.
Where scholarly sources, established frameworks or theories are used, they should be appropriately acknowledged.
Memory Aid
Students may bring one (1) double-sided A4 memory aid to the assessment.
The memory aid may contain relevant concepts, theories, frameworks, models, scholarly references and other material that supports application of knowledge developed during Weeks 1-5.
The memory aid is intended to support analysis and application. The assessment is designed to evaluate your ability to apply knowledge to the case study rather than reproduce memorised definitions.
Task Requirements
Your response should address the following five areas:
1. Problem Identification
Clearly identify and define the key digital business problem or challenge presented in the case study.
Your problem statement should distinguish the underlying problem from its symptoms and demonstrate an understanding of why the issue is important to the organisation and its digital transformation.
2. Benchmark Comparison
Compare the organisation's approach with a relevant benchmark.
The benchmark may represent an appropriate organisation, industry practice, digital business model, recognised standard or comparable digital transformation approach relevant to the case.
Explain why the selected benchmark is appropriate and identify significant similarities and/or differences. Use the comparison to highlight gaps, strengths, weaknesses or opportunities within the case organisation.
3. Critical Analysis
Develop critical arguments explaining the key factors contributing to the success, failure or challenges associated with the organisation's digital transformation.
Your analysis should integrate:
evidence from the case study;
relevant digital business concepts and theories covered during Weeks 1-5; and
relevant scholarly research.
You should demonstrate critical thinking by explaining relationships between the identified factors rather than simply describing events or technologies.
4. Proposed Solution and Feasibility
Propose an appropriate solution or course of action that addresses the problem identified in the case.
Assess the feasibility of your proposed solution by considering relevant factors such as organisational capabilities, technology, resources, implementation requirements, stakeholder implications, potential benefits, constraints and risks.
Your recommendation should be clearly justified.
5. Overall Judgement and Communication
Present a clear overall judgement regarding the organisation's digital transformation and the suitability of your proposed solution.
Your response should be logically structured, concise, and coherent, and should demonstrate accurate and contextually appropriate use of digital business concepts, terminology, and jargon.
Expectations for a High-Quality Response
A strong response will demonstrate more than knowledge of digital business terminology. It will:
identify the underlying business problem rather than simply describe symptoms;
apply relevant digital business theories and concepts directly to case evidence;
use a meaningful benchmark to generate analytical insights;
develop critical, evidence-based arguments about the organisation's digital transformation;
propose a solution that directly addresses the identified problem;
realistically evaluate the feasibility and limitations of that solution; and
reach a clear and justified overall judgement.
The emphasis throughout the assessment is on application, analysis, critical thinking and problem solving, rather than description or reproduction of theoretical definitions.