Assignment Overview
It’s now time for you to begin considering what sort of IT software you’d like to be analyzing for the remainder of this term. As your assignment for this module, you are to identify an application of specialized IT technology of personal or professional interest to you, ideally in one of the four topic areas covered by this course — e-business, e-learning, human resource management, or customer relations management (if you really want to study something else, we could probably work it out, but you need some special approval and some pretty good reasons). Then you’ll begin your research into it, develop your approach and rationale, and begin to identify key managerial issues that might complicate its implementation and use — issues that you will further investigate in the remainder of the course.
A good places to begin your search for a specific application or applications might be the large portal sites such as http://bitpipe.com. You have probably encountered both of these sites in previous IT courses looking for particular items of information, but you may not have investigated them as resources for specific technologies or tools. You’re not constrained to these sources, of course; part of the exercise is developing your own set of resources to help you find what if you’re looking for.
The background information for this module contains a number of links to resources about information technology in various areas. They are provided for reference only, without any particular endorsement of their content or special emphasis. The resources for this module are continually updated with new information so not dated. The recommended sources include:
Best in Emerging Technology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5chre0XmFU
MIT Technology Review (2012), News and analysis, Retrieved from http://www.technologyreview.com/
Gartner (2012), Emerging trends and technologies, Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/technology/core/products/research/topics/emergingTrendsTechnologies.jsp
Office of Personnel Management (2011) Leveraging New Technologies for Employee Development Programs. Training and Development Policy. Retrieved from http://www.opm.gov/wiki/training/Leveraging-New-Technologies-for-Employee-Development-Programs.ashx
CIO (2011) CRM Information Sources; Best Practices, Case Studies. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/topic/3005/CRM
The Background also lists a number of secondary resources to supplement the above; however, your best information is likely to come from sources that you locate yourself as you refine your proposed topic.
Case Assignment
When you’ve done your research and decided on your area of interest, you should prepare a short (5-7 page) paper on the topic:
Discuss the new technology of your interest that would be important to your organization
Your paper should cover at least the following key points:
The topic area you have chosen to study, and the reasons for your interest in it
The specific application or applications whose nature and management you propose to research
What you know at this point about the managerial or administrative context within which this application is used, including any major problems that you’ve learned about
Your sources for information about the application and its management thus far
Your proposed strategy for learning more about the managerial issues associated with this application or applications
The overall burden of your paper is to explain and justify why you think you’ve picked something interesting to study that will teach you some things about the objectives for this course — particularly, the problems associated with integrating specialized technologies with the overall information strategy and tools of the organization.
Remember, this isn’t just a product review — it’s your explanation of how IT management copes with issues such as centralization of resources, control of IT decision-making, allocation of resources among competing and meritorious organizational purposes, and variations in knowledge and expertise about information technology and content problems of the system. You’ve had a good many courses in the program thus far, and have learned a good deal about how IT decision-making affects lots of parts of the organization. So begin to draw on this knowledge and explain why the topic area you selected and the applications are focusing on will teach you more about IT management in the complex organization.
Your paper should be between five and seven pages. Take a definite stand on the issues, and develop your supporting argument carefully. Using material from the background information and any other sources you can find to support specific points in your argument is highly recommended; try to avoid making assertions for which you can find no support other than your own opinion.
Refer to the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper if you are uncertain about formats or other issues.
Assignment Expectations
Length: Follow the number of pages required in the assignment excluding cover page and references. Each page should have about 300 words.
Your assignment will be evaluated based on the Rubric.
