Learning objectives

This assignment addresses the following learning objectives of the course:

- solve complex organisational problems theoretically and practically and critically reflect on the effectiveness of management processes to real-world problems

- Communicate professionally and effectively in written and oral communication to various audiences.

Individual submission

Students should complete this assignment individually. You are encouraged to discuss with others to improve your understanding and clarify requirements but your assignment needs to be your own original work.

The tasks listed in the Marking Criteria relate to the following Case Study

As the Information Systems Manager you have been given the responsibility for implementing a new "smart shopping trolley" system for a grocery/supermarket chain. This smart shopping trolley technology will help customers in the store by adding up the cost of items at the same time that they are placed in their supermarket trolley. It will also help shoppers locate the items in the store, in the quantities needed, when they enter or select a particular recipe.

As you have studied Information Systems Strategy, you know that introducing a new information technology system won't be successful unless you have assessed the impact on the business strategy and the four business functions (marketing, production, finance and HR) within the firm. You also need to do a cost benefit analysis of introducing the technology across 10 stores in different regions, if the pilot study in the first store is successful. Your report includes a presentation to the CEO.

What to submit through StudyDesk:

You will submit a handout for the CEO containing the Cover letter, Spreadsheet and Reference List through StudyDesk along with a link to a URL where you recorded audio/visualpresentation.

YouTube is the preferred mode for your CEO presentation; if you do not wish for your video in YouTube or other system to be publically available then you may explore security features or options of YouTube. You are responsible for ensuring the link to your presentation will work for the Examiner marking your assignment - you should ask someone to test it for you.

It does not need to be professionally produced and you can use a mobile phone, movie camera, the video tools that are available to download to use your PC, voice capture in Powerpoint or whatever. The purpose of the presentation is to present a compelling business case to the CEO to persuade him or her to adopt the new initiative.

As a guide, written work worth 10 marks should be no more than one page of writing; your presentation should be around 10-12 slides and should be around 5-10 minutes.

Financial model of the business case

Based on your research develop a spread-sheet model of your business costs over a 6 year period; assume a discount rate of 10 per cent. Your business model should include the following analysis to ascertain the financial viability of the project:

1. Payback period
2. Net present value (NPV)
3. Internal rate of return (IRR), and
4. Profitability index

HINTS: To obtain the payback period you would first need to calculate the cumulative net cash flow. Use the NPV and IRR functions provided in Microsoft Excel. You may need to search the Internet for information if you are not familiar with how to use these functions. Provide an explanation to the CEO to help him/her interpret your results and what they mean.

Sensitivity analysis for the business case

Using the results you obtained above as the base case, conduct a sensitivity analysis to examine the impact of the critical cost and benefit variables on the viability of smart shopping trolley system project.

Provide three specific scenarios of consideration. You must clearly specify the basis of the three scenarios i.e. which critical cost variables they are examining in the sensitivity analysis.

Provide a note to explain the results to the CEO.

Letter of transmittal addressed to the CEO introducing and explaining the purpose of the presentation and handout, professional presentation

Quality of presentation

Planning, design, clarity and professionalism of presentation; you are encouraged to use graphics to illustrate points (avoid copyright material and reference all sources)

Background for smart shopping trolley system project

Description of the current state-of-the art in smart shopping trolley system technology; how it could be utilised, associated risks, experiences of other companies with similar technology; evidence of research effort

Resources required to implement smart shopping trolley system (hardware/ software/networking).

Description of the resulting or required changes to organizational business processes, and the company's relationship to suppliers and customers; and the effect of this innovation on the firm's activities - HR, sales and marketing, finance and accounting and production.

Costs and Benefits - an explanation of the main anticipated costs and benefits of the implementation and operation of the Smart shopping trolley system

Cost benefit analysis using Excel or equivalent

You will need to estimate costs and benefits and populate a financial model using a spreadsheet. You may use the functions in MS Excel

Sensitivity analysis

The calculation and interpretation of your results should be clear and convincing to the audience.

Conclusion and recommendations

The conclusion should summarise the key points of your report. The recommendations should highlight the funding sought and a specific course of action.

List of references

In-text and end-of-document references to support contentions and all information sourced for the report. This must adhere to the Harvard referencing style.