Overview For the final project in this course, you are being asked to apply the concepts learned throughout the course to assist a small business owner in improving his business through the use of technology. Milestone One will be the first step in creating your report and recommendations to the business owner. The objective of this milestone is to further explore course concepts and incorporate additional perspectives and source material to analyze real world scenarios. Leverage both the textbook and external sources to complete the internship assignment.
Prompt Harrison Kirby runs a local golf course with a shop of around 150 products. He wants to have a website that will facilitate e-business for his golf course. He wants online scheduling of tee times (including coordination of group play), online shopping, and social network integration. One difficulty of moving a small business from a traditional retail store to an online store is channel complications. Everything must be reconsidered. For example, how will he communicate with his customers? How will they find product information? How will he accept orders? How will he manage payments and shipping? These questions and many more have kept Kirby from making the e-commerce plunge.
Below you will find a letter from Kirby explaining what he would like you to do:
Dear Intern,
I have an interesting project for you. I am interested in an online presence for my golf shop. Specifically, I want to offer a few (less than 150) products online for in-store pickup or delivery. I would also like online scheduling of tee times.
I want you to research the web for companies that provide this type of product. Ultimately, you may recommend a combination of providers to accomplish all that I am trying to do. For example, your final recommendation may include a web hosting solution, logistics provider, and a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool. Or, perhaps you will find a product that can be customized to provide all the functionality in one piece.
Keep in mind that my shop is a small business, and I do not have resources to manage a complicated system. I need something that is fairly easy to implement, use, and manage. I have heard of online, cloud, as-a-service platforms that do not require local hardware. I think that this type of setup would be most useful to me, but I have no idea what type of software I should use to support my business.
After you complete your research, as the first step in this process, please send me a report with the following critical elements:
1. Overview of the companies you learned about 2. Profile of your selections and the reasons you chose them 3. Summary of why you believe this will help me accomplish my goals
I am very excited to see your work!
Sincerely, Harrison Kirby
Note: You should incorporate at least three sources into your report; one source should be the textbook. Use paraphrasing and direct quotations to help demonstrate the concepts and support your perspectives.
Requirements of Submission Milestone One: Internship Assignment should follow these formatting guidelines: Use of three sources, 1-2 pages (not including cover page or bibliography section), double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and citations in APA format.
Rubric Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value Company Overviews Meets "Proficient" criteria and substantiated with research Provides company overviews Company overviews are lacking in detail Does not provide company overviews 30
Selection Reasoning Meets "Proficient" criteria and substantiated with evidence to support reasoning
Provides reasoning for selection of companies
Insufficiently provides reasoning for selection of companies
Does not present reasoning for selection of companies
Summary Conclusion Meets "Proficient" criteria and substantiated with researchbased rationale
Provides summary that is appropriate for attaining client's goals
Summary is inappropriate and/or illogical for attaining client's goals
Does not provide summary
Articulation of Response
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization, and is presented in a professional and easy-toread format
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas.