Requirements and Approach for Producing Report 2

Contextual Factors Affecting Organization's Exploitation of the Digital Environment

This is a formal piece of work, worth 70% of your mark for the module.  Report 2 assesses the following module learning outcomes:

LO1: Evaluate the concepts and applications underpinning the exploitation of digital technologies by businesses and other organisations

LO2: Assess the organisational, managerial and competitive implications of digital technologies

LO3: Critically assess operating models that businesses deploy for the online environment

LO4: Synthesize solutions to the problems of customer engagement across different channels and ‘touchpoints’, online and offline.

LO5: Present the output of independent and directed study in the form of reports

You must produce a report on the ways in which a specific organisation is exploiting the digital environment.  The organisation can operate within the private, public or third sectors.  The report wordcount should be 3000 words (plus or minus 10%).  See further requirements below.

In Report 1 you undertook preparatory work for a study examining how one organisation is operating within the digital environment.  In Report 2 you will move beyond preparation and undertake the actual analysis.  

2.Report Content Areas

The following elements must all be included in your report.  Please use the exact headings underlined below, and take note of the explanatory text under each heading indicating what is required:

The abstract summarises the entire content of the report.

To set the focus and scope of the work.

Identification and analysis of contextual factors affecting the organisation’s exploitation of the digital environment

The contextual factors will vary depending on whether the organisation operates in the public, private or third sectors, is ‘pureplay’ digital or ‘bricks and clicks’, and has physical or virtual products and services.

 However, the section could potentially address:

• Analysis of micro and macro environments including assessment of competitive opportunities and threats balanced against capabilities
• The consumer channel structures and the supply chains (digital and/or physical) in operation in the sector (external view)
• Analysis of customer segments and online behaviours (external view)

Analysis of the current contribution of digital capabilities to the organisation

In this section you should draw on the tools and frameworks covered in the lectures and tutorials to analyse how the organisation is exploiting digital capabilities to succeed in the digital environment.  Again, the content covered should be appropriate to the organisation and sector, but could potentially address:

• The business model  
• The digital marketplace map for the organisation, defining the OVPs, relevant customer segments and destination sites, and identification of significant online intermediaries impacting upon customer journeys
• How the organisation is exploiting ‘search’, ‘social’ and ‘mobile’ ecosystems within the digital marketplace map
• Value configurations in operation, and the place of ‘digital’ in supporting value-adding processes
• Analysis of the development of the business’ consumer channel structures
• Customer journey mapping
• The strengths and weaknesses of the current customer-facing website or App, compared to that of one direct competitor

Conclusions, recommendations, and critical assessment of the work that has been undertaken

Clear conclusions derived from your analysis linking to specific and actionable recommendations.  Critical assessment which highlights the strengths of the approach that you have taken, together with the scope for further work.

The report should contain a Title Page showing the word count and your matriculation number (do not include your name). It should also include a 300-word Abstract. The maximum word length of the main text of this assignment is 3,000 words (plus or minus 10%).  This word count excludes title page, abstract, all tables and figures, reference list, appendices – please enter this total on the title page.  

This is an academic report, and as such must make explicit reference to the concepts, tools and theories covered in the module.  Therefore, appropriate literature should be cited.  However, it is also important that you critically assess the operations of the organisation, and present some clear recommendations as to its future direction.

Following the Title Page containing the word-count, matriculation number and Abstract, the report must contain the following mandatory sections:

1.Introduction

2.Identification and analysis of contextual factors affecting the organisation’s exploitation of the digital environment

3.Analysis of the current contribution of digital capabilities to the organisation

4.Conclusions, recommendations, and critical assessment of the work that has been undertaken

Use the marking criteria (overleaf) to plan the report – this shows the relative weighting of each section.

Before you submit the report, it should be spell-checked and proof read. The final version must be submitted using the Report 2 submission link on Moodle. Late submissions that have not been approved by your Programme Leader will not be accepted.