Assignment: E-Business
Part ONE
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the course discussions so far and any insights gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources if needed, use APA style as required, and check your spelling.
5. Do not just answer the questions. This is a graduate course and you should be able to explain the logic behind your answer and point to a credible source to support your position, even if it is just the textbook. You are expected to spend at least 5 hours studying the questions, finding and studying good sources, and understanding the nature of the answers and at least an additional 5 hours answering these questions and polishing your writing so the answers are compelling. Invest your time wisely, giving more time to the complex answers in order to ensure that you demonstrate that you truly understand the answer.
Exercise
Develop a 750 word analysis responding to the following questions:
Referring to the FT (Financial Times) article "It's Too Early For E-Business To Drop Its "E", do you think that it is sensible to still speak today of e-business strategies or to drop the "e" from the term "e-business"? Defend your argument.
Exercise
Develop a 1,250 word analysis responding to the following questions:
Do some web research on Microsoft's history and associated strategy development. Using the frameworks in Exhibit 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3, identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft's strategy as it has evolved over the past decades. Where have they excelled strategically? Where have they faltered in relation to other competitors? What might be some reasons why they may have gotten a late start in certain markets?
Part 2
Start by reading and following these instructions:
1. Quickly skim the questions or assignment below and the assignment rubric to help you focus.
2. Read the required chapter(s) of the textbook and any additional recommended resources. Some answers may require you to do additional research on the Internet or in other reference sources. Choose your sources carefully.
3. Consider the discussion and the any insights you gained from it.
4. Create your Assignment submission and be sure to cite your sources, use APA style as required, check your spelling.
5. Do not just answer the questions. This is a graduate course and you should be able to explain the logic behind your answer and point to a credible source to support your position, even if it is just the textbook. You are expected to spend at least 5 hours studying the questions, finding and studying good sources, and understanding the nature of the answers and at least an additional 5 hours answering these questions and polishing your writing so the answers are compelling. Invest your time wisely, giving more time to the complex answers in order to ensure that you demonstrate that you truly understand the answer.
Benchmark Assignment
This is a benchmark assignment for the School of Information Technology MISM, MSIS - Web Development, MSIS - Applications Development, MSIT, and MST&I Master's Program students. Store your submission with any grading feedback in your Professional's Portfolio and use the following tag:
MISM Tag: MISM-UMG5
MSIS-AD Tag: MSIS-AD-UMG5
MSIS-WD Tag: MSIS-WD-UMG5
MSIT Tag: MSIT-UMG5, MSIT-PG1
MST&I Tag: MST&I-PG1
Task
For each of the following points/questions, write an essay. Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each bullet point. Support your ideas with at least three citations in your essay. Combine the two sections into one paper. Make sure to reference the citations using the APA writing style for the essay. The cover page and reference page do not count towards the minimum word amount. Review the rubric criteria for this assignment.
Web Case Analysis
Write a minimum of 1,250 words on the following question(s).
Option 1: Select a company with a significant e-commerce strategy. (Alternatively, if you have entrepreneurial aspirations, use your own entrepreneurial business model as the context for analysis). This company could either be your own home work organization or it could be another organization of your choice or choose the entrepreneurial context as noted above. Using the Porter five forces model, describe some of the current dynamics in the firm's industry which are creating either strategic opportunities or strategic threats to existing business models. Pay particular attention to the dynamics of of the industry, i.e., how is the industry changing in terms of the five forces. Use web research to provide specific examples and support your argumentation. Your essay should give greater emphasis to those factors that are most relevant strategically.
Option 2: Using Case #4 (American Well), conduct the same 5 Forces Model analysis as described in Option 1 using information available in the case. Do not extend the case to the present date, but rather use the time frame discussed in the case.
Strategy Analysis
Write a minimum of 750 words on the following questions:
This is an exercise in thinking about the concept of strategic partnerships. If you were advising the US Postal Service on seeking out strategic partners to help them augment their e-commerce strategies and overall value proposition, which strategic partners would you choose and why? What role would the strategic partner play in the overall value proposition of the Postal Service. What value would you hope to be generated from this collaboration? (See the sources of value creation in e-business model in Exhibit 4.3 and the value chain model on Exhibit 4.6). How might the Postal Service effectively negotiate to convince such strategic partners to ally with them in an overall competitive initiative? How might a "win-win" be created for both companies. Also view the TED Video on Open Source Economics to incorporate the notion of Open Source Innovation as a form of strategic partnership.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.