Assignment: IT Issues and Management
CASE STUDY 300 MEMO REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIPTION
One of the most important parts of this course is the ability to write in an effective manner that can clearly express an IT issue in business terms to key decision makers. For that reason, you are asked to write a Case 300 Memo (or simply an email) addressed to key decision makers in the case studies read through this course.
For this task, you are asked to play the role of an IT expert that is employed in the company discussed in each case. Your job is to identify the issue, relate it to a decision maker in business terms, offer some key background information and finally offer a solution to a key decision maker in the case. This requires you to analyze the situation in the case and provide appropriate and accurate information in a clear and concise way. The information needed to write your memo is included in the case; be sure to pull evidence from the case when writing your memos.
EXPECTED QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED
For each case study, your Case 300 Memo MUST be able to answer the following questions.
1. What is the key decision/issue presented in the case?
2. What is the main business impact related to that decision/issue?
3. Listing some attributes of the information technology and/or the key pieces of knowledge required to make a decision surrounding the issue presented in the case?
4. What are two things that can be done to help remedy the issue or aid the decision maker in the case?
THE "300" MEMO / CASE SUMMARY
For each case study, prepare a memo addressed to a key decision maker identified in the case. The memo is intended to summarize the 4 questions above formatted for a decision maker to read and react to. Each memo MUST also...
1. be in a proper MEMO format (see below)
2. be less than 300 words (body only)
3. include the author's name (you) at the bottom of the page
4. include the body word count underneath the author's name
THE "300" MEMO OUTLINE
To: [Address the memo to a specific decision maker within the case]
[body contents - must not exceed 300 words]
- PARA 1: Summarize the organization's issue in the case (Q1) and identifying the business impact in terms a non IT person can understand (Q2).
- PARA 2 (maybe also PARA 3): Analyze the attributes of the information technology relating to the main issue informing the decision maker (Q3).
- PARA 3 (maybe PARA 4): Present two independent (but complementary) recommendations that directly address the problems/opportunities identified within your assessment above (Q4).
Author: [YOUR NAME]
Word Count: [State your word count used in the ‘Business Impact Summary'... not to exceed 300 words]
GUIDELINES
1. In each case study you should be able to conduct the following analysis
a. Identify the key issue that needs to be solved or the decision that needs to be made.
b. Identify the impact to the business if a decision is not made regarding the problem
c. Determine what key piece of technology is focus of the failure and/or problem and be sure to provide whatever information is necessary to solve the issue or move forward to make a decision.
d. Assess what type of solution(s) can be applied to resolve the issue and identify the benefits and drawbacks of each solution.
2. Follow the outline presented in the template... exactly. Limit the body to 300 words
3. Spend most of your time evaluating the events and business impacts in each case study and summarizing the succinctly in your memo. Recommendations are the easy part, but ensuring they relate to the business impact and resolve the issues is the difficult part.
4. Concentrate on the business impact of problems. While IT projects may have a lot of problems, the most pressing ones are always the problems that prevent the business from functioning effectively wasting time and resources. These may be based on the way the project is defined, planned, implemented, or controlled, but you will need to understand and articulate what the impact of these problems are for the business.
5. Watch for the "elephant(s) in the room". While cases depict several problems, you need to identify the major problem(s) that could cause the business serious damage if not addressed.
6. Make recommendations actionable. "Actionable" recommendations are those that make it clear what exactly should be done "on Monday morning". Often coupling a "procedural" recommendation with a "people" recommendation (such as altering the business process or employee incentives) are the most effective recommendations.
7. When you write, be concise and clear about your business impacts. Most business executives need to understand the financial risks to the company if the issue/decision is not attended. Some considerations could include customer sales, profits, exceeding cost due to lawsuits, loss of market share, etc.
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.
Attachment:- Care-Group-Case.rar