CIS8100 Assignment 2
E-commerce Business Model Report & Prototype Website
Description Marks out of Wtg(%) Word limit Due date
Assignment 2 100 30 3000 ( 10%) 1 April 2016
This assignment must be your own work. It is acceptable to discuss course content with others to improve your understanding and clarify requirements, but solutions to assignment specification must be done on your own. You must not copy from anyone, including tutors and fellow students, nor allow others to copy your work. All Assignments will be checked using collusion monitoring tools to ensure that each assignment is the original work of the submitting student. Assignments that do not adhere to this requirement will be deemed as being the result of collusion or plagiarism. This may lead to severe academic penalties as outlined in USQ Policy Library: Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. It is your own responsibility to ensure the integrity of your work. Refer to the USQ Policy Library for more details:
• Academic Integrity Policy
• Academic Integrity Procedure
Learning objectives and graduate skills tested
1. demonstrate an understanding of the key drivers and challenges faced by digital enterprises that include technology infrastructure, business processes, social media, consumer behaviour and global markets (Problem solving)
2. demonstrate the ability to research and critically evaluate e-commerce business models to gain an understanding of their business application for transforming digital enterprises (Academic, professional and digital literacy)
3. demonstrate the practical skills required to formulate and evaluate a coherent plan for a digital enterprise, develop a prototype business website based on this plan and document and critically evaluate the end-product (Problem solving).
4. demonstrate the ability to write effectively in a clear and concise manner in report style for senior management (Written and oral communication)
In completing this assignment, you are expected to use available resources such as the Joomla workshop resources and lecture slides in the study modules, the Course Study Desk – especially the Discussion Forums (click the Study Desk link on UConnect
– http://uconnect.usq.edu.au ), as well as exploring and experimenting on your own.
Referencing Requirements
References are required and the Harvard AGPS standard of referencing must be used. This standard is detailed on USQ Library Site http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing . Plagiarism, collusion and cheating will be severely penalised. Refer to the USQ Policy Library for more details:
• Academic Integrity Policy
• Academic Integrity Procedure
Ensure that your reports are fully referenced, including any reference to the text book. Your report should include in-text references and a List of References.
Do not repeat verbatim large slabs of information from other sources such as the text – you must put the ideas/information in your own words.
You must use at least ten (10) academically sound sources other than the textbook in completing this report.
Assignment 2 Specification
Assignment 2 requires you to plan and develop an e-commerce business model report including building a prototype website using Joomla! based on the online business category assigned to you. Your online business category will be emailed to you during the first week.
You will be required to develop your prototype website using the Joomla! content management system in cloudaccess.net. Details about setting up your website at
CloudAccess.net is provided in Joomla Workshop 1 (Joomla Workshop 1 PDF is available on your Study Desk under Module 1 in Week 1).
Your business model and prototype website must be related to the online business category assigned to you. Failure to do so will result in your assignments being rejected and no marks will be allocated.
Report: E-commerce Business Model 70 marks
Report Structure and Presentation 5
Your report should include a title page, Table of Contents (including List of Tables and List of Figures if applicable) and Appendices.
Note: Make sure to state your name and student number in the report on the title page. State the word count of the report (Introduction to Conclusions & Recommendations)
Report Letter of Transmittal, Executive Summary and Introduction
(Introduction – approx. 300 words) 5
Your report should include a letter of transmittal, executive summary, and introduction to the report.
Note: Make sure to nominate a name for your prototype website and provide a brief rationale why you used this name in the Introduction to the report.
Report Section 1 – Industry Structural Analysis (approx. 600 words) 10
An industry structural analysis can help to identify the impact that your online business can make on the overall business environment, primarily in terms of profitability within the relevant industry.
Conduct an industry structural analysis relevant to your proposed online business and assigned business category.
When you conduct an industry structural analysis, you have to discuss the nature of competition in the relevant industry of your online business, including the nature of substitute products or services, the barriers to entry, and the relative powers of consumers and suppliers in the supply chain.
Some of the frameworks you may use for the analysis and discussion are:
• Porter’s Five Competitive Forces - https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forcesshape-strategy and https://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shapestrategy/
• PESTLE/ PEST Analysis - http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/pestleanalysis.aspx and https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/winning-newbusiness/understanding-the-buyer/researching-government-buyers/pest-analysis
• SWOT Analysis - http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/tips_to_grow_your_start_up_using_eQEF8P m8l2Q9hME9TBXvVL
Report Section 2 – E-commerce Business Model (approx. 1200 words) 20
Simply put, a business model is a plan for making money. The textbook explains eight components of a business model. Discuss the following four components of the e-commerce business model for your online business:
• Value Proposition – how does your online business fulfil customer needs?
• Revenue Model – how does your online business earn revenue and have a positive return on investment?
• Market Opportunity – what is the marketspace and its size that your online business intends to operate in?
• Competitive Environment – what other companies are operating in the same marketspace offering similar products and services?
Report Section 3 – Online Consumer Behaviour (approx. 600 words) 10
Research has shown that many consumers use the Internet to investigate prices rather than actual buying, which is often done in a physical store. Do you want to entice more online buying rather than just researching on your website? What implications does this have for your online business?
Report: Conclusions and Recommendations to the Business (approx. 300 words) 5
Your report should include a separate conclusions and recommendations section.
• Conclusions provide a summary of your key findings from the body of the report.
• Recommendations provide a summary of the recommendations to your online business based on the research conducted in the report.
Report: Referencing and Appropriateness of Sources 5
References are required and the Harvard AGPS standard of referencing must be used. This standard is detailed on USQ Library Site http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing .
Ensure that your reports are fully referenced, including any reference to the text book. Your report should include in-text references and a List of References.
Do not repeat verbatim large slabs of information from other sources such as the text – you must put the ideas/information in your own words.
You must use at least ten (10) academically sound sources other than the textbook in completing this report.
Note: the word count does not include letter of transmittal, executive summary, references or appendices.
Report: Appendix 1 Journal 10
Prepare a journal that records your activities and research related to completing this assignment. In date order, clearly list the following:
• Date of research & project activity
• Full description of activity / discussion
• Time duration of the activity
• Web sites visited to collect information; other references accessed (using Harvard AGPS Referencing style – submitted separate to the List of References in the report).
Submit this journal as Appendix 1 in the Report. Any references to web pages and online documents, such as white papers, should be listed at the end of the Journal.
Checklist: Prototype Joomla! Website 30 marks
Ensure you setup your Joomla! website and complete the activities as listed in the checklist document. Your Joomla! Website URL should be accessible for the marker to assess the activities undertaken as per the checklist document.
1. Valid setup of Joomla! Website (5)
2. Template and layout is accessible and user friendly (10)
3. Content – key articles: Home, About, Contact (10)
4. Menu & Links (5)
Submission Guidelines
Attach the two documents (Report & Checklist document) in Microsoft Word or PDF file format using the naming convention below, to your online assignment submission in the Assignment 2 area on the CIS8100 StudyDesk before midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on the day the assignment is due.
[lastname].[initial] _ [student number] _ [course code] _ assign2.docx or .pdf (eg. shrestha.a_0050051005_cis8100_assign2.docx).
Upon completion of the submission process, check your UMail email account for an automatically generated confirmation email (if you do not have an email account, print out the Submission Complete screen before exiting the Submission System). You must check that the file name and file size are listed correctly - if there is a problem with either, please email the course leader immediately.
If you have difficulties submitting through the StudyDesk Assignments submission tool, email the course leader immediately for instructions on an alternative course of action. Any submissions after the due date is considered Late Submission and will be dealt accordingly.
Please note that:
• The following is the USQ Assessment – Assignment (Late Submission) and Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances procedure that relate to Extensions and Late Assignments. They can be found under the following links:
? Assessment – Assignment (Late Submission) Procedure:
http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=14749PL#4.2_Assignments
? Assessment of Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances Procedures: http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=131150PL
• Students seeking extensions for any Assignment work must provide appropriate documentation to support their request before the due date of the assignment (see points 4.3 and 4.4 in the Assessment of Compassionate and Compelling Circumstances Procedures above to see what is considered as Compassionate and Compelling reason for an extension and the level of documentation that will be needed).
• An Assignment submitted after the due date without an approved extension of time will be penalised. The penalty for late submission is a reduction by five percent (5%) of the maximum Mark applicable for the Assignment, for each University Business Day or part Business Day that the Assignment is late. An Assignment submitted more than ten (10) University Business Days after the due date will have a Mark of zero recorded for that Assignment.
? The StudyDesk Assignments submission tool will accept late assignments up until 23:55pm on the 10th University Business Day after the due date.