ARDEN UNIVERSITY

Pearson BTEC Level 4

HNC/D Diploma in Computing and Systems Development

Business Skills for E-Commerce

Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the HNC/D programme you are required to submit an assignment for each module. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

After completing the module you should be able to:

LO1. understand the structure and aims of business organisations;

LO2. understand the impact of e-Commerce;

LO3. design e-Commerce solutions.

SCENARIO

You are part of an IT company specialising in the design and development of computerised business systems. Your consultancy has won a contract from a client. Over the years the client has been a very successful business but is now finding it hard to compete with Internet based stores which can offer a wider range of products at lower prices. The company management has decided that they wish to set up an e-commerce site to complement their current business. The client’s management makes extensive use of the Internet but they do not have technical backgrounds, so they are not in a position to understand the implications of this development for their business.

You have been provided with a description of the client company below.

Client Information

Handyman’s Hardware is a fictitious DIY wholesaler based in Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. It supplies household hardware for home improvement including: hand tools, power tools, keys & locks, as well as plumbing & electrical supplies, etc. to retailers. These goods are produced by many different manufacturers, and often Handyman’s Hardware will have different manufacturers’ versions of the same item. Details of the stock held by the wholesaler are kept in a stock book.

To purchase products, a retailer must first register with Handyman’s. The company currently takes orders by phone from registered retailers who can order many quantities of many items that Handyman’s have in their current catalogue. Handyman’s pays a local printing firm to create the catalogue but would rather create their own catalogue from the data held in their local database.

Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

They are eager to add further customers to their information system so that they can email their customers with any specials that are currently available as well as the entire catalogue which is currently produced every 6 months. This will act as a spur to encourage sales in the marketplace and keep the public up-to-date about the new ranges of items available for purchase.

Note: This business is fictitious but is representative of similar businesses throughout the world.

Please DO NOT try to contact any company directly about this assignment. They are much more interested in operating their company than they are about student assignments.

Assignment Task

Using the details given in the above scenario, you are required to address the following four individual assignment tasks so that you can prepare a final single report for the client. You will need to consider the possible effects of the proposed e-Commerce on the organisation and processes of the company.

You will also need to investigate the wider impact of the Internet on the client’s industry.

Task 1

Provide an assessment for the client of the potential impact on the organisation’s aims, structure, functions and stakeholders of implementing an e-Commerce system as proposed. The assessment should summarise the key aims of the organisation and describe the structure of the organisation and the organisation’s industry. The assessment should also consider what it would mean for the stakeholders and potential markets, how it would affect current distribution channels and how it would affect the aims, structure and the organisation of the organisation.

Project Work

In order to describe change you need a baseline to reference against. Relate your work to both the course materials and more importantly, any other appropriate reference material. For example, what type of organisation is it? What are the aims? Who are the stakeholders? Do not just quote back the limited material provided in the original scenario description. Check back to the course materials to see material relevant to these. Use this baseline to describe the changes that might occur due to the implementation of the proposed e-commerce system. You should use referenced material that you have found to support your description of the structure of the organisation’s industry and how it likely to change. Finally, discuss what would be the likely impact on the organisation which should be related back to previously researched material.

(This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 1.1 and 1.2)

Task 2

Provide an assessment for the client of the impact of introducing an e-Commerce function into their organisation. This assessment should explain the global impact of e-Commerce and explain the impact of the development of e-Commerce on both consumers and businesses.

Try to provide a referenced overview of the global impact of e-commerce, and then discuss the impact of the development of e-commerce on both businesses and consumers in general.

(This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3)

Task 3

1. a) Explain the role of objectives and market analysis (e.g. Market Research, Target markets, Market potential) in the development of e-Commerce;
2. b) Briefly evaluate the e-Commerce systems of existing competitor e-Commerce sites.
3. c) Briefly discuss the risks and financial implications of introducing the proposed e-commerce solution into the organisation.

Provide a statement for the owners of the organisation that explains the role of each of the following, for the proposal for an e-Commerce solution – Objectives, Market Research, Target Markets and Market Potential. You need to cover each of these topics.

Evaluate the e-Commerce systems used by the similar organisations in the industry (N.B. Focus on the e-commerce systems – not the website itself!)

Complementary Therapies

Discuss the financial implications of the proposed e-Commerce solution.

Remember to use references in this section – presented in the AU Harvard style.

(This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3,)

Task 4

1. a) Produce a high level design for the proposed e-Commerce solution which covers the following areas:

1) Technology requirements e.g. hardware, software, security, maintenance, back-end systems, supply sources, distribution channels.

2) Payment systems e.g. electronic cheque, Paypal, NoChex, credit or debit cards.

3) Security – e.g. prevention of hacking, viruses, identity theft, firewall, impact on site performance, Secure Socket Layer(SSL), secure HTTP (HHTPS), digital certificates, strong passwords, alternative authentication methods.

4) Legislation – e.g. Data Protection Act 1998, Computer Misuse Act 1990, Consumer Credit Act 1974, Trading Standards, Freedom of Information Act 2000, copyright legislation.

The emphasis in this task is on “high-level”, i.e. what are the major components of an e-Commerce solution. You do not need to provide a detailed specification of a suitable server etc., or that a PC is required to access the system – focus on what are the main logical components of an e-commerce system. You must also address each of the points listed, but they do not have to be long. Be aware of your overall word count. Try to be succinct.

1. b) Produce an evaluation of your proposed design.

Remember to include an evaluation of your design.

(This task allows you to demonstrate Learning Outcomes 3.4 and 3.5)

FORMATIVE FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITY

In order to assist with your learning and to give you some early, formative feedback you are encouraged to submit an outline plan of your assignment and a draft of your response to Task 1 of your assignment to your tutor. If you do decide to complete this DRAFT then, in order to receive feedback, the document must be emailed to the tutor by 12th April 2018. The tutor’s email address can be found on the module front page on iLearn and you will receive feedback within seven days.

Student Guidelines

1. You should write this assignment in report style, although a formal report structure will not be required. The report should contain your solutions to each of the four tasks specified above. You should write each task of this assignment as detailed above, in coherent and appropriate English.
2. You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is in the Induction Area). Please also refer to the ‘Guide to Unfair Practice in Assessment’ on the module page on iLearn.
3. You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the Arden University (AU) Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources:

Unit 23: Employability Skills

Guide to Harvard Referencing

http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Harvard_Quick_Ref_Guide.pdf

Guide to Harvard Citation

http://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Guide_to_Harvard_Citation.pdf

You must use the AU Harvard Referencing method in your assignment.

4. You should use diagrams and tables of figures where appropriate ensuring to reference their source using the AU Harvard Referencing method.
5. You are required to write your assignment within 4,000 words in order for your research and summarising skills to be developed, and for effective time management. You are required to ensure that the assignment addresses all of the assessment tasks. In the interests of good academic practice, an assignment submitted with excessive word counts (i.e. more than 10% in excess of the limit) will be returned to you. You will be given a maximum of 48 hours to edit the work to reduce the word count to the permitted maximum. In the event that the submission is still regarded as excessively long then, in line with advice received from Pearson, we will be unable to accept it for marking and you will receive a Refer grade for Non-Submission.

The word count excludes the title page, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count. Printed words include those contained within charts and tables.

Unit 27 – Managing Quality in Health and Social Care

6. Your assignment should be submitted as a single document. For more information please see the “Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page on iLearn.

Recommended Additional Resources

Textbooks

BTEC, 2011. Computing & Systems Development Study Guide Level 4HNC Level 5 HND. Pearson

EBSCO Business Source Complete – Online ‘library’ resource available via iLearn

Magazines, journals and newspapers

Academic publications from credible sources such as:

• The British Computer Society, http://www1.bcs.org.uk/
• The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), http://www.iee.org.uk
• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society,

http://www.computer.org

• The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), http://www.acm.org

Websites

Internet based sources and search engines.