Information Systems in Organisations

Course Work Support

Writing your course work

You required to answer one of the questions below. Ensure that you illustrate your essay with academic literature and case studies to support your arguments.

1. Discuss how industry 4.0 technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence are transforming Enterprise systems and what are the challenges faced by the management of when using industry 4.0 technologies in Enterprise systems.

3000 words essay, Deadline 19/01/2022 via Turnitin

Writing your course work

Plan

Plan your reading

Reading is time consuming and it is a pre-requisite to achieve a good marker. A marker can easily identify course work that have not been properly written.

Leave aside plenty of time to do a sufficient amount of reading. Doing an appropriate amount of reading will also expose you to good academic writing and thus better enable you to develop your own writing style further.

You should consult relevant Academic Journal and Books focused on Information Systems in Organisation

Avoid bogus websites aimed at helping students with essays.

It is fine to visit Wikipedia to have a background reading but for academic purposes do not cite WIKIPEDIA.

Writing your course work

Plan

Good reading habits

To effectively answer your selected assignment topic, it is important you:

Use key lecture note, books and journal articles and identify the issues that strike you as relevant to the particular topic

(NOTE: not all the points in the reading materials will be relevant necessarily

Ensure that your reading and note-taking cover each issue in sufficient depth. This will involve you going beyond the essential reading and doing your own research through more in-depth reading.

It is also recommended that a normal, very good essay contains reference to no fewer than 20 primary sources and at least 15 journal articles

When reading and note-taking, it’s a very good idea to read three or four pages at a time, then make notes on the relevant points, rather than just alternately read and make notes every few seconds.

Writing your course work

Plan

Good reading habits

Ensure that your note-taking also records appropriate evidence for each point (e.g. definitions, statistics, impacts, key issues, re- occurring themes )

Make note of the page numbers and highlight key areas that are relevant to your course work topic so that you can easily return to them when writing your arguments.

Make a list of areas you would be writing about and do a check list to ensure you have all the relevant materials to cover the point in each of the check list.

Writing your course work

Plan

Answering the topic

Focus on answering the topic you have been provided and NOT the topic you want to be provided to you.

When planning and writing an essay, always remember to ask yourself - ‘Is this relevant to the topic I have been asked to write about?

Remember that you are working to a strict word count and irrelevant material will be costing you precious marks.

Writing your course work

Plan

Structuring an essay

Develop a plan on how you would structure your essay. There is NO definite way on how to structure your essay.

Although every essay you write should have the following sections: Introduction, Literature Review, and Conclusion.

Introduction

Think and write in the context of these questions: Why is the topic important, relevant, and timely? What is the goal of the coursework?

“Organisations today are shifting from on-premise to cloud computing due to flexibility and costing. Cloud based systems refers to applications, services or resources made available to users on demand via the Internet from a cloud computing provider's server. However, very little is known about the process of successfully moving to a cloud-based solution (Louise, 2018). There is call for more studies to understand the factors that influence the successful transitions from an on-premise to a cloud-based system (Joe, 2019). The aim of this essay to understand under what conditions can organisations successfully migrate from an on-premise to a cloud computing service.

Always remember to sign post in your essay. ”The following section will provide a review of the literature; it will focus on introducing the notion of on-premise applications, clouding based application and the factors that influence the successful transition from on-premise to cloud based. The critical analyses will be supported with the use of examples. The final section concludes the essay”.

Writing your course work

Plan

Answering the topic

Literature Review.

What are the major key points you are making to prove your argument?

In this section you will outline these points, provide evidence for them, and add your own analysis for how these points relate to the topic you are you are being asked.

Theme 1 (On-premise computing vs Cloud Based Computing) Point 1

Paragraph 1 Paragraph 1 Paragraph 1 …. …. …..

Writing your course work

Writing your course work

Plan

Conclusion

Summarise your key points and do NOT include any new information. This section is partly a re-iteration of your introduction. Be critical when summarising your arguments. Also, what is the take home? What can the readers learn from your essay

Be Flexible

You might notice your structure does not make sense or its logical. This is normal, hence be aware you might make some changes during the writing process.

Writing your course work

During

Themes (Section)

Themes are used to structure your work. e.g. Factors for successful migration to cloud computing

Within this themes, you have paragraphs to provide your critical analysis and discussion of this section. Each paragraph should serve a function towards the overall purpose of your essay and will not necessarily follow that standard format below.

Factors for successful migration to cloud computing This section will highlight the key factors the affect the successful transition from an on-premise to a cloud computing systems.

Top Management Support (sub-theme) Paragraph 1 tells the reader what the paragraph will be about.

Top management support has been identified as crucial for the implementation of cloud computing service. First, the most difficult and challenging cloud-based system implementation relates to the major changes to be made in organisational routines and business processes (Davenport, 1998). These changes could meet resistance from various interest groups within the organisation unless there is absolute commitment from the top management team (Grover et al., 1995). For example, Apple were successful in implementing a cloud-based solution due to the support of top management in ensuring all users were involved in the process in order to ensure users were carried along……………..

Second, cloud-based implementation involves a programme of wide-ranging organisational change initiatives, not a software installation effort (Hong & Kim, 2002). Top management is responsible for resolving misalignments between organisational needs and the cloud-based system functionality.

Writing your course work

During

Simple and ‘loose’ structure: Using too many simple sentences to express your ideas means you are not using transitions to link these ideas, and you will likely lose marks for the coherency of your arguments. You must therefore strike a balance in your use of sentence structures

Using ‘and’ too often can also obscure the meaning of your writing. In addition, you shouldn’t make your sentences too long, but rather break them up into shorter ones.

Conclusion

This should be a summary of your work. It should also provide an implication to practitioners.

This study provides an overview …………………. It has also discussed they key factors that contributes to the successful transition to cloud-based system. Particularly, it identifies 4 key factors namely top management support, use of consultants, security, and user- training. In summary, essay shows that to ensure success, adopters of cloud-based systems must devote sufficient attention to these key factors during planning, deployment, and management of cloud-based systems”.

Writing your course work

During

Writing Style - Common Errors Avoiding passive writing - Your writing should avoid lapsing into vague language as much as possible. Avoid overusing phrases such as:

• Somewhat... • Perhaps... • Puts forward the notion that... • Might be taken as... • To some extent... • To a large extent... • It is possible that...

You should also avoid making sweeping statements that you cannot back up with evidence. For example, do NOT write statements such as “Top management support will automatically lead to a successful implementation of cloud-based solution” unless you plan on providing evidence to support your assertion.

Writing your course work

During

Empty words before adjectives - Avoid adding words such as ‘extremely’, ‘very’, ‘really’ etc. in front of your adjectives. They do not add anything and do not read well. For example, something does not need to be ‘very challenging’. If it is ‘challenging’ then you have already conveyed the dire nature of the situation!

Word Count A common concern is that essay word-counts are restrictive. Try to ensure you are always within the word count. Your references are not included in the word count.

Referencing

Referencing correctly is a must at university level and is something you should aim to master as early as possible in your academic career. When you are taking information from a source, be sure to cite it.

Proof-read

Ensure you proofread your work to check grammatical and sentence errors.

Marking rubric

Class of Masters Fail Pass Merit Distinction Outstanding

% Grade 20-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80+

Clear Interpretation and Scope (15%)

Not addressed the topic set. Many major omissions. Much irrelevant materials

A reasonable attempt at addressing the topic set.

A good attempt at addressing the topic set. A clear focus and scope. Only minor omissions. No irrelevant material

Has correctly address the topic set. A refined focus and well defined scope. Almost no omissions and only very slight misunderstandings.

Has entirely addressed the topic set. A highly refined focus and precise scope. No omissions or misunderstandings.

Critical engagement Analysis and Synthesis (40%)

Sources only occasionally integrated into argument; Poor understanding of question

Sources mostly well-integrated into the overall argument Mostly clear, cogent and well- structured argument

Demonstrates a well-informed understanding of the question by integrating sources effectively into the overall argument.

Clear argument that is well crafted and cogent and which provides a critical & reflexive insight into issues information systems in organisation.

Excellent argument that is of the highest academic quality which demonstrates creativity, perception and insight.

Use and discussion of relevant examples for evaluation and synthesis (25%)

Insufficient depth & breadth of illustrative examples

Satisfactory range of examples used which support the arguments made

Good use of strong examples from research, case study and personal experience

Excellent use of strong examples from research, case study and personal experience

Critical evaluation and excellent use of examples to evaluate both organisational & personal practice

Structure and Style (10%)

No logical structure and poorly argued

Reasonable structure and writing style

Clear, cogent and well- structured argument

Excellent structure with clear development of argument facilitated by good writing style

Excellent structure with near faultless prose which contributes to a superior piece of work

Referencing and Use of English (10%)

References limited and inappropriate

Most sources are acknowledged and referenced. Good grammar & spelling with some errors

Referencing clear and accurate using appropriate APA protocols. Near perfect grammar and spelling

All sources are appropriately acknowledged and referenced .Virtually no errors in grammar or spelling.

Impeccable Referencing using appropriate conventions. No errors in grammar or spelling.

Reference

GCU (2016) How to Plan and Write Good Coursework 2016-2017, Glasgow Caledonian University.