SWOT Analysis of a current ICT service
Length: 2000, in-text Referencing is consistently accurate and according to the APA standard. All references are cited in the text. Demonstrates breadth and depth of understanding and has insights and awareness of deeper more subtle aspects of the topic content. Evidence of having researched/read more widely beyond the core materials. Highly developed skills in expression and presentation of response. Fluent writing style appropriate to assessment task. Grammar and spelling accurate. Well-organized. Times Roman size 12 (title page and references are not counted in the 2-3 pages) that describes the business case.”
Task A (10 marks):
You are required in your new role as an Enterprise Architect (EA) to do a SWOT Analysis of a current ICT service in an organization. The default organization is Microsoft / Oracle, but you can substitute another known entity such as your current workplace.
SWOT is an acronym for questioning the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat and helps with the analysis needed to identify the internal (S, W) and external (O, T) positives and negatives as indicated in Fig.1. Such a process can be informative and help the Enterprise Architect (you) to identify the issues and problems, set goals develop an action plan and help strategic IT Infrastructure planning and decision-making.
Figure 1. SWOT analysis diagram
1. Get a copy of the 31-page SWOT Analysis Strategy Skills eBook from
http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/dldebk-pdf/fme-swot-analysis.pdf and note the conditions of use. Use the eBook to guide and develop your 1-2 page report summary for this task.
2. Choose a current IT service in your organization that may need updating or changing.
3. Use the following SWOT table format to develop questions that will reveal any issues or problems.
4. Identify up to a maximum of 5 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
5. It is suggested that you use bulleted items in a list in SWOT boxes of the template.
SWOT Template
Organisation:
Description of current/new ICT service:
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Summary and Recommendations:
[Summarise your SWOT results to review goals and objectives]
Short Term (Now)
What action would you take now? [For example comparison with competitors; alignment with the business model or strategic plan goals and objectives].
Mid Term (next 12 months)
How can you take advantage of strengths and use them to develop new opportunities such as new service delivery relationships with ICT vendors and products?
Long Term (next 3 to 5 years)
How would you map out an action plan for the longer term?
Task B (17 Marks): 1300 words
For this assignment, you need to plan, research, and, use your initiative to express the knowledge you learnt in this subject as well as your own independent thinking and reasoning.
Possible topics
Your attention in this paper can be focused on any of the following topics covered in our text:
• Information Management / IT Architecture.
• Database, Data, Warehouse, and Data Mining.
• Networks, Collaboration, and Sustainability.
• CyberSecurity, Compliance, and Business Continuity.
• E-Business & E-Commerce Models and Strategies.
• Mobile Technologies and Commerce.
• Social Media.
• Enterprise Systems and Applications.
• Performance Management Using Data Visualization, Mashups, and Mobile Intelligence.
Approach
Choose a topic which you are interested in and/or which is related to your work. You should do this as early as possible. Once you have chosen a topic, read our text carefully followed by detailed research. Once this is done, you should set up a structure/a series of subtopics and decide what to write under each section (subtopic).
Here is a suggested structure (you don’t have to follow it, but your own structure must be logical):
Abstract: a condensed summary. If someone reads your abstract only, he/she should understand your main points. You may want to write this section last;
Index terms: list the key words used in your paper;
Introduction: introduce the topic you are going to write about. This section must be related to the topics you learnt during the Session. However, you should branch out by carrying out your own research to enhance this section;
Subtopics and supporting argument: write a series of body paragraphs with sub-points;
Conclusion: Many students get confused between the conclusion and the abstract. In the conclusion, you can reflect on how your topic relates to larger issues; evaluate the concepts you have presented; issue a call for action on the part of your audience; ask questions generated by your findings; make predictions, recommend a solution or give a personal statement about the topic.
With your structure in order, you have a skeleton for your paper: you can now begin by writing out your analyses of the passages you have chosen. As you write and revise, you may have the need to add to your analyses or to re-order your chosen arguments. Using a structure as the skeleton for a paper in this way can carry you more than halfway to a completed draft.
Types of papers
Academic papers can be broadly categorized into 2 types:
1. Argumentative Papers;
2. Analytical Papers.
For details, please see http://www.writeawriting.com/academic-writing/how-to-write-academic-paper/
Format and mechanics
You must strictly follow the format provided in the following link, such as space, font, margin etc…
http://www.academicinternational.org/teaching/format.doc
Please write in standard written English and maintain a tone and a register appropriate to the academic essay. Examples can be found through the following links. (some of the papers listed below were written by our CSU undergraduate students.):
http://www.icita.org/previous/icita2002/
http://www.icita.org/previous/icita2004/
http://www.icita.org/previous/icita2007/
http://www.icita.org/previous/icita2008/