Information Systems in Organisations

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:
 Understand information needs within different functional areas of
organisations
 Compare information systems
 Use information systems to produce management information
Assignment Task
Read the following scenario and base your answers on the individual tasks by
completing all parts of: Task 1, Task 2 & Task 3 with reference to the particular
business of the organisation described.
Scenario – Information systems in the Barclays Bank Organisation
Your role – A consultant in information systems in organisations
Consider yourself in the role of a consultant in the area of information systems with a
particular expertise in banking organisations as part of the OIS information systems
consultancy firm. The consultancy focuses on large banking companies, and their
information system needs, with a view to providing expert advice on how
organisations may be better supported into the future by adapting to emerging
information systems trends.
Your particular expertise focuses on how information systems support:
1) the main levels in the management hierarchy of organisations, and
2) the main business functions of organisations.
You specialise in how information systems support operations, middle, and senior
management level decision making using information that is relevant at each of
these levels in the organisation. OSI also advises chief information officers (CIOs) of
business organisations with respect to future information systems in organisations
developments, e.g. e-commerce, Big Data, ‘Cloud’ computing, and Business
Intelligence.
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Some background organisation information – Barclays Bank:
“Barclays PLC (Barclays) is a global financial services holding company. The
Company operates in five business segments: Personal and Corporate Banking
(PCB), Barclaycard, Africa Banking, Investment Bank and Head Office. Barclays
Bank PLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays. The Personal and Corporate
Banking (PCB) comprises personal banking, mortgages, wealth & investment
management, and corporate banking. Barclaycard is an international payments
services provider. The Africa Banking business is managed under three primary
businesses. Its businesses include retail and business banking (RBB); wealth,
investment management and insurance (WIMI); corporate and investment banking
(CIB), as well as an Africa Head Office function. The Investment Bank consists of
origination-led and returns-focused markets. Head Office comprises head office and
central support functions. It also includes the businesses in transition and
consolidation adjustments.”
[Sources: http://www.reuters.com/; http://www.barclays.com/]
The consultancy:
You are about to start work on a Barclays contract to consultant as part of OIS to
help the company better understand its current information systems, and future
needs, in this large organisation.
Task 1:
This task concerns understanding the information needs of different functional
areas of the Barclays organisation (Word count: 1500 words).
a) With reference to the generic business functions of organisations, describe
and evaluate each of the Barclays business functions with respect to their
different information needs (1.1).
Task 2:
This task concerns comparing the different information systems that are
suitable for the different functional areas of the Barclays organisation (Word
count: 1500 words).
a) With reference to the generic types of information system, describe the
different types of information system that may be used in organisations (2.1).
b) Investigate then describe current trends in information systems to solve
problems in business organisations (2.2).
c) Identify and evaluate the suitability of the different types of information
system you have described and investigated, in the earlier parts of this task,
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for application in the different functional areas of the Barclays organisation
(2.3).
Task 3:
This task concerns producing management information in the Barclays
organisation and alternative methods of problem solving. (Word count: 1000
words).
a) Generate two valid, accurate and useful pieces of realistic management
information, using MS Excel, to display financial performance in a part of
the Barclays organisation (e.g. branch-based personal retail banking) over the
last 12 months, which will be useful and relevant to:
1. operations management, and
2. middle management
to assist them in their respective decision making processes in their
respective parts of the company, and briefly explain why each piece of
information is appropriate for middle and senior management respectively
(3.1).
b) Describe and evaluate the alternative methods available for solving
performance problems that could be used at Barclays (3.2).
Formative Feedback Opportunity
In order to assist with your learning and to give you some early, formative feedback
you are encouraged to submit a PLAN / OUTLINE of your report (i.e. not full answers
– just a couple of sentences explaining what you intend to include in your answer for
each section) to your tutor. If you do decide to complete the PLAN / OUTLINE then,
in order to receive feedback, the document must be emailed to the tutor by 7th July
2016.
The tutor’s email address can be found on the module front page on iLearn and you
will receive feedback within seven days.
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Student Guidelines
1. You should write the answers to the tasks in the form of a report, including a title
page, contents page, and sections headings based on the tasks and sub-tasks.
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 Bournemouth University (BU) Harvard system. The ‘My Study Skills’ area
contains the following useful resources; Study Skills Guide (containing a BU Harvard
Referencing section) and a BU Harvard Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must
use the BU Harvard Referencing method in your assignment.
4. You should use diagrams and tables of figures where appropriate ensuring to
reference their source using the BU Harvard Referencing method.
5. You are required to write your assignment within 4000 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.
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.
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Recommended Additional Resources
Textbooks (Search terms: including “information systems”)
EBSCO Business Source Complete – Online ‘library’ resource available via
ilearn
HND Computing – BTEC HN Computing & Systems Development Study Guide
Avison D, Fitzgerald G –Information Systems Development: Methodologies,
Techniques and Tools (McGraw Hill, 2006) ISBN-10: 0077114175
Benyon-Davies P – Business Information Systems (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
ISBN-10: 023020368X
Giarratano J, Riley G – Expert Systems: Principles and Programming (Course
Technology, 2004) ISBN-10: 0534384471
Laudon J, Laudon K – Essentials of Management Information Systems
(Pearson, 2008) ISBN-10: 0135013534
Pijpers G – Information Overload: A System for Better Managing Every Day
Data (Microsoft Executive Leadership Series) (Wiley, 2010) ISBN-10:
0470625740
Turban E et al – Decision Support and Business Intelligence Systems
(Pearson, 2008) ISBN-10:0131580175
Websites (Search terms: including “information systems in organisations”)
www.bsa.org various business software alliance resources
scholar.google.com various general texts and other resources
www.ukais.org.uk various specialist resources are available here
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Assessment Criteria for Pass
To achieve a Pass you must meet all of the assessment criteria as
stated below. Failure to cover all of the assessment criteria will
result in a referral grade and you will be required to re-submit your
assignment.
Further guidance on completion of your assignment can be found in
the guidance notes which are posted on the group learning space
by your module tutor. For additional support please post questions
onto the group learning space, or email rmanderson@arden.ac.uk
Learning
Outcomes/
Assessment
Criteria
Criteria Met
For tutor use
(you may wish to
use this in your
preparation for
your assignment
submission)
LO1 Understand information needs within different functional
areas of organisations
1.1 evaluate the information needs of the different
functional areas of an organisation
Task 1
LO2 Be able to compare information systems
2.1 describe different types of information systems
2.2 investigate the current trends in using information
systems applications to solve business problems
2.3 evaluate the suitability of information systems for
different functional areas of an organisation
Task 2
LO3 Be able to use information systems to produce
management information
3.1 use an information system to generate valid, accurate
and useful information for a given problem
3.2 evaluate alternative methods of solving the problem
Task 3
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Assessment Criteria for Merit
To achieve a Merit all of the Pass criteria need to be met, then the
tutor will assess whether you have met the Merit Criteria. Each of
the Merit criteria must have been met at least once within the
assignment.
The following statements are examples of how a merit may be
achieved, if you do meet the Merit Criteria by showing you have
reached this level in other ways then credit will be awarded for this.
You will need to meet M1, M2 and M3 at least once.
M1 Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions
 A range of credible sources of information have been used
to identify appropriate information systems in organisations
solutions
 Effective judgements have been made when selecting
appropriate operations and management information
systems
M1
M2 Select, design and apply appropriate methods/techniques
 Material presented is clearly and directly related to the
information systems in organisations scenario
M2
M3 Present and Communicate Findings
 Material is presented in a logical and accurate manner
matching the stated requirements for each information
systems in organisations task
 Appropriate levels of material are presented, taking into
account the target audience – senior management
 Some use of referencing in the domain of information
systems in organisations is made
M3
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Assessment Criteria for Distinction
To achieve a Distinction you have met all of the Pass and the Merit
criteria. Each of the Distinction criteria must be met at least once
within the assignment.
The following statements are examples of how a Distinction may be
achieved, if you do meet the Distinction Criteria by showing you
have reached this level in other ways then credit will be awarded
for this. You will need to meet D1, D2 and D3 at least once.
D1 Use critical reflection to evaluate your own work & justify
valid conclusions
 Information systems in organisations proposals offer clearly
justified matches to the requirements, with alternatives
being discussed. These must be real and different
alternatives, not just another variation on the same
information systems in organisations solutions
 The work demonstrates a clear understanding of the
overall information systems in organisations requirements
of the client as well as the individual system requirements
D1
D2 Take responsibility for managing and organising activities
 Independent information systems in organisations
research, outside that provided in class, has been utilised
to prepare the work
 Assignment is completed fully to deadline
D2
D3 Demonstrate convergent, lateral & creative thinking.
 Solutions presented show an innovative approach to
information systems in organisations based on the latest
available technologies
 A clear understanding of the current trends in information
systems in organisations is demonstrated by the
specification of systems that will handle future
requirements appropriately
D3