School of Business Information Technology & Logistics DIGITAL STRATEGY (INTE 1030) Digital Strategy Research Essay (Assessment 1) Guideline

School of Business Information Technology & Logistics

 DIGITAL STRATEGY (INTE 1030)

Digital Strategy Research Essay (Assessment 1) Guideline

Worth: 40% of course mark

This is an individual assignment. The purpose of this assignment is to develop your capability to explain Digital Strategy theories, frameworks and concepts.

You will write a research essay based on review of relevant literature and case studies on one of the following topics:

1. Explain the role of digital strategy to navigate digital transformation and enhance a company’s performance.
2. Analyse the challenges that long-established companies face in digital transformation and explain how they can overcome those challenges.
3. Compare and contrast the three different types of digital strategies- digitized solution, customer engagement and platform modernization (operational excellence).
4. Discuss how companies develop digital capabilities for harnessing emerging innovation opportunities.
5. Or a topic of your choice with prior agreement with the course coordinator (this has to be negotiated and agreed on before or on week 3)

Your essay shall be structured, but not limited, as follows 

• Introduction: definitions and discussions of key concepts as well as a description of the essay structure.
• Provide a critical analysis of relevant literature: this should identify and explain relevant theories, arguments and perspectives regarding the topic of your choice. You can take a specific position on the topic and discuss the literature to support, refute or demonstrate your position.  Here you are free to create appropriate sub-section headings.
• Discussion of the main challenges, problems and issues businesses face in relation to the chosen topic (or your specific position).
• Conclusion: discussion of the overall coverage of the topic including emerging trends about the future.
• References

Process

• Chose a topic that can demonstrate your understanding of the course

• Locate relevant sources (databases, journals, books). You are expected to refer to refereed (peer reviewed) academic papers more so than Internet yellow pages.
• Identify relevant literature (at least 10 relevant Journal articles. Start with the course references list to support your initial exploration of the themes, concepts and issues that may apply to the topic).
• Analyse and synthesise the literature to produce an analytical essay that addresses not only “what” questions but also “why”, “how” and “in what sense” questions.

Submission Instruction 

• This essay should not be more than 2500 words excluding reference.

• The essay shall be formatted as: 11pt font Times New Roman or Calibri; 1.5 line spacing and 54 (standard setting) margin.
• This is a TURNITIN assignment. The assignment submission will allow you to check the originality of your report. The goal is less than 15% similarity. However, the important thing isn’t the percentage – it is that the work is your own. As such, not all Turnitin scores under 15% indicate everything is OK nor all Turnitin scores over 15% mean there is a problem. The main thing to watch is what makes up the similarity percentage. If for example the similarity is because of references, you can ignore it.
• There is no need for an executive summary or abstract.
• Your analysis and recommendations will need to be supported with clear and relevant evidence from both scholarly and other sources described under the list of evidence.
• All sources including models and frameworks must be cited using the RMIT referencing guide which you can find on Canvas under “Modules/Welcome /Policies and Guidelines”.

Marking guide

• Introduction (5): An accurate statement of the topic is provided and key terms are defined with relevant citations. An overview of the themes, arguments and issues to be discussed is presented.
• Evidence based discussion and critical analysis (20): Relevant and valid answer to the essay topic that uses high quality references to underpin all arguments/points. Logical flow and development of ideas. Synthesis and critical analysis is underpinned by appropriate literature; use of relevant theories, concepts and frameworks to support analysis; own input, insight and interpretation.
• Conclusion (10): A clear and complete summary of key arguments, issues and themes is presented that corresponds to the outline presented in the introduction. Accurate implications and/or recommendations are provided
• Presentation and Referencing (5): Clarity of structure, quality of presentation, style and readability. Appropriate citation of sources and evidence used; use of RMIT referencing and citation style.

Writing support resources and services

• If you haven’t written a report or essay recently, if English is not your first language or if you would like some extra guidance and feedback when preparing your submission you should visit the RMIT Resources section on Canvas under “Modules/Welcome /RMIT Resources”.  The site features study and learning resources, support and skills.

Academic integrity matters

You must demonstrate academic integrity in your assessment practices by:

• engaging with assessment activities in an honest way
• providing accountability for the authorship and originality of work submitted
• acknowledging the work of others and the re-use of original work.
• Academic misconduct will be addressed in accordance with the Student conduct policy