BUS4002 Management Information Systems

Report

Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Management Information Systems report. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of information needs within different functional areas of organisations.
2. Identify and compare information systems within different functional areas of organisations.
3. Use iormation systems to produce management information at middle and senior management levels of organisations.
4. Identify and examine the legal implications associated with information handling and security.
5. Identify and examine the ethical implications associated with information handling and security.

Maximum word count: 3000 words

Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a reduction in grade by the same percentage that the word count is exceeded.

You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number

Assignment Task – Report (100%)

You have been engaged as a MIS consultant for the following organisation. Walmart is the largest retail company in the United States . Currently Walmart operates over 4,700 retail facilities globally (Walmart Inc., 2020) with revenues of more than 510 Billlion U.S. Dollars (according to the Fortune 500 index). Recently, Amazon implemented a new innovative strategy called ‘Amazon Go’ convenient stores, where customers can simply pick up items and walk out of the store without checking on a cashier. In the same vein, Walmart is currently looking for counter-strategies in order to increase their e-commerce shares.

For the specified focal organisation (Walmart), you should contact your own research in order to provide a report to the board of directors, which will answer the following:

Question 1

Describe how the different business units of Walmart are interconnected. In your analysis, you should provide an organisation chart and data flow diagrams to represent the dependence of each of the business units to each other and the direction of data flows within the organisation and provide the reasons behind this structure. (900 words) (30 marks) (LO1,2)

Question 2

Describe the different forms of data and the role of data warehousing in Walmart. In your analysis, you should evaluate the current Information Systems and provide recommendations to the board of directors about big data solutions. In order to fully answer the question, a detailed description of the proposed solution is needed providing the advantages and disadvantages of the system in response to Amazon’s strategy. (1200 words) (40 marks) (LO3)

Question 3

By taking into account information from the latest programme of Walmart (ethics and compliance) and the new GDPR data protection legislation, provide a summary of your key concerns about ethical, legal and professional implications associated with information handling and security. (900 words) (30 marks) (LO4,5)

Fortune. (2020). Walmart. [online] Available at: https://fortune.com/fortune500/2019/walmart/ [Accessed 1 April 2020].

Walmart Inc. (2020). Unites States Securities and Exchange Commission form 10-K. Retrieved from Securities and Exchange Commission website: http://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000104169/af5415d9-0e07-4ba1-a6cc- bb3058a7f4e8.pdf

END OF QUESTIONS

Formative Feedback

You have the opportunity to submit a draft assignment to receive formative feedback. The feedback is designed to help you develop areas of your work and it helps you develop your skills as an independent learner.

If you are a distance learning student, you should submit your work, by email, to your tutor, no later than 2 weeks before the actual submission deadline. If you are a blended learning student, your tutor will give you a deadline for formative feedback and further details.

Formative feedback will not be given to work submitted after the above date or the date specified by your tutor - if a blended learning student.

Student Guidelines

Development of academic skills:

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 AU Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources:

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.

Word Count:

Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment. The word count excludes the title page, executive summary, tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, 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. See ‘Word Count Policy’ on the homepage of this module for more information.