E-commerce Business Model Report & Prototype Website
Learning objectives and graduate skills tested
- demonstrate an understanding of the key drivers and challenges faced by digital enterprises that include technology infrastructure, business processes, social media, consumer behaviour and global markets (Problem solving)
- demonstrate the ability to research and critically evaluate e-commerce business models to gain an understanding of their business application for transforming digital enterprises (Academic, professional and digital literacy)
- demonstrate the practical skills required to formulate and evaluate a coherent plan for a digital enterprise, develop a prototype business website based on this plan and document and critically evaluate the end-product (Problem solving).
- demonstrate the ability to write effectively in a clear and concise manner in report style for senior management (Written and oral communication)
Assignment 2 Specification
Assignment 2 requires you to plan and develop an e-commerce business model report including building a prototype website using Joomla! based on the online business category assigned to you. Your online business category will be emailed to you during the first week.
You will be required to develop your prototype website using the Joomla! content management system in cloudaccess.net. Details about setting up your website at CloudAccess.net is provided in Joomla Workshop 1 (Joomla Workshop 1 PDF is available on your Study Desk under Module 1 in Week 1).
Your business model and prototype website must be related to the online business category assigned to you. Failure to do so will result in your assignments being rejected and no marks will be allocated.
Report: E-commerce Business Model 70 MARKS
Report Structure and Presentation 5 MARKS
Your report should include a title page, Table of Contents (including List of Tables and List of Figures if applicable) and Appendices.
Report Letter of Transmittal, Executive Summary and Introduction 5 MARKS
Your report should include a letter of transmittal, executive summary, and introduction to the report.
Report Section 1 – Industry Structural Analysis (approx. 600 words) 10 MARKS
An industry structural analysis can help to identify the impact that your online business can make on the overall business environment, primarily in terms of profitability within the relevant industry.
Conduct an industry structural analysis relevant to your proposed online business and assigned business category.
When you conduct an industry structural analysis, you have to discuss the nature of competition in the relevant industry of your online business, including the nature of substitute products or services, the barriers to entry, and the relative powers of consumers and suppliers in the supply chain.
Report Section 2 – E-commerce Business Model (approx. 1200 words) 20 MARKS
Simply put, a business model is a plan for making money. The textbook explains eight components of a business model. Discuss the following four components of the e-commerce business model for your online business:
- Value Proposition – how does your online business fulfil customer needs?
- Revenue Model – how does your online business earn revenue and have a positive return on investment?
- Market Opportunity – what is the marketspace and its size that your online business intends to operate in?
- Competitive Environment – what other companies are operating in the same marketspace offering similar products and services?
Report Section 3 – Online Consumer Behaviour (approx. 600 words) 10 MARKS
Research has shown that many consumers use the Internet to investigate prices rather than actual buying, which is often done in a physical store. Do you want to entice more online buying rather than just researching on your website? What implications does this have for your online business?
Report: Conclusions and Recommendations to the Business (approx. 300 words) 5 MARKS
Your report should include a separate conclusions and recommendations section.
- Conclusions provide a summary of your key findings from the body of the report.
- Recommendations provide a summary of the recommendations to your online business based on the research conducted in the report.
Report: Referencing and Appropriateness of Sources 5 MARKS
References are required and the Harvard AGPS standard of referencing must be used. This standard is detailed on USQ Library Site.
Ensure that your reports are fully referenced, including any reference to the text book. Your report should include in-text references and a List of References.
Do not repeat verbatim large slabs of information from other sources such as the text – you must put the ideas/information in your own words.
You must use at least ten (10) academically sound sources other than the textbook in completing this report.
Report: Appendix 1 Journal 10 MARKS
Prepare a journal that records your activities and research related to completing this assignment. In date order, clearly list the following:
- Date of research & project activity
- Full description of activity / discussion
- Time duration of the activity
- Web sites visited to collect information; other references accessed (using Harvard)
AGPS Referencing style – submitted separate to the List of References in the report). Submit this journal as Appendix 1 in the Report. Any references to web pages and online documents, such as white papers, should be listed at the end of the Journal.
Checklist: Prototype Joomla! Website 30 MARKS
Ensure you setup your Joomla! website and complete the activities as listed in the checklist document. Your Joomla! Website URL should be accessible for the marker to assess the activities undertaken as per the checklist document.
- Valid setup of Joomla! Website (5)
- Template and layout is accessible and user friendly (10)
- Content – key articles: Home, About, Contact (10)
- Menu & Links (5)
Submission Guidelines
Attach the two documents (Report & Checklist document) in Microsoft Word or PDF file format using the naming convention below, to your online assignment submission in the Assignment 2 area on the CIS8100 StudyDesk before midnight Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on the day the assignment is due.
[lastname].[initial] _ [student number] _ [course code] _ assign2.docx or .pdf(eg. shrestha.a_0050051005_cis8100_assign2.docx).
Upon completion of the submission process, check your UMail email account for an automatically generated confirmation email (if you do not have an email account, print out the Submission Complete screen before exiting the Submission System). You must check that the file name and file size are listed correctly - if there is a problem with either, please email the course leader immediately.
If you have difficulties submitting through the StudyDesk Assignments submission tool, email the course leader immediately for instructions on an alternative course of action. Any submissions after the due date is considered Late Submission and will be dealt accordingly.
