Description
SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUSS)
BUS362 IT-Enabled Business Transformation
Group-based Assignment
July 2024 Semester.
Weighting: 20%
Deadline: 2nd October 2024.
This is a group-based assignment. You should form a group of 4 members from your seminar group. Each group is required to upload a single report via your respective seminar group site in Canvas. Please elect a group leader. The responsibility of the group leader is to upload the report on behalf of the group. It is important for each group member to contribute substantially to the final submitted work. All group members are equally responsible for the entire submitted assignment. If you feel that the work distribution is inequitable to either yourself or your group mates, please highlight this to your instructor as soon as possible. Your instructor will then investigate and decide on any action that needs to be taken. It is not necessary for all group members to be awarded the same mark.
Case study
Inno was a startup and became a major player specializing in smart textiles. Smart textiles involve the integration of fabric and leading technologies. Given the usefulness of smart textiles, there is a growing demand for smart textiles in a variety of sectors, such as healthcare, sports, fashion, and workplace safety.
An example is smart textiles for healthcare, which involves technologies such as sensors woven into textiles to monitor health. There are numerous major players (for example, Textronics Inc., Du Point, Sensoria Inc., and Interactive Wear AG) and startups in the smart textiles field specializing in different sectors.
Various top players (for example, Google and Adidas) in other industries have also entered the smart textiles market. Given the use of leading technologies and the changing needs of smart textiles, smart textile companies must be adaptable and move fast to survive the competitiveness. Further, companies in the smart textiles industry must comply with specific regulations and standards in their products. To date, Inno has gained a significant foothold.
Inno has attained considerable funding from investors, a critical component for companies in the smart textiles space. Akin to many other companies in the smart textiles industry, a substantial amount of funding must be directed toward Research and Development (R&D), resulting in high manufacturing costs for smart textiles. For several smart textile products in different sectors, potential customers can opt for standalone accessories that are cheaper than the products and provide similar or more functions. Fortunately, Inno has established strategic partnerships, which are key for penetrating markets and reaching out to customer bases. Moreover, its work culture is characterised as one that is collaborative. Inno has departments such as R&D, Manufacturing and Productions, Product Design, Sales and Marketing, Human Resources, and IT (including data analytics). Each department has a functional manager. Inno employees conduct deep analyses into what each sector needs (e.g., healthcare) to customize the application of smart textiles accordingly. Various projects specific to each sector are often launched. The projects frequently require employees from some departments to ideate, explore, and integrate their work. The employees of each project are accountable to the project lead. Inno has a strong technology focus across its departments, given the market it is in. Given the nature of Inno’s work, the company relies on its IT team to maintain the servers and network. Its leadership constantly strives to enhance smart textiles with the Internet of Things (IOTs), artificial intelligence (AI), connectivity, and other technologies and emphasizes R&D to stay ahead of the competition.
Question 1
(a)Based on the case study, appraise the strategic use of information resources by: Discussing whether the IT assets (described partially in terms of IT Infrastructure) and IT capabilities (described partially in terms of Technical Skills; Relationship Skills-external) of Inno enables the company to create and sustain a competitive advantage using the RBV framework. Provide an overall rating (low, moderate or high) in terms of competitive advantage creation and sustainability. Explain your answers with case facts. (Word Limit: Maximum 500 words; Mark Allocation: Maximum 38 marks)
(b)Discuss the key activities of Inno by identifying the maturity level of Inno. Justify your answers above with case facts. (Word Limit: Maximum 200 words each; Mark Allocation: Maximum 12 marks)
Question 2
(a)Evaluate the strategic use of information resources by describing two (2) appropriate risks when Inno employs information resources as a means to gain a competitive advantage. (Word Limit: Maximum 300 words; Mark Allocation: Maximum 16 marks)
(b)Propose key architectural principles and managerial considerations by determining the two (2) most appropriate architectural principles of Inno. Explain your answer. (Word Limit: Maximum 350 words; Mark Allocation: Maximum 14 marks)
(c) (i) Infer the decision-making mechanism of Inno.
(ii) Also, state the other two (2) decision-making mechanisms and explain why you did not choose these two (2) decision-making mechanisms.
(Word Limit: Maximum 300 words; Mark Allocation: Maximum 20 marks).
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