Before you begin work on this assignment, be sure you have read
the Case Study on Maryland Technology Consultants (MTC). MTC is a
fictional company created for IFSM 300’s Case Study. It is also
recommended that you review the additional Stages (2, 3 and 4) as
well as the vendor brochure provided for Stage 4. This will help
you understand the overall report and potential solution.
Overview
As a business analyst in the Chief Information Officer’s
(CIO’s) department of Maryland Technology Consulting (MTC), you
have been assigned to conduct an analysis, develop a set of system
requirements, evaluate a proposed solution, and develop an
implementation plan for an IT solution (applicant tracking or
hiring system) to improve the hiring process for MTC. This work
will be completed in four stages, and each of these four stages
will focus on one section of an overall Business Analysis and
System Recommendation (BA&SR) report to be delivered to the
CIO.
Section I. Strategic Use of Technology (Stage 1) – The first
step is to look at the organization and explain how an IT system
could be used to support MTC’s strategies and objectives and
support its decision-making processes.
Section II. Process Analysis (Stage 2) – Next you will
evaluate current processes and workflow and explain how MTC can use
IT to improve its processes and workflow.
Section III. Requirements (Stage 3) –Then you will identify
key stakeholder expectations for the new technology solution to
support MTC’s hiring process and develop a set of requirements.
Section IV. System Recommendation (Stage 4) – Finally, you
will review the provided Vendor brochure for a proposed applicant
tracking system and explain how it meets the requirements and what
needs to be done to implement the system within MTC.
The sections of the BA&SR will be developed and submitted
as four staged assignments. In stages 2, 3 and 4, you should review
any feedback from previous assignments to help improve the
effectiveness of your overall report and then add the new section
to your report. At the end of the course, you will submit a
complete BA&SR document that includes all four sections. Part
of the grading criteria for Stage 4 submission includes evaluating
if the document is a very effective and cohesive assemblage of the
four sections, is well formatted and flows smoothly from one
section to the next.
Assignment – BA&SR: Introduction and Section I.
Strategic Use of Technology
Write an appropriate Introduction to the entire BA&SR
Report (guidelines are provided below). Section I of the BA&SR
document contains an organizational analysis and identifies ways in
which an information system to improve the hiring process can help
MTC, the organization in the case study, meet its strategic goals
and meet the information needs of various levels of
management.
Using the case study, assignment instructions, Content
readings, and external research, develop your Introduction and
Section I. Strategic Use of Technology. To start, review the
readings in Weeks 1 and 2. The case study tells you that the
executives and employees at MTC have identified a need for an
effective and efficient applicant tracking or hiring system. As you
review the case study, use the assignment instructions to take
notes to assist in your analysis.
Use the outline format, headings and tables provided and
follow all formatting instructions below. For Stage 1, create a
title page and reference page that will be used for all 4 stages.
Apply specific information from the case study to address
each area.
Introduction
Begin your report with a clear, concise, well organized
introduction to explain why you are writing and what is to come in
the complete BA&SR report (not just Stage 1). This should
briefly set the context for MTC – business purpose, environment,
and current challenges related to hiring. Then specifically provide
what is to come in the full report. Keep your audience in mind –
this is an internal report for the CIO of MTC. Provide an
introduction in one paragraph that engages the reader’s interest in
continuing to read your report.
I. Strategic Use of Technology
A. Business Strategy – In this section, you should clearly
present – at a broad level – what MTC’s business strategy is (refer
to case study information), then what issues the current manual
hiring process may present that interfere with achieving that
strategy, and how improving the hiring process will benefit MTC and
support its business strategy. (Use two to three strong sentences
that explain how the system would support the strategy and justify
your position with specifics from the Case Study.)
B. Competitive Advantage – First, provide an overview of the
competitive environment that MTC is currently operating in based on
information from the case study. Then explain how and why MTC can
use the new hiring system to increase its competitive advantage and
help achieve its overall business strategy. Your explanation should
demonstrate your understanding of what competitive advantage is as
well as how improving the hiring process will help achieve MTC’s
competitive advantage. Include how MTC can use the type of data or
information that will be in the hiring system to improve its
competitive advantage. (Paragraph of 4-5 sentences)
C. Strategic Objectives- Review the four Strategic Goals
presented in the Strategic Business Plan section of the MTC Case
Study. The CIO has asked you to come up with an example of an
objective to help meet each goal and explain how a new hiring
system would help achieve that objective. As you can see from the
example provided in the table below, an objective is a statement
that is clear (not vague) and is something that can be measured or
evaluated to determine whether it has been met or not. An important
part of setting objectives is that they are SMART (specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). In order to
evaluate whether an objective has been achieved, it’s important to
be able to measure it. Consider this difference – Student wants to
get a degree (non-specific and not measurable) vs. Student wants to
earn a degree in Information Systems Management by May 2020. (This
objective provides specific what and when.) First, insert an
introductory opening sentence for this table. Then, for each of the
rows listed below, complete the table with the requested
information. (Provide an introductory sentence and copy the table.
Create an Objective for each of the 3 remaining Goals and explain
using 2-3 complete sentences for each.) Note: This is not about an
objective to implement a hiring system or broad business goals but
rather the focus is on objectives that would be supported by the
use of a technology solution to support/improve the hiring
process.
Strategic Goal
(from case study)
Objective
(clear, measurable and time-bound)
Explanation
(2-3 sentences)
Increase MTC Business Development by winning new
contracts in the areas of IT Consulting
Build a cadre of consultants internationally to
provide remote research and analysis support to MTC’s
onsite teams in the U. S.
EXAMPLE PROVIDED – (Retain text but remove this
label and gray shading in your report)
Increase international recruiting efforts and employ 5 research analysts in the next 12 months.
The new hiring system would allow applicants from
around the world to apply online, increasing the number
of international applicants. It would enable the recruiters to
carefully monitor the applications for these positions,
identify the necessary research and analysis skills
needed, and screen resumes for these key skills. Recruiters could
quickly view the number of applicants and identify when
additional recruiting efforts are needed to meet the
objective.
Continue to increase MTC’s ability to quickly
provide high quality consultants to awarded contracts to best serve
the clients’ needs
Increase MTC’s competitive advantage in the IT
consulting marketplace by increasing its reputation for having IT
consultants who are highly skilled in leading edge
technologies and innovative solutions for its
clients
D. Decision Making – In the reading, “How Information Supports
Decision Making,” you were introduced to the information
requirements of various levels of the organization. First, insert
an introductory opening sentence for this section. Then, for each
of the management roles listed below, complete the table with the
appropriate level (as defined in the reading – one word is all that
is required in this column), an example of a specific decision
supported by the Hiring System to be made at that level, and what
type of information from the hiring system would be needed to
support that decision. Think about what information the hiring
system could provide about applicants, etc., and then identify an
example of a decision that might be made by each level of
management. A decision is a choice or conclusion that the
management might make about business operations or future planning.
This is not about the decisions about implementing a new technology
solution or about general responsibilities of each role. Example: A
decision example could be stated as: CEO decides to expand MTC’s
services to include cybersecurity. He can make this decision
because the hiring system provides information that many applicants
have the needed skills, certifications and experience to enable MTC
to easily recruit IT consultants in this area. (Provide an
introductory sentence then copy the table and insert information
within, writing in complete sentences.)
Role
Level as defined in Course Content Reading
Example of Possible Decision Supported by Hiring System
Example of Information the Hiring System
Could Provide to Support Your Example Decision
Senior/Executive Managers
(Decisions made by the CEO and the CFO at MTC supported by
the hiring system.)
Middle Managers
(Decisions made by the Director of HR and the Manager of
Recruiting supported by the hiring
system.)
Operational Managers
(Decisions made by the line managers in the organization who
are hiring for their projects supported by
the hiring system.)
Formatting Your Assignment
Consider your audience – you are writing in the role of an
MTC business analyst and your audience is MTC and your boss, the
CIO. Don’t discuss MTC as if the reader has no knowledge of the
organization. Also do not reference “stage #” or “case study” –
these are class terms and would not be in a business report. Use
third person consistently throughout the report. In third person,
the writer avoids the pronouns I, we, my, and ours. The third
person is used to make the writing more objective by taking the
individual, the “self,” out of the writing. This method is very
helpful for effective business writing, a form in which facts, not
opinion, drive the tone of the text. Writing in the third person
allows the writer to come across as unbiased and thus more
informed.
· Create a title page that includes: The company name, title
of report, your name, Course and Section number and date.
· In Stage 1, you are preparing the first part of a 4-stage
report. Use the structure, headings, and outline format provided
here for your report. Use the numbering/lettering in the assignment
instructions as shown below.
Introduction
I. Strategic Use of Technology
A. Business Strategy
B. Competitive Advantage
C. Strategic Objectives
D. Decision Making
· Write a short concise paper: Use the recommendations
provided in each area for length of response. It’s important to
value quality over quantity. Assignment should not exceed 4 pages
excluding title and reference pages.
· Content areas should be double spaced; table entries should
be single-spaced.
· To copy a table: Move your cursor to the table, then click
on the small box that appears at the upper left corner of the table
to highlight the table; right click and COPY the table; put the
cursor in your paper where you want the table and right click and
PASTE the table.
· Ensure that each of the tables is preceded by an
introductory sentence that explains what is contained in the table,
so the reader understands why the table has been included.
· Use at least two resources with APA formatted citation and
reference. Use at least one external reference and one from the
course content. Course content should be from the class reading
content, not the assignment instructions or case study itself. For
information on APA format, refer to Content>Course
Resources>Writing Resources.
· Begin a Reference Page for resources required for this
assignment. Additional research in the next stages will be added to
this as you build the report. The final document should contain all
references from all stages appropriately formatted and
alphabetized. Use APA format for your reference page.
· Running headers are not required for this report.
· Compare your work to the Grading Rubric below to be sure
you have met content and quality criteria.
· Submit your paper as a Word document, or a document that
can be read in Word. Keep tables in Word format – do not paste in
graphics.
· Your submission should include your last name first in the
filename: Lastname_firstname_Stage_1
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