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BISM1201

Transforming Business with Information Systems
Assignment
There are two parts to this assessment.
Part A consists of three information systems questions (35 marks)
Part B consists of Excel questions to be answered in an Excel worksheet “BISM1201 Assignment Part
B Excel S1 2022.xlsx” (this file is available on course Blackboard site) (15 marks)
Worth: 50% of total assessment
Individual Completion: This assignment is to be completed individually by each student. Students
are encouraged to discuss issues that arise in this course together, however, the written work you
submit must be entirely your own. Similarly, you must not help another student to cheat by sharing
assignments (present or past).
Due Dates: The assignment is due by Tuesday 17/05/2022 at 3PM (Brisbane time). Submissions after
this date and time will be considered "Late" and relevant penalties will apply.
Submission
Part A and Part B must be submitted directly to the assessment section on Blackboard using the link
Assignment submission link (PART A and PART B) (see the assessment folder).
• Submit Part A as a PDF file via the submission link.
• Submit a copy of Part A on Turnitin – use the link Turnitin submission for Assignment PART
A. You must ensure that the Part A that you submit to Turnitin matches Part A submitted via
the submission link. We will not mark Part A submissions if there is no matching file on
Turnitin.
• Submit Part B as an Excel workbook file “BISM1201 Assignment Part B Excel S1 2022.xlsx”
(this file is available on course Blackboard site). Your answers should be entered into the
relevant cells of the Excel file, as per the assignment specification.
Your two submission files MUST be named (ALL CHARACTERS IN UPPERCASE) in the following
format: Tutorial number (comprising T followed by the full digit tutorial number i.e., T10, T02). This
tutorial number must then be followed by an underscore character, your full name followed by an
underscore character and Student_ID e.g., "T10_TIMSMITH_45894125”. (Student tutorial number
can be found on Blackboard under Class Timetable & links)
NOTE: You are allowed multiple attempts to submit (we only mark the last submission). However,
each time you submit using the submission link you should submit both files (PDF and Excel file),
because Blackboard treats each submission as new.
No hardcopy or email submission is required or accepted.

Presentation
• For Part A, you must follow the word length requirements (+/-10%).
• Your assignment must be presented using the sections as sub-headings (note: each section does
not need to start on a new page).
• Be sure to use double-spacing, 12-point font, page numbering and 2.5cm margins on all sides of
the page.
• Please proofread your assignment for spelling and grammatical errors.

Referencing and Citing
Part A questions require you to do basic analysis of the cases. You must base your answers and
terminology on the material covered in our weeks of information systems theory.
If you wish to report another author's point of view you should do so in your own words, and
properly reference in accordance with an approved referencing style. Direct quotations should be
used sparingly, form a small part of your work, and must be placed in quotation marks and
referenced.
Part A Question 1 and Question 2 require you to give a real-world example. Examples can come from
journals, newspapers, organisation websites, magazines etc. The real-world examples must be
referenced using in-text refencing and included in the reference list at the end of the assignment.
For example, “Nike uses a product differentiation information system strategy because it allows
customers to use its online platform to customise its sneakers. This means that Nike can use
information systems to offer a different value proposition than its competitors (Smith & Chang,
2010)”.

PART A: Information
Systems Theory
35 marks


Question 1. IS strategy (10 marks)
BISM-Desks is a family-owned firm that creates bespoke desks for homes and offices. Unlike some of
the major retailers, the only way for customers to purchase it’s desks is by visiting a show room in
Brisbane and buying floor stock or by designing a desk by choosing intricate details like material,
color, patterns, size, shelving, layout etc.
Because BISM-Desks relies on face-to-face sales the firm struggled throughout COVID-19 (2020-
2021). This led to a lost opportunity as desks, especially customisable desks for different spaces,
were in high demand.
BISM-Desks has used Porter’s Five Forces model to realise that it faces pressure from competitors
and new entrants and is concerned that their customers might move to online alternatives. In
response, the firm is considering ways to modernise and expand. While in the past it focused on
‘high-end’ customers, it believes that the normalisation of working from home means that there will
be even greater demand for customisable desks and that customers may be willing to pay a little
more for a desk. This is not so dissimilar to retailers like IKEA, however BISM-Desks’ products are
based on the highest quality materials, are Australian made and are not flat-packed/self-assembled.
While this means the cost of its products are higher, it allows BISM-Desks to differentiate itself from
large retailers.
The firm also recognises that it is not ‘digitally ready’. It has not relied on information systems to
help operate its business beyond basic word processing, email and keeping track of finances. The
owners are more interested with ‘building beautiful desks’ than in IT. The firm has no centralised
database nor is data captured to learn about customers or to support decision-making. There is no
way to track customer demographics or behaviour beyond what is learned about customers when
they visit the showroom. Likewise, inventory ordering is undertaken by email and phone which leads
to very slow links with suppliers. These issues are all coming to the forefront as the owners want to
expand the business whilst also getting ready for stepping back from the day to day running of it and
instead relying more on professional staff to run the business. However, they cannot do so without
more efficient and standardised processes.
BISM-Desks has recruited you as a business analyst. The owners would like advice on different
information systems strategies that can help the firm modernise itself and make the most of the
demand for its products.