ASSIGNMENT TITLE: ELECTRONIC BUSINESS (E-

BUSINESS)
Important Notes:
You must familiarize yourself with the Academic Dishonesty and
Plagiarism Policy and ensure that you acknowledge all the
sources which you use in your work.

You must submit a paper copy checked for plagiarism.

Introduction
An electronic business (e-business) is a business operated in an
internet environment, consisting of Accounting, Marketing, Human
resources, etc. They are available on computers or other
electronic devices. Early e-business were generally found for
specialist areas and limited customers, however, the emergence
of dedicated hardware devices known as smartphones, tablets,
have revolutionized the market. The e-business is now growing at
a rapid rate since 2000 in Vietnam.

You are an entrepreneur and are keen to exploit this growing

demand for e-shopping. To do so you are planning to set up a new
company that will provide a product or service both
traditionally and digitally.

Your plan in the first instance is to set up a small flexible

company of no more than 20 staff that will provide product or
service:

• Aging customers who have traditional behaviors would like

to become e-customers, but who do not have either the
resources or expertise to undertake this activity
themselves.
• New generation customers who wish to self-shop directly
without the involvement of salespersons, but who don’t have
the necessary technical skills to turn their original
behaviors into e-shop.

To set the company up you require some investment from a local

venture capitalist. However, before he agrees to enter
discussions with you, he has asked you to provide him with the
following information so that he can form an initial view of
your plans:
 • What type of IT infrastructure of the organization do you
propose to establish and what are your reasons for this
selection?
• How do you intend to set up an IT system at the appropriate
cost?
• How competitive is the e-business of your industry and is
there a likelihood of achieving profitability?
• Why should you use IT in Customer relationship management
to serve the customer of the e-business that your staff
will develop?
• How can the use of Internet-based technologies help in
saving costs and increasing efficiencies in the new
business?

Assignment
The first stage of the assignment is to determine the types of
hardware and software in the company you are intending to
establish. As part of this you should consider the number of
staff you are intending to employ, and the likely importance of
your new business being set up as a limited liability company
(in some countries this is known as a proprietary limited
company).

Following on from this, you need to identify the hardware and

software for your business.

When starting any new business, it is vital that you understand

how competitive the industry is that you plan to enter. So, the
next stage of the assignment is to reassure the potential
investor that you have a knowledge of the necessary methods and
techniques that will enable you to gain an understanding of the
competitive situation of the e-business of your industry.

You are next required to explain what is meant by Customer

relationship management and the role of IT that could play in
helping you to win and retain customers for your proposed
business, since the potential investor has stated that he would
expect to see a commitment to quality management in any business
that he is involved in.

Finally, the potential investor has asked you to develop a short

presentation outlining the role that Internet-based technologies
could potentially play in both the structure and day-to-day
operations of the organization to increase the effectiveness of
staff and reduce possible costs.

Task 1 - 10 Marks
You need to do some research to familiarize yourself with the
subject area and to gain some ideas about how you can carry out
the rest of the project. There are several websites provided by
businesses involved in the industry of e-business. Use a maximum
of 10 hours to review these resources. Bookmark the relevant
sites and make notes of information that you can use in your
assignment.

Task 2 – 20 Marks
Produce a project plan (Gantt or PERT) for the way you intend to
complete the rest of this assignment. For planning, use the
timescale you have been allocated for this assignment i.e., from
the date you start to the date you submit your assignment.

Task 3 – 70 Marks
Put together a short report of no more than 2000 words that
includes the following:

Your recommendation for the qualities of IT infrastructure in

your organization that you should adopt for your E-business. As
part of this you should give clear reasons for your decision.

Guidance
This assignment is wide ranging and incorporates a range of
topics from the syllabus.

If you are unsure about any aspect of the assignment, then

consult with your tutor/lecturer prior to commencing Task 2 of
the assignment.

The total word count for this assignment should be 2000, plus or
minus 250.

Submission Requirements
1. A word-processed in APA format, printed document containing
all the written components of the assignment (Tasks 1, 2, 3)
signed and dated by your tutor/lecturer.