ASSIGNMENT

JANUARY 2022 SEMESTER

SUBJECT CODE : CIM600

SUBJECT TITLE : ICT MANAGEMENT

LEVEL : MASTER DEGREE

STUDENT’S NAME : AZMAN REDZA BIN BADZLY

MATRIC NO. : C60405210010

PROGRAMME : MASTER IN INFORMATION AND

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
MANAGEMENT (MICTM)

ACADEMIC : TS. FAZILAH CHE FAUZI

FACILITATOR

LEARNING CENTRE : FULLY ONLINE

 INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

1) This assignment consists of ONE PART ONLY.

2) This assignment carries a 60% weightage towards your final grade.
3) Your assignment will be examined based on your ability to demonstrate
comprehension on the subjects and marks would depend on the originality of
your answer and how you relate to the selected articles, cases or examples, do not
give the generic one.
4) Plagiarism is strictly forbidden. Turn-it-in report (<= 20%) must be attached
together with your assignment / report.

THERE IS TWO (2) PAGE OF QUESTIONS, EXCLUDING THIS PAGE.

INSTRUCTION: Answer ALL questions

Question 1
Businesses today depend on Internet, Intranets, and Extranets to implement and manage
innovative e-business applications. However, there were cases where big companies still
failed in using information technology. In your opinion, why this happened and elaborate on
some of the toughest management challenges in developing IT solutions to solve business
problems and to meet new business opportunities. Use relevant facts to validate and support
your answer or opinions.

Answer :
Among the reasons for the ineffectiveness of businesses struggling to use information
technology are as follows:

Software: The company's information system or software plays a critical part in its success.
The software is often outdated. With today's rapidly evolving technology and competitive
industry, software upgrades are a must.

Human Resource: The second factor that contributes to a company's failure to adopt
information technology is human resources. The freshly upgraded or installed software is
unfamiliar to users, and it takes time to learn how to utilise it.

Managers: Managers must be familiar with new software and be able to install and run it in
the departments. It is the manager's responsibility to transport employee output via newly
implemented software. The organisation must determine the time of year when they believe
they will be less busy or have more time to install and implement new software. There is no
solution plan: Companies do not develop an effective solution strategy. All organisations
should have a strong strategy in place to introduce new information technology as well as a
plan in place to keep it up to date. The key to a successful Information Technology
deployment is proper installation and maintenance.

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 1

Security: Manager’s failure to ensure important data and secure operation. To protect it,
managers can use firewalls, anti-virus software and other appropriate protections to protect
firm information and maintain standards from hackers.
[8 marks]

Question 2
Figure 1 illustrates major IT infrastructure components and the major vendors for each
component. Discuss how do you coordinate all the components to provide a coherent IT
infrastructure for your organisation.

Figure 1: The IT Infrastructure Ecosystem

Answer :

Without the above components, the IT Infrastructure will be incomplete and unable to
function. The most important is the hardware. In addition, computers, routers and switches,
among others, are also required for a company to run.

Without software, the hardware will not be usable. Among others that are required are such
as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Business Intelligence (BI), it can be purchased

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 2

from vendors but depending on the company's capabilities, however, other IT staff can
produce it.

Staff rely heavily on the internet to send emails, internet access and maintain websites and so
on. All links should be integrated in networks, routers, switches, network hubs and
PCs.Company data will also be kept on hardware such as servers or in more current
technologies that allow user to access it over a network.

To act as a user interface, it is necessary for the existence of an operating system, without
which it is impossible. All IT infrastructures depend on each other to depend on. Therefore,
the people who operate the infrastructure so that it works well are also important.

[10 marks]

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 3

Question 3
Consider you are working in a manufacturing company. Identify the major types of
information systems in the company.

Answer :
Among the main types of information systems in the company are as follows:
a) With appropriate examples, discuss how the systems support managerial activities
and decision-making.
Executive Support System

The system allows managers to make strategic decisions by communicating

internal and external data that has been evaluated and summarized. The system allows
managers to make strategic decisions by communicating internal and external data
that has been evaluated and summarized. Often a lot of data analysis and modeling
techniques are used such as “what if” analysis for managers to use before making a
decision.

Enterprise Resource Planning System

This ERP system is one of the technologies used. Users such as accounting
units, customer order fulfillment, manufacturing, materials management, human
resources and financial systems all use this system, as these systems provide close
integration between them. It can help managers improve quality and efficiency,
reduce costs, obtain decision assistance, and acquire corporate agility by
implementing ERP systems.

Manufacturing Strategy

With the production of quality goods from competitors, as well as a

combination of organizational and technical capabilities, can shape the success of the
manufacturing industry. The implementation of the manufacturing plan can increase
the competitive advantage.

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 4

 Managers can use manufacturing strategies as one set of decisions that can
link the structure and infrastructure of an industry. Structural selection is influenced
by product scope, process technology, manufacturing alliances, and production skills.

(5 marks)
b) As selecting computer hardware and software is an important management decision
to a company, elaborate the management, organisation and technology issues that
should be considered when selecting computer hardware and software.

Information systems are important to link the manufacturing industry with other
manufacturing sectors in the production chain. In addition, it also connects the
manufacturing industry with external organizations such as financial organizations.
The effect is seen, when this information system is able to connect between its users,
vendors and service providers. To remain competitive, information systems must be
connected to function and achieve quality effectiveness in a fast -growing market.

When it comes to manufacturing methods, it has to be adjusted on several

levels. Manufacturing methods need to be adjusted to several levels, whereby
engineers need to know the standard standards issued by the industry that enable the
industry to operate and manufacture product items at competitive prices. By using
goods and talent, especially from the manufacturing team, it can create and promote
products and thus can attract consumers to trust the goods produced. To ensure
smooth manufacturing, it is important that all materials are available and sufficient to
use. The coordination of this group uses information systems to increase competitive
advantage and workflow.
(10 marks)

[Total: 15 marks]

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 5

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 6
Question 4
With appropriate examples, discuss how businesses can benefit from cloud computing,
virtualisation, green computing and multicore processors.

Answer :
Systems that automatically do the following:
Cloud computing
1. configure themselves
2. optimise and tune themselves; and
3. heal themselves when they are damaged.
4. Defend oneself against invaders from the outside and self-destruction
5. Lower the cost of maintenance
6. Minimize the amount of time your system is down due to a system failure.

Virtualization
1. Use a single computer to run several operating systems at the same time.
2. Increase server usage rates to at least 70%.
3. Cut down on hardware purchases. With higher utilisation rates, fewer computers are
needed to execute the same amount of work.
4. Hide server resources from the users of the server.
5. Lower your energy costs.
6. Run ancient apps on the same server as newer applications that are running on previous
versions of an operating system.
7. Facilitates hardware administration centralization.

Green computing
1. Businesses may reduce their environmental effect by employing better design,
manufacture, use, and disposal techniques and technologies for computers, servers, and other
computing systems.
2. The primary practise in the green computing trend is reducing power usage in data server
centres.

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 7

Multicore processors
1. Cost savings through lowering power consumption and decreasing hardware sprawl
2. Maintenance costs are lower since fewer systems must be monitored.
3. Outperforms today's single-core CPUs in terms of performance and productivity.
4. Run apps faster than single-core processors, allowing users to continue working while the
most processor-intensive job is performing in the background.

[12 marks]

Question 5
Read the two papers entitled “Information systems in the age of pandemics: COVID-19 and
beyond” and “COVID-19 and its impacts on Managing Information Systems” as attached. In
400 - 500 words, discuss on the management of Information system during the current
coronavirus environment. Relate your discussion with your organization’s actual situation.

Answer :

Since covid-19 hit, many organizations have had to transform the normal of their daily
operations including considering the use of technology for critical processes in business in
order to comply with a new landscape of standards and procedures that have changed. It can
be seen the impact of this pandemic on the use of technology and many technological
advances and applications have been created. The pandemic has ramifications for technology
design, development, and usage.

Face-to-face conferencing will be replaced with live stream conferencing.

People's habits shift quickly during a pandemic to fit new virtual realities like e-learning, e-
commerce, e-entertainment, live stream conferencing, and remote employment. Since the
government imposed restrictions and quarantine, many businesses such as restaurants, hotels,
grocery stores and travel agencies have suffered losses but at the same time new business

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 8

opportunities have emerged, especially in online marketing, as well as the availability of 5G
networks, hardware, and experience.

Quality system
Throughout the pandemic outbreak, much of the industry has turned to live -stream
conferences and work from home. Thus, usability, availability, reliability, response time
(e.g., download time) and flexibility are key aspects for operational efficiency. It is important
to improve the quality of the existing system. To improve the quality of the system, 5G and
Wi-Fi 6 technologies have been used.

Protection of personal information

Many countries are collecting data on the use of smartphones and AI to recognize faces and
scan body temperatures to identify the right individuals infected with the covid 19 virus to
combat the spread of covid 19 epidemics. Many businesses use technological surveillance
devices to monitor customers' temperatures and work together to report to the authorities the
health status of their customers, as required by local regulations to comply with safety
procedures and ensure the safety of other customers.

Therefore, maintaining privacy is just as important. Connecting user data to local

governments and bringing it online creates significant efficiencies and applications.
However, it raises new concerns, such as cyber-attacks and security breaches.

Appendix A – Information systems in the age of pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond

Appendix B - COVID-19 and its impacts on Managing Information Systems
[15 marks]

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 9

 – END OF QUESTION –

Your paper should be submitted according to the following guidelines:

1. The text should be typed in 11 point Arial font or 12 point Times New Roman ONLY
2. All titles (excluding subtitles) should be typed using BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS
3. Paragraphs format should be justified and using a one-and-a-half spacing.
4. Provide and list your reference sources (Internet sites, text material, outside
readings, etc.) consistent with APA guidelines.
5. Your marks will depend heavily based on the originality of your answer and how you
relate to the selected articles, cases or examples, do not give the generic one.
6. All assignments must be electronically submitted (myPLS)
7. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden. Turn-it-in report (<= 20%) must be attached
together with your assignment/ report. Refer to the‘Student Guide’ in PLS.

CIM600 ICT MANAGEMENT 10

REFERENCES

Gichoya, D. (2005). Factors affecting the successful implementation of ICT projects in

government. the Electronic Journal of e-government, 3(4), 175-184.

Asgarkhani, M. (2013, February). Corporate ICT governance: A tool for ICT best practice.
In The International Conference on Management, Leadership & Governance (pp. 1-7).
Oskarbski, J., & Kaszubowski, D. (2016). Potential for ITS/ICT solutions in urban freight
management. Transportation Research Procedia, 16, 433-448.

Ali, S. M. (2013). Challenges and security issues in future IT infrastructure

components. International Journal of Computers & Technology, 8(2), 845-847.
Bhatt, G. D., & Grover, V. (2005). Types of information technology capabilities and their
role in competitive advantage: An empirical study. Journal of management information
systems, 22(2), 253-277.

Gurbaxani, V., & Whang, S. (1991). The impact of information systems on organizations and
markets. Communications of the ACM, 34(1), 59-73.
Ågerfalk, P. J., Conboy, K., & Myers, M. D. (2020). Information systems in the age of
pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond. European Journal of Information Systems, 29(3), 203-
207.

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