For information and reference only – not to be submitted as your own work. This is a partial model-answer extract written to show structure, depth and referencing style for MGMT902 Enterprise and Information Systems Assignment 1 at Auckland Institute of Studies. It uses Fonterra purely as an illustration; your report must be based on the company your lecturer assigns, in your own words, and must follow AIS academic integrity and AI-use rules.

Related: browse similar tasks in our solved assignment questions library and read the step-by-step guide to writing the MGMT902 ICT strategy report.

A. Introduction (extract)

Fonterra Co-operative Group is a farmer-owned New Zealand dairy co-operative that collects, processes and exports milk-based ingredients, consumer brands and foodservice products to international markets. Its competitive position rests on scale, a co-operative supply base and export reach, yet it competes in commodity markets where price, food safety and traceability shape customer choice.

This report reviews the company’s current ICT strategy, evaluates its strengths and weaknesses at organisational, industry and international levels, and identifies the critical success factors (CSFs) needed for implementation (Rockart, 1979). Its objectives are to: (1) assess how ICT supports strategic goals; (2) recommend ways to improve IT–business collaboration; and (3) propose one ICT initiative aligned with operational and organisational strategy.

B. Strategic Impact of ICT (extract)

Organisational context

At organisational level, ICT supports the primary activities of the value chain – inbound milk collection, processing, outbound logistics and sales – by turning operational data into information managers can act on (Porter & Millar, 1985). Enterprise systems integrate finance, supply and production records, which should improve planning speed. However, the scenario’s concern about inconsistent, data-informed decision-making suggests that integration has not translated into shared information use across departments. Laudon and Laudon (2020) argue that systems only create value when matched by complementary changes in processes and management behaviour; without these, investment produces data rather than decisions.

Industry context

Across the global dairy industry, ICT is reshaping competitive dynamics through traceability, automation and digital customer channels. Using the five forces lens, digital traceability raises buyer expectations and strengthens customer bargaining power, because large food manufacturers increasingly require proof of origin and quality (Porter & Millar, 1985). Vial (2019) notes that digital technologies alter value creation paths, so incumbents that adopt them slowly risk losing differentiation. For a commodity exporter, ICT is therefore less a source of unique advantage than a condition for staying in the market.

International context

Internationally, ICT enables global agility by connecting production planning with overseas demand signals and by supporting compliance with destination-market food safety and data rules. Within New Zealand, the Privacy Act 2020 sets obligations for handling personal information, while export markets add their own requirements. The weakness is that compliance systems are often built market by market, which slows responsiveness. A critical view, following Peppard and Ward (2016), is that international agility depends on governance and shared data standards as much as on technology.

The strengths and weaknesses in this table are illustrative judgements for the example company, not audited findings.

C. Communication and Cross-Functional Collaboration (extract)

The main barrier to IT–business collaboration is weak shared domain knowledge: IT specialists and business managers hold different priorities and vocabularies, and rarely plan together (Reich & Benbasat, 2000). Luftman (2000) identifies communication as the first of six alignment maturity criteria, and the scenario’s “limited collaboration” signals low maturity in this area.

D. ICT Initiative and Alignment (extract)

The proposed initiative is an enterprise data and analytics platform giving farm-to-customer visibility of quality, volume and demand data. It aligns with operational objectives (reducing waste and improving plant scheduling) and with organisational strategy (premium, traceable products), reflecting the strategic fit and functional integration dimensions of the Strategic Alignment Model (Henderson & Venkatraman, 1993). Its CSFs include executive sponsorship, data governance, user adoption and phased delivery. The main risk is that the platform becomes another unused system; its long-term value therefore depends on the collaboration measures in Section C rather than on the technology alone.

About the expert

Reviewed by Dr. Ethan Caldwell, Strategic Management & Business Analysis Specialist, University of Auckland, New Zealand. His profile covers strategic management and business analysis, including frameworks such as SWOT, PESTLE, Porter’s Five Forces and VRIO.

For wider support, see our MBA assignment help and report writing help pages.

References

Henderson, J. C., & Venkatraman, N. (1993). Strategic alignment: Leveraging information technology for transforming organizations. IBM Systems Journal, 32(1), 4–16.

Laudon, K. C., & Laudon, J. P. (2020). Management information systems: Managing the digital firm (16th ed.). Pearson.

Luftman, J. (2000). Assessing business-IT alignment maturity. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 4, Article 14.

Peppard, J., & Ward, J. (2016). The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy (4th ed.). Wiley.

Porter, M. E., & Millar, V. E. (1985). How information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63(4), 149–160.

Privacy Act 2020. https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/31/en/latest/

Reich, B. H., & Benbasat, I. (2000). Factors that influence the social dimension of alignment between business and information technology objectives. MIS Quarterly, 24(1), 81–113.

Rockart, J. F. (1979). Chief executives define their own data needs. Harvard Business Review, 57(2), 81–93.

Vial, G. (2019). Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(2), 118–144.

Weill, P., & Ross, J. W. (2004). IT governance: How top performers manage IT decision rights for superior results. Harvard Business School Press.