IS5313 Foundations of Information and Electronic Business Systems

Team Project: Industry Analysis

Overview
In this assignment, you and your group will select an industry to examine how it is being transformed
by globalization and the five IT megatrends (as discussed in session 1). You can choose any industry
that you are interested in (e.g., banking, consulting, logistics, tourism, and so on).

Requirements
This assignment consists of three parts
1. Interim Project Presentation (week 5)
2. Final report (week 12)
3. Industry analysis video clip (week 12)

Interim Project Presentation

The interim presentation should address the following points/questions:
a. Describe the key players (i.e., companies) in your industry. Who are they? Where are
they headquartered? Is this industry their only focus? If not, why?
b. What is the type of marketplace currently? (Is it a monopoly, oligopoly, or
fragmented?) Why is the marketplace one of these types?
c. Using Porters Five-Forces Model, describe the various competitive forces, and
provide an assessment of the industrys competitive environment.

Final Report/Final Presentation

Each team should hand in a professionally formatted final report and a presentation about their
industry analysis. The final report and presentation should address the following points/questions:
1. With economic changes due to globalization, every country has seen significant changes in
how their markets operate. Please detail the current state of your industry within Hong Kong
or mainland China. This may include:
(30 marks)
a. Describe the key players (i.e., companies) in your industry. Who are they? Where are
they headquartered? Is this industry their only focus? If not, why?
b. What is the type of marketplace currently? (Is it a monopoly, oligopoly, or
fragmented?) Why is the marketplace one of these types?
c. Using Porters Five-Forces Model, describe the various competitive forces, and
provide an assessment of the industrys competitive environment.
2. Every industry is seeing the effects of the 5 megatrends (as discussed in Session 1). Please
choose the 3 most significant megatrends and discuss how they have affected your
industry, with a focus on the effects on the competitive environment. (20 marks)
3. Currently, what are the two most prominent IS-based innovations within your industry?
Describe each innovation, and discuss the following factors:
(30 marks)
a. Why is it an innovation? What makes it innovative?
b. How is the innovation related to the megatrends?

c. Where in the value chain is the innovation deployed? How does it help a company
achieve a competitive advantage?
d. How will it affect the industrys competitive environment?
4. If you were to advise a particular company in your industry, how would you advise them to
compete:
(20 marks)
a. In the local market of Hong Kong and/or mainland China?
b. Worldwide?
Make sure to clearly tie your recommendations to the previous parts.
Final Report Format
Length: A typical report should be about 3,500-4,000 words (excluding title page, table of contents,
and references), with no more than 4,500 words.
Format: Professional document (with cover page, table of contents, page numbers, bibliography,
etc.). As with any assignment you submit, the work submitted should be your own work, so make
sure to correctly cite any information you use.
Be specific, and present factual evidence supporting your assessments, conclusions, and
recommendations.

Industry Analysis Video Clip

Within 12 months of its launch, YouTube came from nowhere to be one of the top 10 sites on the
World Wide Web. Today, it is typically one of the five most visited websites on the entire Internet
each day. The ability to easily upload videos, and have those videos viewed immediately by millions,
has made creating your own video content a valuable skill. While YouTubes success is largely
derived from the amateur segment of the video production space, major global companies are using
videos to showcase their companies, initiatives, or success stories. As both Tom Friedman and Chris
Anderson have discussed, the ability to upload content can be an important tool in ones arsenal.
Friedman called it the most disruptive force of all, shaping the flat world, while Anderson noted
that user developed content is fundamentally affecting all aspects of life. The goal of this project
involves developing video production skills so that you are equipped to participate in this significant
technological movement.
You are asked to produce a 3-5 minute video clip showcasing your Industry Analysis (e.g., using
Microsoft MovieMaker, iMovie, or some other software). Primarily, the video should be creative,
interesting, and novel.
The video should include the gist of your project. It should not contain all information that is in the
report, but should contain the major information you want to convey. In doing that, the video should
address (at least) the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is the industry about?

What is/are the most significant competitive force(s)?
What innovation(s) are used to address this force, and how are those innovations used?
How are the innovations liked to the 5 megatrends?

Feel free to use a specific company within your industry to demonstrate the competitive forces and
the innovation used, or to introduce other important elements.

In assessing the video, we will primarily focus on the content (80 marks) and creativity, flow and
delivery (40 marks).
Required Technical Elements
Video clips must contain the following technical elements. Failing to comply with these guidelines
will result in deductions on your project grade.

Length: 3-5 minutes

Required elements
o A title at the beginning
o Video clips as well as still pictures
o Text over video
o Credits at the end

Videos will be evaluated based on quality rather than quantity. Here are some helpful hints to
improve the quality of your submission:

Follow directions
Produce a video that is novel and interesting. Be creative!
Remember to answer the main questions in your video
Ensure that your video contains all the required technical elements
Be sure to test your video before submitting it

Submission Requirements
You should upload your video on YouTube, using the Unlisted (anyone with the link can view)
option. This will allow only those who have the link to view the video. Once you have uploaded your
video to YouTube, your group needs to submit the link to the video in Canvas. Note: Make sure to
copy and paste the link into Notepad before submitting it to Canvas, so as to remove any potential
HTML code.
A Note on Copyright
For copyright reasons, we strongly suggest that you do not use copyrighted songs as your
background music. A good source for music you can use is http://www.jamendo.com/en/.
Each album has a box labeled Your rights for this album. Here are some rules for using the music:

License
No Derivative Works
Attribution,
Share Alike

Noncommercial

Meaning
Sorry, you cant use this music (using it in your video
would create a derivative work)
You can use this, but have to give credit to the author
Wed suggest staying away from this

To be sure, *do not* use any music that says No Derivative Works. In any case, you will have to
give credits for music used at the end of the movie. In addition, it is a good idea to provide the
details of the music (artist, track name, album name, URL) in the description of the video when you
upload your video to YouTube.

Appendix: Creating your video

Tips for Making Your Video Interesting
To accomplish your objective, we recommend that you follow these steps:
1. Decide on a story arc for the story you will tell. In this step, you will decide how to
sequence the material you will cover in your video. For example, you will choose what
information to cover first, what information you want to cover next, etc.
2. Create a hook for your story. When telling your story, we recommend using a hook,
which gets viewers interested and makes them want to learn more. As an example, the
classic movie version of a hook can be seen in the opening sequences of any James Bond
movie. To make your hook effective, it should occur within the first 10 seconds of your
video.
3. Utilize triggers or obstacles to tell your story. A trigger or obstacle represents an
event that occurs to change the course or direction that the main character is going. Stories
always seem better when triggers or obstacles are introduced, as they make stories
more compelling. For instance, imagine you have a goal that is moving your life in one
direction; the trigger might block that path and force you to go in another direction,
changing the course for the character in the story.
4. Storyboard your video. A storyboard is a graphical representation of the sequence of events
in your video. At this stage in the project, it is best to create a storyboard simply by drawing
a set of boxes joined together by arrows, which depict the flow of your video. Your
storyboard should outline how the story arc will be captured in the video. In essence, your
storyboard should show the sequence of scenes, hooks, triggers, and obstacles, and
other elements. In your storyboard, you can also include any transition or other effects you
are planning to use.
5. Create the video!

Further Tips for Creating Your Video

Test your ability to transfer video files to your computer. Since you will need to include at
least two video clips into your project, it is absolutely critical that you can download your
video clips off your cell phone, camcorder, or digital camera onto your computer. To test
your ability to download video clips, shoot a short (5 10 seconds) video clip. Following the
operating manual for your device, make sure that you can download the video from the
device to your computer. This typically involves connecting your device to the computer via
a USB port. After you have downloaded the video clip to your computer, locate the video file.
Change its name to something that is useful (such as test-clip). Insert your USB (flash) drive
and move (or copy) the file from your computer to your USB drive. Make sure the video file
is working by playing the video that is stored on your USB drive. If you are having problems
with this step, please seek help from a friend, classmate, or your instructor.

Collect the materials that you will need for your video. In this step, you will collect the
necessary materials that you will put in your video. As mentioned in the previous step, you

will need to obtain a cell phone, camcorder, or digital camera that can record simple videos.
At least two video clips will need to be incorporated into your video. In addition, you will be
required to use at least four still photos (in either .GIF or .JPG format) in your video. You will
also need access to at least one music audio file (in .MP3 format) or a microphone to record
narrations.
Be sure to store all your files on a USB (flash) drive. That way, you will always have access to
your files, regardless of whether you are working from home or school.

Create your video using your software of choice. In this step, you will import your files into
the program, add the required technical elements (see below), and create your video. If you
are using the MovieMaker application and need training, please visit
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/movie-maker. Similarly, Apple provides
useful tutorials for iMovie at https://www.apple.com/support/#imovie.

Preview your video.

Once youre satisfied with your video, youre ready to publish it to YouTube. In MovieMaker,
you can easily upload your video to YouTube by selecting Publish movie. In iMovie, you
can easily upload your video by selecting Share > YouTube to open the upload menu.
Alternatively, you can create a movie file (e.g., as a .wmv file), and upload it from within
YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com and click on Upload video. You will be asked to sign in
with your YouTube or Google account (you will need to create an account if you dont have
one). Upload your video.

Note: You should set the privacy options to Unlisted (anyone with the link can view).

Project Notes
Here is some additional information to assist you in the development process, including some of the
lessons learned from prior projects.
Tips for making your video interesting. To make videos more interesting, there is a video posted at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvBUZ_MLzmA.
Importing files into MovieMaker. Students should be aware that MovieMaker does not actually
import files. In reality, MovieMaker merely establishes a pointer to the location of the file that was
imported. For instance, if you have three video clips, MovieMaker will establish a location for the
file, just like a map that helps locate objects, such as a city to which youre traveling. The object (e.g.,
the city) is not actually incorporated into the map. Because your files are not actually imported via
the import process, MovieMaker may not be able to find all your files when you switch to another
computer. Therefore, we highly recommend that you save all your project-related files (video clips,
still photos, music audio, etc.) on your USB drive. When using MovieMaker, import files from your
USB drive rather than some other location on your computer. Simply import your project-related
files from your USB drive and take the USB drive with you if you need to work from another
computer.
Converting video clips to MovieMaker format. Old versions of MovieMaker only allow
uploading .wmv video files. If you are using an older version, and your video files are in a format not
supported, you can find many online video converters on the Web.
Adjusting video clip volume. MovieMaker will allow you can adjust the volume of a selected video or
audio clip on the timeline. This allows you change the volume on a clip- by-clip basis. For audio clips,
the volume can be adjusted via that Audio/Music track of the timeline, or it can be adjusted using
the audio portion of a video clip that appears on the Audio track (which can be seen when the Video
track is expanded) of the timeline. The following options appear in this dialog box.

Adjust volume level

This option allows you to adjust the volume of the selected audio clip. By default, the middle
setting of the slider corresponds with the original volume level of the clip when it was
imported or captured. To adjust the volume, follow these steps:
1. Go to the timeline view
2. Right click on the audio from your clip (not audio/music) click Volume
3. Drag the slider to the right to increase the volume, or drag the slider to the left to
decrease the volume. Please note that when the slider is moved all the way to the
left, the audio is muted and will not be heard. When the slider is moved all the way
to the right, the maximum volume will be played. The maximum volume is 15 times
the original volume of the clip.
Mute clip
This option specifies whether the clip is muted. When this checkbox is selected, the audio is
muted. The audio clip plays at the specified volume when this check box is unchecked.
Please note that when the Adjust volume level slider appears all the way to the left, this
option is selected automatically. To mute the volume, follow these steps:
1. Go to timeline view

2. Right click on the audio from your clip (not audio/music) click Mute