The Impact of Digital Technology on Business Activity - Research Project Brief

This research project brief focuses on the impact of digital technology on business activity. It includes a research proposal form and research ethics form templates, and provides guidance for students on conducting appropriate research methodology, conducting and analyzing research, communicating outcomes, and reflecting on research methodologies and concepts.

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Higher Nationals
Assignment Brief – BTEC (RQF)
Higher National Diploma in Business
Student Name /ID Number
Unit Number and Title Unit: 11 – Research Project
Academic Year 2017/18
Unit Assessor Shahbaz Mustafa
Assignment Title The impact of digital technology on business activity
Issue Date 12/03/2018
Submission Date 14/06/2018
IV Name Howard Slater
Date
Learner Declaration:
I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully
acknowledged.
Student signature: Date:
Submission Format:
The submission should be in the form of a Research Project which can be in the form of Dissertation,
Feasibility study and Investigation/fieldwork. You must also use the templates provided for Research
Proposal form and Research Ethics form. This project should be written in a research style using 1.5 spacing
and font size 12. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs and subsections as appropriate and
ensure that the report is justified aligned. All work must be supported with research and referenced using the
Harvard referencing system. Please also provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system. The
recommended word limit is 3,500–4,000 words, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total
word limit.

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Unit Learning Outcomes:
LO1 Conduct appropriate research methodology which integrates knowledge into the research process.
LO2 Conduct and analyse research relevant to a chosen business research project.
LO3 Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders.
LO4 Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.
Assignment Brief and Guidance:
Scenario
The impact of digital technology on business activity
Digital technology has revolutionised the way we conduct business. Over the last decade it has
dramatically changed traditional business models and transformed business activities. The use of
digital mobile technology has provided businesses with a wealth of choice and opportunity. This has
enabled existing products to become more profitable and innovative new products to be developed,
leading to increasingly diverse product portfolios. Its impact is evident at the core of all key business
systems:
● Administration - cloud technology enables effective filing, storage and sharing of information.
● Communication- social media and mobile technology allows businesses to connect,
communicate, collaborate and build relationships on a global scale.
● Storage and Distribution - `The Internet of Things’ is connecting and integrating systems
throughout business structures.
● Production - Artificial intelligence and big data analytics are driving Innovation and product
growth.
However, changes in the way we work are not without their challenges as businesses have to adopt
and deal with change management, recruit and sustain creative talent, invest in new technologies and
respond to an ever-increasing competitive environment.
Business Research Project Brief

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Considering the above scenario, you are required to address the following tasks:
Task-1
Draw points (1–3, in Task-2) together into a research proposal for agreement with your tutor. (P1)
Research Topic selected for this research must be related to the above scenario.
Proposal should be no more than two pages. Please use Research Proposal form and Research Ethics form
templates as given below
Task-2
1. Define your research problem or question. This can be stated as a research question, objectives or
hypothesis. (P1)
2. Provide a literature review giving the background and conceptualisation of your proposed area of
study. This would provide existing knowledge and benchmarks by which your data can be judged.
(P2)
3. Consider and define your research methodology and research process. Demonstrate
understanding of the pitfalls and limitations of the methods chosen and ethical issues that
might arise. (P3)
4. Conduct your research as outlined in your proposal. Keep track of your findings as you work. Carry
out your research and analyse your findings in relation to your original research question. (P4)
5. Draw conclusions and Communicate the outcomes of your research project to the identified audience.
(P5)
6. Reflect on the success of your research project and your performance at the end of the project
with the inclusion of a project evaluation and recommendations. (P6, P7)
Guidance for Students

11HNC/D in Business
2016
You should read this information before starting on your project. You should refer to these instructions as
You should read this information before starting to define and work through your research brief. You
should refer to these instructions as you complete work for this unit.
 Consider the development of a methodical and valid research proposal as the foundation for
the project.
 Choose a topic of personal interest in a specialism. The topic chosen should allow a sufficient and
suitable degree of research through the existence of adequate background materials.
 A good project proposal title should meet the following criteria:
 The proposal is one that has an existing body of literature or source material that can
be reviewed.
 The proposal extends a current line of learning that will lend itself to further
rigorous exploration.
 Decide on appropriate research methods and select an appropriate sample.
 Ensure that your proposal is ethical, reliable and valid. An ethics form must be submitted prior to
completion of research as part of the research proposal.
 Agree your research proposal with your tutor before beginning your research.
 Conduct your research as outlined in the proposal agreed with your tutor.
 Carry out your research, analyse your research findings and draw conclusions. Apply both
qualitative and quantitative research methods to evaluate data collected from primary research.
 Communicate your research outcomes in a manner appropriate to your audience.
 You will be asked to reflect on the success of your research project and evaluate the problems/
issues encountered.
 You must complete the research project in order to complete your work for this unit.
Proposal form

11HNC/D in Business
2016
You will need to reflect on the success of your research project and your performance at the end of
the project with the inclusion of a project evaluation and recommendations.
The research project can take the following forms:
○ Dissertation.
○ Feasibility study.
○ Investigation/fieldwork.
Project Submission Guidelines
 Submit a soft copy in a CD or Email to [e-mail] on the submission date. Use Normal script
of a proper font size 12.
 Attach the front sheet of this assignment brief to your work for assignment submission with
signatures on the statement of authenticity.
 Assignments submitted after the deadline will not be accepted unless Extenuating Circumstances
Form is submitted with third party evidence.
 Collusion and Plagiarism must be avoided.
 Start each answer on a new page and pages should be numbered. Highlight each question clearly.
 Include a Bibliography at the end of the assignment and use the Harvard referencing system.
 All work should be comprehensively referenced and all sources must be fully acknowledged, such as
books and journals, websites (include the date of visit), etc.
 In order to pass you need to address all the LOs and meet all the PASS (Ps) criterions within the LO.
 In order to get a merit you need to address the characteristics of Pass and then M1, M2, M3 and M4
 In order to get a distinction, you need to address the characteristics of Pass, Merit and then D1, D2
and D2.
Templates

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Research Proposal Form
Student Name ......................................................................................... Student number ...........................................
Centre Name ......................................................................................... ...........................................
Tutor ......................................................................................... Date ...........................................
Unit .........................................................................................
Proposed title ..................................................................................................................................................................................
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of research project ( in the form of a question, objective or hypothesis)
Research project objectives (e.g. what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to do?
What do you want to find out?):
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g. links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future plans,
knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothesis:
Studies have demonstrated that more than 80 per cent of the business owners agree that technology has
the potential to create financial opportunities and gains that would take the business to new heights. It is
discussed that it is just a matter of time of how it can be used and in what ways it can be integrated to ensure
a seamless process. In the year 2015, the Google search giant inaugurated accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
project that it would accelerate the Mobile Pages and this is being considered as important. Mobile devices
proffer convenience for the customers to interact in the business. There are many other ways to use the
mobile like the text messages marketing and in facilitation of the mobile payments. The inception and the
proliferation in social media have led to the companies to change and implement the different business
strategies. According to scholars associated with the field of business communication it is estimated that by
2018 the social networking platform is set to have 1.28 billion users and by 2018 it is expected that 2.55
billion users will be using Facebook. This has indicated social media has the potential to become goldmine
for the marketers. The business leaders need to tap these advantages posed by the social media and identify
the target customers whilst engaging and connecting with the customer. This can be achieved through
building a robust social media that would increase the online visibility of the brands. The customers need to
understand the nuances of the business and leverage the marketing strategies. The deployment of social
media for marketing for promoting the products and the services, connecting with the influencers, engaging
with the customers, sharing the actionable content with the customers, attracting new customers and in
offering the customer service. According to experts, the goal would be to use three platforms that can be
used by the majority of the current and the potential customers. This would make it easier for advantage
targeted social media campaigns that would enable them to secure the ROI they want.

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Embracing digital technology in business has enabled in the automation of technologies that would help
in the streamlining of the business, automation and the measuring of the marketing strategies and the
workflow of the business. It has been found that that the automation of marketing provides the key
advantage of centralized database for the marketing of data through creating a space for the management
and the automation of the marketing processes. Finally, it enables in testing the and optimizing the
marketing and determining its impact on the revenue. Therefore, the support of digital technology in the
business would help in managing the business and in improving the lead generation, nurturing,
segmentation, retention of the customers, cross-selling and upselling and also in return of the investment.
Another advantage of digital technology is the management of the project. It helps in improving the project
that is aligned within the business that can minimize the costs, efforts and the time wasted during the course
of the project. The tool of project management would be make it easier for the teams to work in
collaboration. In addition to it, it would help me in sharing the files and the folders and provide a clear
overview of the entire risk of the project or the task through centralized space that would enable in the
organization and the working of the project in a much more efficient manner. The incorporation of digital
technology into the project management would therefore, minimize the time that is usually wasted in
looking for the documents or it is wasted in the progress of the meetings.
Another dimension of the digital technology in business is the Customer Relationship Management
(CRM). This is understood be the CRM approach that enables in the management and the organization of
the prospective consumes of the brand. The CRM system fosters the business data to allow the company or
the brand to improvise the customer relationships with a special emphasis on the retention of the business.
Therefore, the adoption of the CRM software through the improvement of the customer relationship would
ensure that customers can be attracted and retained. Apart from strengthening the relationship with the
customers, CRM would culminate into the growth of business and in the coordination of the communication
activities. Another impact of digital technology into business has been in the realm of cloud computing.
Unlike the traditional local servers or the personal computers that are used for the organization of data and
securing the files online, cloud offers several benefits that are instrumental in the acceleration and growth of
the business. Adoption of cloud has led to the reduction of the IT operating system and the costs associated
with the support. In addition, it helps in the productivity of the employee through allowing the staff to
access the files both in real-time as well as in remote places. Based on the review of literature, it can be
concluded that there are multiple benefits of the adoption of digital technology into the manifold of
business. It cannot be denied that there has been profuse amount of studies to document and expound on the
impact of digital technology on business, however the present study would incorporate a combination of
primary data and secondary data with the aim of exploring the role of digital technology in the proliferation
of business. The literature that have been reviewed for the purpose of the research did not engage with both
primary and secondary data collectively to put forth its argument.
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research project (e.g. research, development
and analysis of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings,
production of final outcome, evaluation, writing the report):
How long this will take:
The project would take
around 3 months

11HNC/D in Business
2016
Milestone one: .........................................................................................
Target date (set by tutor): .........................................................................................
Milestone two: .........................................................................................
Target date (set by tutor): .........................................................................................
Section Four: Research approach and methodologies
What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to use and why?
What your areas of research will cover:
The approach of research would be qualitative research design and the methods
that would be used for the study are in-depth interviewing and review of the
secondary sources.
The area of research would be business and digital technology
Comments and agreement from tutor
Comments (optional):
I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is
appropriate.
Agreed: .................................................................................... (name) .................................................................................... date) ......................................................
Comments and agreement from project proposal checker (if applicable)
Comments (optional):
I confirm that the project is appropriate.
Agreed: .................................................................................... (name) .................................................................................... date) ......................................................

13HNC/D in Business
2016
Research Ethics Approval Form
All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use of data
collected from human participants are required to gain ethical approval before commencing
their research. Please answer all relevant questions and note that your form may be returned
if incomplete.
For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor.
Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research
fully with your Unit Tutor.
Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to commence.
Section 1: Basic Details
Project title: .....................................................Exploration of digital technology in
business...................................................................................................................................................................................
......................
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Student name: ...................................................................................
Student ID number: ...................................................................................
Programme: ...................................................................................
School: ...................................................................................
Intended research start date: ...............20. 6. 2018..............................
Intended research end date: .............20. 9. 2018................................
Section 2: Project Summary
Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project:
• Interviews: Yes
• Questionnaires: Yes
• Observations:
• Use of Personal Records:
• Data Analysis: Yes
• Action Research:
• Focus Groups:
• Other (please specify): ....................................................................................................................................................................

Section 3: Participants
Please answer the following questions, giving full details where necessary.
Will your research involve human participants?
Who are the participants? Tick all that apply:
Ages 12-16: Young People aged 17–18: Adults:
How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)?
Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what you are doing:
How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it be made clear to participants that
they may withdraw consent to participate at any time?
Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting questions they do not wish to
answer?
Yes
:
No
:
If No please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues arising from this
Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their informed consent to be
observed.
Yes
:
No
:
Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give them a brief explanation of the study)?
Yes
:
No
:
Will participants be given information about the findings of your study? (This could be a brief summary of your
findings in general)
Yes
:
No
:
13HNC/D in Business
2016

15HNC/D in Business
2016
Section 4: Data Storage and Security
Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act
(1998) Yes: No:
Who will have access to the data and personal information?
During the research:
Where will the data be stored?
Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be
used? No:
If yes, please provide further details: After
the research:
Where will the data be stored?
How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format? Will
data be kept for use by other researchers?
No:
Section 5: Ethical Issues
Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline
how you will deal with these:
It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may arise as a result of your
research. Please consider/address all issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited
to the following:
• Informed consent.
• Potentially vulnerable participants.
• Sensitive topics.
• Risks to participants and/or researchers.
• Confidentiality/anonymity.
• Disclosures/limits to confidentiality.
• Data storage and security, both during and after the research
(including transfer, sharing, encryption, protection).
• Reporting.
• Dissemination and use of your findings.

Section 6: Declaration
I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s Research and Ethics Policy: Yes
I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with my Unit Tutor: Yes:
I confirm that to the best of my knowledge:
The above information is correct and that this is a full description of the ethics issues that may arise in the course of my resea
Name: .....................................................................................................................................................................
Date: ...................................................................................
Please submit your completed form to ......................................................................................................................................................................
15HNC/D in Business
2016

Assessment Criteria
Pass Meri
t
Distinction
LO1 Conduct appropriate research methodology which integrates knowledge
into the research process.
D1 Critically evaluate
research methodologies and
processes in application to
a business research project
to justify chosen research
methods and analysis.
P1 Produce a research proposal that
clearly defines a research question or
hypothesis, supported by a literature
review.
P2 Examine appropriate research
methods and conduct primary and
secondary research.
M1 Evaluate different research
approaches and methodology, and make
justifications for the choice of methods
selected based on philosophical/
theoretical frameworks.
LO2 Conduct and analyse research relevant to a chosen business research
project.
P3 Conduct primary and secondary
research using appropriate methods for a
business research project that consider
costs, access and ethical issues.
P4 Apply appropriate analytical tools to
analyse research findings and data.
M2 Discuss merits, limitations and pitfalls
of approaches to data collection and
analysis.
LO3 Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified
stakeholders.
P5 Communicate research outcomes in
an appropriate manner for the
intended audience.
M3 Coherently and logically
communicate outcomes to the
intended audience, demonstrating
how outcomes meet set research
objectives.
D2 Communicate critical
analysis of the outcomes
and make valid, justified
recommendations.
LO4 Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.
P6 Reflect on the effectiveness of
research methods applied for meeting
objectives of the business research
project.
P7 Consider alternative research
methodologies and lessons learnt in view
of the outcomes.
M4 Provide critical reflection and
insight that results in recommended
actions for improvements and future
research considerations.
D3 Demonstrate reflection
and engagement in the
resource process leading to
recommended actions for
future improvement.
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Assignment Feedback
Feedback: Assessor to Student
General Comments:
Action Plan
Feedback: Student to Assessor
Assessor Signature Date
Student Signature Date
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