INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMA

IN
COMPUTER STUDIES

MODULE:
E-BUSINESS

ASSIGNMENT TITLE:
CRICKET E-ZINE

SEPTEMBER 2010
Important Notes:
™ Please refer to the Assignment Presentation Requirements for advice on how to set out your
assignment. These can be found on the NCC Education Campus. Scroll down the left hand
side of the screen until you reach Personal Support. Click on this, and then on Policies and
Advice. You will find the Assignment Presentation Requirements under the Advice section.
™ You must familiarise yourself with the NCC Education Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism
Policy and ensure that you acknowledge all the sources which you use in your work. The
policy is available on Campus. Follow the instructions above, but click on Policies rather
than Advice.
™ You must complete the ‘Statement and Confirmation of Own Work’. The form is
available on the Policies section of Campus. Scroll down the left hand side until you reach
Personal Support. Click on this and then click on Policies and Advice.
™ Please make a note of the recommended word count. You could lose marks if you write 10%
more or less than this.
™ You must submit a paper copy and digital copy (on disk or similarly acceptable medium).
Media containing viruses, or media which cannot be run directly, will result in a fail grade
being awarded for this module.
™ All electronic media will be checked for plagiarism.

Marker's comments:

Moderator's comments:

Mark: Moderated Final

Mark: Mark:

eBusiness September 2010 Final © NCC Education 2010

Introduction
Cricket has become an increasingly popular sport in many countries around the world, particularly with
the introduction of Twenty20, which is a shortened form of the game. As a result there is growing media
and public interest in the sport.

You are an eCommerce consultant and have been approached by a company called Sporting Publications
who currently publish a traditional hard copy magazine that focuses on cricket. Its audience is made up of
people who watch and play cricket, at both the professional and amateur levels

The magazine is published monthly and is available on a subscription basis ($30 per year for 12 issues).
There are currently 6,500 subscribers, and each issue of the magazine is sent out in the post to this
subscriber base.

However, the subscriber base has not grown for 2 years and the cost of printing and distributing the
magazine is growing by 5% per year. As a result, the company are considering the future of the magazine.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sporting Publications is interested in exploring the possibility of
turning the magazine into an E-Zine. This could potentially mean that future issues of the magazine will
only be available to online subscribers and the hard copy version will no longer be produced. Equally, it
could mean that both a hard copy and an online version will be made available simultaneously.

He is also very interested in exploring further the opportunities associated with setting up some form of
virtual community that could run alongside the magazine.

The CEO is also aware of the potential security threats posed by the use of eCommerce. He plans to
outsource the handling of the subscriptions to the E-Zine, should it go ahead, to a third party finance
company. However, this will necessitate this company holding the personal details of the subscribers
including their names, addresses, email addresses and credit card details. He has asked you to provide
him with a summary of the possible security risks of such an approach.

Assignment
The CEO has contracted you to undertake a short feasibility study in order to evaluate a number of issues
and provide him with your recommendations. As part of this, he has asked you to prepare the following:

1. A report describing the various revenue models that may be appropriate for the E-Zine version of
the magazine, together with your recommendation on the one that is likely to be the most suitable.
2. A short presentation of no more than 10 minutes which will outline your initial ideas for
marketing the new E-Zine.
3. A briefing document that describes the various types of virtual communities and provides the
CEO with some pointers as to the opportunities they present for the online venture.
4. A list of the major threats that could be posed to the security of the magazine’s subscribers which
will be held in a database by a third party finance company.
5. A short summary of your recommendations on how Sporting Publications should proceed with the
publishing of the cricket magazine.

eBusiness September 2010 Final © NCC Education 2010

Task 1 – 6 Marks
Carry out some Internet-based research to find any information that relates to magazines and other online
resources dedicated to cricket. Make notes on the range of such resources, the ways in which they market
their respective products and the revenue models adopted.

Task 2 – 6 Marks
Produce a project plan 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. Submit a copy of your plan to your tutor BEFORE you proceed further with the
assignment.

Task 3 – 20 Marks
Write a report of no more than 1200 words that briefly summarises the main types of revenue models that
can be adopted for web-based business strategies. The report should clearly identify what type of
eCommerce application each revenue model is particularly appropriate for. It should conclude by
recommending the revenue model that you feel would be best suited to the Cricket E-Zine, explaining
your reasons for making this choice.

Task 4 – 20 Marks
Using PowerPoint, or a similar tool, put together a maximum of twelve slides that could be used as the
basis of a presentation to the CEO on the main elements of a marketing plan to support the launch of the
Cricket E-Zine. The plan should explain what activities will be undertaken to encourage people to take
out subscriptions to the online magazine. It should also address how the existing subscription base will be
approached, together with details of any special offers that may be made to them. The plan should clearly
state the target number of subscriptions to be achieved in the first and second year of operation, and
include any plans for increasing the number of new subscribers from other countries.

Task 5 – 16 Marks
Produce a briefing report of no more than 1000 words that outlines the different types of virtual
communities and online forums that could be established to add value to an E-Zine version of the cricket
magazine. In particular you should focus upon ways in which a successful virtual community could be
used to promote interest in the Cricket E-Zine and subsequently attract subscribers.

Task 6 – 16 Marks
Compile a list of three major threats that could be posed to the security of the subscribers’ details held
online by the third party finance organisation. For each threat you should also list an appropriate
countermeasure that could be taken. In addition you should briefly outline in no more than 100 words the
possible business consequences for Sporting Publications if there was a security breach of their
subscribers’ personal data.

eBusiness September 2010 Final © NCC Education 2010

Task 7 – 16 Marks
Put together a summary of your recommendations as far as the potential launch of the Cricket E-Zine is
concerned. The summary should look at the following three business options:

• Continue to publish the Cricket Magazine and NOT launch the Cricket E-Zine
• Publish both the Cricket Magazine AND the Cricket E-Zine simultaneously
• Launch the Cricket E-Zine BUT stop the publication of the Cricket Magazine

For each of these three options, you should state two advantages and two disadvantages. You should also
specify your recommended course with action, and include your reasons for this choice.

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.

Submission Requirements
1. A word-processed, printed document containing all the written components of the assignment (Tasks
1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7) signed and dated by your tutor/lecturer.

2. A printed version of the presentation you have prepared for Task 4.

3. A copy of all the electronic material (Tasks 1-7) on appropriate medium (zip disk, CD-ROM etc.).

Warning: All media must be virus free!

Media containing viruses, or media which cannot be run directly, will result in a FAIL grade being
awarded for this module.

You must read and understand NCC Education’s policy on ‘Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism’.
You must complete the ‘Statement and Confirmation of Own Work’ form and attach the completed form to
your assignment.

eBusiness September 2010 Final © NCC Education 2010