BUS 237 Assignment 1: MIS Article Critique

Submission Instructions:
This assignment is to be submitted online, using the Canvas Assignments tool. Attach your completed
assignment in MS Word format (ie, .docx document).
Note: With this and all online assignments, please use the following fonts only: Arial, Times New Roman,
Tahoma or Calibri. This is very important to avoid display inconsistencies leading to unnecessary grading
penalties.
Report Length: 500 to 700 words including cover page and references/citations. Students will be penalized
for submitting a report outside of this range.
Important:
- Review carefully and edit your write-up for grammatical and spelling mistakes missed by MS
Word’s auto-correct feature. A significant portion of your grade will depend on your use of
grammar and spelling.
- Only MS Word file format is accepted for the report – all other formats (e.g., PDF or MS Works) will
NOT be accepted.
- Your report should include a cover page, the report body, and a list of references/citations used
presented in formal APA referencing style.
- The document should be written in a business/professional format, well organized and easy to
read. Deductions will apply for poor formatting, spelling/grammatical mistakes, and poor
organization of ideas. Specifically, you are expected to use MS Word styles, MS Word
citation/reference manager and MS cover page features. Refer to Word Tutorial notes for detail.
- You should provide an electronic copy (PDF or valid web hyperlink) of your chosen article with
your submission via Canvas (as a separate file for PDF).

Purpose and Background:

Many of the concepts you will be learning throughout this course are best understood as well as more
interesting if you are aware of current and emerging MIS-related news in academic journals, newspapers,
and magazines. This assignment will allow you to share an article of your choice from a reputable source
and critique it. Key concepts include: New and current technology; management information systems;
innovation; writing business critiques; analyzing media news; and business communication skills.

Directions:
Find a recent article (approximately within 6 weeks of this assignment’s deadline – Published on or after
Dec 3rd , 2020) from either:
- The Economist
- Harvard Business Review
- Bloomberg Business Week
- Business Insider
- Reuters
- Forbes
- The Washington Post

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 BUS 237 – Assignment 1: MIS Article Critique

- BBC
- Wired
- MIT Technology review (http://www.technologyreview.com/)
- Fast Company
- The Financial Times
- New York Times
- itbusiness.ca
- Other approved sources (no blogs or obscure websites). Your TA must approve the source
beforehand.
Your choice of article may be generally based on a technological innovation, application of technology
(successful or otherwise), or more specifically related to one of the topics we have discussed or will discuss
in class (see course outline). You must ensure that you reference your article correctly using APA
referencing style, as well as to reference any other sources you use. You should provide an electronic copy
(PDF or valid web hyperlink) of your chosen article with your submission.

The Report Body

You are required to prepare a summary of this article, including a critique and/or appraisal of the article’s
content; and clearly point out how it relates to at least one of the concepts from BUS 237 lectures or
textbook chapters. Your report should be structured as follows (you must use section headings
appropriately titled).

Introduction and Article Summary

Your report should dedicate no more than 250 words for the first two sections of your report: the
introduction, and the article summary. The “introduction” section should be a brief overview of the report
including your high level argument. The “article summary” section should provide the important highlights
of the article you are critiquing.
Using more than 250 words for these two sections imply you are unable to concisely summarize the article.
Students will be penalized for exceeding the maximum allowed word count for these two sections.

Analysis and Critique

The rest of the report should be focused on expanding on the key points that you have raised in the
introduction of your report. The best critiques come after a thorough analysis of the article.
Below are some guiding questions you could potentially consider, when going through the analysis of your
article:
 Why was the article written? What is the purpose of the article?
 Who is the intended audience of the article?
 When was/ will the technology be released? What other technological innovations led to this
technological innovation/ application of technology?
 What does the article not tell us about the technology? (You may need to use external sources to
support this.)
 How could this technology impact the future?

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 What are some business applications for this? What are the benefits for companies if they
implemented this innovation?
 How does this topic relate to any of the topics that are covered in lecture/ in class?

Do NOT specifically answer these questions in your report. These questions will help you analyze the article
and guide your critique. It is important to realize that this analysis will involve significant research on the
topic to understand its scope, its current state and/or future expectations, and to learn about opposing
opinions about it. This research will include but is not limited to reading additional published articles
related to the technology or topic. Do not underestimate the amount of time necessary for this research to
empower you to write a well-thought-out report.
Once you have conducted a proper analysis your own critique and opinion of the article and technology
should come naturally. Examples of such critique include agreeing/disagreeing with the major takeaways of
the article or extending the main points of the article with external research or personal observations. It is
acceptable to write the critique using the first-person view.
You will be critiquing the content of the article (refer to the suggested analysis questions above). Do not
critique the writing style or grammar used in the article. Focus your critique on the opinions and facts
presented in the article. You should present your own opinions supported by external sources such as
academic publications or additional credible news stories with your critique.

Conclusion
The final section of your report is the conclusion. You are expected to provide a brief concluding remark (2
to 4 sentences) to wrap up your report.
Note: Do NOT refer to the chapter, textbook, or the class in your write-up. Instead, you should refer directly to the
actual concept that is being addressed.

Before handing in this assignment:

The cover page should clearly display the following information: your name, student number, TA's name,
and tutorial section number.
The references list should be on the last page of your submission under the title “References.” Use MS
Word citation manager to automatically generate the references list.
Make sure to submit through Canvas the following: your MS Word document, and a PDF Copy of Article
chosen for this assignment or a valid hyperlink to the chosen article. Make arrangements with your TA if
you can’t make a PDF copy of the article and the link used is not publicly accessible (i.e., requires a
subscription).

Marking Criteria:
Assignments are core components of BUS 237.
 See the assignment grading key for the evaluation criteria used to grade this assignment.
 Students are expected to work independently on this assignment, therefore, TAs have been
instructed to award a maximum grade of negative 15 (ie, -150% cheating penalty) to students
whose submissions suggest that they collaborated with others on their assignments (report and
supporting files) or is not their work at all (ie, produced by a hired gun). This applies to the original

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 BUS 237 – Assignment 1: MIS Article Critique

author of the work, as well as to those whose submissions resemble it! Offending assignments and
names of all students involved will be submitted to the undergraduate program director for further
disciplinary actions.
 Late submissions will NOT be accepted. A grade of zero will be awarded for missed deadlines.

Contact your TA immediately if you are having any problems with the Canvas submission process!

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