University of Maryland Trends in Information Technology Industry Memorandum

Imagine that you recently began working in a department that supports your company’s strategic planning for growth in the industry. Your department head has asked you to do research from a newcomer’s perspective to inform future marketing directions for the company. He has asked you to write a detailed memo that identifies the three top trends in the industry. If he likes your work on this initial research, he will ask you to write a position paper on the most important issue related to these trends. (The position paper will be your assignment for project 3.) He is hoping to use your research to prepare your department to launch a new strategic plan.

• Template for project 2.

This is your first real task for your new job, and you are excited and a little nervous about the assignment. You think you have a sense of the industry but know you need to do more research to be accurate in your analysis. The ability to spot trends in your industry is an important skill, and your boss wants to spend energy and capital on new growth areas, products, and services.

• How do I find industry trends?
• How do I research an industry?
• How to identify and evolve with industry trends.
• List of Industry Names

As you begin your research, you will want to use library resources, but you can also use items from CareerQuest/Vault.

CareerQuest

Register for CareerQuest, review the available resources, and use Vault for some of your industry research. Please review this short video about the many services under CareerQuest. Career Insider by Vault is a set of career research tools. You can find the Vault tools under Tools>Career Tool Box>Career Search Tools. Career Search Tools should be the box in the lower right corner.

Assignment Details

Your assignment is to produce a well-researched and properly cited memo of approximately 500 words (about two pages in double-spaced 11 point Calibri or Times New Roman font) in which you identify three trends in your industry and discuss each one briefly. You are to provide citations for at least THREE SOURCES. These sources should be a mix of journal articles from the UMGC library, information from Vault, and possibly authoritative web websites or online materials pertaining to your trends.

Be sure to cite in-text any words or ideas from your sources, and include a properly formatted list of references. Any words not your own must go in quotes and include citation.

For an example, please refer to the APA formatted template for project 2.

Check out these short videos from UMGC’s Library:

• How to set up your paper in APA style: https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-document-formatting-7h
• How to format a reference list in APA format: https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-references-list-formatting-7h

Please review these helpful resources from UMGC’s Effective Writing Center (EWC):

• Good strategies for thinking about assignments and preparing to write.
• Some good information from the EWC writing guide about the process of writing.
• Our own David Taylor with his video on writing the 5 paragraph essay.

Deliverables:

• DRAFT: Submit only your APA-formatted title page, introductory paragraph, and reference list to the DRAFT of Project 2 Memo assignment folder by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday of week 1. Do NOT submit the entire paper yet, just the three items mentioned here. Please look for my comments in the assignment folder in week 2. If you would like to submit your draft to the writing tutors (under resources in the menu across the top of the classroom) for review, please do so no later than Tuesday of week 1.
• Submit your full 500-word memo with a title page, citations, and at least three references in APA format to the FINAL Project 2 Memo assignment folder by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday of week 2. This is the version I will grade.