Case Study Isabella is the head of the marketing department at a rapidly growing e-commerce company that focuses on organic and sustainable products. The department comprises five marketing specialists, a content creator, two social media experts, and a digital analytics expert. Over the past few months, Isabella has observed a decline in the engagement rate across the company's online channels, and sales are not hitting the projected numbers. To make matters worse, a major brand partner has expressed dissatisfaction with the company's promotional efforts, indicating that they may not renew their contract. Within Isabella's team, Samuel, one of the social media experts, has been a point of contention. Samuel frequently challenges the strategies devised by his peers and is openly critical of other's ideas in team meetings. This has resulted in unease within the team, and two members have formally expressed their discomfort to Isabella. She had previously held a meeting with Samuel regarding his confrontational behaviour, but there hasn't been any discernible change. Isabella identifies three primary areas that require immediate attention to rectify the department's performance and alleviate external stakeholder concerns: Communication Issues: Isabella notes that Samuel's attitude has been detrimental to the team's cohesiveness. The negative environment has suppressed open communication and creative brainstorming, which is essential for a marketing team. Several team members feel demotivated and are hesitant to voice their ideas, fearing criticism. Operational Efficacy: The dip in online engagement and sales indicates a flaw in the marketing team's strategies. Isabella believes that the current internal discord has distracted the team from focusing on effective campaigns and identifying market trends, leading to less-than-optimal results. Partnership Management: The concerns raised by the significant brand partner cannot be ignored. Their collaboration has been profitable for the company and losing them can have financial ramifications. Isabella understands the need to reevaluate the promotional strategies for this partner and re-establish confidence in the company's marketing efforts. To tackle these concerns, Isabella plans to initiate an in-depth review of the current marketing strategies, evaluate the team dynamics, and engage in open dialogue with the concerned brand partner. She must gather data-driven insights into the team's operational shortcomings, devise a comprehensive plan to address internal communication barriers, and renew the faith of their valued partner.

Question 1: What are the primary evidence-based causes of your team's underperformance? (5 marks) Question 2: Which risks will be exacerbated if this issue remains unresolved and how will these be mitigated? (5 marks)

Question 3: What steps will you take to resolve the conflict with your colleague and in which sequence will you perform those steps? (5 marks)

Question 4: How will you repair the relationship with your most critical internal customer and what specifically makes them your most critical internal customer? (5 marks)

Question 5: How will you prevent the recurrence of this situation? (5 marks) The remaining 15 available marks in this assessment will be awarded for the calibre of the video presentation and the accompanying slide deck as per the criteria on the following page. This assessment aims to achieve the following subject learning outcomes:

LO1 Determine the factors of success for IT professionals that align with the expectations of diverse stakeholders.

LO2 Plan for the mitigation of risks associated with ethical, societal, legal and privacy-related IT issues. LO4 Communicate complex IT-related concepts, problems, solutions, and outcomes to diverse stakeholders via the use of various communication methods.