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IntroductionProvides students with an understanding of the effects of the digital
environment on business models and how firms have to adapt to be competitive in a digital economy. Focuses on the management of technology in such an environment, with emphasis on management
activities (e.g., planning, organizing, coordinating, assimilating new technologies, evaluating information technology investments, etc.) that will
enable firms to make the most effective use of their information technology resources.
The digitally connected world in which we live has made the efficient and effective use of IT a key determinant of success for every firm. A firm’s strategy
cannot be developed without careful consideration of the impact IT can have on the firm and on its competitors. Moreover, effective use of IT is critical to the execution of that strategy.
The purpose of this course is to prepare you, in your role as a manager, to make effective IT-related decisions in a digital environment. The course is designed for
the manager who has to deal with information technologies, to improve her own productivity, that of her subordinates or that of the organization as a whole. Our
approach will be analytical in nature. You will exposed to concepts that will enhance your ability to define and analyze IT-related opportunities and problems, and evaluate alternative responses to them.
Rapid developments in the Internet arena have greatly affected all organizations. Few executives can afford to disregard the problems and opportunities that the
Internet presents. A significant portion of this course will focus on understanding how this relatively new environment is affecting businesses and the IT-related
decisions that you will be called upon to make to be an effective manager.
Learning Objectives
As a result of our work together you should:
- learn how business models are being affected by the interconnected world in which we live and how an interconnected world affects the management of a firm’s resources.
- be able to determine how the Internet is affecting firms and how firms may have to change their organizations, methods and processes to compete in a digital economy.
- gain an understanding of the role that IT plays in the firm.
- better understand how the capabilities provided by IT can enable a firm to succeed in a competitive environment.
- become more effective consumers of IT resources in a business environment.
Teaching Material
Internet Business Models & Strategies: Text & Cases, Alan Afuah & Christopher L. Tucci, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2002 (2nd Edition) (A&T)
A course packet that is available from Gray’s bookstore. The course packet includes chapters from a text book and cases from the Harvard Business School Publishing. The cases are at the end of the course packet. (
CP)
Additional material will be available on the WWW or will be handed out in class.
Course Organization
The most current information regarding our class is available on the Web, including information about exams, assignments, etc. There may be changes made
to the syllabus during the semester. The online version of the syllabus should guide your planning for the course. There will be no announcements in class
regarding assignments. Any changes to the syllabus will appear on the online version at least one week in advance of the due date.
You are expected to come well-prepared to class. The pre-class preparation material should be reviewed carefully and you must be thorough in your analysis
of the cases that are assigned. If you are not prepared for a class, it is your responsibility to let me know before the class begins (I will not call on you if you
tell me that you are not prepared). If I call on you in class and find that you are not prepared, you class contribution grade will be greatly affected.
I will make some multimedia material available online. These online resources are an essential part of your class preparation. You should treat them in the same
manner as hard copy reading material assigned for a class session. Our face-to-face sessions will be devoted to a discussion of the pre-class preparation
material to current problems & opportunities, and to the discussion of assigned cases. Do not expect a rehash of the class preparation material in class. If you do
not understand the material that has been assigned as class preparation, you should let me know at the beginning of class so that I can cover it in class.
When a case is assigned, you must analyze it before coming to class. This does not mean just reading through it once. You should be prepared to discuss your
case analysis orally in class. If a case is accompanied by specific questions, your analysis must have you prepared to share your answers with the class, including your rational for the positions you take.
Preparation for Case Discussions guidelines
There is no single way of preparing cases that works for everyone, so you need to develop an approach that works for you. The following approach is offered as a starting point:
- Skim the case to identify what it is about, what kind of data it provides, and what data is missing.
- Read the case carefully, underlining key points.
- Go through the case again to sort out relevant considerations for each problem area; develop alternative courses of action. Base those courses of
action on the theory discussed in the course. Higher credit will be given for greater appropriate use of the theory in your analysis.
- Recommend feasible actions, supported by logical analysis based on case data.
A good case analysis must explicitly include the logical analysis, data and assumptions used to reach the conclusions, as well as the conclusions and
recommendations themselves. Logical analysis, based on case data, must support your conclusions and recommendations. You must clearly link any
recommendations to the case data. Repetition of case facts, without drawing conclusions from them is of little use to you or your classmates. When it is
necessary to make assumptions, they should be reasonable; you should be able to explain the basis for the assumptions and what the implications are if they are wrong.
In general, the objective is to propose a solution or action. If you don't have enough data to arrive at a final solution, at least identify what additional data is
needed, where you would get it (keeping feasibility in mind), how you would use it, and what the implications would be for the solution.
Team Project
Teams will be comprised of four or five members. The ideal team will be diverse in terms of academic background and work experience. I reserve the right to
change team composition if teams are not diverse. Team composition must be conveyed to me no later than September 15, 2003. Once you make up your team,
either hand me a piece of paper with the names of team members on it, or e-mail me the names.
Your assignment is to understand a local firm’s business model (preferably, a firm that one or more of you work for) in order to be able to assess the impact that
specific new technologies will have on them. I will assign technologies after I know what firms you are studying.
Each team will make a presentation describing the outcome of your assessment. Each team member is expected to participate in the presentation. Two class
periods have been set aside for team presentations. You will be told when you are to make your presentation. Attendance at the presentations is mandatory. Failure to
attend will result in a one grade penalty (e.g., A- to B+) or will require a thorough written analysis of two cases from the textbooks.
A written report is due at the beginning of class on the first day devoted to team presentations.
Further information on the project is available here.
Examinations
There will be a mid-term and a final examination in this course. These will be open book exams. Open book exams place a substantial premium on understanding
the material since points are awarded almost exclusively for your explanations and not on your ability to regurgitate material from the readings.
The final examination will be cumulative.
Course Policies, Procedures & Grading
Attendance: You are expected to participate in all class sessions. Excessive absence degrades not only your learning, but that of all of us in the class.
Excessive absences will also lower your final grade. If you miss (or will miss) a class, you must send me an e-mail message with the subject heading
“Missing/missed CIS 675 class” no later than 24 hours after the class. If you do not do so, you will automatically receive a 10% deduction for the class participation portion of your grade.
Contribution to the Class: Each of you can and must contribute to what all of us take away from this class. You will be graded on your contributions to the class.
Meaningful contributions to class discussions is an essential part of the learning experience. Comments should be based upon the class preparation material and
your work experience. Valuable contributions to class discussions will enable all of us to understand the issues, problems and potential solutions. There are few
"canned" answers to the issues we will discuss. There are, however, good approaches to dealing with potential problems and opportunities that IT presents.
You contribute to the class by making a contribution to our discussion, not merely talking, and it does not mean repeating case facts or simply agreeing with what
others have said. Our interest is not in "right" or "wrong," it is whether you have made a contribution to the development of the issues being discussed; whether you
have moved the class forward. One clear way of making a contribution is to critically evaluate the instructor's comments or the comments of your classmates; it is not the instructor's duty alone to decide whether a remark is of
value. Failure to participate and disagree where needed, penalizes you and the class in many ways: (1) you lose incentive to prepare the readings and cases
properly; (2) you lose the chance to develop communication skills; (3) you deprive all of us of your insights into the issues; (4) your ideas go un-scrutinized and unevaluated by others.
You may also contribute to our class in other ways. You can, for example, bring in copies of relevant articles from the business press (e.g., Wall Street Journal,
Business Week & Fortune), share them with the class and explain how the article ties in to our course. You may also contribute by sharing a personal experience
with the class that pertains to the class preparation material. Relevance is key to these contributions.
Grading
Your course grade will be determined by your performance on different components of this course. The different components and the weights for each component are shown below.
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Weights for different Components
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Component
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Weights
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Written term project and presentation
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35%
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Contribution to the class
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15%
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Mid-term exam
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20%
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Final examination
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30%
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Grades will be assigned as follows: A grades (e.g., A+, A, A-) for 90% and above; B grades for 80% and less than 90% and C grades for 70% and less than
80%. Scores below 70% will receive an F. At my discretion, I may assign higher grades than the above scale warrants.
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