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Updated: September 16, 2003.

Assigned reading material and cases will be updated at least a week in advance of the due date. You should check this page three times a week, at a minimum.

I am likely to make changes to the slides for classes. I suggest that you download slides for a class only the day before the class so that you have the most up-to-date version of the slides. You should bring the slides to class so that you can follow the discussion more easily and take notes on the slides.
8/27/2003 Course Introduction & Internet basics
Discussion Course organization and discussion of course content and requirements. Overview of the course content.
A discussion of background material for this course.
Slides Download slides used in class.
NOTE: You cannot download these slides until you have completed the assignment that you are to complete by the next class, because you need your user ID and password from part 2 of that assignment.
9/2/2003 IT, Business Strategy and Competition 
Assignment All parts of this assignment must be completed no later than 1:00 PM on September 2, 2003.

You must let me know who is on your team no later than 5:00 PM on Spetember 15, 2003. You can e-mail me.
Discussion Why is the importance of Information Technology different across firms? Can the importance of IT to a firm change over time? 
Pre-class preparation CP Ch. 1; A&T Ch. 1
Read these two articles: Priority Setting: First Things First and Top 40 Study Strategies. 
Cases Quicken Insurance: The Race to Click & Close (CP). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. How should Aldridge respond to concerns about the relatively slow rate of progress in signing up auto insurance carriers?
  2. Should Aldridge invest in building WuickenInsurance, or other Quicken.com brands?
  3. How should Aldridge evolve the Quicken.com business model??
Slides Download slides used in class.
9/9/2003 eBusiness: Overview of Internet Technology, Value Network and Internet properties
Pre-class preparation A&T Chs. 2&3; Next Frontiers
Watch this TCP/IP video. Try thisthis TCP/IP video if you have a slow connection.
Watch this Ecommerce video. (Alternative ). How has public perception changed since this video was produced? 

NOTE: To watch these videos, you must have Realone Player (free software that generally comes with most newer computers) installed. If you do not have Realone Player (i.e., your computer tries to play the file with Windows Media player), you must download and install Realone Player. You can do so by following this link and following the instructions.
Cases Vertical Net: The New Face of B2B (A&T Case 4). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. What value does Vertical Net offer its customers?
  2. Could this business have existed prior to the Internet? Why or why not?
  3. What is unique about the Internet that enables a business like Vertical Net?
  4. What are the inimitable facets of VerticalNet's business plan?
GMBuyPower.com: Dealer Beware (A&T Case 8). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. Which of the "Competitive Landscape-Transforming Properties of the Internet" does GMBuyPower.com take advantage of? 
  2. Which of those properties is the most critical to changing the business of selling cars? Why is that the most important? 
  3. What are the environmental forces that drive competition in online auto sales (include new and used cars)?
9/16/2003 Components of a Business Model; Crafting Business Models
Pre-class preparation A&T Chs. 4 & 5; CP Ch. 2, Learning from the Lagging Edge.
Cases iVillage: Innovation among Women's Websites (A&T Case 9). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. What are the ways that iVillage adds value for customers?
  2. What are iVillage's revenue sources? What portions of the revenues are least sustainable, and what can be done?
  3. How can iVillage expand its business?
  4. Should iVillage enter the order fulfillment business?
Hotmail: Free E-Mail for Sale (A&T Case 7) Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. How did Hotmail make money?
  2. How did Hotmail's linkages allow it to differentiate itself from the competition?
  3. How were they able to quickly increase their user base and lock them in?
  4. What were some of the organizational drivers of success?
  5. Why did Microsoft buy Hotmail?
Slides Download slides used in this class.
9/23/2003 Building Networked Businesses
Pre-class preparation CP Chs. 3 & 4. 
Cases Internet Securities (CP). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. Consider the ISI business model. How do the founders and investors hope to make money in the future? How successful do you expect the firm to be?
  2. What competitive threats does the firm face in June 1998? Why didn't the entrenched firms within the industry respond sooner?
  3. What changes would you suggest the Mueller's make to ensure that the firm creates both long-term and short-term value for all stakeholders? What are the impediments to implementation of your recommendations?
Slides Download slides used in this class.
9/30/2003 A taxonomy and appraisal of Business models
Pre-class preparation A&T Chs. 6, 7 & 9. 
Read E-Business: Is It Finally Starting to Deliver?
Cases Webvan: Reinventing the Milkman (A&T case 2). Be prepared to address the following questions:
  1. Will Webvan's business model work? Why or why not?
  2. Is Webvan converting (using) its capital to add customer value?
  3. Can Webvan influence the competitive environment to ensure the company's success?
Slides Download slides used in class.

10/7/2003

Mid-term examination
Note This will be an essay examination that will cover all the material to date.
10/21/2003 Managing in an eBusiness environment
Pre-class preparation A&T Chs. 10 & 11 and CP Reading 3-3: The Power of Virtual Integration: An Interview with Dell Computer's Michael Dell (pg. 507) 
Cases E*Trade: "A Lust for Being Different" (A&T case 14)
  1. Perform a competitive analysis (using Porter's 5 forces model) of this industry.
  2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of E*Trade viz-a-viz the incumbents in this industry?
  3. What does E*Trade have to do to be successful? (Roberts & Berry model) 
GMBuyPower.com: Dealer Beware (A&T Case 8) (Prepare to discuss this case again.) Specifically, address the following:
  1. Which of the "Competitive Landscape-Transforming Properties of the Internet" is the most critical to changing the business of selling cars? Why is that the most important? 
  2. What are the environmental forces that drive competition in online auto sales (include new and used cars)?
Assignment
(optional)		 Teams may turn in a draft of the work you have done on the term project. I will review it and provide feedback on your work at a meeting with your team. This is not graded (it is optional). It is an opportunity to ensure that you are on track. In the past, groups taking advantage of this have done beter than those that have not done so.
10/28/2003 Managing Networked Infrastructure & Operations
Discussion We live in a networked environment and this environment includes IT architectures within organizations. Understanding the technology and the management challenges it presents will be the focus of this class.
Pre-class preparation CP Ch. 6
Cases Jamcracker (CP)
  1. What factors have led to the emergence of the "Application Service Provider" industry?
  2. How would you explain the Jamcracker business model in 30 seconds or less?
  3. Identify two critical challenges that Jamcracker must address to create a credible and sustainable business model. What must they prove? Will they succeed? 
Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy (CP). It would be helpful to read 3-3 (from last week) once more (Dell) prior to working on this case.
  1. What advantages does Dell derive from virtual integration? How important are these advantages in the auto business?
  2. What challenges does Ford face that are not also faced by Dell? How should Ford deal with these challenges?
  3. If you were Teri Takai, what would you recommend to senior executives? To what degree should Ford emulate Dell's business model? 
11/4/2003 Organizing & Leading the IT function
Discussion How should IT be organized to provide the greatest value for the organization?
Pre-class preparation CP Ch. 8.
Cases CISCO Systems Inc.: Implementing ERP (CP)
  1. At the end of the case, Pete Solvik has a number of questions. Please think about these questions and be prepared to give your answers.
  2. How important is ERP to the overall architecture? Do you see the ERP component as something that will be undertaken by some, most or all companies as they build their Information Age IT architectures?
Ford Motor Company: Supply Chain Strategy (CP). It would be helpful to read 3-3 (from last week) once more (Dell) prior to working on this case.
  1. What advantages does Dell derive from virtual integration? How important are these advantages in the auto business?
  2. What challenges does Ford face that are not also faced by Dell? How should Ford deal with these challenges?
  3. If you were Teri Takai, what would you recommend to senior executives? To what degree should Ford emulate Dell's business model? 
Slides Download Organizing the IT function slides. These files will take some time to download over a modem connection (2 MB).
11/11/2003 Project Presentations (attendance is mandatory) 
Project reports are due.
11/18/2003 Project Presentations (attendance is mandatory)
11/25/2003 Managing IT Outsourcing
Discussion Outsourcing has gravitated from a trend to a phenomenon. Understanding why firms outsource & how outsourcing should be managed will be the focus of our discussions.
Pre-class preparation CP Ch. 9
Case Xerox: Outsourcing Global Information Technology (CP Case 4-4)

Questions (Food for thought) 

  1. Why did Xerox outsource? Do you agree with these reasons? How generalizable do you think they are? 
  2. Why is global outsourcing more difficult than domestic outsourcing? 
  3. What do you think the EDS/Xerox relationship will look like in five years? 
Slides Download Managing IT Outsourcing slides. This file will take some time to download over a modem connection (2.7 MB).
12/2/2003 Evaluating proposed IT Investments
Discussion Relationship to the IT role; project risk and evaluation methods
Pre-class preparation CP Ch. 10
Case Mondex International: Re-engineering Money. The case can be viewed & downloaded from the Web. Note that the Web version of the case has much more information than the hard copy version because of the links available on the Web.

Questions (Food for thought) 

  1. Was Swindon a good or bad site for the pilot implementation? Explain. 
  2. What are some of the important cultural, legal & political issues that management must deal with as they try to implement Mondex around the world? 
  3. Are there security & privacy issues that must be dealt with? Explain. 
  4. What are some of the other uses for this technology? Explain.
Slides Download slides for our discussion of IT Investment Decisions. This file will take some time to download over a modem connection (4.2 MB).
12/16/2003 Final examination: You are responsible for all the material we have covered in the course.

 

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 © 2003  Brian L. Dos Santos