BU.350.620.XX – Information Systems – Instructor – Page 1 of 9

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Information Systems

2 Credits
BU.350.620.XX
[NOTE: Each section must have a separate syllabus.]
[StartEnd Date / ex: 8/24/17–8/12/17]
[Semester / ex: Spring 2017]
Location: Online

Instructor

[Full Name]

Contact Information

[Email Address]

[Phone Number, (###) ###-#### (Optional)]

Office Hours

[List the day(s) and times of your virtual office hours. Indicate how you will respond to calls and emails. While faculty are permitted to state “and by appointment,” office hours should not be held exclusively by appointment.]

Instructional Teaching Specialist

[If this course section has an ITS, list his or her name and contact information here. If there is no ITS, delete this heading.]

Teaching Assistant

[If this course section has a TA, list his or her name and contact information here. If there is no TA, delete this heading.]

Required Text(s) & Learning Materials

There is no required textbook for this course. The course will be based on a combination of readings and cases posted in the E-Reserves. There are also reference materials providing business contexts that complements the ideas discussed in each module. The links to these materials will be made available by the instructor. We recommend that the students watch these.

Cases:

  • Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, Harvard Business School, January 2013, #513060-PDF-ENG
  • Social Strategy at American Express, Harvard Business School, April 2012, #712447-PDF-ENG

These cases are available only via the Harvard Business School (HBS) coursepack site. Follow the directions below to purchase the coursepack:

  1. Go to
  2. If you have not already done so, you will first need to register on the website. Please make sure you register as a student user. When asked to enter an email, please use your JHU email. Create a user name (over 8 characters) and password.
  3. After you have registered, login at the same coursepack link:
  4. This should bring you to a page with the following header:Coursepack: Information Systems. Purchase the cases associated with this header.

Technology Requirements

  • Desktop or laptop computer
  • Broadband Internet access
  • Up-to-date virus protection software
  • Webcam (most laptops have built-in webcams)
  • Microphone (most webcams and laptops have built-in microphones)

Course Description

This course addresses how markets, market mechanisms, and channels of product and service delivery are impacted and often transformed by information and communication technologies. Students will learn how technology, brought together with people and processes into systems, contributes to leveraging the creation of business value. The course considers different elements of the information architecture of the corporation and its impact on the nature of the work and the structure of the corporation.

Prerequisite(s)

None

Course Overview

The changes in market microstructure driven by information and communication technologies (ICT) also necessitate that firms should make changes to the Information Architecture of the corporation. Students will learn about the different elements of the Information Architecture of electronic markets and channels, and its impact on outcomes in digital markets. Industries that deal in information products—e.g., software, digital media, news and information services, video games—have perhaps been impacted most by the rapid advances in ICT. This course will explore how these industries have been transformed, what models of information product delivery are emerging, and the business implications for various industries.

An emerging frontier of ICT-enabled business transformation has to do with “Big Data.” This course will address the phenomenon of big data and analytics and explore frameworks to understand how big data and analytics will drive organizational transformation and help firms innovate in highly competitive markets.

In addressing each of the major topics (outlined below), students will first be exposed to a set of concepts, principles, and frameworks that draw on Economics, Information Systems, Marketing, and Strategy. They will then apply these in analyzing business cases and emerging trends in business and industry verticals, and in formulating solutions to business problems by using information and communication technologies strategically.

Learning Objectives

As a result of completing the activities of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Analyzehow the functioning of (electronically) networked markets is characterized by different economic drivers.
  2. Analyze how electronic market mechanisms function and evaluate their use in different business contexts.
  3. Formulate frameworks that explain how interorganizational information flows (as manifested in the ability to remotely monitor the execution of business processes) transform the competition between firms into competition between strategic networks and clusters of firms.
  4. Analyze how the information architecture of interactive channels enables the effective delivery of business outcomes.
  5. Formulate frameworks that explain how digital convergence impacts the media and entertainment industry.
  6. Assess the impact of “Big Data” and emerging business practices that are driven by analytics, and analyze the ways in which analytics can help drive innovation in organizations.
  7. Analyze the impact of different kinds of risks—operational and strategic—on the effective implementation of strategies by corporations including but not limited to digital businesses and information-intensive strategies.

To view the complete list of Carey Business School’s general learning goals and objectives, visit the Carey website.

Course Policies

Synchronous Online Sessions

Attendance of synchronous online sessions is highly recommended and of great value to students. This course will have the following synchronous online sessions, all of which will be delivered via Adobe Connect. To access the Adobe Connect meeting room for this course, go to [link].

Synchronous Session Schedule:

  • Module 1: [Insert date/time]
  • Module 3: [Insert date/time]
  • Module 7: [Insert date/time]

Participation

Active participation is required for students to meet the highest expectations for this course. Students are expected to participate in all assigned online class activities and assessments. Each course will also include opportunities for peer interaction.

Communication

A Q&A discussion board has been set up as a place for students to submit questions to their peers and the instructor regarding course navigation, course content, course assignments, and other related queries. The online discussion format allows students to see the questions that their classmates have already asked, as well as the answers that have been provided. The [list all that apply: instructor, instructional teaching specialist (ITS), or teaching assistant (TA)] will check the Q&A discussion board daily and respond to student questions, where appropriate and necessary, within 48 hours.

Note: Students who have a question that is urgent, or that involves a personal matter (such as grades), should contact the instructor directly at[insert email address]. Otherwise, students are encouraged to use the course’s Q&A discussion board as their primary method for asking questions.

For technology support questions, please contact the Personal Support Center. Toll-free: 855-270-4436, Ext. 3. Email:

Discussion Boards

Participating in discussion and responding to discussion questions via discussion boards is an important part of this course, and will require prompt postings by students. Discussions will count for 10% of the student’s final grade. Discussions will be graded in Modules 3–7.

Discussion Board Rubric

To ensure that all students are contributing in a substantive way to class discussions, the instructor will use the following rubric to grade student participation.

Points / Description
5 / The student posts a comment that is relevant and shows that he or she has understood the discussion thread and its context.
15 / The student’s comment captures some but not all relevant ideas/frameworks/concepts in addressing the key issues of the thread. The answer is incomplete.
20 / The student’s comment captures all relevant ideas/frameworks/concepts in addressing the key issues of the thread.

Exam Proctoring

The school utilizes Software Secure’s Remote Proctor Now (RPNow) to ensure the highest level of academic integrity of the exams. Please remember that as a student of the Carey Business School, you have agreed to complete your coursework with integrity.

RPNow requires a webcam and microphone. Information regarding the remote proctoring setup and exam conditions will be posted on your Blackboard course site.

Assignments

There are two major assignments that students are expected to complete as a part of the course deliverables.

Independent Research Assignment (Proctored)

The Independent Research Assignment is a proctored assessment that takes place in Module 8. The format of the assignment is similar to that of a written final exam and will be proctored via RPNow. The questions will test you on applying specific frameworks, techniques, and/or concepts learned in the course to business applications and business problems in your domain of research. The independent research topic will be released at the beginning of the course. Details and grading criteria regarding the assignment are available on the course website.

The Independent Research Assignment will count for 40% of the student’s final grade.

Group Assignment: Technology Strategy Project

This is the major assignment for this course. The goal of the project is to work collaboratively with assigned team members to formulate a strategy—a digital transformation of business strategy—for a company and its business. Students will choose a company and industry from a curated list. Students will produce a collaborative report. In designing a strategy for the digital transformation of business, students will have to think carefully about several aspects of the firm (the company selected), including the information architecture of the firm, the new capabilities it will need, and the barriers to successful implementation of your strategy. Students will demonstrate how the strategy formulated will help the firm guard against digital disruption and/or be a digital disruptor of its industry.

This project is a multi-phase one. At the end of each phase, it suffices if the report consists of the deliverable for that phase. Students will be expected to produce a high-quality consulting report that will guide the senior leadership of a company in formulating and implementing a critically important strategy for the company.

Details and grading criteria regarding the assignment are available on the course website. The Technology Strategy Project will count for 50% of the student’s final grade.

The following list should guide the timing of your progress on the project.

Module / Milestone / Due Date
1 / Team Contract / [Insert date/time]
4 / Phase 1 / [Insert date/time]
7 / Phase 2 / [Insert date/time]

Grading Scale

Assignment / Learning Objectives / Weight
Discussions3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (Fivegraded discussions) / 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / 10%
Independent Research Assignment (Proctored) / 1, 3, 4, 6 / 40%
Technology Strategy Project (Phase 1 and Phase 2) / 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 / 50%
Total / 100%

Grading

Effective Fall 2017: The grade of A is reserved for those who demonstrate extraordinarily excellent performance as determined by the instructor. The grade of A- is awarded only for excellent performance. The grades of B+, B, and B- are awarded for good performance. The grades of C+, C, and C- are awarded for adequate but substandard performance.The grades of D+, D, and D- are not awarded at the graduate level (undergraduate only). The grade of F indicates the student’s failure to satisfactorily complete the course work.

Please note that for Core and Foundation courses, a maximum of 25% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.3. For Elective courses, a maximum of 35% of students may be awarded an A or A-; the grade point average of the class should not exceed 3.4. (For classes with 15 students or fewer, the class GPA cap is waived.)

Tentative Course Calendar

The instructors reserve the right to alter course content and/or adjust the pace to accommodate class progress. Students are responsible for keeping up with all adjustments to the course calendar.

Note:All times are listed in Eastern Time (ET).

Module / Topic / Reading / Due
1 / Information Technology & Strategic Outcomes in Networked Digital Markets / Read the chapters from the following books:
Cohen, E.A. (2006). Chapter 8: Catastrophic failure, The French army and air force, May–June 1940. In Military misfortunes: The anatomy of failure in war. New York, NY: Free Press.
Shapiro, C., & Varian, H.R. (1998). Chapter 1: The information economy. In Information rules: A strategic guide to the network economy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. / Introductions Discussion
Sunday, 11:59 pm
Group Activity: Team Contract
Sunday, 11:59 pm
Individual Activity:Simulation
Sunday, 11:59 pm
Synchronous Online Session
[Insert date/time]
2 / Technology-Enabled Market Platforms: Creating Rich Information Flows Between Markets, Companies, Buyers, & Sellers / Read the following HBS cases:
Chen, D., & Piskorski, M. J. (2012). Social strategy at American Express. HBS 9-712-447. Boston, MA. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Deighton, J., & Kornfeld, L. (2013). Amazon, Apple, Facebook & Google. HBS 513060-PDF-ENG. Boston, MA. Harvard Business School Publishing. / M2 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
3 / Big Data & Analytics / Read the following articles ine-reserves:
McAfee, A.,Brynjolfsson, E. (2012). Big data: The management revolution.Harvard Business Review, 90(10), 60–68.
Brinker, S., &McLellan, L. (2014). The rise of the chief marketing technologist.Harvard Business Review, 92(7): 14–15. / M3 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
Synchronous Online Session
[Insert date/time]
M3 Practice 1, Practice 2, and Practice 3
4 / Information Products, Digital Convergence, and the Media Industry / Read the following articles in e-reserves:
(Rep.). (2016, February). Retrieved July 23, 2017, from Mckinsey and Company website:
Vogel, H. L. (2007). Chapter 1: Economic perspectives. In Entertainment industry economics: A guide for financial analysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Thinking outside the set-top box - Comcast's future. (2013, December 14).The Economist.
A la carte TV is coming—But will consumers be better off? (2014, October 24). Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved from / M4 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
M4 Group Assignment: Technology Strategy Research Project: Phase 1
Sunday, 11:59 pm
5 / Global Markets for Information-Rich Services: Sourcing DigitallyDelivered Services / Read the following articles in e-reserves:
Aron, R., & Singh, J. (2005). Getting offshoring right. Harvard Business Review, (December), 135–143. Retrieved from
Rise of the software machines. (2013, January 10).The Economist. Retrieved from
Aron, R. (2007, August). Impact of Internet-based distributed monitoring systems on offshore sourcing of services. ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, 7(3): Article 16.
Additional articles:
A Robot Revolution in China:
China’s Need for Industrial Robots: / M5 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
M5 Practice 1 and Practice 2
6 / DigitallyDelivered Services: The Emergence of Global Networks / Read the following articles in e-reserves:
Gupta, A., & Seshasai, S. (2007). The 24-hour knowledge factory: Using Internet technology to leverage spatial and temporal separations. Information Resources Management Journal, 23(4).
To be made here, or elsewhere—A look inside outsourcing decisions. (2014). Knowledge@Wharton. Retrieved from / M6 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
M6 Practice 1
7 / The Emerging Frontiers of Technology / Read the following articles in e-reserves:
Power, B. (2015). Artificial intelligence is almost ready for business. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved August 19, 2017, from
Wakefield, J. (2015). Intelligent machines: The jobs robots will steal first.BBC News. Retrieved from / Synchronous Online Session
[Insert date/time]
M7 Discussion: Forum 1 or Forum 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
Group Assignment: Final Project: Phase 2
Sunday, 11:59 pm
8 / Review & Recap of Key Concepts / Optional reading in e-reserves:
Shapiro, C., & Varian, H.R. (1998). Chapter 1: The information economy. In Information rules: A strategic guide to the network economy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. / Independent Research Assignment (open Monday, 12:00 am)
Sunday, 11:59 pm
M8 Peer Evaluation
Sunday, 11:59 pm

Carey Business School

Policies and General Information

Blackboard Site

A Blackboard course site is set up for this course. Each student is expected to check the site throughout the semester as Blackboard will be the primary venue for outside classroom communications between the instructors and the students. Students can access the course site at

Student Technology Resources

  • Personal Support Center (PSC):
  • Toll-free: 855-270-4436, ext. 3
  • Local: 410-235-0545, ext. 3
  • Email:
  • Introduction to Blackboard
  • Introduction to Adobe Connect

Course Evaluation

As a research and learning community, the Carey Business School is committed to continuous improvement. The faculty strongly encourages students to provide complete and honest feedback for this course. Please take this activity seriously; we depend on your feedback to help us improve. Information on how to complete the evaluation will be provided toward the end of the course.

Disability Support Services

All students with disabilities who require accommodations for this course should contact Disability Support Services at their earliest convenience to discuss their specific needs. If you have a documented disability, you must be registered with Disability Support Services ( or 410-234-9243) to receive accommodations. For more information, please visit the Disability Support Services webpage.

Academic Ethics Policy

Carey expects graduates to be innovative business leaders and exemplary global citizens. The Carey community believes that honesty, integrity, and community responsibility are qualities inherent in an exemplary citizen. The objective of the Academic Ethics Policy (AEP) is to create an environment of trust and respect among all members of the Carey academic community and hold Carey students accountable to the highest standards of academic integrity and excellence.

It is the responsibility of every Carey student, faculty member, and staff member to familiarize themselves with the AEP and its procedures. Failure to become acquainted with this information will not excuse any student, faculty, or staff from the responsibility to abide by the AEP. Please contact the Student Services office if you have any questions. For the full policy, please visit the Academic Ethics Policy webpage.

Students are not allowed to use any electronic devices during in-class tests. Calculators will be provided if the instructor requires them for test taking. Students must seek permission from the instructor to leave the classroom during an in-class test. Test scripts must not be removed from the classroom during the test.