BU.920.610.XX– Management of Technology – Instructor Name – Page 1 of 9
/Management of Technology
2 credits
BU.920.610.XX[NOTE: Each section must have a separate syllabus.]
[DayTime / ex: Monday, 6pm-9pm]
[StartEnd Date / ex: 3/24/15-5/12/15]
[Semester / ex: Spring 2016]
[Location / ex: Washington, DC]
Instructor
[Full Name]
Contact Information
[Phone Number, (###) ###-####]
[Email Address]
Office Hours
[Day(s)/Times]
Required Texts Learning Materials
There is no text for this course. The course will be based on a combination of readings and cases.
Book Chapters:
- Chapter 1: Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy by Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian, Harvard Business School Press, November, 1998.
- Chapter 1: Economic Perspectives, Entertainment Industry Economics, Cambridge University Press, Sixth Edition.
Articles:
- Frontiers Of Collaboration: The Evolution of Social Networking, Knowledge@Wharton, July 07, 2010.
- The benefits—and limits—of decision models, McKinsey Quarterly, February 2014.
- If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media, 4x4, HBR Mar 15, 2012. BH466-PDF-ENG.
- Bring Your Own Persona: Rethinking Segmentation for the New Digital Consumer, Knowledge@Wharton, October 23, 2014. -
- Hold That Tweet! Building Loyal Customers in the Information Age, Knowledge@Wharton, April 4, 2014. -
- Finding a Place for Market Research in a Big Data, Tech-enabled World, Knowledge@Wharton, January 29, 2014. -
- A La Carte TV Is Coming — but Will Consumers Be Better Off? Knowledge@Wharton, October 24, 2014. -
- Customer Loyalty in the Age of Big Data? Knowledge@Wharton, November 7, 2014. -
- Big Data: The Management Revolution, Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, Harvard Business Review, October 2012.
- Innovating With Analytics, David Kiron, Pamela Kirk, Prentice And Renee Boucher Ferguson, Sloan Management Review, Fall 2012, VOL. 54 No. 1.
- Cracking the screens, Economist, October 12th, 2013;
- Thinking outside the Set Top Box, Economist, December 14, 2013;
- Welcome Home, Economist, January 19th, 2013;
- Rise of the Software machines, Economist, January 10th, 2013;
- Impact of Internet Based Distributed Monitoring Systems on offshore Sourcing of Services, ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, Vol. 7, No. 3, Article 16, August 2007.
- Television Competes for a Digital Audience, Harvard Business Review, June 16, 2011, 710476- PDF-ENG.
- Getting Offshoring Right, Harvard Business Review – December 2005.
- It’s a Flat World After All, Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, April 3rd, 2005. The 24Hour Knowledge Factory, Information Resources Management Journal, 23 (4).
- To Be Made Here, or Elsewhere — a Look inside Outsourcing Decisions -Knowledge@Wharton, November 7, 2014,
Cases:
1.Case: Citibank’s e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, HKU797, October 24, 2008.
2.Case: Social Strategy At American Express, HBR 9-712-447 April 12, 2012.
Additional notes and readings will be posted via Blackboard for each session.
Course Description
Advances in communication and information technologies have had far-reaching impact on markets, on price discovery mechanisms and the structure of the channels through which products and services are delivered. This course will address how markets, market mechanisms and channels of product and service delivery have been impacted and often transformed by Information and Communication technologies (ICT). The nearly instantaneous transmission of rich information across the boundaries of the corporation and across geographical boundaries have enabled the enterprise-wide systems of corporations to connect to each other and enable business-to-business transactions and orchestrate complex, electronic, settlement and fulfillment mechanisms that bring together multiple value chain and supply chain partners. Students will learn how B2B markets are evolving and their implications for businesses. Students will also learn how advances in ICT have impacted on a variety of industries, including media and entertainment.
Course Overview
The changes in market microstructure driven by information and communication technologies 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 – software, digital media, news and information services, video games – have perhaps been impacted most by the rapid advances in IT and Communication technologies. This course will explore how these industries have been transformed. What models of information product delivery are emerging and the business implications for Media and Entertainment 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, 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:
- Analyze how the functioning of networked markets is characterized by different economic drivers.
- Analyze how electronic market mechanisms functions and evaluate their use in different business contexts.
- Formulate frameworks that explain how inter-organizational information flows and remote monitoring of business processes, transform the competition between firms into competition between strategic networks and clusters of firms.
- Analyze how the information architecture of interactive channels enables the effective delivery of business outcomes.
- Formulate frameworks that explain how digital convergence impacts on the media and entertainment industry.
- Understand the impact of ‘Big Data’ and emerging business practices that are driven by analytics and analyze the different ways in which analytics can help drive innovation in organizations.
- 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 Teaching & Learning@Carey website.
Attendance Policy
Attendance and class participation are part of each student’s course grade. Students are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions. Each class will include opportunities for teams to work together. Failure to attend class may result in an inability to achieve the objectives of the course. Excessive absence will result in loss of points for team participation. Regular attendance and active participation are required for students to successfully complete the course.
Tentative Course Calendar**The instructor(s) 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.
Session 1: Information Technology & Strategic Outcomes in Networked Digital Markets:
The session will deal with the forces that shape outcomes in networked markets: Network Effects, Lock-In and Switching Costs, Price Discrimination, Versioning and Bundling. Students will then apply these concepts to specific products and industries and their impact explored. Students will also learn to apply frameworks where the interactive effect of some of these forces on markets and firms will be explored and analyzed.
Readings:
1. Chapter 1: Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy by Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian, Harvard Business School Press, November, 1998. [Post Class Reading]
Session 2: Big Data: The Emerging Frontier of Analytics-Driven Business Practices
This session addresses the emerging phenomenon of ‘Big Data and Analytics’. Students will compare ‘big data’ and analytics and identify similarities and draw distinctions between the two. Students will gain insights into the scale and scope of business practices based on big data and analytics and explore the different ways in which these can impact on businesses. Students will explore the different forms that big data take and investigate the business implications of the various ways in which big data can impact on business outcomes. Students will also develop frameworks to analyze how strategies based on big data and analytics will impact on the organization and managerial functioning.
Readings:
1.Big Data: The Management Revolution, Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson, Harvard Business Review, October 2012.
2.Innovating With Analytics, David Kiron, Pamela Kirk, Prentice And Renee Boucher Ferguson, Sloan Management Review, Fall 2012, VOL. 54 No. 1.
3.The benefits—and limits—of decision models, McKinsey Quarterly, February 2014.
Session 3: The Information Architecture of Interactive Channels
Students will analyze the implications of different digital channel structures and the opportunities and the threats they pose to corporations that use a suite of interactive technologies – such as Social Networks, Blogs, Tweets, RSS Feeds, etc. – to disseminate information to buyers and markets. Students will also investigate how social media networks and Web 2.0 technologies impact on the behavior of buyers and sellers.
Students will also analyze how the architecture of electronic channels and digital markets can be aligned with the actual behavioral patterns of buyers to drive more efficient outcomes. They will explore the Infostructure of Digital Markets and explore the optimal scale and scope of information delivery in digital markets.
Readings:
- If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media, 4x4, HBR Mar 15, 2012. BH466-PDF-ENG.
- Bring Your Own Persona: Rethinking Segmentation for the New Digital Consumer, Knowledge@Wharton, October 23, 2014. -
- Finding a Place for Market Research in a Big Data, Tech-enabled World, Knowledge@Wharton, January 29, 2014. -
- Customer Loyalty in the Age of Big Data? Knowledge@Wharton, November 7, 2014. -
- Hold That Tweet! Building Loyal Customers in the Information Age, Knowledge@Wharton, April 4, 2014. -
Session 4: IT Enabler Of Information Flows Between Markets, Buyers & Sellers
The case “Citibank’s e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking” explores how firms can use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to extend the reach of products and services that they deliver beyond the boundaries of the corporation. The case also explores how firms can use deep linking of their enterprise-wide information systems to deliver information rich services that are scalable and yet customized.
The case “Social Strategy At American Express” develops a conceptual edifice to help students distinguish between digital and social strategies for social platforms. The case also develops conceptual frameworks to help students identify features of social strategies that are particularly effective in market- facing contexts.
Both cases emphasize an important concept: when a corporation makes significant changes to its market-facing strategies, such changes are often enabled by far reaching changes in its information processing capabilities and the effective use of ICT can act as a force multiplier of market facing strategies.
Readings:
1.Case: Citibank’s e-Business Strategy for Global Corporate Banking, HKU797, October 24, 2008.
2.Case: Social Strategy At American Express, HBR 9-712-447 April 12, 2012.
Session 5: Information Products, Digital Convergence and The Media Industry:
The session addresses the phenomenon of ‘Quadruple Play’ – the convergence of Internet, Fixed Telephony, Mobile Telephony and Cable-based delivery of digital media – and its implications for the media and news industries.
Students will learn about the economic principles of the Entertainment and Digital Media industries including cost structure of products and services and their implications for the delivery of these products through electronic channels.
Students will analyze the implications of competition between different segments of the media delivery value chain. They will investigate how competition between players in the same industry as well as competition between players across industries will drive outcomes in the media and entertainment industries.
Students will also demonstrate optimal channel design strategies for different kinds of digital media.
Readings:
- Chapter 1: Economic Perspectives, Entertainment Industry Economics, Cambridge University Press, Sixth Edition [Optional Post Class Reading].
- Cracking the screens, Economist, October 12th, 2013;
- Thinking outside the Set Top Box, Economist, December 14, 2013;
- A La Carte TV Is Coming — but Will Consumers Be Better Off? Knowledge@Wharton, October 24, 2014. -
- Television Competes for a Digital Audience, Harvard Business Review, June 16, 2011, 710476- PDF-ENG.
Session 6: Global Markets for Information Rich Services: Sourcing Digitally Delivered Services
This session addresses the emergence of global markets for information-rich services that can be delivered digitally. Students will learn about the different kinds of services and the risks associated with sourcing these from disparate regions of the globe. The session will also address how the nature of knowledge work executed by information workers in firms determines the opportunities for the global sourcing and delivery of services.
Readings:
- Getting Offshoring Right, Harvard Business Review – December 2005.
- It’s a Flat World After All, Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, April 3rd, 2005.
- Welcome Home, Economist, January 19th, 2013;
- Rise of the Software machines, Economist, January 10th, 2013.;
- Impact of Internet Based Distributed Monitoring Systems on offshore Sourcing of Services, ACM Transactions on Internet Technology, Vol. 7, No. 3, Article 16, August 2007.
Session 7: Digitally Delivered Services: The Emergence of Global Networks
Students will analyze how the nature of competition between corporations is changing into competition between networks of corporations.
They will formulate strategies for configuring optimal network and governance structures for sourcing capabilities from global markets for digitally delivered services.
Session 8: Review & Recap of Key Concepts
Students will review the key concepts of each of the sessions and explore their relevance to emerging business phenomena.
In-class assignment will be administered.
Readings:
- The 24Hour Knowledge Factory, Information Resources Management Journal, 23 (4).
- To Be Made Here, or Elsewhere — a Look inside Outsourcing Decisions -Knowledge@Wharton, November 7, 2014,
EVALUATION
The student’s grade will be based on a combination of evaluation exercises consisting of two assignments, a final project and the student’s class participation. The breakdown of weights of each of the above is shown below.
- Assignments 45% of final grade
- Final Project 40% of final grade
- Class Participation 15% of final grade
Class Participation:
Students will be evaluated on the quality of their case preparation. Insightful observations made in class, well informed and insightful responses to questions posed by the instructor and other students in class, ability to synthesize multiple conceptual frameworks displayed in students’ responses in classes will all count towards class participation.
Note that making an observation in class, offering comments or answering an instructor’s question do not automatically merit points being awarded for class participation. Students will be graded on the insights and understanding of material that they demonstrate in case discussions, the rigor and originality of their analysis and the extent to which they generate informed and relevant responses to questions in class.
Class participation will count to 15% of the student’s final grade (it will carry a weight of 15% in determining the final grade).
Assignments: There are two written assignments that students are expected to complete as a part of the course deliverables.
Assignment I: A Semester-long Blog
Students will be asked to choose a topic (out of a set of topics specified by the instructor) and write a blogon it.
They will collect information throughout the semester about their topic and continuously update their blog. The blog will be graded several times during the semester and the grades will be communicated to the students.
Students are expected to demonstrate original thinking, insightful understanding of the domain of discourse, cite facts and research in support of their position and clearly articulate their ideas.
The assignment will count to 20% of the student’s final grade (the assignment will carry a weight of 20% in determining the final grade).
Assignment II:In-Class Assignment
Students will be given background reading material (such as a business case) and asked to undertake research on some topics relevant to the reading material. They will then write an assignment in class that will require them to apply the concepts, frameworks and tools learned in the course to problems and business contexts identified in the assignment.
The assignment will be structured in the form of questions that students will answer by applying appropriate frameworks and principles that they learned in the class.
The assignment will be out a maximum possible 100 points and it will count to 25% of the student’s final grade (the assignment will carry a weight of 25% in determining the final grade).
Final Project:
Students will work in groups on identifying a business opportunity, a firm or a business practice – enabled by advances in ICT - that can be improved, reformulated, redesigned or analyzed using the frameworks and concepts learned in this course.
They will analyze the business problem and apply the different concepts that they learned in the course. Students will then formulate frameworks (where relevant) to determine which channel structures and market mechanisms are relevant to the business domain.
They will then analyze the impact of their recommendations on the Information Architecture of the firm. They will draw on principles of Digital Convergence (where relevant) and its impact on the nature of final solution that they propose.
They will also demonstrate how their proposed solution is an improvement on the existing situation and analyze the limitations of their recommendations.
A group should consist of between 4 and 7 members. The format of submission is flexible. Students may submit a written project report, deliver a multi-media presentation that combines a written deliverable with other media formats.