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SPRING 1998
| Course
Information Course Materials MOTIVATION AND OBJECTIVES ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING CLASS PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES FOR CASE WRITEUPS STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET |
Class #1,
Wed 2/4/98 Class #2, Fri 2/6/98 Class #3, Mon 2/9/98 Class #4, Wed 2/11/98 Class #5, Fri 2/13/98 Class #6, Tues 2/17/98 Class #7, Wed 2/18/98 Class #8, Fri 2/20/98 Class #9, Mon 2/23/98 Class #10, Wed 2/25/98 Class #11, Fri 2/27/98 Class #12, Mon 3/2/98 Class #13, Wed 3/4/98 Class #14, Fri 3/6/98 Class #15, Mon 3/9/98 Class #16, Wed 3/11/98 Class #17, Fri 3/13/98 Class #18, Mon 3/16/98 |
Instructors:
| Professor
Thomas Malone Office: E53-333 Tel. (617) 253-6843 Fax (617) 258-7579 Email:malone@mit.edu Web: http://ccs.mit.edu/tom.html Office hours: By appointment |
Professor Yannis
Bakos Office: E53-329 Tel. (617) 253-7097 Fax (617) 258-7579 Email: bakos@mit.edu Web: http://ccs.mit.edu/yannis Office hours: By appointment |
Administrative Assistant:
David Fitzgerald
Office: E53-330
Tel. (617) 253-4950
Teaching Assistants:
| Laurent Plantier Tel. (617) 577-5691 Email: lplantier@aol.com |
Terdsongchai (Terd) Putthisri Tel. (617) 577-5614 Email: tputthis@mit.edu |
Copyright Notice: The availability of certain readings on the Web does not provide a license to reproduce and further distribute these materials. Similarly, copyrighted materials in the readings packet and class handouts may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder.
Information technology is transforming firms, markets, products and processes with remarkable speed. This provides managers with new challenges and valuable opportunities. Firms are turning to information technology not just to solve isolated problems, but also as a catalyst for organizational change and as an integrating force that can span functions, time and space. For example, Benetton uses a worldwide computer network to link 7000 stores in 80 countries, as well as scores of suppliers and agents, with its corporate offices in Italy. AT&T exploits the time differential and lower wage rates of software engineers in Bangalore, India to maintain its worldwide telecommunications systems in real-time through a satellite link.
At the same time, virtually every internal and external business process is becoming dependent on computers. In fact, it has been estimated that more than half of all new capital investment in the United States goes toward information technology. This technology has become a critical element in the success, and even survival, of organizations; American Airlines, for example, in recent years has often made more money from its computerized reservation system, SABRE, (spun off last year as The Sabre Group, Inc.) than from the airline business. However, these opportunities are fraught with risks: American lost tens of millions of dollars during a three-hour outage of the SABRE system.
Accordingly, this course addresses the management issues surrounding the impact of information technology in organizations. It is designed with the line and senior managers in mind, rather than the managers of the IS function, and thus it focuses on three themes:
By the end of the course, we hope to achieve a subtle but sophisticated understanding of the links between information technology, business processes, organizations and markets. This is a very large order for a six-and-a-half week course. But if we are successful, each of us will gain insights and skills that will help steer a sensible course through a set of issues surrounding the use of information technology, which, although very important, is sometimes complex and confusing.
The best way to appreciate the organizational implications of information technology is through intensive and thoughtful discussions in the classroom. Thus, we will proceed on the assumption that you have done the required readings before class and have understood most (but not necessarily all) of the issues raised. This course should be viewed as a cooperative learning experience and students are expected to share the insights they have gained from their work experience as well as the readings. Students are encouraged to form small study groups to discuss the readings before and after class.
You will be required to prepare one technology homework assignment, two written case assignments and two technology exercises. Assignments should be prepared individually, although you are encouraged to discuss the issues in your study groups. Plagiarism will not be tolerated, and will be reflected in the grade of all parties involved. All assignments are due at the beginning of class.
The technology homework assignment will give you first-hand experience with using, evaluating, and publishing information on the World Wide Web. You will go through all the steps involved in web site design, construction, publication, and use, thereby gaining a practical appreciation for the power of this new medium for organizations.
The case assignments will be relatively brief (3-4 double-spaced pages) and are designed to help you prepare for class discussion as well as to exercise your analysis and communications skills. Please read the guidelines for preparing IT case assignments at the end of this syllabus.
The technology exercises require you to perform some basic hands-on tasks to improve your understanding of the corresponding technology concepts.
There will be an in-class final exam.
Your performance will be assessed as follows:
- Discussion in class: 15% of total grade
- Technology homework: 15% of total grade
- Two written case assignments: 30% of total grade
- Two technology exercises: 10% of total grade
- Final exam: 30% of total grade
Your class participation grade will be based on attendance, preparation, familiarity with the reading materials, and relevance and insight reflected in classroom discussions. An important criterion is your contribution to the creation of a positive learning environment. For example, demonstration of mastery of advanced topics at inappropriate times may not help create a positive learning environment. On the other hand, correcting a mistake or an error, making constructive comments, or asking what appear to be "dumb questions" about what is being covered, can help.
Class attendance is important and required. If you must miss a class, please send e-mail to the instructor in advance with the reason. Please leave your name card up for each session and use the same seat for every class session after the first one.
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION
The first class will outline the course, and provide an overview of the economic, organizational and business impacts of information technology.
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
SMALLER WORLD: DIGITAL CONVERGENCE, GLOBAL NETWORKING AND THE INTERNET
This class will discuss telecommunications, digital media, and the Internet.
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
FASTER WORLD: COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
This class will review computer basics and offer an overview of emerging trends in computer technology.
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
Optional Web Browsing:
Click here to take a web-based tour of the amazing progress in the underlying technology of the information age: computers and communications.
IT IN MANUFACTURING AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: USING SAP AT BAY NETWORKS
Required Readings:
DATABASE TECHNOLOGY: RELATIONAL AND MULTI-DIMENSIONAL DATABASES, DATA WAREHOUSES AND DATA MINING
As computers allow us to capture increasing amounts of data, organizations need to learn how to maintain and manage very large databases and how to distill this data into useful information.
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN MARKETING
Required Readings:
Case Assignment:
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN LOGISTICS AND OPERATIONS
Required Readings:
Case Assignment:
FIRST WRITTEN CASE ASSIGNMENT DUE
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
Required Readings:
TRANSFORMING THE MARKETS: ELECTRONIC MARKETPLACES
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
TECHNOLOGY HOMEWORK PART A DUE
TRANSFORMING THE VALUE-ADDED CHAIN
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
Case Assignment:
SECOND WRITTEN CASE ASSIGNMENT DUE
TRANSFORMING THE ORGANIZATION: BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Required Readings:
Case Assignment:
Optional Readings:
EVOLVING IT ARCHITECTURES: FROM MAINFRAMES TO CLIENT-SERVER TO NETWORK COMPUTERS
This class will discuss how computer architectures have evolved, focusing on the emerging trends.
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
TECHNOLOGY HOMEWORK PART B DUE
THE INTERNET AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE #1
Required Readings:
TECHNOLOGY EXERCISE #1 DUE
THE INTERNET AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE #2
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
Optional Browsing:
Visit PC-Week's 10 Best Electronic Commerce Sites (January 6, 1997)
Case Assignment:
Netscape
Communications. On-line Case.TECHNOLOGIES FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE: ENCRYPTION AND PRIVACY
Required Readings:
Optional Readings:
Useful links if you want to learn more about the topics covered in this class:
TECHNOLOGY EXERCISE #2 (OPTIONAL) DUE
BUSINESS MODELS FOR THE INTERNET
Required Readings:
Case Assignment:
Firefly Network, Inc. Stanford Graduate
School of Business Case, October 1997.NEW ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS AND THE NETWORKED ORGANIZATION
Required Readings:
IN-CLASS FINAL EXAM
This note addresses how to write an IT case assignment, rather than a marketing case, a finance case, or an OB case. Naturally, there are similarities in writing all these types of cases, but here we focus on the case assignments you will be preparing in this course.
Your role
Your role is to act as an advisor to the CEO or other manager as specified in the case assignment. You have been brought in to analyze and interpret the available data, and to provide focused answers to the manager's questions.
Brainstorming
You should probably start by brainstorming, either individually or in study groups. In study groups students often rely on their individual backgrounds to provide different perspectives on a problem.
Which perspectives are relevant in an IT case?
First, you need to identify the important issues in the case. IT (usually) can have pervasive effects on organizations. It can affect production, distribution, marketing, finance, accounting, and personnel management and compensation. Another powerful framework is Porter's five forces model, which you have probably seen if you have taken a Strategy class. In assessing the potential impacts of IT, you can consider how IT affects each of the competitive forces: industry competition, power of suppliers, power of customers, potential entrants, and substitute products.
Now that you have identified the potential areas of IT impact, you need to consider issues relevant to the situation in the case. For example, a firm's strategy may be to market as the low price leader and support this strategy with a low cost production and distribution operation. In this scenario, IT's ability to lower production and distribution costs may be extremely important. Alternatively, a firm may emphasize high priced, high service products. Here IT may support high levels of service by keeping track of all customer interactions.
Focus
You should narrow the list of potential issues where IT has a critical impact to 3 to 5 key issues. You do this based on the importance of the issues to the firm's ability to profit in both the short and the long term, or other objectives developed in the case.
Based on these key issues you may be asked to recommend a single course of action (which will likely consist of many smaller complementary actions), and consider the implementation of it. A recommendation is a very specific measurable action with a date attached (if appropriate). It answers the manager's questions of how and when will something be accomplished.
In most case assignments, we will provide you with a list of questions to address, thus facilitating the above tasks.
The written report
The report should be typed, and follow the length guidelines specified in the assignment.
Your written report will be evaluated based on your answers to the assignment questions. Thus, written case reports should focus (exclusively) on these questions, although you may follow the general guidelines in preparing for the in-class discussion of the case. Please answer each question separately, but feel free to reference answers to other questions. Pay attention to what the question is asking (e.g., the difference between "discuss," "outline," "evaluate," "list"). Make sure you answer all the parts of each question.
Since you are reporting to the CEO or a manager of the firm, do not repeat facts of the case unless you are using these facts to support your choice of the key issues or recommendations. You can assume that these decision-makers are already familiar with their companies, and what they need from you is structured insight. An important thing in writing up your analysis and/or recommendations is to develop a convincing, logical argument consistent with the facts and values that you note about the case.
Usually there is no "right solution" to the case assignments. We care less about your specific recommendation in each case than we do about whether you arrive at a clear recommendation, and do so convincingly and in a well-written fashion. You may have to take a stand, and the more convinced you are, the better you will be able to communicate it. Do not avoid taking a stand by recommending vague things like "the firm should study the existing alternatives" or "the firm should do a cost/benefit analysis and do what has the highest NPV." This is an abdication of your responsibility as trusted advisor to the CEO, and will therefore not result in high rewards!
Please print the STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET and turn it in to the instructor.